Category Archives: Perfume

Discovering the perfumed scent of tuberose in the garden

Posted in Chanel, In the garden, Perfume, Scent, Wellbeing by

Polianthes tuberosa, growing in the garden, flowering late in September this year.

It’s been a while since I last posted anything on this blog. Since my last entry, we’ve been in lock down and during this time, I’ve spent more time in the garden, planting for the joy of watching nature come alive.

In May, I planted 5 tubers of the precious Polyanthes tuberosa ‘The Pearl’ in pots. Instructions were simple, put in pots around 3 inches deep in a sunny spot. I put them into 3 pots and waited. I chose them because the scent was described as highly scented and found in many perfumes

Within a month the tubers started to push through the earth and their leaves began to emerge and grow tall. Out of the 3 pots, only one of the tubers I planted showed small buds and bloomed.

In the early morning, brushing past the bloom, it releases a heady scent which I can only describe as sweet, combining the scents of flowers such as irises, roses, lilacs into one floral scent, that feels like sunshine, almost alcoholic as it hits the back of the throat and nose.

Monotheme Tuberose

You’ll find it in Monotheme’s Tuberose Eau de Toilette, a budget perfume that is available in Marks & Spencers in the UK or on Amazon.

For more indulgent luxury, I love the new perfume from Chanel, Gabrielle Chanel.

It has a softer citrus start and includes my favourite scent of Grapefruit, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, and the rich floral scent of tuberose.

Since the flower has now faded and it’s time to dig up the tuber and store it in a warm place inside the house, it will be a long time before it’s possible to plant it in the garden and watch it grow.

It’s the first time I’ve planted this flower this year, so I’m not sure if I’ll be successful in saving the tubers and getting it to flower again and whether it will be possible to enjoy it’s heady scent in the garden next summer.

So for the time being, I’ll be bringing the sunshine scent back now that the days have grown shorter and colder.

L’Occitane and the scent of Lemon Verbena

Posted in Health & Wellness, Perfume, Skincare by

L'Occitane Verbena perfume

L’Occitane’s Vervine Verbena is a sparkling scent that always lifts my spirits.

It’s especially refreshing in the summer, I love its lemon zesty aroma first thing in the morning as it wakes me up the moment a spritz of the perfume hits my skin. It’s like a kick of caffeine without the side effects.

Of course layering the scent with the delicious range available means that the scent lasts all day.

The little tube of hand gel is handy for travel and feels instantly refreshing when rubbed into your hands. I was a little worried that the gel formulation might not be as good to keep my hands moisturised, but it keeps both the scent and moisture. Better still, just a little of the gel goes a very long way and the gorgeous scent has a way of surrounding my desk just after I put some on to make me smile and lift my mood.

It really does feel as if I’m bringing a walk in a lemon grove into the office every time I wear this scent.

In fact, the scent of lemons can have a positive effect on productivity at work. Research findings found that the citrus scent of lemons improved moods and raised levels of a brain chemical linked to executive decision-making and motivation. And whilst it is a little luxury, it is a

great reason for me to use this scent every day.

Jasmine and Citrus, Hand blended Perfume for Christmas

Posted in Christmas, Health & Wellness, Perfume, Projects, Scent, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

 

 

Making your own perfume is relatively straightforward.

This year, I’m making a few Christmas Gifts, as a way of making Christmas feel just a little bit more home spun and personal.

Having looked on several sites and researched the types of ingredients that goes into perfume making, there are just a few ingredients most of which you will find easily either in your cupboard or online.

To make the Perfume all you need to do is the following:

  1. Decide on the strength of the perfume:

    This is determined by the amount of scent to alcohol. An Eau de toilette is around 10 percent. An Eau de parfum is around 15-20 percent and the strongest called Parfum is around 30 percent.

  2. Decide on how you want to use the perfume:

    Solid (such as in a oil based waxy balm) or Rollerball (oil based) or in a Spray. The main ingredient in the perfume is the carrier, which can be alcohol or oil based. With Alcohol, the oils in the fragrance can be dispersed from a spray and is how most of the famous brands market their perfumes. Very high quality fragrance houses such as Chanel will offer the perfume in stronger variants, for instance Chanel No5 is available as a Parfum in a very tiny but exquisite bottle. The higher the alcohol content (proof) you can find the better in terms of dispersing the scent. You can of course go for perfumers alcohol, but since there’s likely to be chemicals, which is sometimes called Alcohol Denat – this means it’s been treated so you can’t drink it. Personally, I think it’s better if you can drink it, as it means, if it’s ok to drink, it’s going to be suitable to put onto your skin. I’m choosing Vodka as this has no scent and is as pure a form of alcohol as you can get easily. Smirnoff or Grey Goose will do.

