Happy International Women’s Day

“Take a good look around you” the professor’s voice boomed in the cavernous amphitheater, awash with 700 faces expectantly looking back at him. “No, look around you”, he persisted. Hesitantly we looked at each other, not knowing what to expect. “Most of you are women”, he continued. “Psychology is a study favored by women. And yet, when the time comes for a PhD, statistics will be against you. Based on your numbers, most PhD positions should be acquired by women. But when the time comes, they will be given to your few fellow male students remaining.” The professor was not trying to crush our dreams and hopes; he was just talking numbers.

Today we celebrate women’s day. But what have we really achieved? For this topic, so close to my heart, I wish I could write a thoughtful article to express all that I want today. Yet with a deadline for yet another draft for my thesis looming for tomorrow, all I can do is to offer a few short thoughts, or rather pleas, lacking in eloquence but heartfelt nonetheless.

Please remember today, that even though we have achieved a spot in the workplace, we’ve only managed to climb only as high as middle-management while upper middle-management and high management positions are still dominated by men. The glass ceiling is still there, as impenetrable as ever. Please remember, that even though we’ve managed to narrow the pay gap, we haven’t even come close to bridging it, with pay differences ranging from 10 to more than 40 percent. And yes, these statistics refer to Western societies. Please remember that when a woman does manage to attain a managerial position, she will often be demonized and hated, not only by her male but also her female colleagues. Inciting hatred, she will be labeled anything from “Dragon” to “Iron-Lady”. Please remember that women are still passed over for promotions and partnerships, even when they have equal or better skills and work history than men.

Lastly, perhaps most importantly, please remember to be kind. Be kind to the woman next to you. If we continue to be divided, we’ll always be conquered. I am proud to be studying under the team of researchers who showed, in 2004, that in our struggle to stand out, in our desperate fight to claim a better future for ourselves as individuals, we tend to try to dissociate and differentiate ourselves so much from our fellow women that we actually end up stereotyping and encumbering our fellow women even more than men do. Don’t let this be yet another weapon that will be used against us. If you take anything from this rushed, yet heartfelt post of mine, please take this with you: Be kind to your fellow woman. Help her achieve her goals. Please remember, that true change is yet to come. We’ve got to achieve it together.

Exam Week

Morning everyone!

Things have been a little silent the past few days here on Fragrance Bouquet because I have been studying for the first exam period of the year. This week is riddled with exams and final papers so I won't be able to post. But next week Fragrance Bouquet will be back with a review of a brand new and supremely sophisticated perfume! See you then :)

Familiar Scent Trails and A Much Needed Vacation

Well, I am sorry to have suddenly disappeared without a warning, but once I finished my exams the lure of a getaway was just too strong to resist. While I was locked up in the house studying intensively for exams for three weeks, the weather kept taunting me: Sunny, bright and hot, hot, hot, all I could do was drink frozen drinks while hunched over my books and try to ignore the happy voices of the people outside. Ironically of course, once my exams were over the weather decided to turn gray and start pouring down. Deep inside, I knew this would happen as it wasn't the first time this has occured. What's a sun-deprived student girl to do? I booked a ticket and flew to Greece to see my parents for a few days - I've been here in Greece since Tuesday. I return on the 14th, but on the 16th my boyfriend is taking me to Paris for a week - a trip he's been planning to treat me with since my birthday (YAY!). I will be back on the 22nd of June, so please come back to find all about my scented explorations in Paris then! Oh, I'm so excited!

Until then, I invite you all to smell the summer and all the goodness that's in the air. I went for a trip to Mount Olympus yesterday and had the pleasure to walk around a very picturesque village filled with the sound of rushing, running water. My early evening stroll had me pausing every few steps just to marvel at the smells surrounding me. The most beautiful trail carried by the wind was the fantastic aroma of the linden trees. It being a scent I adore, I'd recognize it from afar, even before the tree would become visible. Once under the flower ladden tree, I found myself surrounded by the most amazing honeyed scent. So sweet, so magical is the fragrance produced by the flowers of the linden, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Elsewhere the far less pretty, but equally familiar scent of fermenting fruit moved my heart as well. The heavilly ladden fruiting trees and bushes had dropped countless berries and figs on the ground and these were producing a most pungent sweet-and-sour, drunken and slightly animalic nuanced scent in the air as they were fermenting into a sticky pulp. The soles of my snakeskin wedges became sticky, but I couldn't care less; the scent took me back to childhood holidays and days carefree. Unfortunately the figs were not ripe enough to pick yet (they'll only be ready come late August), but the green, uncomparable fragrance of the leaves and the sticky scent of the fallen fruit did not fail to bring an unwavering smile of calm and content to my lips. What a treat and what a gift, to be alive to be able to smell and to experience.

I look forward to seeing you all here again soon - I'll be back with lots more stories after the 22nd.
Bisous!

