Cocktail : 1 oz vintage, 1 oz modern, 2 oz new, splash of musings

After our healthy serving of ensalada mista a couple of weeks ago, it is now time for another round of perfumed tidbits and thoughts. It might be rather early in the day, but how about a little cocktail?

· Let’s start with some news first: Emerald Dream, Estee Lauder’s 2007 travel retail exclusive, is currently making its way to select beauty counters. Here in the Netherlands, Emerald Dream is being sold exclusively by Douglas boutiques. Is it worth looking for? Umm, no. Don’t make a mad dash for your nearest Douglas just yet: Emerald Dream’s opening is no different than the typical fruity-floral fare, smelling like a soup of notes carelessly thrown together, while the musky-woody base, while not altogether unpleasant, is rather mundane and easily associated with standard, cheap-smelling drugstore scents. The most interesting thing about it is the unusually bright vetiver base note, quite reminiscent of Body Shop’s Oceanus body mist. Forget the word exclusive and give this one a miss.

· Speaking of travel retail exclusives, one that I have been extremely curious about is Cyclades, by Lancome. I had not smelled Tropiques, and last year’s exclusive, Benghal, left me completely cold, but partly due to my Greek heritage and partly due to the fact that the notes sounded quite intriguing, I was really excited about Lancome’s 2008 travel retail exclusive. There are not many fragrances that feature oleander, and I thought it was not only clever, but also really accurate to include this note in Cyclades: oleander is readily found on every single greek island I’ve visited, and on much of the mainland as well. Its bittersweet, almost musky and not-quite-flowery fragrance is one I love, so I really had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, Cyclades turned out to be another disappointment: Not only is this uber-light fragrance bland and boring, not only does it have absolutely zero staying power, but also, it smells nothing like oleander at all. Pity.

· We perfume bloggers are often guilty of waxing lyrically about the beauty of long lost, discontinued or reformulated scents, lamenting their loss and invariably comparing them to the currently available fare, often finding it lacking. This is a highly frustrating practice, and oftentimes even more so for the readers, who long to smell these so poetically described scents but have no means to do so. It was this realization that drove me to start a practice of offering a sample of any hard-to-find fragrances reviewed here on Fragrance Bouquet whenever I am capable of doing so, but still, I am aware that even this does not eliminate the frustration and disappointment. What doesn’t often get mentioned is that older doesn’t necessarily mean better. Even though the loss of old favorites pains me greatly, and even though their memories linger in my mind like ghosts that often decide to stir trouble and longing so powerful it becomes almost illogical, there’s still so much to love that is available right here, right now. The last year has brought many new fragrant discoveries in my life – new perfumes that have become staples in fragrance wardrobe. But what’s even more surprising and worthy of note is that sometimes, a reformulation is not a bad thing. ...I can’t quite believe I am writing this, actually. But it is true. I’ve had a little revelation of sorts in the last couple of weeks: I bought a vintage bottle of Jicky edt from a collector in Belgium I visit when I am looking for old fragrances. The surprising result? I like the newer version better. The opening of both is lavender, with the vintage being purer, more natural-smelling and slightly camphoric, as you’d expect. It is somehow lighter, fresher and less cloying than the reformulated version. However, as time passes, vintage Jicky becomes powdery and soft, casual and unpretentious, remaining fresh and clean. The modern beast? It roars. Time only makes it deeper, darker. A strange sensuality unfolds, mind-bogglingly, out of the innocence of lavender. There is the most gorgeous balsamic sweetness there, that can’t be found in the vintage. There is the marvelous beauty of opoponax, tinged by leather. When I am lucky, civet comes out to play. It is sad when a fragrance we love changes. It’s heartache. But in this instance... I’m not complaining. I really love this sense of optimism this revelation has given me. Please do let me know if there are more scents that in your opinion are better now than they were before. It’s a hard task, but it is rewarding.

Images: Bottle of Estee Lauder's Emerald Dream, www.perfumesand.com
Oleander shrub, commons.wikimedia.org
Vintage bottle of Jicky, circa 1935 from www.ragoarts.com (Rago Arts and Auction Center). Sold in auction for 2268 $.

Perfume for the Occasion: Perfumes for a Stressful Day

Might certain scents help in alleviating stress? When TMH of For the Love of Perfume and I were discussing this month’s Perfume for the Occasion feature, we thought it would certainly be an interesting question to explore. Influenced by the fact that October was a rather hectic and stressful month for both of us, we felt that others too, might wish to read a few suggestions on which fragrances might promote calm, and help in easing stressful feelings away. For my part, I decided to put the focus on aromatherapy and I have to say, it has been great fun looking into this subject. The essential oils most often suggested for the purpose of alleviating stress turned out to be bergamot, jasmine, lavender, neroli, rosemary, chamomile, and to a lesser extent, ylang ylang. The question is, of course, do they really work? As a student, I am lucky to have free access to many scientific journals that allowed me to research the issue further. After reviewing several articles, the answer to the question of whether these actually work was a definite “yes” for some of these oils (bergamot, lavender and rosemary), and a clear winner had emerged: Lavender, which appears to be the most beneficial of the three. Specifically, lavender has been shown to have major benefit in stress related disorders, to decrease cortisol levels and reduce mental stress. Shall we then, take a look at a few lavender suggestions together?

