Relaxing Fragrances

Mood Scent 4 : Duvet Day Perfumes

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Its Mood Scent 4 time again! Sam (I Scent You a Day), Megan (Megan in St. Maxime), Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies) and I write about a different  theme every month. This time we have chosen to post about our favorite Duvet Day Perfumes. Which perfumes do we reach for on our days off when we relax in bed or stay comfortably in our pyjamas all day? I have chosen 4 fragrances with comforting and relaxing notes of sandalwood, vanilla and Turkish apple tea.

1. Pierre Guillaume Paris 18 Cadjméré Eau de Parfum 

One of my absolute favorites Duvet Day perfumes is Pierre Guilaumes 18 Cadjméré. The comforting creamy sandalwood pairs extremely well with the light milky coconut creating a harmonious fragrance which makes you want to stay in bed or on the sofa all day in your pyjamas. A light touch of spices uplift it slightly.

Some say Cadjméré refers to the soft touch of Kashmir and mère” (mother in French). As the most important note sandalwood is often qualified as “maternal wood” due to its creamy and comforting qualities. I love to wear this fragrance when I want to slow down or before going to bed for its soothing effect.

Cadjméré includes notes of tangerine, aromatic sap, rosewood, Kenyan cypress resin, sandalwood, ambrette seed and vanilla.

2. L’Artisan Parfumeur Traversée du Bosphore Eau de Parfum 

The relaxing Traversée du Bosphore is a good choice for your occasional duvet day. It was inspired by a trip to Istanbul in 2010 by French perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour and opens with sweet Turkish apple tea and a pinch of cinnamon powder. The apple is slightly covered with sugar powder and softly baked in delicious browning butter. This is not a fresh crisp green apple more a sweet warm appetising apple desert. The Turkish apple tea note is mixed with Turkish delight, both very sweet at the beginning but never too candy like. It is just the right amount of sugar.

After a few minutes the scent of almonds appears. Comforting vanilla is the base of this fragrance with a little sweetness probably from the sugar powdered apple and Turkish Delight. Traversée du Bosphore is a wonderful little comforting tourist trip to Turkey with its sweet apple tea and turkish delight while remaining at home in your pyjamas.

Traversée du Bosphore includes notes of apple, pomegranate, tulip, iris, leather, saffron, Turkish delight accord, vanilla and musks.

3. Guerlain Shalimar 

Although Shalimar makes me feel like a movie star from the roaring twenties with natural glamour and sensual elegance I love to wear this at home for its comforting and relaxing effect. The balsamic properties of Vanilla sooth me and I love to wear this before going to bed. It’s a wonderful duvet day perfume and one I can’t live without honestly.

Shalimar notes include bergamot, rose and jasmine, opopanax, vanilla, iris and tonka bean.

4. Le Labo Labdanum 18 Eau de Parfum

More suited for our upcoming theme Sexy Duvet Day (no, just kidding here!) but, an honorable mention go to Le Labo Labdanum 18, created in 2006 by master perfumer Maurice Roucel. This cosy and warm powdery fragrance envelopes you like a soft cashmere blanket. Civet and castoreum add a sensual ‘dirty’ touch making it very seductive while still remaining incredibly confortable.

Labdanum 18 notes include labdanum, tonka beans, vanilla, castoreum, patchouli.

Have a look on the Sam’s blog I Scent You A Day, Megan’s  Megan in St. Maxime and Portia’s Australian Perfume Junkies to read their picks for duvet day perfumes.

What are your favourite duvet day choices on your day off? Did you like my choices?

Disclosure: all photographs were 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.