At the Moment

The establishing of spring in my city has been spectacular, with the bigaradier trees already shedding some of their fully ripe, fully fragrant orange blossoms, bees and butterflies doing the crazy mambo and sun warmth reaching 22C at noon effortlessly. This has created an especially optimistic and energized mood in me, as happens every spring like clockwork. The joys of living in a warm place, I guess.
I feel like I should lift the carpets, put flowers in my hair and go through my closets to bring warm weather clothes & accessories at the front and give away to charity anything that doesn't get the tender loving use it deserves (which if you know the bulk of things I accumulate -hanging head in shame- you'd know it's an Herculean task).

Source: honeykennedy.com via PerfumeShrine on Pinterest  And yes, this is Bettie Davis actually!

So what rocks my boat or -at the very least- occupies these days?

Book
I'm reading The Perfume Collector by Cathleen Tessaro (the one who wrote Elegance some years ago, following the journey of a heroine who discovers Madame Dariaux's guide to elegance and ends up discovering herself); a chick-lit opus (which I was sent for your sake) about another heroine who re-invents herself, this time with perfume peppering. Review coming up.

Music
The Marin Marais viola da gamba-highlighting Baroque piece La Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris (which lovingly replicates bells happily pealing) is playing on Repeat. There's something very spring-like in it, though I generally love the music of the period.

Food
I had tried the Gourmet vegetable variety mix from Lidl sometime in the autumn and recall being impressed by just how tasty it is; without adding anything more than a little heat, it has a meaty, onion-y richness. A great quick side dish with fresh sea bass, with meat cuts or a great basis for a healthy spring soup.

Skincare
I've started using again the Shiseido Sun Compact SPF34 PA+++ (I told you it's sunny!). For now the SP40 shade looks good as these run lighter than initially showing, the sun protection is sanctioned by the Skin Cancer Foundation and I know that the sweatproof feature will be VERY handy once late May hits with its 32C degrees.
Also taken anew with the scent of Mustela rash cream; orange blossoms and a hint of lilac. Mmm...

pic Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Jazmine on Pinterest

Makeup
I got a little obsessed with blue lately (hello 80s?). The Sephora Colorful Duo eyeshadows in 02 Intense Blue combine a deep, navy blue with slate grey with shimmer. Got mine at clearance for only 9 euros.

Hobbies
Trying to revisit my Italian which is getting rusty.

Guilty Pleasure
Browsing Pinterest. Actually forgetting to stop browsing Pinterest.

What are your current hits and misses? Share them in the comments.

A woman loves...: Vintage Advertising Champions 1

A woman loves the sweet scent of green leaves,
wood crackling in the fire,
the fragrance of talcum-powdered babies,
spicy things,
incense
and salty air.
While enchantment to him is a woman in Shalimar. 
Men are more romantic.

From a vintage 1964 Guerlain advertisement of a woman and man shown nose to nose in profile for their Shalimar perfume.

Spices: Redrawing Flavor & Scent and Confounding the Mind

I have long communicated on these pages the idea that context makes for a powerful shift in our perception of fragrance and that is not only culturally, but quite literally true as well. A small inclusion of rum brings the catty whiff of blackcurrant buds in a herbal composition with mint. Violet and violet leaf takes on the nuance of pale tea incorporated into the structure of a citrusy floral. The sweet fruitiness of pink jasmine takes on bubble-gym hues paired with nectarous floral notes. The fine bubbles of champagne bring out the flavor of strawberries and adding ground cinnamon and cardamom to cooked grains imparts a sweet, earthy depth.

It's perhaps just as well that fine cuisine has long capitalized on this interplay between sensory stimuli in a single dish to render dishes worthy of a Michelin guide star. Spices in particular hold a complex fascination; a currency in ancient times, prized for their ability to preserve sensitive materials, like meat, fish and fruit, they have not lost their mystical rapport with our innermost illusionist, combining in novel ways that bring out hidden attributes.

Source: acoustic-garden.tumblr.com via JY on Pinterest

Below please find excerpted from  “The Transformational Power of the Right Spice” by Alex Halberstadt in the New York Times magazine, a profile of “spice therapist” Lior Lev Sercarz and his shop La Boîte at the far west side of Midtown Manhattan.

