Today I weigh less than a shadow on the wall, just one more whisper of a voice unheard.

Scent Spotlight on EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge and Giveaway

Shelley Waddington, perfumer of the EnVoyage Perfumes lines, reached out to me recently with an intriguing new offering. Like any good 'fumie, I jumped at the chance to review it.

EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge is part of the Rubicon Collection. This 100% natural scent is a "Deep, Lightly Spiced Rose Soliflor" and is described as follows:

The many meanings that cluster around rose – friendship, passion, love – are fulfilled in L’Emblem Rouge. It incorporates the full scentual and spiritual significance of the rose. Sensual rose set in soft woods, balsam and amber. A modern classic with a timely message. 

Top Notes: Cassie, Mace, Cinnamon, Bitter Orange, Juicy Grapefruit, Green Pepper, Iranian galbanum, Violet, and Cistus Heart Notes: Organic Iranian Rose Otto, Ylang-Ylang, Heliotrope, French Jasmine sambac, Violet, and Honey Base Notes: Guaiacwood, Sandalwood, Copaiba, Vetiver, Cedarwood Virginia, Tolu Balsam, Benzoin Siam, Tonka, Vanilla and Ambergris.

Did anyone call for a spicy rose? Because here it is with emphasis on the woods and spices. I get a lot of wood in the opening, which is a new aspect of roses for me, and I've got a lot of roses. Tonka and cedarwood provide a strong, gently sweet base that comes immediately upon application and feels almost like a dry chocolate powder dusted over rose petals. After a few minutes I also get some bitter orange and grapefruit, which was a unique twist on spicy rose. Over time, L’Emblem Rouge becomes a gently sweet, slightly edible, spice mix with what feels like a rose base.  Despite being a soliflor, the rose here seems less the focus but more the lead partner in an intricate dance.

I tried it next to Teo Cabanel Oha, Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance, DSH Perfumes Dirty Rose, DSH Perfumes Beach Roses, and DSH Perfumes American Beauty, and it was nothing like those . However, as I dug back through my bag of perfumey tricks, I did find a scent it reminded me of, and I think provides an interesting contrast - Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chyree.

Une Rose Chypree, on me, is a hot sticky (but lovely) mess of cinnamon, labdanum, and patchouli. L’Emblem Rouge has more sweet foodie citrus and wood. "Lightly spiced" is a good description because the spice aspect is gentle and less aggressive than Une Rose Chypree. Now while I love and admire Une Rose Chypree as I do most Tauer Scents, the truth is the gentleness of L’Emblem Rouge makes it infinitely more wearable by the average person. It's a strong, bold, and yet surprisingly accessible scent. Given my choice between a bottle of the each, I would have a difficult time choosing, but think I'd probably go for L’Emblem Rouge.

For any one who has ever thought all naturals were weak and fleeting, lacking both the oomph and staying power of synthetics and mixed ingredient scents, I offer EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge as counter-exhibit A. Beautiful blooming on the skin, moderate to high sillage, and long lasting, L’Emblem Rouge is proof positive that all natural scents can have long lives; a dose from a wand sample lasted on me in excess of six hours, though it stayed relatively close to the skin after about three and a half. Still, in a sprayer? Probably a scent I'd still be catching hints of after a long day at work.

On the whole, I find L’Emblem Rouge artfully composed, and well worth a try. It can be found here.

A beautiful scent alone is a wonderful thing, but L’Emblem Rouge is particularly special because of the generosity of the fine folks at EnVoyage Perfumes. A lifetime gift of five percent of all L’Emblem Rouge proceeds are donated to Broadway Cares, a leading nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization.

I am old enough to remember HIV/AIDS at the height of its prominence in terrorizing the American psyche. I came of age in the late 80s/early 90s, and I have crystal clear memories of the incredible effort put into educating my generation about safer sex practices. I am not HIV+, but I have known and cared greatly for people who were, a few of whom lost their lives to AIDS or AIDS-related complications.

Because of this personal connection, I am incredibly touched by Shelley's efforts. Any time I am having a bad day, it heartens me to be able to look around and think of all the kindnesses we do for one another that aren't necessarily required of us, kindnesses given freely to strangers who will never know us, who will perhaps never meet us, but whose lives are improved by the goodness inherent in our deeds. It is proof that human beings are probably capable of ending most of the strife and pain in the world if we can gather our collective will and marry it to our compassion and ingenuity. In this respect, we are truly and profoundly miraculous.