Images: Mt. Olympus and Linden Tree, both sourced from http://commons.wikimedia.org

Exams - Be Back Soon

Hi everyone,

I am sure you noticed things have been a little slower lately. That's because I've been studying for exams the last two weeks. I've got seven days left before my last exam and I really have to focus right now cause it's a tough one. I'll be back with reviews in a week's time, on the 3rd of June.

Stay Fragrant,

Divina

Your Blog Is F*ck!ng Fabulous Award

The sweet, lovely Jenavira from Scent of Abricots gave me a F*cking Fabulous Award! According to the rules I have to post five of my own fabulous addictions and present the award to 5 more blogs that I consider, well, fabulous!

Instructions and Rules:
1. You have to pass it (the award) on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.
Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then “add image” it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the “picture” widget. Also, don’t forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

My 5 F*ck!ng Fabulous Addictions:

1. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again because no such list for me would be complete without this: SHOES! I am the mad shoe collector, the insane shoe addict. Giuseppe Zanotti, Roger Vivier and Christian Louboutin are my favorite shoe brands, with Giuseppe Zanotti as a definite number one, high, high, high above the rest. Incomparable. (Have you seen his shoes for Balmain this year? He made feet absolutely fabulous both in the Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer collections.) He sends me into delirium! My most lovely latest addition to the collection was a pair of high-heeled black velvet Suecomma Bonnie sandals swathed in pearls. I told a friend I wanted to wear them with ripped skinny jeans to add shock value to the luxury of the shoe. She replied: “The best way to wear these, darling, are with no clothes at all.” Indeed.

2. Perfume. Need I say more? If you’re here, you know all about my addiction :) Latest obsession is the gourmand genre, completely wrong for the weather we’re having, but oh-so-comforting. Due to the fact that I am going through a rough, stressful period, I keep craving the voluptuous, comforting embrace of vanilla, almonds, milk, rice and everything else edible-incredible. When the weather overrules my need for comfort, I turn to soft spring florals.

3. I do not know how to reconcile a love of fashion, makeup, high heels and all things girly with this addiction, but here goes: Nintendo. I own every single console and handheld Nintendo ever made (with the exception of the original NES and the black and white gameboy). Most fun had this year with games: Racing online with Mario Kart Wii & talking to cute little animals on Animal Crossing City Folk.

4. David Suchet as Hercule Poirot! I can’t wait till the next 4 episodes are out. I have watched the entire series so far and I think it is AWESOME! I especially love the attention to detail put in making the sets as realistic as possible and adore the episodes with art-deco dress and furnishings.

5. My most fabulous addiction in life however, is life itself. I love the fact that I have managed to retain a childlike joie de vivre, managing to see things in life with the excitement of seeing them for the first time. The first snow of the year makes me do a little dance, the scents of the changing seasons in the air make my heart beat faster with excitement, the image of blossom petals swirling down from trees in spring makes me feel as though I’m in a fairy tale. Every single time I walk outside along the fantastically beautiful canals of Amsterdam, I thank God I am alive. When the sun is out and all the people gather outside in cafes next to the water, seeing their beautiful smiling faces floods my heart with love. Happiness makes me skip and hop, literally. Life is the most beautiful addiction!

I want to give this award to the following 5 fabulous blogs:

• S. from Notes From the Ledge who is an A-ma-zing writer. If she ever wrote a book, I would buy it. You are TALENTED, girl.
• Aimée L'Ondée from Mossyloomings, another wonderful writer with a fantastic sense of humor. Her smart, sassy, funny writing is fabulous.
• Brian and Abigail over at I Smell Therefore I Am. Their reactions to scents often correspond to my own and their personal commentary is a joy to read.
• The knowledgeable, thoughtful Carol over at WAFT. She is a true lady and one of the perfume bloggers whom I most long to meet.
• Finally, I hope she will forgive me for “outting” her, but I want to give a shout-out to Ines and All I Am – A Redhead, a reader who recently started blogging! Ines’ perspective on perfume is fresh and her journey worth following! I am so happy to have met a friend in her and I hope she keeps writing.

DKNYMEN Fragrance Event at Bloomingdale's

Who said all the cool beauty and fragrance events are for women? DKNYMEN Fragrance, Bloomingdale's and Details Magazine are inviting all the boys for a Men's Night Out!

In just two days, on April the 23rd the Bloomingdale's on NY's 59th Street is hosting the fun-filled event from 6 till 8:00pm. Guests will be able to enjoy a beer tasting by Heartland Brewery, try their luck on the roulette wheel and have fun with some Nintendo Wii gameplay. Guests that make a purchase of $65 or more from the DKNYMEN Fragrance Collection will receive a DKNYMEN messenger bag and a set of portable MP3 speakers.

