Guerlain

Mood Scent 4 : Guilty Pleasures

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It’s with great pleasure I am writing a new episode together with fellow bloggers Sam from I Scent You A Day, Megan from Megan in St. Maxime and our latest marvelous addition to our Mood Scent 4 project: Portia from Australian Perfume Junkies. Regrettably Tara has left our project for personal reasons, I wish her well with her wonderful blog A Bottled Rose!

Together we choose a different subject every couple of months and link fragrance to mood or occasion. This time we have chosen to write about “guilty pleasures”.

When you think about guilty pleasures relating to perfume you might link this to celebrity, chocolate centred or seductive perfumes. But I have a different “guilty” and more private olfactory pleasure. Some of my favorite perfumes are elegant classic French fragrances like Guerlain Chamade, Hermes Caleche or Nicolaï Parfumeur Createur Odalisque. Fragrances which you might expect from someone wearing a made to measure two piece exquisite suit not the jeans, outdoor sweaters or hiking boots I prefer to wear.

Esperessence Guilty Pleasure Perfumes

Guerlain Chamade 

One of my favorite perfumes when staying at our garden cottage is Guerlain Chamade. Starting green like a sunny spring garden in the morning, fresh hyacinths with small drops of dew on their petals Chamade dries down to leave a scent of very light soft dusted vanilla powder and a contrasting green lightness and freshness.

Esperessence Mood Scent 4 Guilty Pleasures

Hermes Caleche

The very soft clean and floral elegant Caleche is another favorite. Named after a special type of light carriage, Hermes Caleche invokes a feeling of Parisian sophistication with classic silk dresses, expensive leather bags, beautiful handmade scarves and soft leather gloves. Created as an elegant easy to wear and not too cloying fragrance sadly the newer Caleche has a become a more agressive aldehydic soap floral. But it’s still a refined creation.

Esperessence Nicolai Odalisque

Nicolai Parfumeur Odalisque

With its musky base, bright citrus bergamot orange blossom opening and classic white rich bouquet of flowers, Odalisque is a very classic French creation as well. Launched in 1989 it harks back to the past, some say the eighties. I would say even before that. Although I don’t like the musky salty base on my skin and normally don’t wear lily of the valley fragrances I notice I grab this Eau de Parfum from time to time as a “guilty pleasure” or when I feel a bit melancholic. Like revisiting an Art Deco café once in a while as it reminds you of happy times when you used to visit with your grandmother or another older loved one.

Esperessence Guerlain Mitsouko to Sleep

Guerlain Mitsouko

Finally I have another confession, I like to spray the balancing and relaxing Guerlain Mitsouko on my cushion when I go to sleep, inspired by the impressario Sergei Diaghilev of Les Ballets Russes who used to spray Mitsouko on his drapes. Talking about a guilty pleasure…

Concluding: Hermes Caleche, Guerlain Mitsouko, Chamade and Nicolai Odalisque are the “guilty pleasure” fragrances I have chosen for our Mood Scent 4 Project. I am very curious about the choices of my fellow bloggers. You can read the picks of Sam from I Scent You A Day , Megan from Megan in St. Maxime and Portia from Australian Perfume Junkies by clicking on the links.

How about you, what are your “guilty pleasures”? I love to read your comments and thoughts! Please share them with me and visit my fellow bloggers as well.

Interesting to know:

Hermes Caleche (1961) Perfumer: Guy Robert. Fragrance Family*: Mossy Woods/Chypre. Caleche features the notes of: aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin, orange blossom, jasmine, lily of the valley, rose, gardenia, iris, ylang-ylang, oakmoss, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver. ** I tested a recent Soie de Parfum, vintage Extrait and vintage Eau de Cologne version of Hermes Caleche for this post.

Guerlain Chamade (1969) Perfumer: Jean-Paul Guerlain  Fragrance Family: Floral Oriental. Chamade features notes of: hyacinth, galbanum, ylang-ylang, rose, jasmine, blackcurrant buds, vanilla and woods. **

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur Odalisque (1989) Perfumer: Patricia de Nicolai, Fragrance Family: Floral. Odalisque features notes of bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, jasmine, lily of the valley, tuberose, ylang ylang, patchouli, oakmoss, amber and castoreum.

Guerlain Mitsouko (1919) Perfumer: Jacques Guerlain, Fragrance Family: Mossy Woods/Chypre. Mitsouko features notes of: bergamot, jasmine, peach, rose, oakmoss, pepper, cinnamon, vetiver. **

* As classified by Michael Edwards in Fragrances Of The World 2014

** Notes were taken from Perfume Legends by Michael Edwards

Disclosure: All photographs were made by Esperessence. The cards on the last 2 photographs feature costume designs created by Leon Bakst for Les Ballets Russes (Narcissus and Shéhérazade).

Holiday Giving For Him 2018

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Holiday Giving for HIM. Here are 3 great gift ideas which look fabulous and all are under 40 euro. They are: Bentley Intense For Men, Guerlain Habit Rouge L’Eau and Zara Home Nordic Leather Fragrance Cards. 

Holiday Giving: Bentley Intense For MEN

Don’t let the rather flashy bottle put you off. Honestly I had some second thoughts when it arrived.  BUT this fragrance is absolutely amazing for its price. Some perfume lovers (or perfumista’s) say it smells like the niche fragrance Lubin Idole. Bentley Intense For Him was created by perfumer Nathalie Lorson in 2013. It’s notes are black pepper, incense, geranium, clary sage, labdanum, leather, cedar wood, patchouli and sandalwood.