I can think of a lot of issues that need this kind of collective miracle, but the HIV crisis in Africa would be high on my list of problems that could be solved if we wanted. Yes, there are practical problems: trying to devise distribution chains for medication in remote locations; teaching people all across a continent from a panoply of cultures that are not slaves to time or regiment how to deal with a drug cocktail that requires a consistent routine; overcoming cultural barriers to learning preventative care and safer sex practices; even the basic difficulty of maintaining peace in order to make delivery of materials. These are just a few of the challenges.

Just looking at the meager list I have propounded, I acknowledge: it's a logistical nightmare of epic proportions. But so is the crisis. Too many people -- young and old, men, women, and children -- are dying every day from a disease that the western world has engineered out of terminal status and into a condition treated more as a chronic illness.

Those of us on top have this strange self-delusion that we will always be here. That unearned and unrealistic certainty has been called a lot of things in human history: manifest destiny, American exceptionalism, to name a couple. A good student of history realizes that the circumstances that make up the differences, though, could be reversed on us. Eventually, even Rome fell.  A significant earthquake along the West Coast, a biological agent released widely, or hell, a complete and extended lack of confidence in the market, could cripple an already limping country, and the hysteria and fear that followed could reduce our once great nation, frankly, to so much anarchic dust. In that circumstance, would we really want those with the ability to provide us aid and assistance in our darkest hour to decide that reaching out would be too logistically difficult to bother?

The concept of the veil of ignorance is a simple one: wherever souls come from, the part of you that is your consciousness was born into a particular time and place. That makes some of us inherently safer, healthier, and better off from the moment of inception by sheer dumb luck. That privilege isn't something that was earned, and it could have easily been someone else far less fortunate in your shoes and you in theirs. So imagine, for one moment, that just before your personal die was cast, you had the opportunity to distribute wealth and access and resources and education. Maybe you wouldn't make it exactly equal everywhere, but you'd probably at least ensure that the minimal needs of every person next to be born were met because you could not know which of those people would be you.

Americans are hard-working, but we are also lucky. We have innovated a lot of technology, particularly pharmaceutical advances. We owe it to those born into crippling poverty and resource inequality to meet the challenges that stand between them and basic necessities like food, clean water, shelter, safety, and health care. Not just in this country, but anywhere there are people in the world willing to accept it. I'm not saying we must force other cultures to conform to modernity or western thought to accomplish this; I'm not into naked paternalism or cultural colonization. I am saying, though, that we have a moral obligation to offer some of what we have and to assist those who need and want our help. And that we carry the burnt of that logistical weight, for surely their burden is already more than enough.

But enough politics and philosophy; back to the perfume.

Shelley Waddington has generously provided me a 1ml sample of  L’Emblem Rouge and a mini spray flacon of L’Eau de Emblem Rouge, the hydrosol distilled from the parfum reviewed above, to give away to one lucky winner. I'm adding a CD to the mix to entice you; and this won't be a one of the monthly mixes, but a specially made CD reflecting on the theme of the value and beauty of life and good health we so often take for granted.

Open to all readers anywhere. To enter please post below by: 12:01AM, Friday, September 23, 2011 Pacific Standard Time.

"Tomorrow leave the windows open
As fear grows please hold me in your arms
Won't you help me if you can to shake this anger
I need your gentle hands to keep me calm...
I can't believe you love me
I never thought you'd come
I guess I misjudged love
Between a father and his son.
- "The Last Song," Elton John

Ribbon image courtesy of freizeit.  Chart from the United Nations World Health Organization. Other images from creative commons.

Because the old black rum's got a hold on me...

Perfume Challenge Week 14: Monday, 3/4/11, to Friday, 4/8/11

Next weekend is the annual Hood River Blossom Fest.  I'm heading to Seattle for a friend's birthday for the weekend, so a friend and I drove out to look at the Hood River 'Fruit Loop.'   It's not quite in bloom yet, unfortunately, but it was a nice drive through the Gorge nonetheless.