When: Thursday, April 23rd, 2009, 6:00PM-8:00PM

Where: Bloomingdale's 59th Street, Metro 59, 1000 Third Avenue

Patchouli Sample Pack Winner

Ok, so I was planning a review of the new Prada Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger today, but seriously guys, you will have to forgive me! The weather is amazing! Those of you that live in rainy countries will understand: This is such a rare phenomenon, I'll just have to get my photosynthesis fix while I can! The review will be posted in the weekend instead! For now, here are the results of the patchouli sample pack draw: ChantillyLace is the winner! ChantillyLace, please mail me your details and I'll get the packet shipped to you :) Thank you all for participating and see you in the weekend with a review of the newest Prada!

A Change of Heart

How have your tastes in perfume changed over the years? I promised a couple of weeks ago that there was a series coming up here on Fragrance Bouquet, focusing on a particular note. The series is starting this Wednesday and is to comprise of a number of reviews focusing on patchouli-themed perfumes and is to culminate to a list of favorites. As many of you long-time readers already know, patchouli has been a defining, revelatory note for me. Making a 180 degree turn from hatred to love after a lifetime of avoiding patchouli frags like witches would a roaring pyre, I’ve gone through feelings of surprise, dissonance and acceptance for what still seems like a newly-found love. The time has come to celebrate this multi-facetted, full of nuances plant so important to perfumery.

But this post is not only about introducing the patchouli series. It is about change of heart in our perfume choices in general. I opened this post by asking you, how your tastes in perfume have changed over the years. I want to expand on this question and further ask: How do you feel about these changes? For me, accepting certain changes has not been easy. I grew up with a very clear instinct to passionately love green perfumes. Chypres, whether warm and animalic or strict, cold and austere were my primary love at an age when I could never have been able to say what a chypre was. Paloma Picasso’s Mon Parfum, Jean-Louis Scherrer 1, the original Nina, Rose Cardin de Pierre Cardin, Clinique’s Aromatics Elixir might have been completely age inappropriate, but I didn’t know and didn’t care. Chypres were my primary love. Related to the family in more ways than one, I also adored green, bitter and herbal perfumes: Clinique’s Wrappings with its sour herbal character held inexplicable, instinctive attraction, Cerutti 1881 with its chokingly bitter taste made me feel poisonously adult and Estee’s Private Collection was to me the brightest, most shining example of what a good perfume should be like: worth its money to the last penny, even though I could only afford the smallest size with my pocket money.

And through it all, I realize now, that I felt a certain kind of superiority, a certain snobbery towards those that in my eyes didn’t know any better. Not only could I not understand why people would choose anything remotely sweet smelling, but to my shame, I also felt a kind of pity. Furthermore, anything heavy on vanilla or even worse, a vanilla-patchouli combo was instantly translated as trashy in my mind. The women and girls that wore these perfumes instantly earned a desperate label in my mind. Do I forgive myself for the snobbery? Well, yes in a way… I was a teenager and youth comes brandished with such entitled superiority, such sheer conviction that one knows all and what’s more, one knows best. There is a certain hilarity in that. That doesn’t mean I am not ashamed of the way I thought then. Unfortunately however, there’s more to this… I have changed a great deal in the last five to six or so years when it comes to perfume choices. Suddenly I started appraising perfumes not in terms of whether I like them or not for personal use, but in terms of whether the scent in question was a well constructed, good perfume. Was it perhaps a fantastic perfume, even though I wouldn’t consider wearing it? The journey can be described as a great hobby that started off as completely egocentric (please my senses, my instincts), to something far more academic: perfume for itself. Then came this blog. And as I started wearing a different perfume almost every day, so I slowly found myself actually buying things I never expected I would buy. Suddenly I found that there no longer was a difference between what I appreciated and what I would actually crave to wear. For the past few years I find myself craving different things depending on my mood, the weather, my style of dress, the season, you name it. Choice seems completely arbitrary, no longer connected to a favorite family. The only limiting factor now, is whether I love something, and to my surprise still, even after so many years, I can love things from every fragrance family. And yes, it still surprises me. There is still a cognitive dissonance sometimes when I crave vanilla, patchouli, sugar, comfort, softness. My erstwhile self comes back to mock me sometimes. “You used to be chicer. You used to be sophisticated!” she says with her stupidly superior 15 year old voice as I pick up a comforting gourmand. I’ve yet to find a good answer to retort to her, even though I know that truthfully, I am far more sophisticated now than I was at 15. I can’t completely dissociate the label chic from the term Chypre or the characterization “green”. I can however feel secure in my judgment on what is good and tasteful and liberate myself from any worry with the confidence that my choice does the image I want to project justice.

Images: Heart via www.sxc.hu, grass and dewdrop via Flickr (originally uploaded by Scott Robinson). Last is the artwork depicting a girl trying to resist Eros. Unfortunately I no longer remember the artist or the title of the painting. If you know, then please drop me a line in the comments so I can attribute it.

We Will Be Right Back...

