Giveaway: Full Size Niche Perfumes for our Readers

There is a time when silence descends. Dear readers you have seen it. And I apologise for it. "And even if you're not here to stay I'm happy the universe allowed your soul to stop by." So let's proceed beyond the silence and venture into new adventures.

To usher in the new beginnings I am hosting a giveaway for two purse bottles of Neela Vermeire Creations' wonderful (really gorgeous!) Pichola. The bottles are as depicted above: 15ml Eau de Parfum concentration. I have posted a detailed review of Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations on THIS LINK.

At the time I had written that "Pichola is not a travel "selfie". This shape shifter of a fragrance has backbone, finesse and above all the charm that makes a fragrance go beyond the mere pretty into addictive. [...] This creature purred...and I purred with delight over it."

The fragrance has been developed by Bertrand Duchaufour who has excelled in his work for Neela.

To enter the draw please post a comment under the post stating your prefered flowers in fragrance and why they work for you.  The draw is open till Monday 5th February midnight.

Aedes de Venustas: fragrance samples set draw

We have all come to rely on Aedes de Venustas for the most exquisite niche brands in perfumery. But their own brand is also quite fearsome to behold with perfumes created with some of the world's top perfumers working right now; from the award-winning Iris Nazarena to the fiery Oeillet Bengale to the mysterious acqua incense of Copal Azur  Aedes de Venustas has proven its mettle many times.

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The discovery set of Aedes de Venustas comprising 3 x 10ml perfumes has launched and I happen to have samples of all three scents.
5 lucky winners will get 1 of each of the 3 scents so they can decide which appeals to them most; or upgrade to the mini bottles for more prolonged enjoyment! Draw is open internationally to those who comment below this post saying what they'd like to read next on Perfume Shrine. Winners to be announced early next week.

Win a Luxurious Radiant Face Cream by Acqua di Parma Italian Resort Collection

No review or commentary today, but a delicious draw for readers of Perfume Shrine. The luxurious Blu Mediterraneo Italian Resort Collection has several worthwhile products in line (NB. I love the Dry Oil for the Body myself, perfect to use on the legs for wearing with sexy sandals and shorter skirts or capri pants and it's nice for an all over sheen as well, not greasy at all). They are great for a slice of Mediterranean sun and warmth now that summer is looming and more skin is exposed with all the shorts, the cut out blouses, the swimsuits....

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This is what the Acqua di Parma site claims:
"A rich, soft cream refreshing to the touch. With a moisturizing formula that’s dermatologically tested and non-occlusive, it’s suitable for all skin types, even the more sensitive ones. It caresses the face in a film of softness and light. The active ingredients for renewal - shea butter and liquorice extract - act in synergy with Mediterranean Oxygenating ComplexTM to moisturise the skin and strengthen its defences against external agents."

For one lucky reader, I have a brand new sealed Radiant Face Cream 50ml jar. To be eligible please put a comment and share your  (current or favorite) skincare routine. Draw is open internationally and comment eligibility ends on Sunday at midnight.

A Special Mother's Day Celebration: Lucky Draw

As usual with special commemorative days we host a lucky draw on Perfume Shrine today.
Courtesy of the ever gracious Jovan van Drielle of Tijon Fragrance Lab and Boutique, the draw involves Mothers inspired by the upcoming Mother's Day celebration this Sunday May 10th.

So, here's what you should do to enter the draw:

Tell us a story about your favorite Mother's Day Surprise!
Contest is open to everyone and winners will be drawn on May 10th.
Grand prize winner will receive a gift certificate worth $250 in products that can be used for ordering anything on the Tijon.com website. Since Jovan is very generous indeed, there may be more than one winner, so check it out!

Just to give you a taste I'm featuring below the Macaron Trinket Boxes (for whatever you may think of that fits in, from pills to hairpins) which come in assorted pastel colors.

And the Vintage-inspired Crystal Perfume Bottle Pendant Necklaces! Even better than looking like a true perfumephile, you can actually unscrew the top of the bottle and put a bit of perfume or essential oil in there for touch ups. Cool, huh?

Win a Copy of The Perfume Garden novel: Perfume Book Draw

Several authors have chosen to incorporate perfume in their fiction lately, some of which have been featured on Perfume Shrine before. The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown is a very leaf-able, flowing romance taking place in the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War with "lost love, family secrets and the art of creating the perfect scent".