Monday: L'Artisan The Pour Un Ete - notes: Jasmine Tea, Green Tea, hints of lemon and peppermint A bright burst of lemon immediately shifts to a peppermint with a jasmine edge. Compared to Jo Malone Fresh Mint Leaf, which is slightly sweeter, this mint is more mint bordering a garden of jasmine than mint candy. Would make a nice masculine. Nice but not for me. 3 of 5 nods.

Tuesday: Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin - Reminiscent of the scent of limes carried on a Caribbean sea breeze, Lime Basil & Mandarin has become a modern classic for men and women. Fresh limes and zesty mandarins are undercut by peppery basil and aromatic white thyme in this alluring signature blend.

 Lime and basil is not a winning combination in my world. It's dry, it's bitter, it's not, well not good. It's like sour dry pencil shavings, and not in a good way. 1 of 5 nods.

Wednesday: Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb - notes: Sambac Jasmine, Centifolia Rose, Cattleya Orchid, Ballerina Freesia, Patchouli I'm already on record as *hating* Flowerbomb's entire advertising campaign. However, I had a sample, and decided to see if the scent was as bad as its advertising.

I really liked the opening, which was a combination of licorice and cotton candy. It was a dark, sweetly sexy scent. Unfortunately (or fortunately) this last all of ten minutes. Then it turned sour on me. *jen says she got "crème brûlée sitting next to a vase of flowers" and I wish I could say the same. Instead, I get a smell like cotton candy that's flavored to resemble canaloupe balls covered in white mold. That strong sour notes backs off eventually, but still lurks in the bottom, making it a loud, overly sweet unpleasant experience. I think I see some of the caramel that is supposed to be the scent's inspiration, but it smells curdled -- not burned, but actually spoiled somehow. Honestly, I'm relieved I don't like it; now I can sleep soundly knowing I never have to help the ad firm responsible for its marketing make any money. 1.5 of 5 nods.

Thursday: Olympic Orchids Bay Rum - Olympic Orchids does this amazing thing where some of the samples you receive are not part of the line. Because of that, I can't tell you what notes are in Bay Rum, or even if you'll ever be able to purchase it. I hope you will, because I really enjoyed it. Bay Rum is a deep, dark, musky scent, with elements of: warm rubber, damp basement, vanilla bean, powered cocoa, and a little clove. It's what I imagine you'd smell bouncing across the back roads of a Caribbean island in an open Jeep on an extremely hot day. It positively smolders on the skin, and would make a nice masculine or feminine. 3 of 5 nods.

Friday: Téo Cabanel Alahine - notes: Bergamot, ylang-ylang, jasmine, Moroccan rose, iris, cistus, patchouli, benjoin, vanilla, sandalwood, musk So here we go again, with a a spicy rose that reminds me of Tauer Perfumes Une rose chyprée. This is a lighter scent, textured and structural instead of luch and supple. If Une rose chyprée is brick and skin, then Alahine is the steel under the bricks, the bones beneath the skin. It's not cloves and oranges, it's musk and incense, but in a staid sort of way. There's something else there, too, something a little like chewing tobacco... I like Alahine, but I don't psychotically love it like everyone else seems to. Maybe if I hadn't met Une rose chyprée first. I recommend trying both to decide which one is right for you. 3 of 5 nods.

Winner of the Week: Téo Cabanel Alahine, L'Artisan The Pour Un Ete and Olympic Orchids Bay Rum are all fine selections, though for me Bay Rum is the winner for sheer originality.

"So I drank all of my money and I slept out in the rain.
Every day is different but the nights they're all the same.
You never see the sun on the old black rum
but I know I'm gonna do it again!"

 - "The Old Black Rum," Great Big Sea

Photos: Dana Joe and The Kitchn

There ain't no grave gonna hold my body down...

Monday, 1/31/11, through Friday, 2/4/11

First off: TaffynFontana, please send me an email at feminine.things@gmail.com to claim your prize! 


Weird week that started out with me deathly ill at the beginning and ended with what I would describe as an "atmospherically appropriate" trip to the coast on a day so grey and misty you couldn't actually see much; a nameless bar for cocktails, tomato soup, grilled cheese and fondue; a French patisserie  where I had a truly delightful and aromatic cup of rosemary mocha; and a trip to see the largest glockenspiel in the U.S.

Why did I go see said glockenspiel?  Because I could, of course!


