Serenissima

Dark beaches: I don't even know how many of them there might be; after all, the term "beach" here always means a smaller or larger stretch of light-colored, sometimes even almost white sand by the sea.
I do remember reading once about a "black beach" somewhere in Scandinavia, but I can't really imagine it yet.

So after the first spray of "Birdie", I'm digging in the dark, heavy patchouli soil, somewhere on the Mediterranean, infused with the vetiver that so often accompanies this fragrance:
So I am surrounded by very familiar scents that I like.
But suddenly I encounter something surprising:
Spicy, woody, almost tangy (fermented?) greenery jumps out at me: Was this probably where chopped waste from plants, bushes and wood was dumped and collected?
The scent of lavender in various forms of wood, leaf and blossom certainly seems to be present; we have known each other quite well for some time.
However, something similar to camphor or wormwood is striking and at first also frightening: a surge of dark green, very bitter aroma immediately hits my nose, seems to be aromatherapeutically active there and before I can really shake myself, "Birdie" becomes pleasantly balsamic and quite supple.
Now I feel surprisingly comfortable and let myself drift, so that I can also perceive slowly developing, distinctly maritime notes.
Seawater with all its interesting components seems very close; I can almost hear the waves crashing and feel the wind; it's more than just a light breeze.
So I trudge barefoot, eating a ripe, juicy apple, through now soft sand that joins this damp patchouli vetiver earth with rich green inclusions and let myself be accompanied by a very austere and powerful composition that reveals itself to me over time in a very pleasant and soothing way.

XerJoff's "Birdie" is very rustic, takes a lot of getting used to, but is also very interesting in its fragrance development.
At first, the patchouli is heavy and familiar, followed by a powerful green "rumble", a kind of explosion of dark, very bitter plant and woody aromas that takes up a lot of space until the emerging creation becomes balsamic and takes you to an enchanted sandy place on the Mediterranean coast.

I am pleasantly surprised at how this fragrance chameleon develops as I wear it: It is more than just a mere arrangement, a deep sympathy develops for this fragrance creature.

So my curiosity led me down a completely different, but not entirely foreign path; after all, I've been into aromatherapy for a long time.
Maybe that's why we harmonize so well!

This almost slightly romantic scent "Paris-St. Honoré" by Stéphanie de Bruijn immediately reminds me of a pink macaron with a spicy vanilla filling; only this scent lives considerably longer on my skin than the macaron in my hand: as you know, I can't resist these little colorful things!

Yes, this scent is sweet and sweet is pink on me: here pink like the ever-so-slightly crumpled flowers of the spicy cistus that adorn these hardy, resinous bushes.
Surprisingly, benzoin is used as a resinous, smoky partner in this fragrance composition instead of the labdanum found in cistus, which sticks between its branches and leaves and is "harvested" with the help of goats.
These goats are driven through the bushes and later this aromatic resin is combed out of their fur with a wide-toothed comb.
However, this fragrant treat gets its warm and creamy sweetness from the white, aromatic and exotic vanilla, which has been tastefully refined with the fine animalic notes of amber and musk as well as skillfully used accents of pleasantly creamy sandalwood.
This rich, seemingly whipped-to-foam envelope covers a wonderful golden-brown layer of patchouli, which is not damp and dingy here, but rather earthy and spicy.

This sweetness may sound a little sticky, but it develops into a kind of cuddly body lotion during wear, which lovingly envelops and accompanies you for several hours, leaving only a subtle spicy hint at the end.

"Paris St. Honoré" is a collector's item, one of those treats that you don't like every day, but which can give you a lot of pleasure from time to time.

I opened my statement on this fragrance with "Oh, how pretty!"; I will now close with these words and will probably devote myself later to a pink macaron with a seductive vanilla filling.

When I read or hear Deauville, I immediately think of the young Leslie Caron as "Gigi", who tries to ride along the beach on a stubborn donkey in the musical adaptation of the same name, while Mamita (her grandmother?), together with the already aged Maurice Chevalier as bon vivant Honoré Lachaille, watches the lively goings-on, laughing and reminiscing.
This scene sparkles with lively innocence and cheerfulness, accompanied by a touch of nostalgic melancholy.

Like many places on the Normandy coast, Deauville has been the living room of many Parisians at weekends and during the vacations for many years. For a certain clientele that has somewhat outgrown beach life, a stay in this popular seaside resort is made even more interesting by the casino and racecourse.
Deauville vibrates with summer life and joie de vivre.

The "Paris - Deauville" fragrance from the House of Chanel is just as lively and vibrant.
First of all, a multitude of fruity-fresh Hesperides aromas ensure this.
Olivier Polge's composition is a rich selection that radiates with fragrance.
Just imagine a large basket full of limes, oranges, bergamot and bitter oranges: What a joy it is just to look at these fruits - and then there is their fragrance: fruity and refreshing, ripe and sweet, yet at the same time infused with a fine acidity, with a magnificent and equally aromatic peel containing fragrance oil - a real tingling sensory delight for the nose.
This is made even more special by the herbaceous, slightly peppery green of the basil.
All this against a backdrop of blooming jasmine hedges that line the gardens of the villas and the scent of numerous roses in full bloom in the light sea breeze: this is what summer in Deauville smells like!
A good, cleverly applied dose of earthy, spicy patchouli gives this beautiful fragrance a little grounding, otherwise it would evaporate far too quickly.

Its sillage and longevity are the equivalent of a summer's day: they have the distinctive lightness of a butterfly that doesn't linger anywhere for too long.
Thus, "Paris - Deauville" only settles on my skin for a relatively short time, full of fragrant elegance, before it departs light-footedly: What remains is a fresh, spicy scent that can be revived at any time by spraying it on, without creating an unpleasant melange of fragrances, as is unfortunately sometimes the case.

