Mimosa & Cardamom Jo Malone

Desirability:Full bottle and a back up

Source: pinterest

Never say never. 

I haven't been particularly inspired by Jo Malone before. Something about the sleek minimalist bottles and transparent juice did not speak to my soul which tends to seek out the deep, dark and darker. 

Until recently that is. I have loved mimosa since Une Fleur de Cassie and having quenched my recent thirst for all things roses, my attention was caught by these delicately sweet little yellow flowers in the form of Too Much, which I chanced upon in a blind swap. Since Too Much is out of production and the bottles on Ebay have exorbitant shipping costs tacked to the otherwise reasonable prices, I was determind to find another mimosa to love. Something as sunny and ethereal as Too Much. Mimosa & Cardamom was released at perfect timing in my case and I snagged a bottle during a weekend in Hong Kong, on a five minute break between eating and more eating. Heavenly. I mean Mimosa & Cardamom but yes food in Hong Kong is sublime too. 

There's nothing dark about Mimosa & Cardamom. It's almost like the scene in Stardust where Claire Danes bursts into light and floods the entire place with brilliant illumination which somehow kills Michelle Pfeiffer. But instead of pure white light, Mimosa & Cardamom is radiant with a golden glow that warms you up and turns you into a fuzzy marshmallow inside. The cardamom does not detract from the main focus but instead lends its aromatic spiciness to the subtle sweetness of the flowers. It feels like being surrounded by mimosa trees! Projection and longevity are both pretty good. 

Comparing Mimosa & Cardamom with Too Much and Une Fleur de Cassie, I would say that Too Much is more sparkling and a lighter yellow like champagne, whereas Une Fleur de Cassie is more of a darker honeyed gold and Mimosa & Cardamom being somewhere in between. All are fantastic mimosa scents!

Divine EDP Divine

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: Fragrantica

I seriously believed I was over my white floral craze having smelt some of the not so great and some of the very best (too smug was I). That is until I met Divine which thoroughly deserves its name and even more. This house was a totally hidden gem for me but no longer. Not after having sampled this gorgeous one and  the siren L`etre Aime Femme (*fans herself), both scents having pushed the competition out of the way to reach the top two spots on my want list. 

Nose-tingling aldehydes make a sweeping entrance. Heady tuberose (the way it should be), milky sweet gardenia and citrus-tinged orange blossom run riot in Divine EDP. Not one flower outshines the others but together create a most glorious symphony. Rose and jasmine are noticeable but my attention was focussed on the white flowers I love best. However the indolic jasmine becomes far more obvious as the scent settles down and develops into a warm, spiced and musky floriental that's sophisticated and sunny. I literally have nothing but praise for Divine EDP. Even from a dab sample, the sillage is huge and longevity is very, very good. 

Bold, bright and beautiful. If you love white flowers, you must try this. MUST. 

Happy New Year- Hello 2015!

Source: iledebeaute.ru

My friends and I headed to a beach club to ring in the new year last night. Of course that meant I had to pick a scent that would be suitable for a beach setting in tropical weather as well as being festive enough for New Year's Eve. Which isn't that easy as my picky mind has mentally separated "beach scents" as casual scents and "festive scents" as well festive, spices, rich resins and balms- totally unsuitable in this case. 

In the end I picked Terracotta Le Parfum, the limited release from Guerlain earlier in 2014 ( although if rumours are to be believed, a re-release that is possibly permanent too is due soon). 

"Allure of the sun in a bottle" 

It does smell like bottled warm glow. You get a burst of zingy citrus zest, a milky sweet coconut less creamy than in Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Vanille Coco but more creamy than Estee Lauder's Sensuous Nude then a jaw-dropping beautiful and lush bouquet of white florals, creamy and musky, heady frangipani and jasmine as well as ylang ylang with its mild spicy floral note. I notice too the orange blossom which is more subdued amongst the other flowers here. In the drydown the citrus laced vanilla and musk become stronger than the white floral notes but the coconut cream stays intact throughout. Not so much a beach scent that makes you think of the sea and sand but tropical island it surely is reminiscent of, of sun-kissed warm skin, frangipani trees releasing their fragrance in the gentle breeze that makes music of the leaves on the trees and long grass that tugs gently on your bohemian chic peasant dress as you hold hands with your lover, as picture perfect as a photo shoot for a glossy magazine.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a fan of tropical flowers done right and with Terracotta Le Parfum, Thierry Wasser has done it gorgeously. The true scent of the tropical flowers are captured in this rose gold liquid, heady and luscious but not cloying, in fact the sillage is rather discreet for a white floral perfume. 

After comparing it with Annick Goutal's Songes EDT and L'Erbolario's Tiare, I would say this wins over Tiare which has a artificial saccharine note that spoils it for me. I prefer this to Songes EDT which is a lovely concoction of white flowers but did not last at all on my skin. The longevity of Terracotta Le Parfum despite being an EDT is about 6-7 hours on me although faint by that time.  

Happy New Year everyone! 

Une Fleur de Cassie Frederic Malle

Desirability: Full bottle and a back up

I was too caught up in my obsession with Carnal Flower and Dans Tes Bras to give Une Fleur de Cassie the attention she deserved but I'm glad she gave me a second chance. A friend recently asked to swap for 10 ml of it and fired up my curiosity, I have always liked it but never appreciated its real magic. Till now that is. Thank you Emilija :)

Time-lapse image of a suntrail. Pekka Parviainen. 

Une Fleur de Cassie is like watching the sunrise to sunset.

 She opens bright, yellow and clear, like the sun shining through the windows in the morning. The initial sharpness gradually turns into a musty golden pollen, sour sweet and woody, like romping in scented fields of flowers and hay, rays of the afternoon sun beaming down, far far away from the any jaded, polluted city.

Magnificent mimosa in a vase. FRAGAL.

Like the soothing calm watching a sunset brings, so does the mellow powdery dry down of Une Fleur de Cassie bring feelings of contentment and happiness shaded by a light melancholy.



You kiss the last rays goodbye and give your loved ones a hug, breathing in the heated musk of skin tinged with sweat from playing under the sun all day.

Just as the happy memories stay with you forever, so does the warm glow of Une Fleur de Cassie stay on your clothes for what seems forever, keeping you in a perfumed personal bubble all day.  

Une Fleur de Cassie is a scent you need to have time for, not something to spray on in a rush. Like a fine wine that you let breathe and sit with to fully appreciate its bouquet, so it is with Une Fleur de Cassie. 

The emotional joyride Une Fleur de Cassie takes you on is magical. Quite the epitome of a perfect fragrance.