Longevity is fabulous. You can still smell a boozy vanillic dry down after 12 hours! A very festive gift for a loved one 🎄 I gave one to my partner earlier this year and he wears it daily at the moment. As a few sprays are enough. This bottle will last him a long very time. Available at the moment online for 30 euro for a 100 ml bottle. Smaller 50 ml bottles are sold as well which might be a good choice as it lasts such a long time and is a rather heavy bottle. 

Holiday Giving: Guerlain Habit Rouge L’eau

Guerlain Habit Rouge L’Eau is a great gift for someone looking for an uncomplicated and office friendly fragrance. It is a very good introduction to more complex Guerlain fragrances like the original Shalimar or Habit Rouge. 

Notes are jasmine, patchouli, vanille, bitter orange, hazelnut and green notes. You can find Habit Rouge L’Eau easily online for very reasonable prices. I found a bottle this week for 40 euro for a 100 ml bottle. You might find it cheaper in old packaging. 

 

 Holiday Giving: Zara Home Nordic Leather Fragrance Cards

Nordic Leather is a very warming woody fragrance with sandalwood, incense and spices. This is not a perfume but a home fragrance with additional fragrance cards which make your clothes smell as if you are wearing a perfume. The cards can be overwhelming at first so it’s best to keep them in a close cupboard in the beginning. These cards work like a modern version of lavender sachets and are made of plastic impregnated with fragrance.

The cards are available online and at Zara Home shops. They cost 12 euro for 3 and last about 6 months. The sachets are available in other home fragrances as well like Sicilian fig, Cedar wood and White jasmine. I have Sicilian Fig as well but don’t like it as much for clothes as Nordic Leather. 

Bottom line: Bentley Intense For Him, Guerlain Habit Rouge L’Eau and Zara Home Nordic Fragrance Cards are fabulous affordable gifts for the upcoming holidays for him. All are available online. 

Have you tried any of the fragrances or the Zara fragrance cards? What do you think of them? Or Bentley Intense For Him? 

Link to my previous post:  Guerlain Habit Rouge L’Eau , 

Disclosure: all products were bought by me, all photographs made by Esperessence 

My Top 5 Favorite Autumn Fragrances

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As leaves are turning into beautiful orange, brown, red and yellow colors, we are slowly moving into autumn in Amsterdam. I have started wearing wool sweaters, thin shawls and warmer autumn fragrances although the weather we are having is exceptionally warm and sunny. But nature is showing us the season is really changing and we are getting ready for winter which is hard to imagine when feeling the actual temperature. I have been reaching for Mitsouko, PHI Une Rose De Kandahar, Slowdive, Flowerhead and burning Nordic Leather lately and will review them in a few  words to give you an impression.

1.Guerlain Mitsouko edt (bottle from 2017) is  a lighter, younger and more sparkling version of this classic perfume from 1919. Although I miss the warm peach and soft suede from the bottle I just finished (the one on the photograph) I love the brightness, citrus and powdery softness of this new Eau de Toilette for colder evenings and at night. It’s a very soothing and relaxing fragrance. I recently bought* a refill bottle at a very reasonable price online as these refill sprays will be discontinued. Worth a (re) try if you don’t like the edp, extrait or didn’t like it before. 

2. Tauer Perfumes PHI un rose de Kandahar, is a beautiful warm woody spicy rose, very much loved among perfume lovers. Due to the rare rose oil from Afghanistan it’s not always available. According to the official website it can be bought at the moment. Andy Tauer offers samples on his site as well so you can try them easily.

Notes: Apricot, cinnamon, almond, bergamot, Bulgarian rose absolute, rose from Kandahar, bourbon geranium, tobacco leaf, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, tonka bean, musk and ambergris. Perfumer: Andy Tauer Year: 2013

3. Byredo Flowerhead Eau de Parfum, this young and uplifting modern floral is not a warming autumn fragrance more a reminder of long sunny summer days and excellent for the warm sunny golden days we are having. A must try for tuberose lovers. It has quickly become ome of my favorite florale as it is such a happy fragrance. 

Notes: Angelica seeds, cranberries, sicilian lemon, sambac jasmine, rose petals, tuberose, suede and ambergris. Perfumer: Jerome Epinette Year: 2014

4. Hiram Green Slowdive. Slowdive is a honeyed golden warming and soothing fragrance. Although officially it is a tobacco centered fragrance on my skin it becomes much more honey centered. Slowdive is very suited for these warm autumn days inviting us to relax outside for a drink, cycle or lay in the grass in a park.

Notes: Neroli, orange flower, tobacco blossom, tuberose, honey, dried fruit, resin Perfumer: Hiram Green  Year: 2017

5. Scented Candle and Fragrance Cards Zara Home Nordic Leather. 
This scented candle is my favourite at the moment and excellent value for money. I wouldn’t have called the candle Nordic Leather as I don’t smell any leather. Nordic Oud or Wood would have been a more suited name as it is a very warming woody fragrance with sandalwood, incense and spices. Nordic Leather has incredible throw off and could be overwhelming if you are sensitive to fragrance. The candle is not very suited either if you don’t like fragrance leaning towards masculine.

The Nordic Leather fragrance cards are fabulous to scent clothes. But they could be overwhelming as well like the scented candle. Both are available online and at times on sale.

Concluding: Mitsouko, PHI Une Rose De Kandahar, Slowdive, Flowerhead and scented candle Zara Home Nordic Leather are my favorite Autumn fragrances at the moment.

*Read this excellent article of Persolaise on what to be aware of before buying and testing Mitsouko. Don’t let it scare you though!

All notes of the fragrances were taken from the Luckyscent website, except for the Zara Home Candle. Photographs made by Esperessence.

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