Monday: Teo Cabanel Oha - I was so sick, kids. So very sick. Like had the serious flu and slept 30 of 36 hours. Of the six hours I was awake, I spent one of them in the shower. When I was out, clean and free of fever sweat, I still couldn't smell anything. I put on Oha on so I felt like I smelled nice, even if I couldn't tell myself. I also changed my sheets and sprayed some on my pillow case, which I liked but my kitten really did not, which she showed me by refusing to get back in the bed with me. Full review here.

Tuesday: Bond No. 9 New Haarlem - Can't smell a damn thing. On those days, you go for comforting. It's there for those small moments you get a whiff of anything while you're blowing your brains out through your nose. Full review here, though I wrote it so early in my perfumista days that it's the equivalent of a "stub" article on wikipedia.

Wednesday: Cristiano Fissore Rapsodia in Blu - Lemon, bergamot, rosemary, petitgrain, mugweed, jasmine, lily of the valley, cedarwood, white musk

Back at work, and I can even smell again...kinda. Hello white flowers, it's been a while. This is one of those scents that feels like a mishmash of similar things all smashed together to create a nice, clean, unoffensive scent. In other words, kinda boring. It's nice, but not particularly distinctive in any way. If you imagine someone filling water balloons with oil paint and then throwing them at a canvas covered in spikes to break them on impact, then replace the oil paint with scent, you get the general idea. Also, rimagine they only used pastel colored paints, and therefore pastel scent notes, and you'll get what I mean. It reminds me of Kai, but less interesting and also a lot less strong, so if you find Kai overwhelming in its giant white floral soapiness, then you might like this better. It's not a scrubber, but it just doesn't have a lot to recommend it. Which is too bad because it has a pretty kick-ass name. 2 of 5 nods.

Thursday: Comme des Garcons x Artek - Finnish Labrador Tea, Twinflower (Linnea Borealis), fennel, ginger, lemon, musk, saffron, cedarwood

The open is lemon and cedar, giving it a flickering flame and glowing soft white wax feel. Over time, it moves toward incense and wood and away from lemon. This incense reminds me of Mass (not unlike CB I Hate Perfume Fire from Heaven) but is less acrid fire and more melting candlewax and incense. I actually think it is more wearable in an okay-for-normal-every-day wear, as opposed to Fire from Heaven that feels like a Holy Day Mass, as opposed to any given Sunday during Ordinary time. FN1 I never really get any ginger and very little musk, if any. The end result is a strangely intimate kind of experience. I think this one is a better masculine than feminine, but it could go either way. 3 of 5.

Friday: CB I Hate Perfume Patchouli Empire
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,

I went to a hippy college, where the "sweet scent of patchouli perfuming the air" was an ongoing joke due to the general lack of showering. So honestly I put off sampling this for a very long time because I figured I'd hate it, at minimum in principle if not in fact. Boy, was I wrong.

When I hear that trumpet sound
I’m gonna get up out of the ground

It's weird and wonderful. It's my favorite Whitman Poem. It is dreaming of transcendentalism under a tree by Walden Pond, or marching through Southern thickets in search of long lost gravemarkers for attenuated southern ancestors. If I was going to a graveside this is what I'd want to wear if I wanted to blend in with the scenary. It's not funerary; it's all earth and peat and oak moss. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

I probably make it sound creepy, but it's not. It's the cycle of life...and death. And life again. Round and round. Like the end of Steel Magnolias. "That's the way it should be. Life goes on."

Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.

4.5 of 5 nods, and only because I am in love with Black March and Wild Hunt, but this is greener than either of those if you'd like all that dirt without the sweet rain of the former or the slightly floral bent of the latter.

Winner of the week:  Patchouli Empire, obviously. :)
__________________________
FN1 This analogy probably only means something to my random Catholic readers. For the rest of you unwashed heathens (*wink*) think the difference between going to Easter church with your in-laws verses getting up and going to church regularly.

I'll take you to far away places and we'll eat lemons and limes

Téo Cabanel Méloé

Continuing fruits week, today I am reviewing Téo Cabanel Méloé, which doesn't really classify as fruity. Hey, there's citrus in there, so I'm going for it, stretch or not.

