...Some one told me about it recently. I had already found it very early on and it wasn't very developed at that time so I didn't look hard enough. I like the fact it is a team effort where everyones input is appreciated. Also very welcoming. I also love the fragrance directory. Most important.

...Thank you notes are a lovely thing, but not always easy to do when they have hit 'white elephant' status. For the forgetful like myself who are full of good intentions. The answer is to always carry a little booklet of postcards in your handbag or some nice notepad with pretty pages. Then it is easy to draw out a pen and scribble one quickly when there is a moment. Waiting for children in cars is a good time for such or being on a train journey.At christmas, we used to write a list, then write the thank you letters later... often very much later. I now get my family to sit down with some cards instead and write the actual letter instead of the list. Much more fun when we're all bullying each other before we are allowed to open another present. When we get up to eat, all the letters are written with the true passion and the excitement of the day. We can then sit down in the afternoon with that rosy glow of righteousness. We haven't always done this, but it is catching on. The ones who did, gloating over the ones who didn't.I've often thought of doing that for dinner parties too and smuggling it somewhere on the way out where the hostess cannot find it immediately, but I have never dared. It is so easy to rudely forget when busy daily life takes over.

...I thought it may be a nice idea if anyone has any highly fragrant recipes to suggest.I will begin with a simple one for Elderflower cordial. (The quantities of each are not vital. Make it to your own taste.)15+ heads of Elderflowers, picked on a dry sunny morning. Young ones the best. (Not picked from the roadside)A generous pound of sugar (500g)One and a half pints of water (>1 litre)2 lemons1 oz citric acid powder (28g)-Boil the water and pour into a bowl over the sugar. Stir till dissolved.-Carefully grate or cut the peel from the lemons making sure little or no pith gets in (the white pith makes it bitter). Plonk all this into the sugar water.-Squeeze the lemons and add the juice and the lemony bits in.-Shake any obvious insects from the flower heads, (don't worry too much as you will sieve it later anyway). Then gently pluck off all the flowers and sprinkle them onto the bowl.-Pop about half to three quarters of the citric acid in. (Keep the last bit for adjustments afterwards).-Mix it up and let the whole lot sit there, covered with a cloth for 24 hrs or so.-Sieve with a fine sieve and taste it. -If it isn't very exciting then add more citric acid until it is 'twangy' at the back of the tongue.This can include other fruits, like an extra orange or a lime. Anything you like.If you like it, then make loads because this can be frozen and kept until the middle of winter when it is a real delight to have some summer in a glass. Try with fizzy water or in fizzy wine.

...http://salondeparfum-sherapop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/fragrance-is-functional-how-i-learned.htmlWhat a delightfully refreshing read. Very amusing and some wonderful points.(Actually a really weeny criticism too. I cannot read the blue titles against the black)

...Sometimes it can be soooo cute. (Not my baby, I stole him for us to love for a while from google)(sorry mummy of said child)

...My wonderful roses smell divine. If only I could capture this smell exactly. A deep bergamot tea, rich, sweet but fresh, rose (The yellow one). I could smell it all day.

...ChapeauClack:I have also been marveling at the weirdest, most hilarious banana I'd seen in my life.Please to see for yourselves hereMy child won't let me eat it because "it's so cool, mommy, let's keep it forever". Mutant Pet Banana. Yay!I love that... we had some grapes like that. They had grown themselves into a knot.Here.

...Aside from my own journey. I thought it may be useful to post this for others.What recommendations does anyone have for a good and inexpensive way of travelling from England to Germany and back. Timing, approximate costs, and travel details would be helpful if you have already done this, or do it regularly.

...Ha ha, very good article. Thank you for the link. My collector profile probably snuggles in somewhere between the housewife and the serious collector.I will travel the earth for the right scent if my nose and/or mind gets fixed upon it. No single obstacle will stop any pursuit of some whiff. Patience and much research is my game and will wait a long time to add the last bottle to a set. Having found it, I will obtain it against all odds if the searching has lasted for many years. Woe betide any opposition in an ebay auction unless it gets too silly.The classics are my favourites and my extensive collection shows where. Especially lovely are the bottles of the really ancient ones, but often they are out of my realistic price range so I just have to wait. The focus has to stay within a few favourite houses for the moment. My perfume cupboard is darkened and has a special ancient bottle shelf and a normal house section. No harm in asking if you take a fancy to anything. I understand the nature of collecting the last item to complete an idea/range/house/line. I haven't finished listing yet.Modern perfumes are interesting and it is fun to try or swap or play games online. I love it all really. Samples are useful things to keep for a library as an interesting reference point. That has the advantage of not needing much space for storage.I have always loved perfumes since I was a little girl and also will never tire of it. This is a delightful gentle place with similarly minded people. The collection listing facility is superb and it is fun listing all these lovely scents. I have been revisiting many to do so.

...I have been... happily sorting out all my samples and filing them away in the slots here. I love the way there is a wish list AND a watch list. That bit rocks for me. I'll help you drink one of those to that.

...Anyone know what this is? It is in my mothers garden in a pot.

...I quite liked the Serge Lutens Sa majesty la Rose when I tried it in a shop but I haven't given it a test run yet.(How do you add a link?)

...+1 for BoucheronIvoire by BalmainArmani by ArmaniChanel 22Bal a VersaillesSherrer by JL ScherrerZibeline or Antelope by WeilI cannot do one...there are more too.Coco of course.

...Blimey. I thought fondly I may join in but you lot are supremos....

...It is very hard to get a good and well composed fragrance without any drawbacks but that final hurdle into undisputed greatness is the hardest one. Perfumes can be good and well structured, but it is rare to be truly excellent. When I smell some of the older 'great classics' i can still see why they are on their well deserved pedestal. Time has not affected them in any way and they still pull rank alongside their contemporaries.It will be very interesting to see what people suggest.

...Dolby:- Who are your nominees for the biggest Self-Inflated of this world?- What goodies would you bring to this party?- Any killer put-downs? (Cryptic, you there wifey :wink: ?)

...Iris's in my garden. Next doors Clematis over my fence and some wild poppies that have sneaked in... and the honeysuckle.

...What non vintage perfume have you tried recently that has had that 'wow' factor for you? One that you could almost certainly see becoming a 'classic' perfume of the future. One whose passing will be mourned in the same way as the Coty Chypres and Joys of the older perfume era.Some suggestions might be Dzing by L'artisan, or maybe Barry Lyndon By Maria Candida Gentile, Une Rose Chypree by Tauer, Ormande Woman by Ormande Jayne or perhaps even the sweet Arabie by Serge Lutens just for thoughts.

...It is corporate greed that causes such an effect. Perfumes were never rattled out so fast and so furiously because the profit margin for the fat cats is huge. Whether the perfume happens to have been designed well or not depends purely on the designer, on the brief and whether the designer has enough skill, or been given enough time or resources to create something good. Some of the cheapest scents can still be good because they were designed and structured well. Possibly by accident of course. Coty have always rattled out cheap scents and some of the older ones are still wonderful.Art will be found by those with any discrimination and it doesn't purely depend on the ingredients. Some of the best fine art can be made from rubbish. Also some of the worst creations can be made in the name of 'art'. Saying that, the gradual extermination of all the finest ingredients in perfumery seems to have timed itself remarkably smoothly with the demise of a decent perfume. What a strange coincidence!

...I'm going to be out but here is a wild guessNeela VermeireTrayee, Mohur, Bombay BlingOnly because of the wink picture here http://olfactoriastravels.com/2012/01/31/review-neela-vermeire-creations-trayee-mohur-bombay-bling/