Hi guys! I have a deadline for a rather huge paper which I've been slowly slaving over since the beginning of January, so I will be out for a week from today, returning with new posts on Wednesday the 11th. Look forward to a big double Forget Me Not Feature, as well as a series on perfumes that share a particular note as their dominant characteristic, including a giveaway for a delicious sample that's kind of hard to come across. Yup, all sorts of goodies coming up, so check back in a week's time. And wish me luck! This is the most hideous paper I've had to write... ever.

Happy Holidays!

Fragrance Bouquet wishes you all Happy Holidays full of cheer!
I am currently in Greece, visiting family and getting some well deserved rest after the past few months of intensive studying and paper-writing. I really need this little holiday, so I will see you all in January, after the 5th, when I return back home to the Netherlands. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

May these holidays fill your spirit with gladness and your heart with love!

Image: www.sxc.hu

Fragrance Bouquet Says: Have A Laugh!

Well, it's another week of exams for me, so you'll have to forgive the slowness this week - I probably won't have time to post a review of Aurora before Monday. But in the meantime, I have a little (unrelated to perfume) treat to share!

Now, as you know, I LOVE fashion, and if you do too, then you're probably going to love this hilarious video clip! I only discovered it recently - it is by Dan Balan, a singer/composer from Moldavia. The unbelievably catchy/addictive song is called Crazy Loop and the video shows Crazy Loop, Dan Balan's 'entertaining, alternative personality' delivering pizza to a John Galliano fashion show, first perceived as a nuissance that hijacks the fashion show, but soon truly becomes the star of the runway event. What truly makes this video priceless is the funny, adorable John Galliano impersonator, who -I kid you not- is the spitting image of our beloved designer! Fashion savvy, sharp eyed viewers will also spot numerous other famous personas that are alluded to with various degrees of similarity by the actors playing them, including most entertainingly, an ostantatiously potrayed, black Karl Lagerfeld, as well as a perfectly cast André Leon Talley. So check the video out and have a laugh!

**NOTE: You can find the video embedded below, but my suggestion is to actually click here for a High Definition version. Unfortunately the HD version has disabled embedding so I could not include it in the post itself.

Basenotes opens votes for 9th Annual Fragrance Awards

Basenotes is one of the best online resources for fragrance lovers, offering a world of scented information at our fingertips: information on notes, listings by year and by house, blogs, articles, interviews and a lively community that is always willing to share information (Tip: Fragrance Bouquet loves the Basenotes Community City Guides for perfume shopping!). Focusing exclusively on the world of scent, it is no surprise that Basenotes readers are a highly targeted audience, and as such the opinions this community expresses have caught the attention of the perfume industry as well. This neatly brings us to the importance of participating in the voting for the 9th Annual Fragrance Awards! Let your voice be heard and participate! Doing so, also makes you eligible to win a $250 gift certificate, sponsored by FragranceNet to be spent on a selection of the thousands of products available at FragranceNet.com's online store. The prize will be offered to a randomly selected voter.

This year the categories are as follows:
• Best new fragrance (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best overall fragrance (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best fragrance for day (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best fragrance for evening (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best fragrance packaging (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best designer, mainstream or fine fragrance (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best niche, independent, artisan or boutique fragrance (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best mass-market, drugstore, budget or direct-sell fragrance (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best celebrity fragrance (Masculine and Feminine)
• Best fragrance house
• Best home fragrance
• Best fragrance blog

Go straight to the voting page by clicking here.

L'Aimant by Coty Sample Winner

Goodmorning beauties! I am about to run to class, but first a post to let you know that the winner of the vintage L'Aimant sample is none other than... Linda! Linda dear, congratulations! I have your addy, so I'll be shipping the sample to you on Monday. Thank you all for participating and look forward to more contests here on Fragrance Bouquet :)

Wishing you a great weekend,

Divina

Ghost Scents

You wouldn’t guess it from the interior, with its pretty fountain, the enormous, suspended mosaic of two gigantic eyes following you everywhere in the main hall, the artwork in the hallways, the throngs of students happily chattering away between classes but… Many, many years ago, the Psychology building of my University used to be a Hospital. Nowadays, the building has acquired the familiar smell of Academic buildings everywhere, without a doubt, a special smell itself: The smell of students, library books, computers and a faint whiff of food and coffee from the cafeteria. It is a smell as instantly recognizable as that of high schools, as anyone who has visited their old high school for a reunion and has been hit in the face by a smell that is truly a blast from the past can attest. But there are times when one really comes to realize that this building’s current scent is actually the intruder, a smell that is trying hard to banish the previous occupant. The previous occupant sometimes strikes back, desperate, aggravated; running down the stairs to catch a class students are sometimes – in fact rarely enough so that it always remains a huge surprise- assaulted by the Ghost Scent: The smell of the Hospital. Where does it come from? How does it resurface? How does it manage to remain hidden the rest of the time? Why does it make our heart skip a beat when we smell it? I am not surprised we react to the smell with aversion and dread – we are, after all, socialized from an early age to fear hospitals, and their smell is a strong reminder of all the negative associations related to them. I am however surprised at the tenacity of the scent, seemingly becoming an entity that lives on and on, long after one would expect it to.

