Pollita

You know when love suddenly strikes? So unexpectedly. But it still hits you like a bolt of lightning. Your heart leaps and sings. And I want to dance.

Yes, it's almost new. The name is perfectly chosen. I actually know one or two fragrances that are similar to Nearly Nu. I love them all. So I am not surprised that I have also fallen in love with this fine Irish beauty by Michael Schrammel. It starts woody with delicate powdery iris, just like my wonderful Bois d'Iris by Van Cleef & Arpels. This basic tendency also remains. As it progresses, it also reminds me a little of Eau Duelle by Diptyque. I loved this fragrance for so long, until one day something bothered me. It was changed. Or my perception changed. It can always be both. But here it is completely absent, the disturbing note. Everything here is noble, delicately gentle, without scratchiness. Without pinching.

The base is then almost a little classic. A vanilla that reminds me of the nuances of Guerlinade. Not really my thing. But since the powderiness of the iris remains, as well as this light woody note with a hint of incense, I find access to this vanilla, which is often a little too serious and almost antique for my nose. Lyn Harris has already managed here and there, for example in Heliotrope, to bring me closer to these very classical traits. Michael Schrammel has done the same with Nearly Nu.

Even though this fragrance is nothing new, as the name suggests, it is simply beautiful. It combines so many olfactory details that are so beautiful to me that it makes me dream. It is, of course, at the top of my wish list. As it and the entire brand are currently only available in the USA, I will have to be patient at first. Not my greatest strength. I know that. One day you will be mine, you gentle beauty.

Many thanks to Floyd for the testing opportunity

We run along the road. We can see the yearlings from afar. We visit them, as we do almost every day, as our riding vacation slowly draws to a close. Then we walk on. To the haystack. And romp happily in the bales. Hay and straw are stored there so that there is enough for the farm animals for a whole year. It's all still a game for us. We giggle. We tell each other secrets. We are children and enjoy the pleasures of a warm summer in beautiful Baden-Württemberg.

First Cut suddenly takes me back to one of my favorite places from childhood. This hayloft holds so many memories, with its natural smell of hay and straw, of horse pastures on warm summer days. It's a scent of security and bliss, even if it does seem a little bulky at first sniff.

Immortelle is quite present in First Cut. I can also somewhat understand the associations with exotic foods here. However, the moss and tobacco notes in the base make the fragrance feel like summery nature to me. There is also a forest nearby, where the hay is cut and the barn stands. I can also smell the horses themselves, but they are out here in a pasture. We are definitely not in a stable.

I already discovered that I like hay fragrances with Brin de Peau by Parfumeurs du Monde. Caron's wonderful Farnesiana also enchanted me with its subtle hay note. With St. Clair, the overall theme is interpreted in a more rustic way than with the other two, rather gentle and far more perfumed hay fragrances. This one conjures up summer in the countryside on the skin. For me, who has spent a lot of time in nature and with horses, it is definitely a very pleasant fragrance that makes me smile. However, I would rather buy the first-named Parfumeurs du Monde, as I would like to have a hay fragrance in my collection. But this one is also beautiful, albeit a little boyish and original.

With many thanks to Schoeibksr for the testing opportunity

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day according to nutrition experts, is actually the one that we humans pay the least attention to. At least from the start of our careers. For some, it's when they start school or university. Everyone is stressed in the morning, the hectic pace spreads and there is usually just enough for a coffee or tea and a roll to go, if breakfast is eaten at all. At least that's how it was in my parents' house.

Quite different on a Sunday. The day never started without a hearty breakfast with all the trimmings. In addition to fresh bread rolls and pretzels (a Swabian specialty made from pretzels), there was always an egg for everyone and half a pink grapefruit to spoon up. I loved it.

A spray of Jean-Claude Ellena's Eau de Pamplemousse Rose brings it all back for me. A juicy, pink grapefruit. Beautifully fruity and refreshing - and then, put the spoon in and enjoy. I can't believe that a grapefruit fragrance can be so beautiful. Yes, especially a grapefruit fragrance, because this note is not always so easy for me in perfume.

I like to perceive grapefruit as sweaty. There are perfumes where I can almost no longer recognize the fruit as such. Instead, I'm mentally in the gym on the cross trainer and my deodorant is slowly starting to fail. Yes, this is what happened, for example, with Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune by Guerlain, which is loved by so many people.

But not so Eau de Pamplemousse Rose. This is a childhood Sunday breakfast spray. It makes you happy, without any sport or sweat. Definitely a treat on hot summer days or on vacation. Delicate, fresh, juicy, wonderful!

Oh yes, I can only guess at the rose. So don't worry rose skeptics. I'm one of them from time to time.

