Comforting

Mood Scent 4 Wellbeing Wonder Perfumes

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It’s Mood Scent 4 time again where we, 4 bloggers around the globe, show our thoughts on the same subject every month.  Sam (I Scent You A Day) from Wales, Megan in Southern France (Megan in St Maxime) Portia in Australia (guest blogging on A Bottled Rose) and I (from The Netherlands) chose to write about Wellbeing Wonders today, given what is happening in the world due to the Virus. We could all use some well-being wonders at the moment. 

It may sound frivolous right now to write about fragrances and beauty. But I have found perfume and beautiful things like flowers to be very uplifting, calming and comforting these past couple of weeks.  Nature is showing us its own natural pace with spring blossoming flowers like vibrant magnolia and joyous yellow daffodils.

In The Netherlands we are in semi lock down as we are still allowed to go out for a walk to get some fresh air opposed to other countries where people are not allowed to walk outside except for shopping. What is uniting us on this planet at the moment, is that we are going through the same things in our own way as we are all effected by the virus. Quite an exceptional experience.

Back to perfumes, I picked 4 perfumes as Wellbeing Wonders, 3 of them are reasonably priced, in case you would like to buy them online. The first is April Aromatics Precious Woods, not a cheap fragrance but well worth its price, this is why.

April Aromatics Precious Woods Eau de Parfum -Calming and Grounding-

Precious Woods invites us to take a slow calming walk in a green moist forest. German perfumer Tanja Bochnig was inspired to make this fragrance when she scented an Indian forest after the rain. Wearing it makes me feel like having both feet firmly on the ground. It has a very calming effect. This is not surprising as one of the main notes of Precious Woods is sandalwood. Sandalwood has been used by all Indian spiritual traditions (Brahmin, Buddhist and Hindu) to induce a calm state of mind and for meditation.

Precious Woods features natural notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, cistus, vetiver bourbon, patchouli, Buddha wood and white Sage. It is infused with small herkimer precious stones


Paul Smith Rose Eau de Parfum – Uplifting –

Elegant and effortless chic is a word which comes to mind when smelling Paul Smith Rose. It smells better than a bouquet of large stemmed pink roses from an exclusive flower-shop in one of the most expensive areas in the city. Paul Smith Rose is very uplifting and places you in a pink bubble for a moment. It is available online for a fairly reasonable price and was created by perfumer Antoine Maisondieu.

Paul Smith Rose features notes of green tea, violet heart rose, violet, magnolia, cedarwood. 

Guerlain Mitsouko Eau de Toilette – Comforting –

Many have written about Mitsouko which I will not repeat other than that it is a classic comforting masterpiece. Mitsouko was created more than 100 years ago in 1919 by perfumer Jacques Guerlain. The Eau de Toilette refills sprays (93ml) are still available online for 30 euro (not on this photograph) which is cheaper than a regular roomspray. This Eau de Toilette might not be as rich as the pure perfume but it works wonders when you spray it on your cushion or sheets before going to bed. It certainly is a wellbeing wonder for me.

Mitsouko features notes of bergamot, jasmine, peach, rose, oakmoss, pepper, cinnamon, vetiver.

Caron Pour Un Homme Eau de Toilette- Calming and Relaxing-

Pour Un Homme is a calming lavender perfume with a warm amber and comforting vanilla base. These notes have a very calming and relaxing effect. The fragrance is available online for a fairly reasonable price. I just found a 125 ml bottle with shower gel for 30 euro online as a giftset. Highly recommended for relaxation and calming the mind. Although Pour Un Homme is called For A Man in French, it is not for gentlemen only…

Pour Un Homme features notes of lavender, vanilla, musk and amber.

These are my 4 Wellbeing Wonder Picks. Have a look on Sam’s blog I Scent You A Day, Megan’s  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose to read their choices and read how they are doing  I am very curious, aren’t you?

I hope you and your loved ones are able to stay calm, centered and positive during the upcoming period. Stay well!

Do you use perfume as wellbeing wonder now? Which one do you use?

Disclosure: all photographs were made by Esperessence. The perfumes mentioned in this article were bought by Esperessence as well.

Nicolai Rose Royale A Youthful, Pretty and Elegant Rose

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Nicolai Parfumeur Createur Rose Royale is a pretty youthful elegant rose fragrance and the latest release of this French perfume house. It starts with a fresh citrus bergamot note, changing  into a slightly warmer dusty natural rose scent. This rose is large, full and light pink. The overall feeling Rose Royale brings, is one of comfort and easiness.

Like Rose Oud, another creation of perfumer Patricia de Nicolai, Rose Royale feels very soothing. There is a fruity touch, making it more contemporary and giving the impression Patricia de Nicolai follows new trends in the fragrance industry well. I would not call it an exciting fragrance but no soliflore (a fragrance dedicated to one flower) generally is. If you like natural rose scents, Rose Royale is certainly worth a try.