Ghost Scents are not always unpleasant however. Have you ever worn a loved one’s clothes and found yourself living with their smell all day long? I have a friend with whom I exchange clothes. She lives in Greece and I live in the Netherlands… We send each other packets of things that do not quite work in our wardrobes any longer. When her packets arrive, I open them to find myself surrounded by her presence. What’s most surprising is that even after several wears and subsequent washes, her clothes retain her own unique smell - the fibers completely drenched in her essence as it were. When finally the harsh detergents manage to strip away every last bit of her slightly vanilla scented skin, I always feel distinctly disappointed…

From clothes, to cars and houses, the smell of ownership is present, slightly different each time, mingling with the scent of fibers and materials. None are as distinctive and as potent as the smells created by diverse, unrelated individuals sharing a common goal. The smell of the gym, the same in every country you visit, decade after decade: Muscle and sweat, enough to make your adrenaline levels rise and your heart to start pumping the moment you walk in. Even more evocative, the smell of dance. A recent visit to the Ballet Academy to sign up for a class made me feel like I was about to faint from wistfulness the moment I walked in, recently. It smelled of learning, almost like elementary school and high school combined, and its familiar scent was mingled with that of sweat. Not the sweat of a single person, but that of many. It smelled of collective effort and art, of broken toes, blissful misery and hope. There is no way this smell could ever be eradicated, even if the Academy became something else. Like the smell of the Hospital, the ghosts of a thousand dancers’ smell would come back to haunt this place, claim it as their own.

Some ghosts are living, living through the ages. When I travel back to Thessaloniki Greece, I am always greeted by the scent of this ancient city the moment I step out of the airport. Air that’s slightly thicker than I’m used to over here, humid and salty, smelling of the sea and the people, the vague smell of herbs and woods. The smell of a particular sort of energy reverberating in the air. It makes me want to fall down on my knees, Pope-like, and kiss the ground that bore me.

Some scents are truly gone from this earth however. I am lucky to have them living in my head, and I am even luckier to have this strange ability to call them forth and smell them again whenever I wish to. The scent of my maternal grandmother, recently gone from this world, is probably the most precious such Ghost. It smells of her skin, scented like fresh dough after working her capable hands on each and everything that needed attention in the house. That slight smell of sweet and sour dough, the smell of light sweat over clean, soapy skin, calls forth an image of her working in her old kitchen, turning to smile down at me. And all I can do is wish I could run and hug her again. But at least I have her smell. Ghost of a scent.

Images: www.sxc.hu, www.morguefile.com

Fragrance Bouquet Has Been Tagged!

Okay, so I don’t really do tagging games, or I thought I didn’t. But how could I refuse to play when I’ve been tagged by not one but four (!) of my favorite bloggers? It’s an honor, girls, and thank you for thinking of me! And the timing is perfect too: I am studying with such zeal for my exams, I probably won’t have a time for another post this week. So I hope all of you lovely readers out there will be content with some random info about me this week, and I’ll be back next week with more goodies I’ve been exploring all these days. (Yes, olfactory goodies have kept me going through these rough past two weeks)

First, the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you (Hey, that’s you Jenavira, Anya, Carol and Abigail!)
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random things about yourself
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


Six Random Divina things:
1) I collect shoes. Some years ago my db who is wonderfully crafty made a floor-to-ceiling display area for me, but the situation since then has gotten so out of hand the shoes no longer fit there and now there are shoes everywhere in the house: On top of closets in boxes, under sideboards and cabinets, under my dressing table and under the coat rack, just to give you an idea. (Yeah, he puts up with me, and I love him.)
2) My number one traveling destination is Japan, which happens to be my favorite country in the world after my own.
3) I have too much energy, which means that if I don’t exhaust myself on a daily basis I get bored and blue. The gym is what keeps me sane: doing high impact classes every day keeps me happy.
4) Photography is one of my hobbies, one I share with my dearest dad. I love taking shots of things that are considered ugly and showing their beautiful side: peeling paint, dilapidation and rust are favorite subjects. I also love playing with colors, geometry and shadows.
5) The scariest thing in this world for me is time. To me, it feels like time slips by so fast. Thoughts like this feel like a cold hand clutching my heart. I love life so much; I wish I could hang on forever...
6) Even though I know I’m really a city girl and I never really could live away from the excitement of urban life and all its conveniences, I can’t help but often daydream of having a house with the perfect huge garden that would have all my favorite fruiting trees. The trees of my heart would all be there: the generous, kind pomegranate I grew up with, the lemon and orange tree whose scents drove me wild each year when I was a child, the perfect fig tree that is no more, an enormous chestnut tree with its majestic shade in spring and delicious nuts come winter. And there’d be peacocks and ducks...