Téo Cabanel has this to say about Méloé:

In the heat of long-awaited summer days, the Méloé woman has found a fresh haven. Her elegant summer signature is underlined by her light, green, fruity eau de perfum.

Méloé's Epicurian symphony generously draws its top notes from citrus and spices. Bergamot from Calabria, mandarin and lemon from Sicily, lavender and basil play their part in perfect harmony. The sparkling citrus notes linger until a dainty floral bouqet of Neroli from Tunisia, orange blossom and jasmine with just a touch of nutmeg comes to full bloom to make up the heart notes. Unexpected sensual base notes of musk, amber and just a hint of woody notes. Lavish elegance and mystery, Méloé: the modern woman in you.

On me, Méloé is a citrus-y green turned aquatic concoction. I primarily get a strong lime note on application, but that lightens up pretty quick, and it gets grassier. After about twenty minutes it becomes more aquatic as the floral notes pop through a bit. It also lightens up considerably and has low sillage, so it feels like a scent you'd be able to splash on to cool down throughout the day without knocking anybody down with your sillage after the third application.

As for the spice notes, I'm don't get much of them, which is too bad because a stronger basil note might have made Méloé a more complex summer scent. Still, Méloé is a well-made scent and would make for a delightful cool down on a hot summer day. (Or hot any-day here in SoCal.) At the same time, it doesn't I feel like anything I haven't smelled before. Don't get me wrong, it's a really nice citrus-green smell, and it holds its niceness, so if you like that sort of thing, this is a good choice.

I do wonder why it is so hard to create a genuinely citrusy note that seems to last, though. There are a whole lot of citrus scents that smell, not like citrus fruit, but like 'citrus flavored' candy, which is about as much like real citrus fruit as a plastic pony is to a real one. Then there are the scents that manage to capture the experience of delicious and juicy cirus fruit, but the lovely note is usually something that occurs when the scent is in transition to its final olfactory destination. I really like citrus and always have, so I find myself trending toward the good citrus-noted scents like Méloé and reapplying them often to recapture that scent. I wish I knew of more high quality realistic citrus scents out there, and if you readers can think of some, please feel free to leave them for me in the comments.

All that said, I do like Méloé enough that come the hottest days of summer I can imagine myself reaching for it again and again, and I would certainly consider buying it when the 100+ degree days set in next summer because at $78 for 100ml you get enough to be liberal with the application and still have the bottle last you a while.

To buy Téo Cabanel Méloé, try LuckyScent and other online purveyors.

"Let's go home to the world
and eat our share of fruit.
An unknown race,
A hole in the loop of my dreams,
eating lemons and limes...
- "Lemons and Limes," Ben Holmquist

Want more reviews? Try...
~ A review from All I Am - A Redhead.
~ A review from W.A.F.T.

Images from We Eat and eHow.

Hey Mr. Postman, look and see....

"There must be some word today
from my boyfriend, so far away.
Please Mister Postman, look and see
if there's a letter, a letter for me..."

Today was a very good day, mail-wise.

I got a big package of my mail from David, who is still in Portland, containing some medication I needed, my Fall Fashion edition of Elle magazine, a sweet little alumni magazine featuring full page pictures of current students I know and far flung cohort friends I miss dearly, and a bunch of random mail.

Also, my bottle of Téo Cabanel Oha arrived today from Greece! I love mail just generally, but getting mail with fancy international stamps on it is extra special. (Though my students do frequently wonder why I am constantly getting sweet smelling packages from Europe marked "Fragile" all over them!)

The seller had wrapped it like a gift, too. A little gift to me for surving here in SoCal for two months as of tomorrow. It seems like so much longer, especially since, without a visit from my sister and the regular companionship of a dear friend from college who lives about a 45 minute drive away, I would be sweltering out here in the desert all alone.

Pictures included for your entertainment.

"...deliver the letter,
the sooner the better...
- "Please Mr. Postman," The Marvelettes

Slow like honey, heavy with mood...

Téo Cabanel Oha

Roses are one of my favorite scents. If there’s a rose scent around, I’m going to try it. As my nose has improved, one of the things I’ve noticed is how different roses can be presented, how the use of a Moroccan rose verses a Bulgarian rose changes the to me of a particular scent.

