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CINNAMON, CINNAMON : Ambre Narguilé by Hermès (2004) + Vanille Cannelle by E....
January is basically a miserable time of year in Japan for me (though I suppose at least it isn’t quite as bad as February or March, when all is truly dead and cold except for some narcissi, plum...
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Some roses for winter.
Nitobe Inazo, author of the classic (if highly supercilious) tome on Japan, Bushido, may consider the Japanese superior with their love for the evanescent samurai fleetingness of the cherry blossom...
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A hint of leather: CUIR OTTOMAN by Parfum D’Empire (2006)+ SPANISH LEATHER by...
CUIR OTTOMAN / PARFUM D’EMPIRE As sensual and smooth as brand new suede, this is a great leather. The beginning, freshly raw and animalic, might be offputting for some, like just-skinned hides being...
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O The Virtues: ORIGINAL VETIVER by CREED (2004) + SIGNORICCI by NINA RICCI...
A bright winter’s morning. The bathroom of a stately home. On the washbasin lies a pristine bar of soap. It is the most perfect soap imaginable; a hard, impenetrable, triple-milled yellow...
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THE BLACK NARCISSUS GUIDE TO COCONUT
Coconut is the airhead of perfumery; the fluffbomb; the beachy, pineappled ditz, and a note that seems to invite scorn from a large number of seasoned perfumists. When coconut is listed...
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J ASMINE A T T A C K ! ! ! ! (a celebration, and exploration, of all things...
Jasmine taken outside just now by my Japanese piano teacher’s house ; The previous night we had stayed in a...
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LIKE A VIRGIN : FLEURISSIMO by CREED (1972)
There is a certain vernal regality to some of the more obscure and classic Creeds, a blasé timelessness – and I love Fleurissimo. Vivid, green; a verdant, fresh bouquet of happiness, this perfume was...
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MEET ME IN SHANGHAI. OR TOKYO. OR BANGKOK. OR HANOI. OR WHEREVER………CREED...
Although I don’t wear them very often, I am quite fond of tea-based fragrances and have several in my collection: Bulgari’s Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert in both eau de...
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VOLEUR D’IRIS : : : IRISIA by CREED (1968)
I have always loved L’Artisan’s Voleur de Roses, for its smell but also its name, because that’s what I once was – a rose thief. One time I was even caught and cautioned by...
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THE GRAND ENTRANCE OF THE PEACOCK: : : : CREED IRIS TUBEREUSE (20I4)
I love this. A lush, strutting green floral, Iris Tubéreuse smells not of iris powder or tuberose blooms, but of the most spectacular, head-turning, blue hyacinths. A fierce galbanum...
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