Many thanks to Schoeibksr for the testing opportunity

Actually, I shouldn't like Absolu Aventus. After all, Ambroxan and Cashmeran are very high up in my profile under "I don't like". But it's different here. I like this base note in particular, despite two villains. This is because neither the dull woody impression of cashmeran nor the often pungent, chemical appeal of ambroxan come to the fore. Quite the opposite. A fine, classic patchouli note dominates, which reminds me of aftershave and perfumes from the 1980s. There is also vetiver, which is also wonderfully classic and - for me personally, the icing on the cake - a tiny bit of humanity through labdanum and musk. Yes, I like this limited edition newcomer from Creed.

But let's start from the beginning: The top note is quite sweet at first, which can be a little off-putting at first glance. The pineapple is there immediately, along with other fruits with sweet lemon and blackcurrant. My partner immediately thought of Black XS by Rabanne, which he had always loved so much. The sweet citrus is actually similar here. And for him, the opening smells neither like lemon nor pineapple. To his nose, it's all strawberries and I can even understand that in a way. The blackcurrants make me think a little of Hilde Soliani's Lambrosc. The creative and clever perfumer from Bella Italia had the idea of adding fruity berries to Aventus many years ago. Unfortunately, the fragrance, which we both also liked very much, never achieved the popularity of the Creed classic, which is still causing a real hype today.

I now actually understand the hype surrounding Aventus and its brothers and sisters a little. And when I sniff the limited edition Absolu, of which my husband has now treated himself to a bottle thanks to an irresistible offer in the souk, I also realize why this fragrance appeals to so many people. It combines a thoroughly modern top note with a heart and, above all, a base that we know and love from our classics. I think that's the secret of Aventus. And in this version, the knight is even darker, more grown-up and more masculine to match the color of the bottle.

I'm not at all surprised that I keep reading statements like "only for over 40s, suitable for men with chest hair and gold chains." I have to grin. This fragrance would probably have suited a Tom Selleck as Magnum. The fruity sweetness and, above all, the pineapple, which, believe it or not, I can still smell in his T-shirts when they come out of the dryer freshly washed, gives this fragrance a youthful charm. Yes, even the young Magnum, Jay Hernández, could wear Absolu Aventus. But then again, he's almost as old as me. I see the fragrance as timeless and see it on men and women, if they like, of all ages.

A word about the sillage and longevity. I can in no way understand how this fragrance can be perceived as weak and even watered down. This is a fragrance bomb that I, and my partner, can smell all over the house from early morning to late evening. His jackets smell intensely of Absolu Aventus and, as I wrote earlier, even his freshly laundered T-shirts. So if that's not a little sillage monster, albeit a beautiful one, then I don't know what is.

It's just a shame that it's limited. We almost like it a little better than the original.

From outside, from the forest I come here;
i have to tell you, it's very Christmassy!
Everywhere on the tops of the fir trees
i saw golden lights twinkling,
and up above from the gates of heaven
the Christ Child looked out with wide eyes.

And as I strolled through the dark fir,
he called to me with a bright voice:
"Servant Ruprecht," it called, "old fellow,
lift your legs and hurry up!"
The candles are beginning to burn,
the gates of heaven are opened,
Old and young shall now rest from the chase of life,
and tomorrow I will fly down to earth;
for it shall be Christmas again!"
(Theodor Storm)

I thought of this beautiful poem when I first sniffed Boreal. The forest, the fir trees, the candles, the lights, the gate to heaven - Nicholas Nilsson seems to have captured everything perfectly in this fragrance. There is also a hint of coziness from a cup of peppermint tea, which Mr. Knecht Ruprecht was perhaps allowed to taste at some point on his arrival. A wonderful scent to ring in this contemplative time.

I don't think of Boreal as sweet, as some people have written before me. For me, Boreal is first and foremost a scent of incense. I can see this little chapel in front of me, which is always beautifully decorated at Christmas time in our region. I've never been there myself, even though I make a point of going every year. I don't think I've been able to find that all-important peace and quiet since I've been living here on the Eaves. There should be a nativity scene there with all the figures: Joseph and Mary, donkey and ox and the baby Jesus.

This little chapel borders directly on the forest. I imagine the area covered in deep snow as I breathe in the scent of Boreal. And then I enter the chapel in my mind and perceive the fine, balsamic-resinous incense, the burning candles and everything feels so wonderfully contemplative and calm. Just as Theodor Storm puts it in his poem: resting for once before the chase of life, which we all know so well.

Yes, this is indeed a piece of contemplation in a bottle. A green, fir-green incense fragrance. It could actually be the big brother of my beloved Incense Water by Perfumer H. Only with Incense Water, the season cannot be directly determined in my opinion. With Boreal, it's winter. Christmas time. If you like incense, you'll love Boreal.

In keeping with the contemplative time of year, this is not a loud and excited fragrance, but rather presents the peace that we should all find now in a wonderful olfactory way.

I wish you all a wonderful, peaceful and relaxing festive season!

Your Polly

Thanks for the testing opportunity goes to Schoeibksr.