tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335425612012-01-18T20:31:23.131-07:00Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.comBlogger501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-64120078105599147732011-01-06T19:30:00.002-07:002011-01-13T23:09:25.291-07:00

I am participating in the Roof Beam Reader Challenge 2011, sponsored by Adam at Roof Beam Reader blog, which I found via an article by Laura Miller at Salon. The rules are simple:1. You must complete twelve books by December 31, 2011 that have been on your "To Be Read" pile for more than one year at the start of the challenge. Apparently, you are allowed to select books that you have just wanted

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-90057240918822217542011-01-05T21:26:00.004-07:002011-01-06T19:07:47.472-07:00

As almost anyone who could have possibly dropped by here in the last three years knows, I now post occasionally on perfume at Robin Krug's incredible fragrance website Now Smell This. The reading portion of this blog will resume with my participation in the To Be Read Challenge 2011 from Roof Beam Reader.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-20685665694888947062007-08-21T16:39:00.000-06:002007-08-27T08:48:36.040-06:00

This post was inspired by the recent purchase of a gloriously silly compilation: The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books, edited by J. Peder Zane. Mr. Zane's first line in the introduction is: "This book began with a dream." The book is as harebrained as this opening suggests, and both as enjoyable and as infuriating as any good list of lists should be. Mr. Zane suggests the purpose of the

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-25694229207294259122007-07-09T22:38:00.000-06:002007-07-10T13:42:17.222-06:00

In some ways, Chanel has done the most of any major fragrance house to protect its brand name: insane quality control and investment in raw materials, continued production of classic scents, relatively few disappointing reformulations, almost no embarrassing blunders of the Le Baiser du Dragon variety and the recent careful yet creative design of a brave new line of scents. But, as if

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-85002153797771304982007-06-27T22:24:00.000-06:002007-06-27T22:40:37.531-06:00

Just a brief note to say that I am back, yet again, in Ontario, as my "Aunt" (actually, an older cousin) has died suddenly. Quite sad, as I didn't really have a chance to say goodbye, and she was only my father's age, but I was glad to get back to help my whole family give her a wonderful send-off. My cousin loved a good party and she'll be mad as a hatter to have missed this one. She wore

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-47155404852954925902007-06-20T23:34:00.001-06:002009-09-18T21:24:55.762-06:00

So... it has been over a month since I posted a review. What have I been doing? Looking for a full-time job as well as for child care for my daughter - and indulging in my own blue period.* Luckily, I have been drowning my sorrows in perfume (and in Starbucks Iced Black Tea Lemonade, one pump sweetener) so I should have plenty of material for the next weeks. I swear.Let's start with Les Parfums

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-89914162351786692972007-05-17T16:47:00.000-06:002007-05-18T00:05:11.723-06:00

The top notes of some perfumes instantly bring to mind a scent in the "real" world. L by Lolita Lempicka is salted carmels. (And like the candies, I can't help wishing there was more salt.) Caron's Poivre is the smell of the great, hole-in-the-wall Hungarian restaurant near my old apartment, with dishes full of paprika, pepper, clove and cream wafting past and dust drifting down from the

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-79439173154274652162007-05-01T20:42:00.000-06:002007-05-01T21:04:10.899-06:00

As Eugene Levy said in Splash: "What a week I'm having!" I was supposed to be handling our big move to a new home on Saturday alone, due to Mr. Emergency having an enormous deal closing at work. Then, on Wednesday, my daughter picked up a virulent stomach flu. On Friday, she had a series of severe - and, so far, unexplained - seizures that led to her hospitalization. The good news is that she

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-21255280874407491792007-04-25T23:00:00.000-06:002007-04-26T10:31:03.018-06:00

Please find buying information as well as a short bio of Andy and a run-down of his line here.If it seems I have been ignoring my blog this last week, it is not only because our little family is moving this Saturday. It is also because I find myself having a great deal of trouble reviewing Andy Tauer's new scent, Rêverie au Jardin. Launched this month, the fragrance contains: high altitude French

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-59058058442209191112007-04-15T19:57:00.000-06:002007-04-16T11:07:12.911-06:00

For my previous brief review of this fragrance, read Les Eaux Boisées here.Chêne was created in 2004 by Serge Lutens and Christopher Sheldrake for the Palais Royal exclusives line. It contains oak-bark tannin, cedar crystals, birch, immortelle, saps, black thyme, beeswax, tonka bean, rum absolute and moss. From that list of notes, you might expect it to smell like wood, and, well... you would be

