Mood Scent 4 : Guilty Pleasures
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
March 11, 2019 @ 11:49
Woo Hoo! Thanbkls for having me aboard Megan,
LOVED your choices. You picked three I have in my collection too. Though I think the Odalisque might be gone, it was an old rounded bottle.
Mitsouko to sleep to, how utterly lavish!
Portia xx
March 11, 2019 @ 11:50
I’m such a DOOFUS, Please change out to Esperanza, not Megan.
Sorry love. XXXX
March 11, 2019 @ 16:33
No problem, love.
March 11, 2019 @ 16:32
You should try Mitsouko this way Portia 😉 although not sure if Jin will like that. Great to have you aboard! Odalisque in the old rounded bottle and old formula, hope you still have it somewhere. I am not surprised you have three in your fantastic collection. Xx Esperanza
March 11, 2019 @ 12:06
Hello ✨ I love your photos Esperanza, they really capture a mood. Great choices too and it’s nice to be back doing this after such a big break. Now I’ll go and read the other Guilty Pleasures. Have a great day too. xx
March 11, 2019 @ 16:35
Thank you, Megan, I loved reading your picks. It is great to do, I agree and very Nice to Read what you chose, food as well! I decided to stay away from it 😉 Enjoy your day as well 😘😘
March 11, 2019 @ 13:12
guilty pleasures guilty pleasures? Caleche, Mitsouko, Chamade – girl you’ve got t a s t e!
Now I must find out about Odalisque…
greetings from a fellow dutch parfumista & proud owner of the aforementioned triumvirate C – M – C
March 11, 2019 @ 16:38
Welcome, Welkom, to my blog! You have good taste too 😉 you should give Odalisque a try. Lovely to see a fellow Dutch perfume lover here.
March 11, 2019 @ 14:35
I’m really enjoying each of your posts! I’ve decided to confess to one guilty pleasure on each, so here goes. I’ve already admitted to my susceptibility to discovery sets and coffrets, clearance shelves at discount stores like TJ Maxx, and joining Portia in late-night online shopping. Last but not least, I’ll admit here that, although I don’t do it often, I love to go to the Nordstrom department store here and make myself samples. Nordstrom is totally enabling this, as they leave empty little spray vials all over the fragrance department with an invitation to fill them with samples. I try not to abuse that, I really do! I did feel a slightly wicked glee, though, when I was able to get samples of all three of the new Chanel Eaux on my last visit. Though why I feel wicked, I couldn’t say, as even their website invites one to come to the Chanel counter and get samples. Nordstrom is the friendliest department store in the US.
March 11, 2019 @ 15:27
OOOOH! I wish we had such generous department stores OH. Ours would rather cut you than give you a sample usually.
Portia xx
March 11, 2019 @ 16:51
Wish we had them too! Or maybe for the better 😄
March 11, 2019 @ 16:49
Thank you, I love your visits here and reading your blog and comments on APJ as well. After reading your post on the beautiful Salvador Dali fragrance I looked online but couldn’t find it at a bargain price. That’s a good one, discovery sets, we share this love or Guilty Pleasure. Forgot about that one 😉 I can imagine you fill samples at Nordstrom, what an excellent service! I had to laugh a bit at this as I think many of us would do this if we got the chance especially with the Chanel Exclusifs. Have you tried their 1957 as well this way?
March 13, 2019 @ 22:12
Sorry I’m late to the party! WordPress won’t let me in despite me having two accounts with them! I love your post Esperanza. Your photography is always so beautiful and I mega-jealous of your stunning collection! Beautifully done! xx
March 14, 2019 @ 13:13
Hi Sam, great to see you at the party, thank you loved your post as well! Fantastic theme wasn’t it? XxEsperanza
March 16, 2019 @ 08:46
Love how you’ve interpreted this theme, Esperanza. Great choices and pics.
March 16, 2019 @ 16:16
Thank you, Rich! It was a great theme to write about.