Ineke

MoodScent4 Project: Wedding Guest Fragrances Pick the Perfect Scent To Your Outfit

Welcome to MoodScent4!

We are four perfume bloggers based in France, Holland, England and Wales who post on a different joint subject every couple of months. This time we have chosen Wedding Guest Fragrances as June is the wedding month.  You will find links to the other blogs at the end of the post. We hope you have fun reading our different choices and adding your own in the comments.

My choices were inspired by wedding guest outfits. I have matched them to fragrances. The outfits I chose are the Cocktail Dress, Gala Dress, Chanel Tweed Jacket/Formal Suits, Informal Jeans and Barefoot at the Beach Dress.

Try A Rich Abundant Bouquet Of Flowers – The Cocktail Dress 

When invited to wear a cocktail dress a good choice would be the abundant floral bouquet Jean Patou Sublime. This is one of my all time favorite fragrances.  Created in 1992 by master perfumer Jean Kerleo this classic rich scent starts with sweet sugared orange rind to continue with a warm floral bouquet of Rose, Jasmine, Lily of The Valley and Orange Blossom. Try the older round vintage bottle shown on the photograph and the richer Eau de Parfum if you can. It has a dirtier drydown probably due to the added civet, making it more sophisticated and intriguing. Some would say making it more French.

Notes for Jean Patou Sublime: Bergamot, Mandarin, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Rose, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom, Madagascar Vanilla, Amber, Sandalwood.

Select An Elegant Flower – The Chanel Style Tweed Jacket 

Invited to a formal wedding and plan to wear a Chanel style tweed jacket with pearls or another more formal suit? Try Frederic Malle’s Iris Poudre. This cooler more introverted elegant fragrance is an excellent choice for those weddings where you want to keep a bit to yourself and keep some distance for whatever reason.

Notes for Frederic Malle Iris Poudre : Aldehydes, Iris, Ylang Ylang, Rose, Vetiver, Musk, Vanilla, Tonka Bean.

Pick A Crisp Fresh Floral – Informal Jeans 

When invited to an informal wedding where you can dress as you like and even come in jeans, a crisp soliflore (based on one flower) scent is a good choice, like the gardenia inspired Hothouse Flower by Ineke Fragrances. This is a fresh natural green fragrance with green stems, creamy white petals and green foliage. The dry down is inoffensive but lovely like white clean transparent cotton.

Notes for Ineke Fragrances Hothouse Flower:  Earl Grey Tea, Green Foliage, Cypress, Gardenia, Fig, Frankincense, Galbanum, Guaiacwood, Musk, Corn Silk.

Choose A Big Bold Flower – The Long Evening Dress 

When going to a wedding dressed in a long evening gala dress, you could select the iconic big floral by Serge Lutens Fleur d’Oranger. Fleur d’Oranger contains notes of white flowers like white rose, orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose. Which makes it very fitting for a wedding to wear. Although named after the orange blossom this scent can be more an opulent creamy tuberose scent to some.

Notes for Serge Lutens Fleur d’Oranger: Orange blossom, Jasmine, Tuberose, White Rose, Citrus Peel, Hibiscus Seeds, Cumin, Nutmeg.

Pick A Natural Flower – Barefoot White Dress On The Beach

For a wedding on the beach, in nature, garden or outside wear the all natural April Aromatics Jasmina. With jasmine, pink grapefruit and ylang ylang this scent is happy, sensual and uplifting but makes you feel relaxed as well. I have used the oil version regularly lately and very much like it.

Notes for April Aromatics Jasmina: Jasmin Grandiflorum, Ylang Ylang, Pink Grapefruit

Tara’s choices from A Bottled Rose, Megan’s from Megan in Sainte Máxime and Samantha’s from I Scent You A Day can be found by clicking on the names of the websites. I am curious about their choices, aren’t you?

What fragrance would you pick as a wedding guest? Will you be going to a wedding this year? If so, what fragrance will you wear?

 

 

Disclosure: all photographs were made by Esperessence, April Aromatics Jasmina was a pr sample, the other bottles were bought by me.

 

Fragrant Holiday Gifts – Discovery Sets and Home Fragrances

In the Netherlands we are getting ready for the traditional day for gifts on the evening of December 5th, Sinterklaas. This period is accompanied by fragrant almond and spiced cookies speculaas, marzipan, chocolate letters and others sweets. Some families accompany their gifts with self made rhymes. This is my top 5 of personal favorite fragrant gifts including perfume discovery sets, scented candles and room diffusers. All of them have in common that they are made by perfumers running their own independent perfume company which (in my opinion) are worthy of our support.

inekescentlibrary1. Ineke Scent Library:  a beautiful gift with 5 large 2,5 ml samples from American perfume Ineke Ruhland Floral Curiosities Collection, it is a low risk and not too expensive but beautiful gift. I have not used this Scent Library but bought it as a gift recently for Sinterklaas for a avid book lover to introduce her to these fragrances. price: 20 euro