I have 5 hardcover copies for 5 US shipping addresses holders that I will draw on Thursday. Please enter a comment and you will be eligible. Prizes will be shipped by the publisher directly to winners.

Here is small excerpt from the The Perfume Garden novel to give you an idea:

"Emma took a deep breath, and gazed out of the bus window. It was almost her stop. Perhaps it’s time to stop saving the best till last, she thought. She folded the note and slipped it into her mother’s Moleskine notebook on her lap, flicking on through the pages illuminated with Liberty’s flamboyant handwriting. Words leaped out at her—“neroli,” “duende,” “passion.” Her mother had pasted in cuttings alongside the notes and formulas for the new perfume she had been working on—pictures of orange groves, searing blue skies, a yellowed newspaper advert for a Robert Capa exhibition. It was the famous “falling soldier” picture. Emma traced her finger over the soldier’s face, wondered what he was thinking at the moment when death caught him running down that hill. She wondered what he saw as he fell. As she touched the paper, she felt the contours of something beneath. She flipped to the next page and laid her hand on the smallest envelope Liberty had left in the box with the letters. On it, her mother had written an address: Villa del Valle, La Pobla, Valencia, Spain. Inside, there was just an old key. I must ask Freya if she knows anything about this, she thought. Emma had lain awake the night she opened that envelope, turning the key over in her hand, her mind full of possibilities. Typical Mum, she thought, remembering all the magical mystery tours Liberty had taken her on as a child, the trails of clues she had laid for Emma to follow to hidden presents. The chase, the anticipation, was always more fun than the present itself.

Emma turned the pages, glimpsed the melancholy, serene face of a Madonna, a photo of a whitewashed wall with flaming bougainvillea spilling over it. The notes became sparser, the hand less sure toward the end. She sensed Liberty had been looking back, as well as forward. Next to a pasted label from Chérie Farouche, the perfume Liberty had created for Emma on her eighteenth birthday, she had written: “Some perfumes are, like children, innocent, as sweet as oboes, green as meadow sward—Baudelaire.” It was still Emma’s signature scent. On her it smelled like rain in a garden at first, fresh and intoxicating; then as the green top notes evaporated Emma always thought of the earth, of picking flowers in a forest with her mother. The heart note of lily of the valley and jasmine melded perfectly with the base of sandalwood and musk. Liberty always said the scent was like her—shy but surprisingly fierce. A photograph of Liberty with Emma as a baby was tucked into that page. She flicked on, unbearable longing piercing her as she looked at her mother’s beautiful, open smile. Emma paused at her mother’s final sketch of a new Liberty Temple perfume bottle, her hurried scrawl: “Jasmine? Orange blossom, yes!”

Copyright © 2015 by Kate Lord Brown

Giveaway of Niche Perfume Samples

Irises (and iris-named perfumes) come plentiful in both mainstream and niche sectors lately: from best-selling Infusion d'Iris by Prada, Donna Karan Iris and Iris Nobile (A.di Parma) to Guerlain's Figue-Iris, Iris Ganache (also Guerlain), Iris Poudre (F.Malle) and Iris Silver Mist (Serge Lutens). Even The Body Shop has a white musk version in their Midnight Iris edition. And many many more….Everyone wants to have an iris in their fragrance portfolio!

So it came as no surprise that Aedes de Venustas, a niche abode known to all aficionados, came up with Iris Nazarena. The effort is rewarded with a Fragrance Foundation award (Parfum Extraordinaire) and it's my privilege to be able to give away 10 samples to 10 readers who will put in a comment under this post until Thursday midnight. The lucky recipients will be announced on Friday 1st August, stay tuned. This is closed, thank you!

Daisy by Marc Jacobs: fragrance review and lucky draw!

If you doubt your eyes, you can never doubt your nose, it seems. It is unmistakeably capable of discerning that which the promotional material might deny. It has the ability to get not only molecules stuck in its receptive velcro but also memories, associations and musings. And it was thus that Daisy by Marc Jacobs entered my consiousness: as the memory of another scent.
Marc, darling, I know you have Sofia Coppola as a muse; you have made this clear many times from the bags to the shoes to the perfumes. I wonder does she use Light Blue by Dolce & Gabanna too apart from her other favourites? Because frankly this is what your latest reminds me of vividly; oh, so vividly!