  3. Decide on the fragrance or Scent:

    Perfumes tend to be made up of top notes, the scent you can smell immediately. The middle note, the heart of the fragrance and the base note which is the final scent that lingers long after the others have dissipated, all three notes combine give the perfume the harmonics that make defines it’s unique character which when mixed with the chemicals that make up your skin, makes the experience of the perfume unique.

I love experimenting and mixing scents together. It makes the process so much fun and it also means it’s one of a kind, unique as no one else will have the scent that you’ve made.

Since Jasmine is my favourite scent of all time, I’m going to use this as the “middle note” for the heart and distinctive character of the perfume. And as I prefer things to be as natural as possible, all the oils I have chosen to make this perfume are essential oils.

Jasmine Officinale or Jasmine Absolute is known as the King of flowers. It has a very sweet floral scent. The scent has been central in perfumes for centuries, in China it represents the sweetness of women, in Persia it was known as the perfume of love.

It is also amongst the most expensive pure fragrances, the version I am using is 10% diluted in Jojoba oil. Since the fragrance is very strong, a little goes a long way.

I’m combining this with citrus notes of Sweet Orange and Bergamot essential oils.

Finally, for the base note, just a hint of Cedar wood essential oil, which not only has therapeutic benefits, is also a “fixative” which will slow down the evaporation of the perfume and slows down the overall scent of the perfume from fading. It is sweet and woody at the same time and combines well with both the citrus notes as well as the floral scent of Jasmine.

To make the perfume couldn’t be easier. In a small bottle which should be as opaque as possible to prevent sunlight from affecting the oils, I have combined the following:

Ingredients for hand blended Perfume:

50ml Vodka

20 drops of the Jasmine Absolute in Jojoba oil

10 drops of Sweet Orange

10 drops of Bergamot

2 drops of Cedar Wood essential oils.

With the spray stopper in place, shake the bottle until all the essential oils have been mixed together into the Vodka.

It will take about a week for the oils to come together to form the perfume. You can of course mix the oils first in a small mixing jar until you get the desired scent you prefer.

You can find more information about the different types of scents at Aromaweb’s section on Aromatic blending.

All that’s left is to find a pretty box and gift wrap to make this little personalised gift ready to give for Christmas.

Inspiration at the Mademoselle Prive Exhibition

Posted in inspiration, lifestyle, Perfume, Places Visited, Uncategorized by

Chanel Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery Sloane Square

The Mademoiselle Privé exhibition for Chanel arrived on 23rd October and finished on Friday 1st November at the Saatchi Gallery in Sloane Square. It was a chance to take a sneak peek at the world of Chanel.

Although we had been busy, I wanted to visit the exhibition on Sunday evening before the show closed.

When we arrived, however, there was a long, long queue of people waiting patiently to get into the exhibition. Instead, I queued up the following Monday, the last week before the exhibition closed.

I’ve always considered Gabrielle Chanel to be an inspirational business woman.

I think of her as one of the first women entrepreneurs of the 20th century. She figured out how to be successful in business at a time when it was almost impossible to succeed as a woman. I can only imagine the kind of obstacles that she must have had to overcome.

Each room was a journey through her work. As you entered, the first exhibit was about her apartment and Salon in Paris. The accompanying App for mobile devices in Android or Apple used your location and revealed more about the exhibition as you walked through each room.

What I liked about the exhibition was that it told the story of her creativity through the eyes of the current Creative Director, Karl Lagerfeld. She taking the lead, he acting as the curator in a film that was part of the exhibition.

As I walked round, it made me wonder about her life, she must have had such an extraordinary will to succeed.

The exhibition included a recreation of the staircase in her Salon. It was mirrored, faceted along the curve of the wall along on one side, with a sleek elegant metal hand rail. It is said, that she designed the staircase so that she could stand in one place and see what was happening on every floor.Faceted Mirrored Stairwell at Chanel' exhibition at the Saatchi Exhibition

There was something about the detail in the design of the stairs that reminded me of the attention to detail of the cantilevered glass stairs in Apple stores that seem suspended in air.