The rose I’m reviewing today is Téo Cabanel Oha. Perfume Posse’s March described Oha as “dark, spicy rose.” Luckyscent offers the follow description

Téo Cabanel Oha is a fresh sweep of bergamot in harmony with a delicate tea aroma. Voluptuous roses from Bulgaria & Morocco and jasmine from Egypt, create its heart of spicy notes enhanced with Guatemala Cardamom. Suddenly, Oha luxuriates in the captivating powdery notes of vanilla, iris, tonka bean and exotic woods lifted by a note of white musk. Transcending time and space this enigmatic perfume will appeal to the woman who likes her fragrance to reflect her own unique personality. Oha is considered to be a sexy, evening scent, but truly you can wear it anytime.

Notes: Bergamot, Tea accord, Bulgarian and Damascus rose, jasmine, cardamom, tonka bean, vanilla, white musk, Exotic woods

The first time I tried Oha, rose wasn’t the first thing to jump out at me. The first thing I thought was “Honey! Wait. Roses? And honey!” The initial application, on me, is very strongly honey like, which I think is the combo of rose and the tea note. After about fifteen minutes the rose takes center stage, deepened by that spicy note. After about an hour, I finally get to the woody/powdery bits and the honeyed rose seems to have disappeared. While it is still a lovely scent, this is one of those scents where I love the initial application so much that I keep reapplying it to have the experience over and over. It is a sensuous experience, conjuring in my mind the soft delicate petals, like velvet, caressed and, briefly, overcome, by a thick flow of affection and sweetness.

Based on what I read about Oha, this was not what I expected from the descriptions. After trying it a couple of times on its own, looking over the notes and other reviews, I decided to try Oha against three others with some similar notes: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz La Rose Fleurette, Parfumerie Generale Brulure de Rose, and Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance. About ten minutes after initial application is similar to Lady Vengeance in some ways, but without the dirty note you get from the heavy patchouli in Lady Vengeance. After half an hour, Oha morphs into something more similar to La Rose Fleurette. By the time an hour passes, Oha no longer resembles any of the three above, and is entirely its own experience. If you like roses, I highly recommend this one, because I do think it is unique and beautiful at each respective turn. To me, that's what makes it special. All the twists and turns in this one make it romantic and sexy, secretive and alluring.

My big secret,
gonna hover over your life,
gonna keep you reaching.
when I'm gone like yesterday,
when I'm high like heaven,
when I'm strong like music
'cause I'm slow like honey,
and heavy with mood.
- "Slow Like Honey," Fiona Apple

Want more? Try reviews of Oha from…
~ I Smell, Therefore I Am here.
~Perfume Posse here.
~ Perfume Critic here.

A Near Wild Heaven: Spring 2009 Top Ten

So I am totally overwhelmed trying to finish what may be the last month of school I ever experience, along with its attendant last set of finals/papers I might ever have to deal with. Obviously this is…time consuming.

Spring, sprang, sprung!

Whatever it takes, I'm giving.
It's just a gift I'm given.
Try to live inside.
Trying to move inside...

However, I’ve been remiss and inattentive, dear readers. But to make amends, I’m offering up my Top Ten Spring Scents of 2009. Spring, to me, is the world’s asserted awakening after a long sleep. It smells like fresh rain and earth and flowers, like bike rides and visits to farmers markets and patio parties. The following scents feel like that to me, like newness. Like hope. Like renewal.

Because I am so busy, I can only offer up the ‘official’ descriptions of these scents. I’ve reviewed a one of them previously, but for the most part these are sniffed but unreviewed. I promise reviews to come as soon as my papers are done. Til then, I hope at least the recommendations and copy text will be intriguing enough for you to try sniffing these. Where I could not crib ad copy from the perfumer direct, I borrowed from Luckyscent and BeautyHabit.

1. L’Artisan Vanilia
A uniquely refined rendition of vanilla, this iconic L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrance blends vanilla absolute with the creamy floral accord of ylang ylang and smoldering spices. Enriched by the velvety base of sandalwood, Vanilia is a complex, multifaceted blend that showcases wonderfully the oriental beauty of vanilla and yet is more than just vanilla. A masterpiece.

Notes: ylang-ylang, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, sandalwood

My review is here.

2. Kai EdP
The creator of Kai spent her youth vacationing in Hawaii and always wanted to try to capture the island's fragrance. Thus Kai was born. The result is a blend of gardenia and white exotics that transports you instantly to your own tropical paradise.

