Lavender

Mood Scent 4 Golden Oldies

It is Mood Scent 4 Time again! Our monthly blogging project where Portia, (on A Bottled Rose) , Samantha  (I Scent You A Day) and Megan (Megan In St Maxime) write about a different subject linking perfume to mood or occasion. This time we picked Golden Oldies, those classic perfumes we hold fond memories of and have been with us for some time. Or those iconic old school classics which are well worth to try.

This time Samantha is with us again fortunately, although she is in her second lockdown in Wales as is Megan in France. Luckily we are not in lockdown in The Netherlands but things are fairly restricted and restaurants/cafes are closed. Portia is lucky to be more free to go outside, living in Australia. These are exceptional times for many of us to navigate. Back to Golden Oldies again, starting with iconic Jean Patou Joy.

Jean Patou Joy

‘Joy is a floral bouquet based on a very rich accord of two natural notes: jasmine and rose.’ Jean Patou

According to Jean Kerleo, former in house perfumer of Jean Patou and Osmoteque founder, Joy was a simple combination of jasmine and rose. It combined the richness of Bulgarian Rose and jasmine from Grasse. These two materials were used to create a very rich floral bouquet. Joy was launched in 1930, one year after the stock market crash of 1929 to become an icon in modern perfumery.

Two years after acquiring Jean Patou in 2018, LVMH has sadly decided to discontinue all Jean Patou fragrances. This is not very surprising. As Dior (which is part of the LVMH) launched a perfume in 2018 called Joy.  If you want to try Jean Patou Joy, 1000 or Sublime (another golden oldie love) grab a bottle from a discount store while you still can, otherwise you will have to visit the perfume archive Osmoteque in Versailles to smell one of these fragrances. I don’t know how these  ‘newer’ versions smell though and if they were reformulated to be a shadow of their former selves.

Personally I haven’t worn Joy as much as I have Jean Patou Sublime. Joy feels like wearing a very precious dark brown long mink coat, rich and luxurious to be enjoyed in the past but not from this era any more. Sublime however was created in the late eighties by Jean Kerleo and is reminiscent of this period when I was a student just living in Amsterdam. 

Hermes Caleche

Notes include aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin, orange blossom, jasmine, lily of the valley, rose, gardenia, iris, ylang-ylang, oakmoss, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver.

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 silk scarves and soft leather gloves. Created as an elegant easy to wear fragrance by Guy Robert, the newer Caleche which is now sold in the shops, has a become a more agressive aldehydic soap floral but still a refined fragrance. Soie de Caleche (the bottle on the photograph) was launched in 1992 and meant as a more easy to wear version to appeal to a younger audience. Both feel elegant and luxurious.  Caleche was launched in 1961. As a little side note: Kelly Caleche is a completely different fragrance from Hermes.


Puig Aqua Lavanda Colonia 

Notes include Lavender, Rosemary, Spike, Petitgrain, Bergamot, Clary Sage, Geranium, Musk, Tonka, Cedarwood and Moss

Aqua Lavanda (lavender water in Spanish) is very well known in Spain as many grew up with the soap bars and eau de cologne from this scent. Large plastic cologne bottles are sold in Spanish supermarkets (or online) for a song. Which doesn’t make the fragrance particularly attractive. One wouldn’t expect such a masterpiece to be sold at this price in these large plastic dishwasher like bottles. But no wonder Aqua Lavanda is such a fabulous fragrance. Aqua Lavanda was created by master perfumer Jean Carles! 

These are my 3 picks for Golden Oldies Perfumes. Have a look on Samantha’s blog I Scent You A Day Megan’s blog  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose, to read their choices too.

I Love To Hear From You
There have been some troubles with leaving comments before.  I hope you are able to leave your choice for Golden Oldies fragrances. Those fragrances you love to revisit from long gone era.

Disclosure: all fragrances were bought by me and all photographs were made by me as well. The two ads were found online.

Lavender oil: Top 3 ways to use it at home

Lavender

Lavender oil can be used at home in three different ways, to repel mosquitoes, moths and with burns.

While looking for natural ways to make mosquito and moth repellents I came across lavender essential oil*. Lavender essential oil is an oil I always have at home. So I looked it up how I could best use it to combat mosquitoes and I found a recepe to mix it. I mixed it with jojoba oil and gave it a try by applying it on my skin before going to bed. The mixture was 30 mls of jojoba oil with 30 drops of lavender oil. I haven’t had much trouble with mosquito bites ever since but I have to admit I am not a mosquito magnet and I live in the Netherlands so I don’t have to use DEET as protection against diseases.

Looking for a natural and economic way to repel moth I read lavender is a good oil to use as well. I put a few drops of lavender oil onto cotton pads and placed them in the closet. It seems like it is doing its job. Citronella is supposed to do the trick as well but I have found its scent too aggressive in the cupboard.

LavenderWhen in college I often burned my hands while cooking and I used to have burning marks on my wrist which took a long time to heal. I burned my wrist a short while ago and treated it with neat lavender oil after cooling it under the tap with cold water. The burn healed very quickly within a few days.  After the first day I continued to treat the burn with the lavender and jojoba oil mixture I mentioned above and it only took a few days to heal completely without leaving a scar. The burn was not severe and it was not an open wound. Otherwise I would not have used lavender oil. But this way of using lavender essential oil was very successful.

Conclusion: Using lavender oil (lavender officinalis) to repel mosquitoes in a mixture with jojoba oil, applying them on cotton pads to put into a cupboard and using neat lavender oil for burns to me has been quite succesfull and I intend to continue using it.

Do you like to use natural remedies at home? If so, which one is your favorite?

*Lavender essential oil: if buying lavender essential oil look for lavendula officinalis if used for burns.

Sources: Valerie Ann Worwood The Fragrant Pharmacy, Susanne Fischer-Rizzi The Complete Aromatherapy Handbook: Essential Oils for Radiant Health and Jennifer Peace Rhind Fragrance and Wellbeing

Photograph 1 made by me, photograph 2 is free stock

Which fragrances help to relax and unwind?

  • Relaxing fragrances

A dear friend of my mine is dealing with stress issues in her life. One way or another many of us do, these days. This got me to think about fragrances which can help to relax and unwind. Fragrances which help me personally are A Lab on Fire What We Do In Paris Is Secret and Carner Tardes. I find Tardes to be especially relaxing. Both fragrances have an almondy gourmand scent (probably due to the heliotrope in both fragrances) which I love. I do not find them too sweet but have read some do.

While doing research on the internet and in aromatherapy books I found lavender (true lavender) to work soothing and comforting and clear the head (this will not come as a surprise) and neroli to help with anxiety and stress related conditions. A lavender fragrance which is easily available online is Caron Pour Un Homme and one more exclusively Chanel Jersey.

Some of my favorite neroli fragrances are Atelier Cologne Neroli, Penhaligon’s Castile, Roja Dove Neroli and Chloe Eau de Fleurs Neroli. I used to spray Chloe Eau de Fleurs Neroli before going to bed. Hermes will introduce Eau de Néroli Doré in its cologne collection this month. This is a release I really look forward to. Yves Rocher has a neroli fragrance in its Secrets d’Essences line with matching body products which one could use before going to bed.

Relaxing fragrances

All these fragrances could help you to unwind and relax, but this is always personal. So it is worth to try different fragrances and experience what works for you.

Which fragrances are relaxing for you and do you use to unwind?

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