"Paris - Deauville" is a charming fragrance temptation that immediately makes me pack my bags and travel to the French coast:
A nose full of fresh, spicy maritime vibrancy that clears the mind, perhaps a visit to the casino or the racecourse and, of course, a ride on a donkey along the beach: oh!
"Paris - Deauville" sets no limits to the imagination.
Easter Monday in Deauville? Pourquoi pas?!
Chanel makes it possible!

A look back shows: It was not only the "ladies of the world" (or the "demimonde") who dressed in fragrances early on and for a long time, classic women's perfume consisted mainly of flowers, with violets, lilacs, roses of course, and jasmine always at the forefront and sometimes also spreading a slightly "wicked" scent: here especially the jasmine.
The "good wife", on the other hand, was content with a little lavender water, usually from her husband's supplies.

And it is still impossible to imagine purely feminine fragrance creations without these floral notes.

I particularly love - and this is no secret by now - the scent of jasmine; it and that of lily of the valley share one of the top places in my personal scent popularity scale: both are chameleons and can be pure white, as if freshly washed and almost virginal as well as sensually warm, tempting and even dirty and sultry and wicked.
This depends on the respective "degree of ripeness" of the flowers, so I have plenty of choice with these two fragrances alone, depending on my mood on the day.

"Jasmin Sambac" from ID Parfums and still distributed by Dr. Pierre Ricaud (whose skin care I like to use from time to time) somehow belongs for me between the "female era": no longer suitable for the young woman and also not yet "lived in" enough to stand as a pure and erotic temptation of mature temptation.

The light effervescence of the velvety-skinned apricots, whose fine fruit acidity is clearly evident and is made even more bizarre by a little pink pepper, offers a summery, cheerful prelude and is reminiscent for a moment of a glass of Prosecco with fruity apricot pulp (Marc d'Abricot), without becoming too sweet or too sticky.
White cascades of jasmine blossoms generously spray their sun-warmed aroma; in this composition, they have just the right degree of fragrance maturity to flatter the senses in full bloom, to awaken them with a soft smile and to promise them a great deal more.
This fragrance promise culminates in a classically feminine base of warm musk and rich, creamy white vanilla, which are given a subtle, soft animalic quality by the addition of a few sandalwood accents, thus preventing this creation from becoming too cuddly white-apricot-colored fragrance boredom.

Here the apricot, also called "golden apples" in Greek mythology because of its color and velvety skin, while the Persians gave it the name "sun eggs", is a charming and fruity invigorating addition to the white jasmine sensuality with a warm vanilla-musk aroma.

this makes "Jasmin Sambac" an easy-to-wear summer companion, as it is more fruity and floral than sweet and overpowering.
This fragrance takes you on a journey to Indian gardens at sunset and their incomparable fragrance secrets, which caress and whisper tenderly.
"Jasmin Sambac" snuggles softly against the skin to linger there for an average amount of time, lolling, spreading out and finally saying goodbye elegantly and quietly.

As always, the perfumers at ID Parfum have created a well-crafted fragrance that is easy to wear, albeit without any great claim to particular originality.
They dress us in an apricot-colored light summer dress with rich white jasmine flower applications: pretty and dressy is this fragrance, infused with grace, cheerfulness and sunshine.

i like "Jasmin Sambac" and what more could you want from a summery, light fragrance than this feeling of being well and suitably dressed?

Another warm day; the sun is beating down on the small fruit and vegetable market in the center of the old town, the white and yellow striped awnings above the stalls can't keep out the heat; if anything, they store it above the summery, fruity produce.
Everything that was freshly harvested and ready for sale in the morning has lost its taut, plump freshness and many a trader is very happy if he can still get rid of his goods for little money: It's the time of the "bargain hunters" at the weekly markets!
Housewives who make jam know this!

Strawberries in particular have suffered and instead of red, sweet and aromatic fruit, it now smells very intensely of strawberry puree - freshly made and with a certain amount of synthetics.

This is how Xerjoff's "La Capitale" could be described in a few words.
But it wouldn't be this brand if they didn't try to make something fragrant out of mere, slightly fermented-smelling fruit.
Here I am reminded very much of the newer, mostly pink Snake compositions by Stéphane Humbert Lucas, in which I cannot recognize the fragrance designer I am so familiar with, who offers his "magic potions" there.

If "Erba Pura" offers a fruit cocktail whose ingredients are still easily recognizable, "La Capitale" seems to be a sweet puree of strawberries and very ripe peaches, mixed with caramel and a labdanum-resinous smoky note
This creamy fruit mixture is given a certain stability by quite strong dark brown leather nuances, together with oriental spiced roses (already a classic) and it is no longer surprising that a well-measured dose of oud appears; following my fragrance experience, this melange also lent itself: Rose oud with leather accompanied by strawberry puree ...
With the addition of resinated vanilla, Xerjoff's "La Capitale" is now definitely reminiscent of grandma's laundry room, where she cooked strawberry jam in a large tub and the sweet vapors filled the room.

You have to love fruit-heavy fragrance compositions if you are prepared to choose them as an accompaniment; although "La Capitale" still has the longevity that Xerjoff is known for.
Who would want to smell like my beloved grandmother when she stood in the doorway of the courtyard with the last jar of jam sealed and surrounded by the aromatic scent of strawberries in her smock apron (one of those no longer immaculate ones that was only worn for fruit processing) and rejoiced at the work she had done?

"La Capitale" makes me smile and travel back to my strawberry-pink childhood summer vacations, or else it transports me to one of the many small bar tables that surround the summer farmers' market bustle that is the focal point of many Italian towns, where I have taken a break with something cool and sparkling in my glass for a casual chat with passers-by.

"La Capitale" = sprayed pink strawberry summer nostalgia