Now the people I will tag are: Tamara over at For the Love of Perfume, Sali at Pink Manhattan, Tom, who doesn’t only write about perfume on Perfume Smellin' Things but has his own blog as well, Pansy’s Rants, Chris over at Rosa Negra, Aimée at Mossyloomings and Max, a fellow perfume blogger from the Netherlands whose blog I was delighted to discover only just recently!

Image: Flickr, originally uploaded by ul Marga

Fragrance Bouquet Summer Favorites

I've been in Greece for about a week now, enjoying the sunny weather, meeting up with old friends and family, attending my high school reunion and catching up with classmates I hadn't seen for years, all the while eagerly anticipating the day that I will be flying to the Cyclades, a beautiful group of Aegean islands, known for their whitewashed walls and deep blue domes. That day is drawing near – I will be leaving for these dry, yet utterly and captivatingly beautiful isles this Friday- so today I have been prepping for my getaway. My day started with a mani-pedi combo (YAWN!), and since then I have been buffed, scrubbed, waxed, fussed over and generally tormented by various white robed specialists in order to become as cosmopolitan-party-island ready as Mykonos demands. The horrors of this day's poking, prodding and mind-numbing boredom behind, I am ready to indulge in some more island daydreaming together with you! Without further ado, here's a list of my summer essentials for this year, complete with photos. (I lie, my summer essentials this and every other year are 30+ UVA/UVB sunscreen, passport and plane tickets, but this is more fun).

Guilty as charged: summer makes me predictable. It's not enough that I crave coconut in my perfumes the moment I step out of the airplane, I also find myself desiring the perfunctory marine inspired wardrobe pieces as well. This nautical-chic top by Celyn B is my favorite and I love combining it with white shorts.

Speaking of shorts, my favorite pair this summer is this one, by Killah. I love the little charm decorated chain it comes with. As you see, the marine inspired theme continues. I'd try to look innocent, but that wouldn't fool anyone, would it?


I love simple, ropey belts in the summer!










Just when you thought I couldn't possibly have packed anything else that's even remotely marine in my suitcase, I've come up with this necklace for the kill. I fell in love with this piratey necklace by Les Nereides the moment I saw it. It consists of multiple long chains, others long and oxidized, others shiny and gold. The charms are absolutely fabulous: a golden cutlass sword, keys, coins, skulls and coral. I couldn't resist buying the matching earrings, which feature pretty little grey pearls as well. Jewelry is supposed to finish off an outfit, but I love this set so much I find myself planning my outfit around it...



Lauder's Azurée Soleil plainly makes me happy. I prefer the oil, which gives my body a lovely, subtle shimmer. It comes everywhere with me! If you love it as much as I do but you're out of juice, go for Bronze Goddess instead.


A pair of walking shoes in which to explore the tiny cobblestone alleys of a Greek island is a necessity and these ones by Superga keep me sweet with their cute and juicy color. They're pretty enough to wear in the evening as well – a good thing since I refuse to wear heels when I know I will be dancing till daybreak. Sometimes a girl simply has to slip into something sexier however, and these Pura Lopez wedges are just the ticket for me!



Gone are the days when I used to go either all black or all white in the bikini department. The last few years it's been all about color for me! Big, soft and most importantly bright towels are a must for the beach as well. These ones are from Benetton.



Lastly, it wouldn't really be summer for me without a few good books to sink my teeth into. The one I am most looking forward to reading, is “A Dangerous Liaison” by Carole Seymour-Jones. A dual biography of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, it is perhaps not the lightest of beach reads, but I find not only their writings but also their lives riveting, so this has been my favorite book purchase this summer.

Fragrance Bouquet on Summer Vacation and Draw Winner Announcement

Goodmorning dears! I've been impatiently counting down the days left till my vacation and this Wednesday I am finally flying to Greece. It's going to be Thessaloniki-Syros-Mykonos this time around. I will be taking a much needed rest (no, no, it's a lie - I will be partying! And shopping. And partying!) until the 26th of July. Expect the Bouquet to be back in full force on Monday the 28th! I am hoping to post at least once from Greece as well, since there are a couple of summery fragrances I've been itching to write about.

The winner of the vintage and modern Le Dix samples is Edwardian! Please email me your address as soon as possible - if I have it soon enough to be able to mail the samples from here (instead of from Greece) then I will be able to include a few extra goodies in the packet!

Fragrance Bouquet Loves... Kanebo

Fragrance Bouquet doesn’t just love Kanebo, Fragrance Bouquet adores Kanebo! We were long overdue for another FB Loves feature, so today I would like to present to you the five Kanebo products I simply cannot live without.

First of all, a few words about Sensai, the line I use: Sensai means “delicacy” or “finess” in japanese, but it also expresses an ideal of beauty and grace. Perhaps it wouldn’t inspire too much confidence in some, but Kanebo actually begun as a textiles company and research into cosmetics was spurred by the fact that the women that worked with silk textiles at the factory had beautifully youthful hands, so the company begun researching the effects of silk on the skin. The first skincare products were launched in the 1930s and they have been featuring silk as an ingredient ever since.

