Coutureguru

So then, I've made a full circle! Back in 1985 when Coco was launched in South Africa, I had a part time job with the company that oversaw its release here. I participated in the launch in various department stores with great gusto, liberally dousing myself and anyone within arm's reach! The commercial played relentlessly on monitors all around the store and I became enamoured of Ines de la Fressange, Lagerfeld's muse at the time and also the face of Coco. It was around this time that I was dared to enter my first drag pageant ... Miss Gay Legs. On the way to the club a friend asked "what will you call yourself?" Drenched in Coco as I was and poured into the tightest black cocktail dress I could find (I seem to remember ruffles cascading over my right shoulder and lots of tight drapes) I barely gave it a thought and said "Ines ... of course!".

Coco is as hypnotic as it ever was! I am in a rose/wood phase at the moment and happened across a well priced EDP on Ebay. Best purchase of the year!!!

An orchestra of light peach and delicious, heady rose leads to a winding path, softly caressed by moonlight and trailing Jasmine. Dare she find out where it goes? As Coco deepens she becomes sultry and sensuous ... a wanton woman grabbing a trumpet from a player in a dimly lit Jazz club. She kicks off her black suede stiletto's and climbs atop a table ... wet red lips serenading the night with dripping tones.

Ok Ok ... so I have an overactive immagination LOL. Isn't that what fragrance is supposed to do?

My long awaited bottle of Marwah finally arrived after a mixup at customs. 9 weeks has been an agonising wait, but BOY OH BOY!!! ... so worth it. Marwah is a touch heavy on the Oud at first but the rose quickly blooms and asserts itself, making this one of those unmistakeable middle eastern scents ... you know ... the one you are always catching in the air but can never quite find. I'm delighted with it :) ... I applied it 8 hours ago and it's still going strong! An Arab friend taught me some time ago that the best way to apply perfume oil is rubbed straight into the skin while still damp from a hot shower. This is the method I use and my oils literally last 16 hours and more. Marwah is a fantastic starting point into the world of Arabian Perfumery ... highly recommended!

Mindblowing Rose!!! I have tried more than a few of the Etat Libre d'Orange range of frags and take a filial sort of pride in the fact that the house was started by a fellow South African. I noticed that in a lot of the fragrances, the drydown seemed to be very similar (at least to my nose) and drew my own conclusion that the frags were probably all built on the same base, similar to Guerlain's 'guerlinade', which doesn't really work on my skin. How true this may be I cannot say ... I was simply following my nose - which more often than not leads me totally astray!

Today I tried Rossy de Palma and it was an instant love affair! This rose is intense - rich ,sweet and melancholy with the touch of a sting and a hint of blood as the thorn pierces the skin (undoubtedly the ginger and pepper). She is blousy and overblown, definitely not of the fresh and dewey variety. A rose that has reached her prime, languidly crushed against the sheets from being made love upon, exuding her fragrant swansong. Later, pale incense delicately spirals into the sky, carrying the soul of the rose aloft ...

I don't care that this is supposed to be for the gals ... I'm gonna wear the hell out of it ... and I'm going to abuse the sprayer mercilessly!! This frag is freaking AWESOME!!!