If you have ever visited an Apple store, each of them has the same design features and a set of glass stairs. They are similar in a way, as both have gone beyond the products they designed and made sure their surroundings were stylised and designed to showcase their brand.

If she were alive today, I wonder whether she would be in fashion or whether she would have ventured into technology.

I loved the perfume and garden room exhibits, the boxwood in the garden was laid out featuring intertwining C’s.

I was expecting the perfume not only to be on display in terms of the iconic bottle designs but also the unmistakable scent of No5.

The perfume room was designed to be a visual impact to see rather than an experience in terms of scent.

Chanel No5 was launched in the 1920s and is still one of the best-selling perfumes today. At the time, it embodied what Chanel was searching for to describe femininity:

It was what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman.”

The ingredient that makes Chanel No5 ahead of its time was the use of Aldehydes which hadn’t been used in such quantities before Chanel. She worked with the Perfumier Earnest Beaux to create the iconic perfume.

He combined the aldehydes with Ylang-Ylang, neroli, as well as Jasmine, Mayrose, Sandalwood and Vetiver.

I think she must have liked to break with tradition and must have chosen to work with Earnest Beaux because he wasn’t afraid of challenging conventions as well.

I was thinking that in this aspect again, she was ahead of her time, breaking with tradition and innovating through her perfume, fashion and jewellery.

The exhibit included a number of workshops on the top floor, the Chanel No5 workshop was an opportunity to learn more about the fragrance.

I left the exhibition inspired by the notion that she was brave, took risks and never settled for anything less than perfection, even in the smallest details of her work. I think that’s what I learned, to strive for perfection in the detail.

hmm, I think some Chanel fragrance, will be on my Christmas list this year, either to give as a gift or to receive, something to wear to remind me of the exhibition as inspiration every day. Can’t wait…..

 

Saatchi Gallery, Chanel Exhibition

 

#MademoisellePrive

A video posted by CHANEL (@chanelofficial) on

Escape to the 90’s

Posted in 90s music, inspiration, Perfume by

Escape to the 90s

By the 90’s, my career was in full swing and we had moved into our first house together. This was a time when we were enjoying life to the full.

The scents and perfumes I preferred during this period were fruity florals – Im not sure if anyone remembers these, Calvin Klein’s Escape, Clinique’s Happy, Ralph Lauren’s Polo Sport. Strong scents with fruity top notes.

You could say in the 90’s we were a typical couple of the time, which in marketing terms was called Dinkies – Dual income no Kids.

So I guess it was only appropriate that much of this time we spent thinking and planning our escape from the UK with holidays, long and short stays to as many destinations as our salaries would permit.

What defined this period was a sense of escape, from the power hungry 80’s sharp suits to a more relaxed feel. Fashion became less formal, suits of the 80s were ditched in favour of smart casual dress code for work.

I still like Escape as a perfume, it’s being discontinued so if you like this throw-back to the 90’s, better get your hands on it now as it won’t be around for much longer.

With top notes of peach, apricot and roses, at it’s heart was Ylang Ylang and base notes of vanilla and musk. It had staying power, lingering on my clothes well into the evening.

I didn’t wear it for long. During this decade, I tried lots of different perfumes, some enjoyed as a passing fashion trend of the time, with a growing taste for luxury cosmetics as well. Does anyone remember Prescriptives, a make-up designed to be fool-proof, colour coded so that you could pick out the colours that complimented your skin tone. This was before Mac and Nars came on the scene and had a comprehensive pallet of neutral eye and lip colours for every skin tone, sadly, no longer available.

The perfumes that I do remember, is Ralph Lauren’s Safari and Sport, though the latter has now been discontinued.

There was also a brief fling with Elsabeth Arden’s Sunflowers which gave way to Clinique’s Happy. It didn’t exactly make me feel happy, it was a very strong citrus scent that I am sad to say smelt a little to artificial for my taste.

Some of the music of the time, selected because they remind me of various vacations I’ve included here, if you’d like a moment of distraction.

There was an unspoken way of dressing at work and by the late 90’s everyone it seemed dressed in black jeans and slim fitting shirts, I’m not sure why, but perhaps it was just a period when it seemed the floaty florals were no longer appropriate as the century drew to a close.

By this time, I had swtiched to Ralph Lauren’s Romance and though I might not have openly admit to it, I was caught by it’s notion of love and it’s headiness.