My skincare regime begins with the Sensai Silky Purifying line to which I am absolutely devoted. Before I started using the three products I am about to present I had problems with clogged pores in areas in my t-zone, mainly on and around the nose as well as between the brows. Unfortunately I am averse to facials, which I find unnecessarily harsh. Not only do I find them unpleasant, but my sensitive skin actually reacts with long-lasting (more than normal at least) redness and once I’ve even had problems with a tiny broken capillary that vain as I am I had to remove with laser. However, after a couple of months of using Kanebo’s Sensai Silky Purifying products, my skin is not only radiant but also cleansed: No more clogged pores, no more little unsightly black dots that drive me mad every time I look in the mirror. Just pure, radiant, clear skin which I am actually really proud of!

· Sensai Silky Purifying Cleansing Oil (Step 1): As the name suggests, this product is an oil, used for cleansing the skin. It is not very thick, but it requires only a tiny amount per use, which makes it a great bargain in my opinion. Just a small amount in the palm is enough to clean the whole face of any trace of make-up. It melts away everything, from mascara to foundation without requiring excessive rubbing. A simple gentle massage is enough, which means that you avoid unnecessarily stressing the sensitive eye area, which is so susceptible to fine lines and wrinkles. I use this every night even when I have gone without make-up, just to cleanse my skin of any impurities at the end of each day. Despite its oily texture, it washes away immediately with water, leaving the skin feeling moisturized and clean.

· Sensai Silky Purifying Creamy Soap (Step 2): As I mentioned earlier, I have extremely dry skin. Every single soap I have ever used on my face –even foaming cleansers that contain no soap- have left my skin feeling dry, experiencing a ‘pulling’ sensation, as though my skin was two sizes too small for my face. Not so with this one. My skin actually feels moisturized after using this product. This is meant to be used after the cleansing oil, applied on moist skin. The amount needed is minute: you are only meant to use a pea-sized portion on the fingertips, with which you create a rich lather when rubbing them against the wet palm of the other hand. It feels beautifully rich and soft, a simple luxury I truly enjoy. Both the creamy soap and the oil have a delicate, not-quite-there scent that enhances the experience, since it actually smells really clean.

· Sensai Silky Purifying Silk Peeling Powder: My holy grail of peeling products, this is the softest, gentlest peeling there is. Having had problems with redness around my t-zone area in the past, I dislike using anything granular on my sensitive skin. This product is an enzyme powder that can be worked into a lather when it comes into contact with water. It thoroughly removes dead skin cells, old horny matter, dark pores and patches of rough skin, leaving one with a silky, retexturised surface, ready to soak up a mask or moisturizer of choice. The packaging is perfect, allowing one to obtain the right amount with precision just by turning the bottle upside down once. Those with oily skin can turn to the Sensai Pore Clarifying Essence for extra help with keeping the pores clean and sebum free, but those of us with dry skin should limit ourselves to the three products listed here.

The next two products belong to the Sensai Silk line as well and are my night-time staples. This line, meant for the younger skin, is created to prevent the early aging symptoms, as well as to correct existing early aging problems. These products promise to bolster the skin’s defenses against environmental aggressors, shielding, protecting and reinforcing the skin-cells, helping to preserve youthfulness and minimizing the need for corrective interventions later on.

· Sensai Silk Softening Lotion (Step 1): This product comes in either Light or Moist formula, the first one for normal, oily or combination skin, the second one for dry or very dry skin. As you’ll probably already have guessed, I use the Moist version. I was originally unconvinced that I needed to use a primer before my moisturizer, but I instantly changed my mind after being provided with a generous 30ml sample of the lotion by the amazing and helpful SA that always helps me choose my skincare products. The difference this makes is amazing. Using this before the emulsion means I wake up with ten times more moisturized skin that is absolutely, improbably radiant. This one is meant to enhance the effect of subsequent products used, and indeed, it does deliver as promised. You can apply this with a cotton pad, or simply gently pat the liquid with the palms of the hands, the method I personally prefer, as it is not only cost-effective (no product going to waste just soaked up by the pad), but it also seems to just work better, creating a better moisturized surface.

· Sensai Silk Emulsion (Step 2): This product comes in Light, Moist and Super Moist versions, depending on the needs of one’s skin. Having ultra dry skin I prefer the Super Moist formula, of course. The texture of this product is silky and feels rather more runny than other intensive, heavy-duty moisturizers I’ve used, something I am pleased about, since I do not have to work it into the skin, but can simply gently apply it. It comes with a pump applicator, meaning the product does not get exposed to the elements or contaminated with bacteria and foreign matter from the hands, keeping it good and fresh to the last drop. It is so very moisturizing, I have to actually remind myself to apply cream in the mornings when I wake up! My skin simply never feels dry ever since I’ve started using this, and my complexion is radiant and even. Thoroughly recommended!