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-6185687234312434262007-04-08T19:04:00.000-06:002007-04-08T19:26:21.701-06:00

Darn it all, I have a cold and am completely blocked up. I'll be back as soon as it clears with a review of Andy's new Rêverie au Jardin and Serge Luten's Chêne. I'm hoping to have a tea week soon, too, with Creative Universe Té, Parfums de Nicolaï Fig Tea, some of the CB I Hate Perfume tea scents, perhaps Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan or maybe one of the Parfumerie Generale teas.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-64477880966622408322007-03-30T15:16:00.000-06:002007-03-30T15:20:51.713-06:00

For those of you that are interested, there is a new Luca Turin article up in NZZ Folio that reports on Eduoard Fléicher's efforts to update the Guerlain classics. (For more on Fléicher, see the Une Rose review below.) Miraculously, for once, it seems that all is well.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-10858189089501791632007-03-29T20:58:00.000-06:002007-04-03T13:45:38.188-06:00

One of these days I will get around to finishing my Frédéric Malle "week". In the meantime, with my Rêverie au jardin sample winging its way to me, I have decided to review Andy Tauer's second scent, L'air du desert marocain. I will preface my review with a disclaimer to any brave, sane, unscented reader who doesn't already know who Andy is, but is still checking in here just to see if they can

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-39797978078244163282007-03-22T15:57:00.000-06:002007-03-22T21:25:33.774-06:00

The problem with creating a rose soliflore in modern times is that everybody who is accustomed to smelling like pink frosting and iced vodka will disparage it as "perfume-y" - the worst insult such people can imagine. Indeed, some rose scents are perfume-y: strong and old-fashioned with an invasive hairspray note up top and a heavy, oily bottom down below. In order to avoid this trap,

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-58490930246486723262007-03-15T13:33:00.000-06:002007-03-19T15:12:21.587-06:00

I apologise to all those who have been faithfully checking in these last weeks: I had very limited internet access in France, and have busy working on another, deadlined writing project since I returned to Canada a week ago. After purchasing Bigarade Concentrée on the trip, I realized I had written very little about one of perfume houses I admire the most, Frédéric Malle's Editions de Parfums,

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1172618866487735032007-02-27T15:54:00.000-07:002007-02-27T16:28:02.303-07:00

Not only is this going to be short, it's going to be typed on an international-style keyboard, so it's going to be riddled with mistakes. Did my Paris perfume dash today and only missed Caron (which the Breadwinner says we can visit tomorrow). I bought my promised bell-jar of Chêne - which seems smaller and cuter than I pictured it - as well as a Nicolai Pour Homme in 30 ml (God bless that

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1171918837943584942007-02-19T13:54:00.000-07:002007-02-19T14:00:37.956-07:00

Well, friends, I will be heading for Europe in less than 24 hours. I return in time for my daughter's first birthday on March 9th, but I'm hoping to check in once or twice for short posts and to delete all the comments on commercial "sex". All the best to all of you; have a great couple of weeks. (P.S. - I forgot I need to seek out Jules. I've been wracking my brain late at night. What else?)

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1171220529961719522007-02-11T11:46:00.000-07:002007-02-15T11:02:59.970-07:00

Though a lover of categories, sorting systems and guides, I am by no means a list-maker - that is, I never write down "Things to Do". Gearing myself up in anticipation of my trip, however, and worrying I will not get to test a masterpiece, I have been making mental lists of places to go and scents to sniff in France. I have a generous yet still limiting budget of 305 Euros (about $400 US) and one

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1170896652464860792007-02-07T17:22:00.000-07:002007-02-09T12:19:01.186-07:00

Well, thanks to the fabulous Leopoldo, I have finally been able to sample Serge Lutens La Myrrhe. It arrives last week and seems great in the vial, so I spray it on, hold my forearm to my nose and - ack! After an initial pleasant blast of mandarin, it smells on me like the men's bathroom: cold white tile, hand soap, urinal cakes, "floral" ammoniac disinfectant, and, well... licorice all-sorts and

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1170721073353937002007-02-05T16:55:00.000-07:002007-02-11T10:42:39.296-07:00

