Vetiver

Mood Scent 4 : Weird And Wonderful Perfumes

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It is Mood Scent 4 time again! A joined perfume bloggers project where we share our views on the same subject linking perfume to mood or occasion. This time Portia (now on A Bottled Rose), Sam  (I Scent You A Day) Megan (Megan In Sainte Maxime) and I chose to write about unusual weird and wonderful perfumes.

It has been a month since my latest blog post. In The Netherlands we have moved from the semi lockdown to a new situation where we are able to travel further away, go abroad and visit restaurants or other public places keeping the 1,5 m in mind. All is still a bit unusual. As some of you who follow me on Instagram might have seen, flowers and nature helped me to stay centred and positive. Luckily I have been able to see my 85 years old dad more as well.  I hope that those reading are able to keep their spirits up.

Back to weird and wonderful perfumes now, I chose three perfumes which all tell an interesting and unusual story. All three are anything but ordinary, because of their story or perfume notes.

BeauFort 1805 Tonnerre, (Come Hell or High Water Collection), Visit The Battle of Trafalgar In 1805

Tonnerre features notes (or accords) of lime, gunpowder, smoke, blood, brandy, seawater, amber, balsam fir and  cedar.

BeauFort was founded by musician Leo Crabtree, a current member from The Prodigy band. Tonnerre was inspired by the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Tonnerre features the scents of a complete sea battle with smoking gunpowder, scorched flesh (or blood), black wet earth, salted seawater and pungent tar. It is almost like time travelling as these are not scents (luckily!) you normally get to smell. Tonnerre is not for the faint of heart or a perfume I wear regularly on skin but I find it very intriguing as a perfume creation and olfactory experience.

Hilde Soliani Caffe Delle Vergini, Visit An Italian Cafe In the Eighties After A Night Of Clubbing

Caffe Delle Vergini features notes of ink, coffee and vetiver. 

Caffe Delle Vergini was created by Italian perfumer Hilde Soliani. She was inspired by her visits to the bar Delle Vergini in the Italian City of Sassuolo after a night of clubbing to have breakfast. Bar Delle Vergini is said to be one of the first bars to admit women in the Sixties in Italy. Which reminds me of going out in the Eighties to a Spanish disco and have hot chocolate and fried churros in the middle of the night, not exactly the same scents but you get the idea. Caffe Delle Vergini smells of ink from the newspapers in the bar, espresso coffee from the steaming coffee machine and the smell of vetiver from the perfumed men visiting this bar. Caffe Delle Vergini is not as unusual as the Beaufort Tonnere perfume and more wearable. Actually it is one of the fragrances I wear most from Hilde Soliani as I like the story behind it too. The bottle has a label with a newspaper as you can see on the photograph.

L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing! Visit An Old Fashioned Circus With Animal Poo and All

Dzing! Features notes of tonka beans, balsam, saffron and ginger. 

Dzing! was inspired by a live circus with notes of horse or elephant dug, hay, powdery animal fur, sweet bright pink candy cotton, used saddle leather and wood dust in the ring. From all fragrances this is my favourite weird and wonderful perfume as after a few hours it leaves a scent of used soft comfortable black leather with a cleaner aldehydic (or soap like) accent. Last week when my cat Rubio visited his cat loo he left the scent of animal dug which very much reminded me of Dzing! Luckily there is much more to Dzing! than animal poo with the used leather, powdery fur notes, cleaner soap and wood dust. Some people got candied sweet apple too. Dzing! was launched in 1999 and created by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti (who also created Diptyque Philosykos, L’Artisan Tea For Two, Frederic Malle En Passant and Iunx fragrances)

These are my 3 picks of  Weird and Wonderful Perfumes. 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 picks and see how they are doing!

I hope you and your loved ones are able to stay healthy, calm, centred and positive during this period.

There have been some troubles with leaving comments lately. I do hope you are able to leave your choice for a weird and wonderful perfume. I love to hear from you.

Disclosure: all photographs were made by Esperessence. All perfumes were bought by me.

 

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.

April Aromatics perfumer Tanja Bochnig about Precious Woods and draw

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April Aromatics Precious Woods edp was made by German perfumer Tanja Bochnig in 2012. April Aromatics is a natural perfume line, all ingredients are natural and no artificial essences, petroleum or mineral oils are added. Tanja Bochning very kindly agreed to answer a few questions about Precious Woods. When asking her about the origin of Precious Woods, she explained Precious Woods was birthed after her first travel to India. Both the Mysore sandalwood oil that she smelled and the cedar wood distillery in the mountains in the north of India inspired her. There, she scented the wet, earthy air, while walking through a lush forest, after a rain storm and she was inspired by the smell of it.

Reading the official ingredients I was intrigued by Buddha Wood and asked Tanja Bochnig why she used this in Precious Woods. She choose Buddha Wood in Precious Woods Eau de Parfum, because it beautifully blended with all other woody raw materials that she used in this fragrance; sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver. Also the name Buddha wood fitted perfectly to this Indian inspired perfume. In natural perfumery Buddha Wood can be used as a general fixative, precious woods accord, incense perfumes, forest notes and sacred essences.

Buddhist deily Guanyin, meditating on a rock

According to Tanja Bochnig Buddha Wood oil is very effective for meditation and for creating a layer of protection around your aura. This oil is also very relaxing and sedating. For the physical body it is anti-bacterial, anti inflammatory and a stimulant for the immune system. It has a beautiful woodsy scent.

Tanja Bochnig continued to explain that the essential oil of Buddha Wood (Eremophila mitchelli) is also known as “Desert Rosewood” from Australia. It is a copper-red viscous liquid displaying a soft, rich deep, sweet, balsamic, precious woods (cedarwood-guaiacwood-sandalwood complex) bouquet with a delicate mossy-leathery-creamy undertone of good tenacity. It is distilled from the heartwood of the tree.

All April Aromatics fragrances contain little transparent crystals. I asked Tanja Bochnig if all her fragrances contained the same gem stones or differed ones for each scent. Tanja explained that she uses Herkimer diamonds for each of the stock bottles that all of her perfumes ripen in, (sometimes they ripen for at least 6 months). Each 30ml bottle of perfume contains about 10 rock crystals. She only uses different gems stones in her chakra oil collection, one for each corresponding chakra.

The healing power of the stones take care of the activation. She does not do anything. That is the beauty about the crystals. They are powerful on their own. By adding the stones to the essences the bouquet of the fragrance becomes complete. There is a special power in each perfume and the wearer can definitely feel it.

Give away: our world wide give away is an official 2,5 ml Precious Woods sample, provided by April Aromatics.

Draw: Leave a comment and tell us why you would like to win a sample. If you sign up for your newsletter or on Instagram you will be entered twice in the draw. You can enter until 1 March, 12 pm CET, Central European Time (Berlin, Germany).

A winner will be announced on a special post on this website and on Instagram. You have until 15 March to contact April Aromatics for your price, otherwise the sample will go to the following winner on the list.

Official ingredients in Precious Woods according to April Aromatics website: Sandalwood/India, Sandalwood/ New Caledonia, Cedarwood/Virginia USA, Cedarwood/Himalaya, Cistus, Vetiver Bourbon, Buddha Wood, Patchouli/Indonesia, White Sage, Organic Alcohol

April Aromatics fragrances can be bought online on: http://aprilaromatics.com/

Disclaimer: we were not compensated for this interview, an article discussing our experience with Precious Woods edp will be published soon.

Photography by L’Esperessence