I still have a bottle of this perfume, though I’ve not worn this for a very long time. It’s an easy scent to wear, fresh and summery full of roses with some lovely citrus undertones to give it a refreshing feel as if there’s a gentle summer breeze around you.

And ofcourse, this post wouldn’t be complete without some classical music of the Romantic era:


Hmmm – pure escape, I’m going to put Romance on now.

“Let the memory live again” – Cats the musical

Posted in inspiration, Musicals, Perfume by

Cats - the musical, Memories the song

 

Looking back to a time when I was at school, there is one memory that stands out that could be described as terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

If you were to visit the school on a regular basis you would soon realise that our Music teacher was the one that ran the school. She didn’t hold the official title of Headmistress or anything like that. She was a force to be reckoned with, no one ever spoke badly or her. Every one, whether you were a student or a teacher was slightly intimidated by her.

She reminded me of, well I didn’t know her personally, but Mrs Thatcher, a person who was strong-willed and determined to get things done, but with the quiet dignity of her generation.

I didn’t appreciate her, or what she helped me to achieve until much later. So going back to this particular moment in time, I was about 13 maybe 14 and she announced that everyone who was studying a musical instrument had to perform at the school concert. There was no reprieve, no excuses.

Since I was studying both piano and voice at the time, I was told that I should use the opportunity to sing.

With the song chosen, the day arrived. I was terrified as I stepped onto the stage, I don’t remember much about what happened next, except that it felt like the longest time passed between the first chords of the piano accompanying me starting and the final chord finishing the song.

There seemed to be the longest pause between that and the audience beginning to clap. I couldn’t see very well because the stage lights were blinding me, and as I heard the claps from the audience, my face started to turn blotchy and red with embarrassment. It was over finally and I could step down from the stage.

The choice of song could not have been less appropriate for a girl of 13, but the melancholy melody was spell binding. I had never been to see the musical, let alone read all of the poetry of T.S. Elliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Cats, so knew very little about the musical or the song.

But as my singing teacher played me the melody on the piano to me and I read the lyrics, I was hooked. It was beautiful and even though I didn’t appreciate their true meaning at the time, I liked the song.

Now, many, many years later, as I read the lyrics again, the words are now a poignant reminder of my memories as I watch my kids grow older with each day that passes by.

It reminds me that I too am growing older with more days to look back on, whilst my children have the days that stretch ahead of them to look forward to.

I understand the lyrics better and their meaning of a life well lived.


“Burnt out ends of smoky days
The stale, cold smell of morning
The street lamp dies in the cold air
Another night is over
Another day is dawning”

Grizella is the cat that sings this song, and if I could describe her personality through these lyrics as a perfume, then I think of Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, a rich decadent oriental scent that was powerful but feminine to the core. I remember the advertising, Linda Evangelista at the time representing everything I thought to be glamorous and powerful, it’s not for the faint of heart. I’ve wanted to wear this on many occasions, each time I pass by the Yves Saint Laurent beauty counter, I stop myself just short of getting it, largely because, it’s a heady scent and I think it would only be for very special and rare occasions that, well are too few and infrequent to justify at the moment.

The perfume’s potent message hasn’t changed, even with the latest advertising campaign featuring Emily Blunt:

This article was written for Wednesday’s On that Song feature on Chow Kim Wan’s blog about Musicals and various aspects of the shows. Wednesday’s feature is for other bloggers to share their song choices.

A first perfume and a decade of firsts

Posted in Chanel, Perfume, Scent by

Chanel & Sony WalkmanIt was on the first holiday abroad, that I discovered what I consider my first perfume. Until that moment, fragrances were the sort that you wore because your friends at school wore them, like Le Jardin by Max Factor or the Avon perfumes that one of my friends who was an Avon rep sold to some of us at school.

As we looked around the duty free shop, I was drawn to the simple yet elegant bottle square bottle shape of Chanel No 5. As I sampled the scents however, it was Cristalle that I liked most.

It reminded me of the strong scent of Jasmine that grew at the front of the house that I lived in briefly as a young child.

Cristalle is a light floral fragrance, delicate and powdery fresh. I wasn’t sure I could describe it well enough to bring the scent to life, so I got in touch with Chanel’s PR department and they very kindly provided me with a description of the perfume. As I read the words, I was overwhelmed by their significance. The Perfume was created over 40 years ago in 1974 by Henri Robert, which means it has stood the test of time.

