this scent before. The name, Mon Nom Est Rouge, was not familiar. The notes were, however: pepper, lemon, elemi, pink pepper, metallic effect, Turkish rose, geranium, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, incense, cedar, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, labdanum, patchouli, tonka bean and musk.(photo via fragrantica)I am not particularly attracted to the bottles in this line, though they are meant to be beautiful sculptures....

a lemon, then a "lemon" note will make sense to you. Notes are used like similes. A “rose” note smells like rose. Bvlgari Black smells like rubber. (I exclude imagistic description couched as notes, typically in product description, eg. notes of burly arctic breeze or forlorn longing.)Parfumo, Fragrantica, Basenotes, MakeupAlley… are communities where people come together over perfume. Notes/similes put a name...

a classic perfume from the 70s. Extreme wood notes mix with subtle undertones of herbs such as galbanum, patchouli, incense, Artemisia and mint. I definitely notice a strong pine/fir note, which I love, as well as dry oak. Castoreum gives this a strong and pungent character. One reviewer on Fragrantica described this as the aroma of a bunch of wet leaves and pine needles left in a black plastic bag for a few weeks....

are vacillating from a summery day of 83 degrees to a 23 degree day 24 hours later. A pleasant surprise in the form of perfume swaps keeps my spirits high. You see, I am a niche kind of perfume lover, and rarely venture out of that new-found comfort zone. Browsing through the swap lists on Fragrantica recently, I noticed a perfume called Maroussia. My ears perked up at the name, it being clearly...

a new (albeit somewhat unwilling) audience with Art, and I do appreciate her expanding the world of art and ideas beyond the gallery walls. It's pleasing to see people engaged with a concept and grappling with ideas on different levels. And my goodness, the mini-reviews of the scent strip on Fragrantica with scent-lovers heartily enjoying another woman's body odour are wonderful...

I just got the news that I won one of the lots of Fragrantica user Pansylady's charity raffle. There are plenty still left so check it out at F's forum! EDIT, my lo(o)t: 4.5ml of each: Guerlain Apres l'Ondee Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille Sur la route de Madagascar Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille Sur la Route du Mexique Guerlain...

have written about my issues over on Fragrantica, but I feel like venting here as well. I had the pleasure to visit San Diego with my sister this past week. It was nice to get away from the bitter cold and bask in the sunshine and 70 degree F weather. I also visited LA for a few hours to see my family, and it was a joy to see them--I wish we...