2. Lorenzo Villoresi Vintage Collection: a discovery set with 6 fragrances in 2 ml small sprays from the Vintage Collection of Italian perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi including: Garofano, Ambra, Incensi, Tropicana, Vetiver and Ylang Ylang. They all come in a very practical small box which is perfect for travelling. price: 18 euro lorenzovilloresi3.  Parfums de Nicolai Room Diffuser (bamboo fragrance sticks): for a very special gift as they are not cheap but really worth its price. Most of French perfumer Patricia de Nicolai room diffusers last about 9 month but  less if put close a source of heat like central heating. This is high perfumery in a room diffuser for me as I prefer Patricia de Nicolai room fragrances to her perfumes. Personal favorites are Ambre Precieux and Maharajah.  ambre-precieuxAs a gift I bought a Route du Cedre room diffuser. They come in a beautiful box which can used afterwards to store perfume samples or jewellery. The Ambre Precieux room spray is excellent as well and works wonderful sprayed on skin be careful though if you have a sensitive skin as it is not made to spray on skin. price: 43 euro  (room diffuser),  37 euro (room spray)

4. Oliver & Co Scented Candles: (free worldwide shipping until the end of 2014)  wonderful strong scented candles made by the Spanish perfumer Oliver Valverde. My favorite candle for winter is Ambarina and Tuberosen for summer. Very suited for Christmas is Silver Fir which I am using at the moment. price: 42 euro (Oliver has regular discounts, it is wise to check his website regularly or subscribe to his newsletter on his website) image 5. A cheaper gift alternative are empty perfume sprays or a Travalo Perfume Spray. I always help my mother to refill her purse spray for her large Estee Lauder Beautiful eau de parfum bottle and noticed several friends appreciate empty perfume bottles as they do not know where to buy them.

This is a small selection for fragrant gifts. What will you be giving for Sinterklaas or Christmas ?

Disclaimer: all products in this article were bought by me

Photographs: from the official websites http://www.ineke.com/, http://www.lorenzovilloresi.it/, and http://www.pnicolai.com/en/ and http://www.oliverandcoperfumes.com/en/ Please check these website for further worldwide information where products can be bought.

Ineke Chemical Bonding

Just bite the sour apple

When I first heard the name Chemical Bonding I was a bit put off by its name. Bonding and chemical sound a bit sterile to me. The image I get is a chemical lab not the romantic idea of two people bonding. Chemical Bonding is based on two people bonding and alchemy as well. Chemical Bonding was launched in 2006.

I bought Ineke’s beautiful Deluxe Sample Collection Set with all of Ineke’s 7 perfumes. One of the samples was Chemical Bonding. The discovery set is an excellent way to get introduced to her whole collection. All of Ineke’s perfumes are categorized by alphabet, an abecedary as Ineke calls it herself. Ineke Ruhland has her own small perfume house in San Francisco.

When I first scented Chemical Bonding I did not like its opening note. It was (and still is) too harsh and loud for me. It smells like sour citrus. Ineke calls it a citrus cocktail herself. Or it could be the tea note in the beginning as I do not like tea perfumes, such as Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert or Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Blanc. After this loud sour citrus burst, surprisingly I got a more mellow clean musky base. Very pleasant and fresh. In Dutch you have a saying to bite through the sour apple to get something nice afterwards. In English the saying is to bite the bullit. It is like this in Chemical Bonding, after the sour part the really nice part of the perfume starts to kick in !

The principle of Chemical Bonding of two opposites attracting can be found within this perfume in the citrus and the more clean mellow musk. I found this quite interesting. The Fragrantica website classifies Chemical Bonding as a floral fruity and Michael Edwards as a crisp citrus fruity. Personally I would classify it as a musky citrus.

ineke1

Some find Chemical Bonding too mainstream and in general reactions are mixed. Personally I prefer to wear Chemical Bonding on a hot day. On these days it works best on my skin. It smells even better sprayed on clothing. Chemical Bonding will not end up in my top 10 list but I like to wear it from time to time in summer.

Ineke Ruhland just introduced a new perfume to her abecedary, H Hothouse Flower. This based is based on gardenia, one of my favorite flower scents in perfume. I really look forward to trying her interpretation of the gardenia flower.

Notes according to Ineke leaflet with Discovery Box and website:

Top: smooth citrus cocktail, tea, blackberry

Middle: dewy peony

Base: vetiver, amber, powdery musk

Longevity: very good for a citrus, several hours

Sillage: stays quite close to my skin

Origin of sample: my own  

Photograph: my own  

Originally published July 27th, 2012

Update November 26th, 2014

 

Youtube: Chemical Bonding by Ineke Ruhland