· Jicky by Guerlain: I couldn’t make a post about lavender and leave Jicky out, of course. Having said that, Jicky remains a mystery to me. To me, Jicky still seems like a chameleon, ever changing colors. Sometimes its lavender scent seems long-lasting, enveloping me in its slightly camphoraceous aroma for hours. Other times I lose its trail relatively quickly, finding myself left all too soon with a slightly leathery, earthy vanilla, and struggling to detect the lavender that made it seem so controversial to my nose initially. Sometimes Jicky seems wildly animalic, making me think I must have it, but the next time I try it, it turns into sweet innocence and I find no reason to add it to my collection. Despite the mystery, Jicky does seem like a good suggestion to me, as it contains both lavender and bergamot oil.


· Lavender by Floris: Admittedly, the opening notes make this fragrance appear rather scary at first: This is an intensely herbaceous lavender with a rather sour opening. However, it soon calms down to a light, elegant and most pleasant blend of lavender with a touch of geranium and hints of rosemary. The result is very dry and aromatic giving an impression of chic simplicity. This is definitely my favorite of today’s suggestions! If you wish to treat yourself, I wholeheartedly suggest splurging on the Lavender Tranquility Set as well, and indulging your senses on the evenings you really need to relax! The Lavender Tranquility Set contains the Lavender Moisturizing Bath & Shower Gel, the Floris at Home Lavender Candle and the Patchouli & Lavender Sleep Enhancing Pillow Mist. The candle is my absolute favorite part of the set, smelling like a very sweet, gentle lavender. (It is the sweetness that gets me! – I want this translated into a body mist now please!) The shower gel is very herbaceous, smelling like true, dried lavender. I like this a lot, because it smells exactly like the lavender-filled, tiny cotton cushions my dad used to bring to me to put in my drawers when I was a little girl. The pillow mist is a dry blend of lavender and patchouli, which makes the pillow smell wonderfully fresh and crisp. Although intense at first, the scent soon becomes quite natural – I do not find myself conscious of the aroma as I fall asleep. In fact I only sense it at first when my head hits the pillow, and it is very pleasant, as though the pillowcase had just been washed. Still, make sure to test this before buying. Patchouli can be difficult and the purpose of these products is to help you relax, not keep you awake!

· Encens et Lavande by Serge Lutens: I am very ambivalent about adding this one to today’s post. Let me be honest: I do not like Encens et Lavande. I certainly would not wear it myself. Still, I decided to use it as the third suggestion for a lavender fragrance to try in times of stress, if only because it is very interesting. (who knows, aside from the natural properties of lavender, perhaps the surprise element this fragrance offers will create enough a distraction to forget about stress for a while too :) But let me get to the point: Celery. This is certainly not the only Serge Lutens fragrance that has a definite celery scent, Mandarine Mandarin is another example, but surprisingly perhaps, I love it in Mandarine Mandarin – it somehow blends in perfectly with the rest of the notes. In Encens et Lavande the celery is not only extremely pronounced but very discordant as well: It antagonizes the lavender every step of the way until it (finally) disappears. For as long as it lasts (give it at least an hour or two...) it completely ruins the fragrance –for me at least. What is very interesting however, is how salty, how savory, Encens et Lavande is, and I attribute this to the dreaded celery as well. If only for this strange savory character, I do suggest you try Encens et Lavande at least once. Another interesting, but once again discordant, note in Encens et Lavande, is sage. I love sage, and the note is very true in this fragrance, but it is too pronounced for me to appreciate it. It completely overpowers the lavender for as long as it lasts. Or perhaps I can only appreciate sage in Diptique, what can I say? All is not negative however. Encens et Lavande does finally dry down to a very soothing, soft lavender a couple of hours after it is first applied. It then tends to smell like a very traditional masculine lavander cologne, with soft musky undertones. I still wouldn’t wear it just for the pleasant dry-down, but truth be told, it is pleasant. Perhaps Gris Clair would have been a better choice, but unfortunately it is one of the Lutens I consistently overlook and thus have no sample of. Is it a good lavender scent? How does it compare to Encens et Lavande? Do let me know!

Lastly, I have to admit that personally, when I am stressed I either feel like exploring something new to distract and relax myself, or I get this strong sense of being compelled to wear a specific (different every time) scent. It feels a bit as though my body is asking for the specific thing it needs when this happens. Which scents do you use when you are stressed? Do you self medicate with perfume like I do, or perhaps cannot stand scents at all in times of stress?

Images: www.freefoto.com, Author’s own and commons.wikimedia.org