The inspiration for this scent was taken from the roses in Palais Royale, which is situated closely to the new Nicolai laboratory in Paris.

While doing research for this article I found this citation in the Nicolai, Parfumeur-Createur, un metier d’artiste book, which suits the essence of Rose Royale very well.

“A beautiful perfume, worn, makes others want to be near you..(..) A beautiful perfume is one that you want to keep, like a child who tries to catch clear water from a fountain.” Patrica de Nicolai

Rose Royale captures the natural scent of a rose very well but still remains interesting. It wears quite close to the skin and on my skin it had medium longevity (2-3 hours) Something I experience with Nicolai Rose Oud as well.

I find Rose Royale to be full bottle worthily. It is well made, wears easily and can be worn to many different occasions like work, at the weekend or to all kinds of celebrations. There is a certain easiness and informality to it. I expect Rose Royale will get more love in the Nicolai shops than amongst perfume bloggers for this reason and can imagine it becoming one of their bestsellers. It will make an excellent gift.

Notes: Top Blackcurrent Buds, Passion Fruit, Bergamot, Middle Rose (Turkish Rose), Coriander, Ambrette seeds, Base Immortelle, Sandalwood, Guaiac Wood and Musk.

Have you tried fragrances of the Nicolai Parfumeur Createur perfume house ? Do you have a favorite one?

Wishing you all a very happy Easter!

Mood Scent 4 Blogging Project: Rainy Day Fragrances

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Welcome to the first joint blogging project by MoodScent4!

We are four perfume bloggers based in France, Holland, England and Wales who will be posting on a different joint subject every couple of months. Each time we will individually pick a selection of five or so fragrances to fit a particular mood or occasion. 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.

The first joined theme we picked are rainy day fragrances. As I live in Amsterdam, I experience quite some days of rain. On those days I like to wear fragrances contrary to the grey weather to add some sunshine and light to my day. These are generally energizing or uplifting citrus (with for example notes of bitter orange tree leaves or lemon) or cologne style fragrances like Hermes Eau d’orange verte, Annick Goutal Neroli Cologne. On other rainy days I choose more comforting oriental fragrances like Keiko Mecher Vetiver Velours, Guerlain Shalimar, Miller Harris Fleur Oriental or Mona di Orio Vanille.

One of my favorite scents to add sunshine and light to a day is the Eau de Cologne Hermes Eau d’orange verte. Eau D’orange verte is an extraordinary uplifting scent. True to its original name, Hermes Eau de Cologne smells very much like a cologne focussing on freshly squeezed bitter orange tree leaves. The Eau d’orange verte shower gel smells just like the Hermes Eau D’orange verte Eau de Cologne and is well worth a try for an energizing shower on a rainy morning.

Another very suitable fragrance for a rainy day is Annick Goutal Neroli Cologne. Neroli Cologne smells very much like a blossoming bitter orange tree filling the air with its magnificant scent, adding a feeling of a sunny spring morning near the Mediterranean coast.

A more comforting scent would also be a good choice for a rainy day to bring the feeling of being wrapped up in soft blanket, hanging on your couch reading a book with a cup of tea or Netflixing. Keiko Mecheri Vetiver Velours from the Les Merveilles Collection (previously The Bespoke Collection) is very suited for a grey rainy day. It is an elegant and sofisticated dry oriental woody fragrance leaving a soft powdery veil on one’s skin. Vetiver is very well blended into the whole fragrance by perfumer Yann Vasnier by not making it a dominant note.

One could also choose for the classic oriental Guerlain Shalimar or one of its modern (and one of my favorite) siblings Miller Harris Fleur Oriental. Fleur Oriental has amazing longevity and leaves a warm balsamic powdery scent. The soothing Mona di Orio Les Nombres d’Or Vanille would be an excellent choice as well. Vanilla is known for its comforting and uplifting properties. Mona di Orio Vanille is a more woody oriental fragrance. The perfumer Mona di Orio was inspired by an oriental romantic fantasy of an old ship travelling to Madagascar for vanilla pods, rum barrels, precious spices and sandalwood.

Have a look at the scented suggestions of Tara from A Bottled Rose, Megan from Megan in Sainte Maxime and Sam from I Scent You A Day for fragrances on a rainy day. I am curious what they have chosen, aren’t you?

What fragrance do you use on rainy days? A comforting one or do you choose an energizing scent? Let us know your choices!

The other blog posts on rainy days fragrances can be found here: A Bottled Rose, I Scent You A Day and Megan in Sainte Maxime.

Disclaimer: all perfumes mentioned in this article were bought by me.

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