The first thing I used to visualize whenever somebody brought up seasonal colouring analysis is Michael Moore being draped with hideous orange fabric in Roger & Me. I always thought of it as a cheesy eighties gimmick employed only by Amway or Mary Kay salespeople at ladies luncheons. Also, it seemed like nobody actually knew how to do it: in Moore's documentary, Janet the professional "colour

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1170455744610754612007-02-02T15:32:00.000-07:002007-02-02T15:35:44.623-07:00

Do yourself a favour and check out the link to the right to Luca Turin's Duftnote for the month. In this month's article, he reviews the six new exclusive boutique Chanel scents, created by Christopher Sheldrake and Jacques Polge. His opinion? "If you only have room for six perfumes in your life, clear your shelf." Gods and credit cards be praised.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1170106716121992542007-01-29T13:53:00.000-07:002007-01-31T15:17:13.576-07:00

It seems funny that out of all the thousands of lines T.S. Eliot wrote, the only one that really resonates with the general public is the famous opening of The Wasteland: "April is the cruellest month". Still, despite my somewhat lengthy training in British and American literatures, it is the one quickest to my tongue, too... only I can continue: "breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land". To me,

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1169418661772877752007-01-21T15:16:00.000-07:002007-01-28T09:38:47.220-07:00

In an essay on the pain d'épice (or gingerbread) of Dijon, M.F.K. Fisher writes of its "flat strange odour, honey, cow dung, clove, something unnameable but unmistakable," a scent that insinuates itself everywhere, sometimes as a little cloud, sometimes "as thick as a flannel curtain". The top notes of Patou's Que-sais je? make me think of her recipe for making a pain d'épice starter: you allow

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1168657891205221762007-01-12T19:35:00.000-07:002007-01-16T22:02:43.820-07:00

Over the next several days, I will be reviewing seven of the twelve Jean Patou Ma Collection scents, discontinued alas, and sent to me by a generous reader of this blog.Colony was created in 1938 (by Patou's then house nose Henri Alméras?) and includes notes of fruit, pineapple, ylang ylang, iris, carnation, oakmoss, vetiver and spices. (There is a level of vagueness beyond which it is not useful

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1168297630982496552007-01-08T16:02:00.000-07:002007-01-12T19:32:18.560-07:00

I apologise once again for delayed postings - this week I've had a water-leak in our apartment and a persistent and severe case of "auto-immune" hives, apparently related to having been exposed to the shingles virus. I thought I would post the new Luca Turin Duftnote on the Thierry Mugler Le Parfum coffret - link at right. Also, though, you may note a sidebar for a DVD interview with Luca.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1167435379780684442006-12-29T16:02:00.000-07:002006-12-29T23:01:10.770-07:00

As a relative fragrance newbie, I am anxious about creating a "Best of 2006" list; I've spent most of the past year trying to catch up with the previous century or so of modern perfumery. Most of the scents I enjoyed this year are not new, but new to me. My impression was that the mainstream releases were particularly boring this year, and so, while I wouldn't wear most of them regularly, I'd

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1167163226763800602006-12-26T12:22:00.000-07:002006-12-26T13:11:36.326-07:00

Well, Merry Christmas and happy Boxing Day to all! Hope everyone had a very fragrant holiday. I certainly did; no full bottles this year, but a sample of J.A.R. Bolt of Lightning for a stocking stuffer and.... *swoon* a 16-day trip to European perfumery hot spots! Itinerary: stopping over for two days in London (Ormonde Jayne!), flying into Nice for Carnival and the "Flower Battle" parade with

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1166157964348785122006-12-14T21:41:00.000-07:002006-12-14T21:46:04.360-07:00

A combination of hectic holiday preparations and severe head cold has kept me from posting these last days. I have a wonderful assortment of samples to review when my nasal passages permit. I was going to do a twelve days of Christmas run-through of my favourites, but perhaps I'll just do a list as one post to celebrate the New Year. Thanks for your patience...