What are your holy grail skincare products? Have you found anything that *really* works? Please let me know!

Images: www.sensai-cosmetics.com

Would you Like this on Your Dresser? Greek Gems

Perfume containers in ancient Greece were most often earthenware, spun ceramics, whose shape reflected the type of perfume held within. Lekuthos, slim elegant vials, were often made of glass and were mostly used for liquid perfume. Aryballes were used for perfumed oils, balms and ointments. Alabastron bottles were very collectible perfume containers, often branded by the craftsmen who made them, rendering them even more collectible, especially amongst women. Tourists that visit Greece nowadays will be hard-pressed to find any original Greek perfumes today, despite the fact that this little, beautiful Mediterranean country has had a strong relationship with perfumes and cosmetics since ancient times. In addition to flower essences such as iris, rose, lily and violet, the Greeks also favored spices and herbs, such as marjoram, sage and cumin for their scents. Incense and myrrh were originally seen as only fit for the gods and were reserved for religious rituals, up until the 4th century B.C., when a shift in tastes and ideology occurred. Certain regions and islands still produce scents made with local plants and resins, but even these are hard to find even for natives. The island of Zakynthos (also known as Zante) for example, still has a small family operated perfumery business which makes six different scents, four marketed towards women and two that are considered rather more masculine. These are all made with local ingredients, the most beautiful of which is made by a local flower that resembles jasmine. However interesting, these modern Greek perfumes likely bear no resemblance to the Greek perfumes of ancient times. Still, we can admire the containers of these precious oils and essences while imagining a world in which perfume was once so popular it was feared that it would bring on an economic crisis...




· Aryballos shaped like a warrior’s head, wearing a helmet. Two-tone ceramic, 6th century B.C., found in Rhodes. www.museumdelperfume.com







· Alabastron bottles, ovoid-shaped. Particularly attractive image of woman looking in the mirror (far left). 4th century B.C., Egnatia. www.museumdelperfume.com







· This magnificent Aryballos stands only about 6.8 cm (2.7 inches) tall, yet manages to display no fewer than seventeen fully armed warriors. According to the text accompanying the picture on the British Museum’s website the warriors

“are locked in combat, thrusting their spears, jostling for position, or falling to the ground. Each warrior is armed with plumed helmet, spear and blazoned shield. Some are realistically streaked with blood. Two further figure scenes below show a horse-race and a hare-hunt. The upper part of the vase takes the form of a lion's head, its mouth open to display rows of fearsome teeth and a red tongue.”

This fabulous flacon dates from about 640 BC, was made in Corinth and is said to be from Thebes, Greece. www.britishmuseum.org







· This funny looking terracotta scent bottle in the shape of a rotund, squatting little man stands about 15 cm (5.9 inches) tall and according to the British Museum’s wonderful website, he is more of a “caricature, made for comic effect”. It was found in Kameiros, on the island of Rhodes, where reportedly, hundreds of other perfume bottles have been found. It dates from about 520 BC. www.britishmuseum.org








· I love the graceful lines of this perfume bottle, in the shape of a heron. This particular aryballos is clay earthenware and stands about 13 cm (5.1 inches) tall. It dates from about 580 BC. The piece belongs to the Cleveland Museum of Art, it is, however, not on display at the moment. www.clevelandart.org







· This beautiful alabastron also comes from Kameiros, Rhodes, and is made of clay. Standing 21 cm (8.3 inches) tall, it is in the shape of a woman wearing a veil on her head and a pendant around her neck. She is tenderly holding a dove against her breast. According the British Museum’s website alabastra were mostly used by women:

“Scenes on figured vases suggest that women were the main users of alabastra: they are shown being given to women as presents or being bought by women in the market.”

This particular one dates from 550 BC. www.britishmuseum.org





Images: www.arthistory.sbc.edu, www.museumdelperfume.com, www.britishmuseum.org, www.clevelandart.org

What's Fragrance Bouquet Up to?

Dear Readers,

The next post here on Fragrance Bouquet is due this Wednesday - I have to skip today's post due to a rather hectic schedulle. The reason? This week I am devoting most of my energy to a big project I have been working on for the past few months: I am directing a play I translated earlier this year and this will be staged for one night only this Saturday evening. We have gone from rehearsing two to three times a week to rehearsing every day now, and after that meeting with the stage crew, effects team, designers and everyone else until late in the evening, losing sleep over details. So, just a few more days now until the big day and I am bursting with enthusiasm, excitement and ...trepidation. Now, I know Fragrance Bouquet has many readers in this area, so I will go for a shameless plug: If you are thinking about joining us on Saturday, you can order tickets as well as find a little more information on the play itself on LAK Theater's website. Thank you for your patience.

See you all Wednesday!

Divina .~*