Blv Notte Pour Femme: Blu Notte

Blu Notte Pour Femme by Bulgari
Notes of Vodka, Dark Chocolate, Iris,
with a slight hot peppery note: some sort of exotic ginger.
I can't even begin to describe this except to say it is a great perfume.

24 Faubourg

24 Faubourg by Hermes
Perfumer: Maurice Roucel
Headnotes: Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Peach
Heartnotes: Iris, Sambac Jasmine, Orchid
Basenotes: Vanilla, Amber , Sandalwood

Although perfumes were crafted for her, Princess Diana counted many fragrances by Guerlain (including *Heritage and **Mitsouko) as her long-standing favorites. Guerlain also made her favorite cosmetics as well. In 1995 she began wearing 24 Faubourg by Hermes, which seemed to become her signature scent; the one she wore constantly until her death in 1997.

*Heritage by Guerlain
Perfumer: Jean Paul Guerlain
Headnotes:Lemon, Lavender, Bergamot
Heartnotes:Coriander, Pink Pepper
Basenotes: Patchouli, Vanilla, Tonka
Warm and Refined Men's Fragrance that is often worn by women

**Mitsouko will be reviewed here in February.

The Dance of Samsara

samsara |səmˈsärə| noun Hinduism & Buddhism the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound. ORIGIN from Sanskrit saṃsāra.

Samsara Perfume created in 1989 by Jean Paul Guerlain.
Bottle Design by Robert Granai (the bottle in the sacred red of the Orient, echoes the figure of a Khmer dancer in the Musee Guimet in Paris, her hands folded in a gesture of offering, expressing plenitude and femininity.)

Head notes: Citrus Notes, Peach
Heart Notes: Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Narcissus
Basenotes: Iris, Amber ,Tonka, Vanilla, Orris

From the Guerlain website: "Samsara is the symbol of harmony, of absolute osmosis between a woman and her perfume. It is a spiritual voyage leading to serenity and inner contemplation." It is said that this perfume was created for a particular woman who fascinated Jean Paul Guerlain, and that it took him eleven years to perfect it before he presented it to her.
This is a spicy floral oriental for evening wear. A wonderful blend with excellent sillage.

You Smell Like...

HIM: "Darling, you smell like dog feet."

HER: "I'm wearing 'Puppy Toes' the new perfume by Paris Hilton.

Bob Dylan's Island Dream

Bob: I was in an empty theatre, waiting for something to happen, a show to begin. I remember hoping it would be a James Brown show, you know? Then this big bottle of perfume comes in and sits right next to me. All those empty seats, and it sits right down next to me. I could tell it was one of those Island perfumes by Michael Kors. Sure enough, it was. Hawaii by Michael Kors. It was all orangey and pineappley and it was like an aftershave lotion. Had no depth at all, man. It was a drag.

Stench

Taking a break from wearing perfume can be a really good thing, but taking a break from personal cleanliness is just disturbing.

Every so often a woman drenched in perfume will sit near you. Tell me, what is worse thanbeing strangled by a toxic amount of perfume?
Long ago, I was on a flight from Paris to New York. This man sat down next to me.
Actually, I smelled him before I saw him, before he sat down. I smelled ... and looked up. He was putting his bag into the overhead compartment. His entire head seemed to be coated with some oily substance. The jacket he wore looked like it had a life of its own, it could probably stand up by itself, and even walk away.( Maybe the last time it was on its own, it rolled in some crap and rummaged through a dumpster.)
Stinkyman was wearing old bedroom slippers instead of shoes. He sat down and the very bad sniffathon began.
He smelled like a combination of sweat, urine, grimy clothes, rusty metal, layers of dirt and wet cigar butts. He kept his diseased jacket on, eased his slippers off, (ooof!) and relaxed.
Although he ignored me completely and remained mute, even to the stewardess, his stench grabbed me and would not let go. So there I was, with Stinkyman, my new neighbor.
The flight was full, and considering the circumstances, no one would even think of changing seats with me. I stood with a stewardess in the back of the plane and she chatted with me about him. She too was appalled. She told me stories of stinky flying people she had encountered, but the stories did not make me feel better, even though they were amusing. Yes, laugh -- and then go back to stench. I finally remembered some perfume sample vials I had in my handbag. I had completely forgotten about them! I had to hold back tears of joy...would it work?
I didn't have to wait long for Stinkyman to fall asleep. I gave his filthy suede jacket a healthy spritz of perfume. Only then could I drift off to sleep myself, the stench subdued by jasmine and roses. Every so often the stench would return full force -- I bravely re-spritzed, and the stench retreated.
When Stinkyman awoke near the end of the flight, he slowly came out of his daze, and twisting his head from side to side, began to sniff suspiciously at his jacket. Although we never made eye contact I knew it was dawning on Stinkyman that "someone" had sprayed him. As we deplaned, he became suddenly courteous to me, and spoke at last, saying things like "Excuse me" and "Please, let me help get your bag down."
I imagined this to be his unspoken apology for not bathing or wearing clean clothes.
Every time I must suffer an over-perfumed person, I just think of my 8 hours with Stinkyman on that fight from Paris, and then it doesn't seem quite so bad.

Stinky

Well, not anymore. It was a medical condition.
Our blog mascot, d. chedwick smells nice these days.