 "When I wondered out loud about how much spices could really matter — weren’t they a mere flourish after the difficult work of cooking was completed? — Lev Sercarz invited me for a demonstration in his home kitchen. There, he seared filet mignon coated with Pierre Poivre (La Boîte Blend No. 7, with eight varieties of pepper); imagine an IMAX version of steak au poivre, the meat tasting the way neon looks. Then he did the same with Kibbeh (Blend No. 15, mostly cumin, garlic and parsley), and I could have sworn I was eating lamb: the mild tenderloin had turned gamy. That’s cumin, Lev Sercarz explained, which the palate tends to associate with lamb. Next he cooked a cube of salmon in olive oil infused with Ararat (Blend No. 35, with smoked paprika, Urfa chilies and fenugreek leaves), transforming it into something I would have guessed, with eyes closed, to be pork belly. That, he said, was the smoke. Spices, I was learning, not only behave as intensifiers and complicators but also, in the right hands, can redraw the boundaries of flavor and confound the brain. For the finale, Lev Sercarz dropped a pinch of Mishmish (Blend No. 33, with crystallized honey, lemon zest and saffron) into the bottom of a glass and covered it with an inch of lager. The bitterness and hoppy flavors were gone — the beer smelled and tasted like a gingerbread milkshake."

Clearly La Boîte is an experience I'm noting down for when I visit New York City. Aren't you?

Estee Lauder Celadon & Pavilion: fragrance reviews & history

Part of the New Romantics collection in 1978, Celadon and Pavilion are two of the three fragrances which could be layered with one another to produce unique effects for the wearer. The third one was destined to go down as a true classic, White Linen composed by Sophia Grojsman, while the rest were eclipsed by its radiant aldehydic floral sheen. It has been said that perfume trios never really work out, one inevitably outshining the others, and that may be why the other two were soon discontinued. The sales numbers were merciless.

Source: best-pinterest-photos.com via girl-karma on Pinterest

Celadon in particular smells like something that could proudly sit in a niche brand's portfolio today; not really overpowering, this green floral by Estee Lauder fuses a sweetly grassy note with flowers shimmering on aldehydes (synthetically produced notes with an intense profile), a combination which recalls a garden in full spring bloom. In reverse order than is usual for green florals, the progression becomes ever greener, as the bitterish, bracing scimitar of galbanum (the resin off an exotic grass) bites. The soapy aldehydes take a metallic nuance, reminiscent of Metal by Rabanne or Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent and it is here easy to see how men could borrow Celadon effortlessly. The heart is reminiscent of the hyacinth floralcy of Guerlain Chamade. The greenness adds an outdoorsy, spring-buds and herbs quality, yet the soft, powdery scent background is wrought with whispering woods and musk rendering a glaucous patina.

via ebay

Pavilion on the other hand is a Lauder perfume in the floriental mold, more of a hothouse nursing nocturnal and exotic blossoms than a green impromptu garden with herbs and greenery the way Celadon is.
A more consciously graceful and ladylike fragrance, it ties with some of the elements of both Celadon and White Linen (but much more florals), while remaining its own thing. The sugared violet peters out in powder. The orange blossom takes a grape-like quality.

In retrospect it's hard to see how it would generate low sales, being all around likable, yet perhaps its very pleasantness might have signed off its death certificate; next to the blaring noon and hot metal rails of White Linen, this postcard sunset is too sentimental to really distinguish itself.

White Linen when faced with the zeitgeist's crossroads, vampy a la Magie Noire (Lancome) or innocent a la Anais Anais (Cacharel), chose the road less travelled by and that's why it's still among us today.
Celadon by Estee Lauder has notes of aldehydes, galbanum, rose, green notes, floral notes, woods and musk.

Pavilion by Estee Lauder has notes of aldehydes, jasmine, orange blossom, violet, sandalwood, vanilla.

L'Occitane La Collection de Grasse: The Vert & Bigarade, Vanilla & Narcisse, Jasmin & Bergamote, Magnolia & Mure (new fragrances)

L'Occitane en Province founder Olivier Baussan and perfumer Karine Dubreuil revisit their southern roots for that prized feeling of authenticity and pure simplicity that the town of Grasse is known about. The duo sign a collection of four new unisex fragrances composed around duos of natural ingredients.
 

 The bottle and packaging retain a sparse architectural look, highlightening the ingredients themselves and and the shade of the fragrance. Thé Vert & Bigarade is a citrus aromatic, Jasmin & Bergamote is a floral jasmin, Magnolia & Mûre a fruity chypre and Vanilla & Narcisse a floriental. To usher in summer and the ambience of the South of France!