Then, it struck me how similar the description of a perfume is to the way I used to write essays around music. Perhaps this would be a good way to explain how the combination ingredients combine to create it’s distinct character and personality and why it’s a personal favourite.

So here goes:

The melody in any music composition is instantly recognisable, you can hum a tune and recognise it immediately. Cristalle’s tune is delicate, the lemon’s citrusy scent acts as the top notes, honeysuckle acts as the harmony, the sweetness and fresh outdoor nature it invokes is at the perfume’s heart. Finally, the bass and accompanying rhythm is integral to the completion of any piece of music.

Scented Jasmine

I think the bass in music is so important that sometimes it defines whether it is a hit or not, like the bass in U2’s song “With our Without You”. It is the same with Cristalle, the base of Jasmine is the scent that hits me the moment I spray the perfume on.

I think of Cristalle’s personality like a music composition by Mozart. At the time that Mozart was composing, symphonies had yet to fully defined. His influence on Beethoven can be heard. I think Cristalle’s influence is evident in a number of perfumes.

There is a crystal like transparent quality, there is also hidden depth, like a diamond with many facets to make it sparkle. When you hear a piece by Mozart, it has that same quality, the melodies are easy to recognise, but they have depth and complexity that manages to capture a range of emotions. I think of Cristalle in a similar way.Music Score of Don Giovani by Mozart

Through the years, I have tried many perfumes, but there is always a bottle of Cristalle in my small collection. I cannot part with it. It reminds me of so many firsts, a time when everything lay ahead, career, experiences, travel, love, marriage, kids, making a home.

If you were a child of the 80’s, you’ll remember some of these things. We were righteous; causes were our thing – Live Aid, Comic Relief, lots of demonstrations against the establishment.

Chanel Cristalle, Eau de ToiletteIt was the first time I felt independence, living away from my parents.

Music of the time was both bright and shiny as well as a commentary of the political times we lived in.

Before U2 became the global brand they are now, their songs were of urban unrest in Ireland. Madonna blazed the trail for future female singers. There are so many tracks from the 80’s and there were so many music genres.

I’ve made a play list, chosen for a variety of reasons – some just because, others well, lets’ just say they meant something deep at the time, but now no longer represent the youthful angst that I felt.

If I’m wearing Cristalle and listening to these songs, I am transported back to a time when I think I was the most optimistic.

The tracks are in a playlist on spotify and is included in this post if you have time to listen. You’ll find a Classical selection to listen to as well.

There’s a phrase in one of the lyrics by Black, that I think we’d all like our experiences to feel like:

Becuase Life Should Never Feel Small - Black

Please come and share your memories of your favourite scent, by adding a comment, or you can create a new playlist or follow the account here:

https://play.spotify.com/user/birdonthehill

(NB – At the time of writing, Prince has withdrawn his music from a number of music sharing sites, so I have removed the following from the playlist – Mountains, Kiss and Starfish & Coffee)

I’ve included a listing of the music selection on a Pinterest board if you’d like to download it here

photo credit: One of the Jasmine Family via photopin (license)
photo credit: Composer’s score for Don Giovanni via photopin (license)

Perfume – the ultimate accessory

Posted in Chanel, Perfume, Scent by

Perfume, Jo Malone Jasmine and Mint Cologne, Chanel Crystalle, L'occitane Vervine

I’ve been holding off writing about the very essence of this blog, scent and perfumes.

I think when you are wearing a great perfume, it becomes a part of your personality and describes better than words how you want to be known.

Over the years, I’ve chosen to wear a number of scents, some have been a passing fad, others, have stayed with me longer.

No matter what life throws your way,  a spritz of perfume, or a slick of a favourite lipstick, a hug from your child as you leave for work, these things have the ability to make a day less ordinary.

I think most will agree that anything that makes you feel great is something to hold onto and treasure.

“No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory.” Gabrielle Chanel

I came across this quote by Gabrielle Chanel, she spoke eloquently about fashion, about life. She was also one of the most elegant women of the 20th Century.

Embed from Getty Images

Elegance is something that some are born with. For me it’s a work in progress and I’m still working on it. So, for now, a spray of perfume, together with a hug from my daughter is the daily ritual that carries and prepares me for the day that’s ahead.

I thought I would write about some of the perfumes I’ve encountered, from past to the present and share some of the things of the period, discoveries, experiences made. Come back if you liked this post, and check out the next post about Perfumes.