Serenissima

Theodor Fontane describes the day, in particular the evening before Whit Sunday, as "Whitsun Eve" in his famous "Walks" in the Oderbruch region.
He uses it for a long walk, enjoying the open view over wide meadows and forests, still clothed in the most varied shades of green of early summer, interrupted here and there by bright patches of chestnut candles and robinia flower clusters.
Early evening silence lies over everything, interrupted only by the "six o'clock ringing" of the churches in the villages nestled in the greenery, which makes you pause and listen: Listening to the vibrations of the awakening nature with its touching surprises for all the senses.

He describes this moment so intimately, so privately, that I am reminded of a long-forgotten fragrance by Yves Rocher that I did not appreciate at the time: I was exploring other, more exciting scents for me.

That's why I'm particularly happy to have been given the opportunity for a second chance and to have found another miniature among all its little fragrance siblings; the contents haven't changed.
This is a very pleasing addition: most of Yves Rocher's fragrances show great consistency, rarely changing over the years: they remain true to themselves!

Thus, after a short time on my skin, "Vie Privée" presents me with a lovingly composed bouquet of seasonal flowers under a fine, tastefully dosed musk-sandalwood veil.
The almost fragile beauty of orange blossom and freesia harmonizes beautifully, two very graceful fragrance building blocks whose quiet beauty always gives me great pleasure to encounter.
These noble classics of many compositions are also shown here in their not yet too mature but already fragrant bloom.
They have not yet awoken from hibernation, stretching out towards the light and sun, opening their flower heads and sending out their fragrance full of delight at the rebirth of nature.
Radiant jasmine blossoms, almost innocent in their white-green robes and golden faces, radiate cheerfulness together with ylang-ylang.
Not quite as noble as the ladies rose and iris, but they all make the heart soar with joy and rediscover all this, as if for the first time in life.
The aforementioned veil of musk and sandalwood accents adds depth and slightly animalic warmth, which is still very welcome at such an early point in the season.

How unpretentious and at the same time beautiful "Vie Privée" was created: As a charming everyday companion that underlines the personality, light on its feet and yet so perfect in its very own grace.
I don't expect more in terms of sillage and longevity from an eau de toilette and am therefore not disappointed: early summer lightness and cheerfulness dominate here in the form of a lovingly composed floral bouquet.

In my younger years, I consciously experienced the era of pompous, opulent works of fragrance art and allowed myself to be carried away and seduced by them: they still enchant me today!
But from case to case, having grown older and more fragile and thin-skinned myself, I prefer the quiet, harmonious tones that I find in a part of the great world of fragrance that I never entered back then.

So today, on May 1st, there is a reason to celebrate spring, the coming summer, full of fragrance!
Not with lily of the valley this time - but please don't forget: Today is "Lily of the Valley Day"! -but with the wonderful bouquet of flowers that was presented to us years ago by the perfumers on behalf of Yves Rocher and is still very welcome.

It's been here for a long time, this bottling from my dear friend Can777, and like many others he chose for me, it took me some time, including a few attempts at writing, to approach "Osang" from Mendittora's "Talismans Collection":
That's how complex this fragrance is, so deep and strongly touching the senses.

Now seems to be the right time; perhaps it is spring with all the incipient life that gives me access to a fragrance prelude, clover-infused flowering meadow with many playfully feeding insects.
Some bright tones in the otherwise sustained minor scent concert: even if this spring and summer meadow matures in the course of the fragrance, the still fresh floral green becomes fragrant hay and the bees' harvest becomes rich, creamy and golden honey.
Only heliotrope with its vanilla veil resists this change until it magically interweaves with the powdery summer beauty of the proud iris and thus spreads the net for the spicy and resinous-smoky variety that now follows.
This is also where the brightness of this composition ends; from now on, dark tones and sounds dominate the fragrance that spreads leisurely across the skin.
Styrax resin still carries a hint of vanilla, adding brief light effects to the incipient wafts of smoke from precious and delicious resins, the selection of which may take some getting used to.
Benzoin and labdanum meet golden-brown chunks of myrrh, veils of frankincense and amber marry with the striking, familiar musky-animalic: this rich smoke, richly spiced with nutmeg and pepper, awakens the senses, beguiles them or brushes them against the grain, possibly even repels them - this varies depending on the mood of the day!
Heavy wafts of oud set fragrance highlights before astonishingly creamy sandalwood accords together with Peru balsam ensure a soft, fully floating final note.
Any unevenness in the development of the fragrance is smoothed out, creating a distant feeling of well-being.

"Osang" also offered me its barbs for a long time, which I couldn't get to grips with at all; I never managed to get anywhere near the harmonious finale of the fragrance.
I am currently on a journey from the green, blooming resurrection to the resinous, very strongly spiced darkness, deep inside the earth with all its questions and magic!

Does this "talisman" hold a memory of what has been or/and of what is to be expected?
Rich sillage and the duration of the shelf life give you the opportunity to think about it.
"Osang" is no everyday fragrance companion, no mere passing encounter.
Rather, it opens the door to a place of contemplation, a capsule for pausing, lingering and finding oneself.

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!