3. Memoire Liquide No. 900 Champagne et Mure Parfum
A classic sparkling Kir Royale; refreshing, dry and subtly touched by sweet berry accords and a fresh lemon twist.

4. Téo Cabanel Oha
Oha is an evening fragrance that combines the most precious and noble essences. Transcending time and space this mysterious perfume will appeal to women with true personality.

A fresh sweep of bergamot in harmony with a delicate tea aroma. Voluptuous roses from Bulgaria and Morocco, jasmine from Egypt, creates its heart of spicy notes enhanced with Guatemala Cardamom. Suddenly, Oha luxuriates in the captivating powdery notes of vanilla, iris, tonka bean and exotic woods lifted by a note of white musk.

5. DSH Perfumes The´ Vert (Tea No. 1)
Classical. Refined. Minimalist.

A true green tea fragrance with a soft and subtle chypre dry down. My own green tea scent.

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon; Middle notes: Green Tea; Base notes: Moss, Sandalwood

6. Serge Lutens Nuit de Cellophane
Cellophane night? The name was meant to shock, says the enigmatic maestro of the Palais Royal -- though what it alludes to is simply the material used to wrap bouquets in flower shops.

At first sniff, you may think Serge Lutens has gone mainstream. Nuit de Cellophane is, undeniably, a fruity floral drowned in a cloud of fluffy musk. But smell more closely, and the little night music running through the Lutens opus will make itself heard: the stained-glass light of mandarin, warmed by the solar cinnamon roundness of myrrh, drowns the dusk-blooming, indolic jasmine in sunset hues. A slight mentholated whiff betrays a roving tuberose throwing her green flash.

Chinese osmanthus, with its juicy apricot sweetness and suede-like facets, is offset by the clove-y warmth of carnation and the milky lushness of almonds. A touch of lily adds smokiness to the blend, melding into the woody, creamy sandalwood base drowned in honey. A deceptively innocent, multi-textured fragrance whose carnal whispers will draw you into the luminescent sparkle of a cellophane night...

7. Sarah Horowitz Parfums Perfect Nectar
Luscious and exotic, this succulent fragrance features top notes of tangerine and blood orange, followed by middle notes of papaya, mango, ylang ylang and green tea. Perfect Nectar's base accord is a bed of soft, white flowers.

8. CB I Hate Perfume To See a Flower
Delicate spring flowers (hyacinth, daffodils, jonquils & crocuses), green shoots, wet dirt & a bit of moss

9. CB I Hate Perfume Revelation
Revelation captures the scent of a Wild Fig Tree. The prime note is that of Fig Leaves & Twigs blended with Honey and a touch of Spice. The perfume is based on a rich warm blend of Cedarwood, Cypress Wood, Amber & Labdanum.

Revelation begins with a crisp green scent that gently warms on the skin to be sensual and glowing.

10. Strange Invisible Perfumes Urban Lily EdP
Similar to the gardenia, Lily of the Valley will not yield an essence. Happily, the sweetness of its petals, the strength of its roots, and the push beauty of its leaves are captured in urban lily, a stunning bouquet for the ages.

Inspiration: On the first of May, Lily of the Valley blossoms make their yearly debut on the street corners of Paris. Their inspiring scent rings out a clear and welcome message: The return of happiness. Urban Lily follows these flowers beneath the garden floor AND reveals that sweetness belies strength. Like an ethereal beauty living in a dizzying metropolis, this determined lily chases the beauty in adversity. It will endure small spaces, harsh seasons, and changing landscapes with mystical poise.

So that's my list!

And for being so patient with my slow posting, I am doing my first sample give away! Leave a comment below, and one commenter will be selected at random to receive 1 ml samples of Kai, L'Artisan Vanilia, *and* Memoire Liquide No. 900 Champagne et Mure Parfum. Because I post so infrequently, I keeping the drawing open until 5pm, May 9, 2009, which is, incidentally the last day of finals period.

I'll post the winner by 9am Sunday, May 10, 2009 so we can exchange emails regarding mailing info.

My heart thrown open wide
in this near wild heaven...
- R.E.M., "Near Wild Heaven"

Photo from Picturezone.