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1165430468996345542006-12-06T11:17:00.000-07:002006-12-07T20:38:13.696-07:00

The discussion of a number of ladylike or pretty perfumes on the fragrance blogs lately got me thinking: do I like any perfumes that express my feminine side? (For that matter, do I even have a feminine side?) I try to focus, but only get the Beastie Boys' "Hey ladies" running through my head, which is wildy inappropriate and very typical. I try again. Well, I like Farnesiana in extrait, which

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1164918127788712172006-11-30T13:04:00.000-07:002006-11-30T17:33:35.123-07:00

I first became interested in this one when Victoria of Bois De Jasmin compared it to No. 3 / Third Man / Le 3èmme Homme de Caron. The latter is probably my favourite scent from the surpassingly great Caron men's collection. Like my preference for the male Carons, I have found the men's fragrances I have tried from Patricia de Nicolaï more interesting than her beautifully composed but sweet female

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1164826500943216872006-11-29T10:28:00.000-07:002006-11-29T19:44:26.700-07:00

I am embarrassed by the fuss made over me at the men's fragrance counters. It has been suggested that many scent companies are noticing the unisex use of their carefully segregated products and are governing themselves accordingly, but you would never be able to tell from the workers in the trenches. Female sales assistants, in particular, seem almost offended that I might be purchasing a cologne

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1164562271617151592006-11-26T10:06:00.000-07:002006-11-26T22:38:32.240-07:00

It seems I am almost the last to review this one; if you haven't already, please check out the excellent reviews by Marina, Marlen and both Patty and March at Perfume Posse.The very first moments are the only ones that smell to me like living plant: there is an initial peppery, greenish tickle. My husband claims this phase smells like the inside of a milkweed pod - the milky sap, the down, the

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1164227108917073972006-11-22T13:09:00.000-07:002006-11-22T13:26:32.573-07:00

All my samples and long-awaited decants showed up today. It seems I often have to suffer through a mail dry-spell before everything arrives at once and the carrier is forced to cram a bunch of packages into our tiny box. Tune in this week for reviews of L'Artisan Fleur de Narcisse, Dior Midnight Charm, Nicolai Pour Homme and Caron's Parfum Sacré. Or not. Maybe we'll do some old favourites...

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1163873409389262722006-11-18T10:09:00.000-07:002006-11-20T12:40:30.400-07:00

This week I ran into an antiques dealer in my local bakery/café. She had spent some time in Quebec as well as France, and eventually I steered the conversation around to perfumes. She was truly startled to discover that I had any interest in the vintage juice; to her, the only reason anyone would be excited to find grandma's crystal amphora bottle of Diorissimo would be, well, the bottle itself.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1163561347082052212006-11-14T19:38:00.000-07:002006-11-14T21:53:54.253-07:00

Serge Lutens' Douce Amere has been haunting me lately. It seems like a personal failing that I have not bought a full bottle of this fragrance from the export line. Released in 2000, and created, as usual, by Christopher Sheldrake, it is described as a "fresh oriental", a category that seems to be gaining some currency. (Bvlgari's Omnia is similarly labeled, and has a similar combination of

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1163385679031932582006-11-12T18:59:00.000-07:002006-12-01T12:00:54.160-07:00

Since I became obsessed with perfume a little over two years ago, Jean Claude Ellena has been for me the perfumery equivalent of the novelist Haruki Murakami: I just don't get all the fuss. While others rhapsodize about Ellena's minimalist approach - his daring, deceptively masterful simplicity, in which no note is out of joint - I look on, baffled and ashamed. I first sampled his wares in the

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1162964136995857572006-11-07T22:18:00.000-07:002006-11-08T21:11:10.613-07:00

On my left, in white and black, Diptyque's Tam Dao. And on my right, the challenger, in black and burgundy, The Art of Shaving's Sandalwood.Tam Dao: (2003) Goan Sandalwood, cypress, myrtle, cedar, rosewood, ambergris, vanilla, musk. This one comes out swinging early with heavy cedar, extremely nutty in the L'Artisan Bois Farine style, and a sharp, almost fuel-like haze of something which may be

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1162704566275426692006-11-04T20:59:00.000-07:002006-11-05T13:15:44.700-07:00

With the release of Black Orchid, I thought it time to do a tribute to Tom Ford, the man with one of the longest hitting streaks in fragrance history. In addition to a brief review of the new scent - unfavorable I'm afraid - I thought I'd share some thoughts on my favourite Fords.Envy for Women: (1997) Hyacinth, magnolia, green notes, jasmine, lily of the valley, violet, iris, woods, musk.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1161320579654343822006-10-19T22:05:00.000-06:002006-11-02T22:25:21.230-07:00

You may notice that Serge's new web site has re-organized the scents into (I think) more suitable categories. Today I'm doing brief reviews of the legendary Eaux Boisées, or wood-based scents, four of which started the Paris exclusives line as variations on the famous Féminité Du Bois (Lutens, Chris Sheldrake and Pierre Bourdon). All were created by Lutens and Sheldrake and the available notes

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1160432439626247552006-10-09T16:16:00.000-06:002006-11-02T22:25:54.323-07:00

I have been a terrible blogger. I'm trying to prevent my daughter from napping during the day, so that she will sleep at night and I have had few chances to post. That will be remedied in the next week. Today I have a guest post on skin chemistry over at Perfume-Smellin' Things. Feel free to cruise on over and enjoy Marina's well-maintained blog!

