Day four of an incense rotation. After yesterday’s ‘meh’ effort, today I’m falling back on one of my favourites, of which I am now on my third bottle. It’s a basic two-noter of incense and pine needles, but this time done – to my mind – perfectly, with the rich, warm pine heating up the incense, which lasts for hours… Read more »
Day three of an incense rotation. Less incense and more pine air freshener, if you ask me. Not all that flamboyant, either, other than the initial blast of churchy incense, which is very strong but burns off in about 10 minutes. We heat our house with wood and buy huge bags of pine kindling to get the fire started each… Read more »
Day two of an incense rotation. This is a fragrance that does what it says on the tin – it starts with a great blast of lavender (the rather medicinal French kind), then quickly moves to the incense part, which is very smoky and dry, slightly warmer than the Avignon I wore yesterday. Serge Lutens is sometimes criticised for producing… Read more »
Day one of an incense rotation. This is my reference incense – the one I measure all others against. I’m an atheist from a religious family and I spent a lot of my childhood prowling round old churches and ruins in places like Norfolk and the chapels of stately homes like Blickling Hall and Oxburgh, taking brass rubbings, playing the… Read more »
Day 7 of a rose rotation. This is a deep crimson rose that smells expensive. Some geranium and even blood up top and the heart is a full-blown powdery rose (the real Rosa Ispahan smells quite a lot like this, as does Rosa Californica Plena). The heart notes last for many hours and it dries down to a soft, powdery… Read more »
Day six of a rose rotation. This is a vintage splash bottle of EDT that I picked up on French Ebay, which enables me to use it like a cologne and splash it all over – something that’s needed because this fragrance is fairly weak. Rose Ispahan is a delicious, sugary pink confectioner’s rose with a soft, fluffy quality like… Read more »
Day five of a rose rotation. This is a new one for me – a very nice oriental. The oud is gentle and tobacco-like, while the roses are red and wet, and overall it has a ‘dark’ feeling, so a good rose for winter and cosy evenings. The rose itself is quite far back in the mix. The notes say… Read more »
Day four of a rose rotation. Calligraphy Rose was another fragrance recommended for me on Bois de Jasmin as a rose-incense combo and to my mind, it is exactly that. Gorgeous, heavy, boozy red roses with great dollops of incense, very dry and strong to start with but drying down to a soft, ambery finish. It’s pretty long-lasting, even on… Read more »
Day three of a rose rotation. Cabaret was recommended to me on the Bois de Jasmin blog as a rose/incense combo, but to be honest, I get more rose/cigarette ash. I really hated it at first, but am starting to get used to it. What it reminds me of is a pub I used to work in back in the… Read more »
Day two of a rose rotation. I decided to do these rotations as a way of a: making myself go through my stash rather than reaching for the same handful of perfumes every time; b: filtering out the ones I’m really not going to wear again; c: making myself concentrate and focus on something each day. I bought Rose Absolue… Read more »