Uplifting

Mood Scent 4 Blogging Project: Rainy Day Fragrances

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.

How perfume can be more to you than a nice fragrance

Narcissus Perfume can be more to you than a nice fragrance or scent. It can add something you crave for or lack at that moment like joy, feminity, elegance, calmness, softness, feeling beautiful or sexy.

At times when I crave for a feminine scent like Pure Distance Opardu I am not exactly wearing feminine clothes but I would like to feel more feminine. When I want to feel joyful I reach for Hilde Soliani Luce or uplifted Hermes Eau D’Orange Verte.

Before selecting a fragrance I ask myself what do I need or crave for at this moment and which fragrance can help me with this after which I select a scent. You can try this for yourself. One way to do if you haven’t a whole collection of perfumes is to use sample kits like I did with the Pure Distance sample set and Opardu and see what different perfumes can do by experimenting with them.

Moment of Stillness

By using the different tags on this website you can learn more and see what different fragrances can do for you.

What is your experience. Do you feel perfume can do something extra for you?

Photographs: both were made by me.  All rights reserved.

Hermes Eau d’orange verte Shower Gel Better Than a Shot of Caffeine

Bitter oranges

In the Netherlands it is wintertime. Days are short, tend to be grey and it can be rainy. For me it is one of the most difficult times of the year as we do not get a lot a sunshine. I compensate the lack of sun as much as I can by using fragrances and body products which are uplifting and energizing. One of the best to accomplish this is Hermes Eau d’orange verte hair and body shower gel (in short: shower gel).

Hermes Eau d’orange verte shower gel is not cheap* but I find it to be extremely uplifting, energizing and worth its price as you do not need a lot of it. Apply a bit of shower gel (the amount of 5 euro cents) on the inside of the palm of your hand, put your hands together so you get a bit of lather and smell for a few seconds. This energizes me more than a shot or two of espresso or ristretto coffee.

Hermes Eau d'orange verte showergel review

 

Nice to know

Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte used to be called Eau de Cologne Hermes and was created in 1979 by French perfumer Francoise Caron. It does not contain bergamot or so Hermes claims for some unknown reason. But it does contain petit grain lemon, mandarin, bitter orange tree (bigadier) leaves (orange leaf absolute plus probably petit grain orange) and peppermint, according to official Hermes training material from the nineties. According to different internet sources Eau d’orange verte contains/used to contain oakmoss and patchouly.

Fragrance Family

Rich Citrus (Michael Edwards)/ Floral Chypre Citrus (Technical Commision of French Society of Perfumers)

*The official Hermes price for a 200 ml hair and body shower gel bottle is 33 euro and can be bought online via the official Hermes website.

Do you use body products to uplift or energize you ? If so which one do you like to use most ?

Photographs made by L’Esperessence