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1157919146463608212006-09-10T13:52:00.000-06:002006-09-10T23:28:31.683-06:00

Asja is discontinued and Rumba (and indeed the whole Balenciaga line) is sadly neglected, so I got bottles at an online discounter for less than $25 each. For such a price, I was prepared to get at least one dud. Instead, I have been rewarded by the gods of frugality with two of the best unsniffed purchases I've managed.I had heard rave reviews about the "underrated" Asja (1992), just as I had

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1157567497455335622006-09-06T11:55:00.000-06:002006-09-06T18:41:28.976-06:00

Whenever the subject of underappreciated books comes up in interviews, it seems it is obligatory to cite Evan S. Connell and his Mrs. Bridge (1959) and Mr. Bridge (1969). Together, the two novels make up one of the most convincing portraits of a family - any time, anywhere. Mrs. Bridge has what I consider to be one of the great openings of contemporary literature:"Her first name was India - she

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1157489970771421092006-09-05T10:48:00.000-06:002006-09-05T15:06:31.760-06:00

What was the scoop on this one, the latest Shishedo Paris exclusive? It was "dark brown powder", the patchouli for patch-haters, a thing "long-forgotten, bone-dry... like something found in a temple", Louis Armstrong's constipation remedy, an immediate scrubber, dark earth and leaves and roots, deliciously sweet, skanky, dry and camphorous. It sounded like love.I opened my sample carefully. Dear

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1157157571984620472006-09-01T17:01:00.000-06:002006-09-10T13:50:25.673-06:00

When Hedi Slimane toke over the men's division of Dior in 2004, he launched an Eau de Cologne collection featuring three limited release fragrances: Cologne Blanche, Bois D'Argent and Eau Noire. The scents have been well-received, with each finding a devoted fan base that champions their favourite as the best of the three. I recently tried the latter two; if any powdery sweet Cologne Blanche

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-75266491428507910512006-08-30T19:32:00.000-06:002007-06-21T19:34:22.210-06:00

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1156960577924852912006-08-30T09:41:00.000-06:002006-09-03T11:43:55.880-06:00

With the recent focus on Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian girl who was kidnapped and held prisoner for eight years, I have been thinking of the best book I know on the Stockholm syndrome: J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun. In my opinion, it is also the best novel in English about the Second World War and is tied with Penelope Fitzgerald's brilliant The Bookshop for the title of greatest book to

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1156871868799458622006-08-29T10:47:00.000-06:002006-09-03T11:29:49.903-06:00

While not a Caron classic in the rich, complex and dark manner, I think this is a very nicely done, modern scent that succeeds mightily at being the light-hearted little number at which the house appeared to be aiming. It is fun and fresh - fresh not like so many of the "clean" white musk or soapy scents out there, but rather in a brightly sheer way. The opening is first and foremost fizzy, with

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1162535162019180682006-08-28T23:23:00.000-06:002006-11-02T23:26:02.020-07:00

J.G. BallardEmpire of the SunEvan S. ConnellMr. and Mrs. Bridge

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1162533719518449482006-08-28T22:58:00.000-06:002007-12-03T21:18:43.497-07:00

BalenciagaRumba CaronEau de Reglisse Christian DiorBois D'Argent and Eau NoireCreative UniverseTéEstée LauderAzurée Body Oil SprayFendiAsja Frédéric MalleUne Fleur de Cassie Une RoseGucciEnvyGucci Pour HommeRushJean PatouColonyQue-sais je?VacancesL'Artisan Fleur de NarcisseParfums de NicolaïNicolaï Pour HommeSerge LutensBorneo 1834 ChêneDouce AmereLes Eaux BoiséesTom FordBlack OrchidVivienne

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33542561.post-1162535597583748352006-08-26T23:30:00.001-06:002008-03-01T18:24:33.169-07:00

Welcome to my blog on perfume and books.

Erinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16721797271614680452noreply@blogger.com