At first I did a double take not willing to believe what I had read about it. I had even posted about its notes which come in quick succession; like a fussilade in the face of ugliness they read: top notes of wild strawberry, violet leaves and ruby red grapefruit, a heart of gardenia, violet and jasmine petals on a base of vanilla and musk.
And yet, if we compare with the notes for Light Blue: Sicilian Citron, Bluebell, Granny Smith apple, Jasmine Sambac, Bamboo, White rose, Cedar wood, Amber, Musk ....what do we get? Close to nil...
Because apart from jasmine and musk (which surely are in about 99.9999% of all feminine perfumes) I fail to discern what makes those two so similar. Granted, the citrusy burst of Light Blue and the woodiness of its base set it apart (and probably are to blame for the accolades it's getting right and left).
Basically a classic in the making, Light Blue has been selling crazily and especially in the Mediterranean countries it's something akin to putting on your instant personal gelateria with icy cold smoothies to enjoy all day long. It gives the impression that if you lick it off your arm your tongue will climax.

The tendency to follow in a bestseller's shoes is not new of course and the examples of perfumes who did just that is legion - like the Antichrist, one might humorously say. This is neither the space nor the time to talk about it, we have other posts to concern ourselves with that in the near future. It is enough that fairly recently Moschino came out with something that is also quite close to Light Blue: his I Love Love ~arguably one of the silliest names in the known universe, yet a decent enough little potion.
Of course if we compare notes, we see that it features: orange, lemon, grapefruit, redcurrant, tea rose, lily of the valley, cinnamon leaves, tanaka wood, cedarwood, musk. Ah...a bit closer. But still!
Marc in a rare confessionary mood divulged that

“I don’t want to get too artsy about inspiration, but there is a sense memory, a reference, in fragrances”

Uh huh...thought so.

Not that Daisy smells exactly like Light Blue because it doesn't. And what would be the use of it, if it did? This is of course perfume no man's land as no one wants to answer this question it seems. But give a well-known recipe a little twist and it will sell like cupcakes. This tendency has resulted in an homogenization of the market that is to its detriment, alas, yet perfumers and companies persist regardless.

The promotional material for Daisy reads:

"a sparkling floral scent - fresh and feminine, with a touch of whimsy. A modern vintage that embodies effortless charm."

I have to admit that it is a very nice, inoffensive, pleasant little scent that would be a lovely foray of a budding into womanhood young thing that loves to have an adorably pretty bottle on her dresser. Because Marc, really, you outdid yourself after those spartan Splash bottles of yours! This is sooooo cute, so girly, so fashionably whimsical that fans will come in droves to the stores eager to give you their cash for this.
Three little daisies of vinyl with a center of metallic gold adorn the cap, with a little matching "belt" underneath it. It's much better in person, because the petals are bendable and soft. And it makes me wonder why Marc was reportedly not content with it and thinking of changing it a bit. That would be miscalculation, Marc, I must warn you!

Of course daisies do not smell per se. But who gives a damn? This is fantasy land and Marc is saying it himself:

“Daisies don’t smell, but I wanted to evoke the feeling that you get when you see them — happy and youthful. My gardenia and jasmine scents [Marc Jacobs for women and Blush Marc Jacobs, respectively] are more singular and definitely more ‘designer’ scents. I don’t want to say they’re older, but they’re more sophisticated.”

I admit that Blush is my choice out of his mentioned scents for its crystalline transparency that weaves its spell to you despite your best efforts and his Winter Amber Splashwas powdery goodness to me. I don't know however if I would term them terribly sophisticated. It might have to do with different perceptions.
Daisy is abstract, beginning on a tang of berries -a very popular note in noughties perfumery- seguing on to a floral theme of indeterminate fugue that ascertains Alberto Morillas's artistry, but perhaps betrays his innovative spirit (his list of creations is fascinating: click here). The sustained note of light musk on a lightly vanillic bed stays on the skin poised for hours.

All in all, Daisy is not a bad case of a fruity floral, if only because it is not overly sweet. And this is an achievement nowadays. It is sure to please and it smells good and will earn you compliments from people, most assuredly. If it comes in a too cute container, it's not its fault. It was drawn that way!



Daisy comes in an eau de toilette concentration at 1.7oz/50ml at 55$ and 3.4oz/100ml at 70$, as well as a shower gel (30$), a body lotion (32$) and a rich body butter (35$).Available from major department stores.

And for our lucky readers I have a very cute mini bottle of it available for one winner of a draw. Please post in the comment section if you want to enter the draw and good luck!!


Chypres will resume as scheduled later on...

Pic of eye from athinorama, pic of bottle from Marc Jacobs campaign