This week’s Escentual post is a review of the three Treatment Fragrances from Clarins – Eau Dynamisante, Eau Ressourçante and Eau des Jardins. Between the three of them they make for a wonderful antidote for the warm, humid summer days, cutting through the heat and treating the skin at the same time.
Click the image above to read the review and feel free to leave a comment whilst you’re there letting me know your thoughts/favourites!
The heatwave is finally here and as we all enjoy (or suffer in) the heat now is a good time to pull out those fragrances that refresh, revitalise & defeat the blazing heat of the sun and stuffy, humid air. It’s a time where perfume can be your greatest weapon when attempting to conquer the unrelenting enthusiasm of the sun.
My Escentual Post last week looked at two new releases that are perfect for summer (Guerlain Nerolia Bianca and Dior Homme Cologne 2013) and it got me thinking about those fragrances that I swear by in the summer – or as i like to call them: ‘my summer survival scents’.
Some days it seems almost too hot to do anything, but these scents can be an essential part of your summer survival kit. All you need is some cooling citrus, a few fresh fancies, a couple of manly mints and a generous dose of flowers and fruit, and you’ll be all set to tackle the heatwave of 2013!
My lovely perfume sisters and brothers – Persolaise, Eyeliner on a Cat, Fragrant Moments and Olfactoria’s Travels – and I, have yet again clubbed together to bring you an olfactory group project. This time we’re focusing on the seven deadly sins and have cooked up our very best selections of the most sinful perfumes.
“A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of one’s close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.”
The Oxford English Dictionary’s
Definition of ‘Pride’
When given the choice of picking a sin for my article I opted for ‘Pride’. The sin of pride focuses on self-adoration and vanity – taking pleasure and satisfaction from our own achievements, looks and attractive qualities. Pride intrigues me because I think it’s the sin that nearly everybody is guilty of at some time in their lives and it can be a key driver for us to continue to succeed in our professional and personal lives.
The perfumes I have picked for this article all display an element of pride – each in a slight different way. Whether it’s vanity, pride in artistry, the pride that precedes a fall or even a faceless pride, these perfumes are subtly sinful in a subversive and utterly compelling way
I’m back, finally! After a month of painful wrestling with my dissertation and other nasty bits of uni work I can finally turn my attention back to my first love – perfume. The last month has been both stressful and refreshing – stressful for obvious reasons and refreshing because it felt like a good time to take a blogging break so that now, when all the work has been handed in, I can come back with a fresh mind and renewed enthusiasm.
Despite the absence of blogging during my uni-fest I have managed to stay (relatively) sane. This can be attributed to three things; the constant support of Nigel (my partner), a metric ton of Maltesers and a constant supply of episodes of my new all-time favourite TV programme – RuPaul’s Drag Race. That’s right squirrel friends, all one needs to get oneself through a tough time is a parade of drag queens…
If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching RuPaul’s Drag Race then; a) watch it now (go on) and; b) simply picture the model-filled runway of America’s Next Top Model crossed with the home-made fashions of Project Runway with a generous dollop of drag queen fabulous-ness on top. Now can you see why it is perhaps the absolute greatest thing on earth?
I love RuPaul’s Drag Race so much that I thought I would pay my own scented tribute to the queens that make it so darn sickening (that’s sickening in the good sense of the word FYI) to watch. So without further ado I present to you the latest instalment in the Scent a Celebrity Series, an episode containing perfumes and queens who display the ultimate levels of Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent – gentleman, start your engines, and may the best woman, smell!
I often find myself staring at my perfume shelf of a morning, glancing over the cluttered bottles and pensively deciding what to wear. The question that regularly pops in to my mind during my ritual browsing is “Hmmm, what am I in the mood for today?” and it’s funny how our moods, along with other external factors such as season, fashion and weather influence our choices in regards to perfume.
But how about fragrances that do more than compliment our mood? Those fragrances that go one step further to enhance the emotions we feel and boost our moods. Perfume is after all, an incredibly emotional art, capturing nature and bottling memories. The power of scent to affect how we feel is undeniable.
In conjunction with some of my favourite bloggers I would like to share with you two fragrances that enhance my mood. As the world of perfume brings me nothing but happiness I thought it appropriate that both of my fragrant suggestions be ones that spark feelings of joy and serenity, with one in particular having priceless sentimental value.
[Don’t forget to head over to Persolaise, Olfactoria’s Travels, Eyeliner on a Cat and Fragrant Moments to read about their mood-enhancing perfumes!]
Just a very quick post to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful, happy new […]
Just a very brief (post-it) note to let you all know that due to lots of busy (and […]
As I mentioned in my most recent Saturday Poll, Thierry Mugler is set to release four limited edition leather interpretations of their most popular scents. This leather collection follows on from last years La Goût du Parfum, in which Angel, Alien, A*Men and Womanity each had a taste enhancer added to shake things up a bit and a new gourmand twist to them. The brand also released Angel and Alien Liqueur de Parfums in 2009, two fragrances that were aged in oak casks to give a more boozy feel.
The success of these enhanced editions got me thinking about what additional ingredients can be added to fragrances to give an entirely new twist on the original accords. There is something to be said about this intelligent method of flankering, it allows for the essence of the fragrance to be preserved whilst simultaneously offering something new, exciting and even if the end result doesn’t quite work out, it is at least interesting, unusual and worth smelling.
So what should we add to a Thierry Mugler fragrance to enhance it? Are there other fragrances that we could an enhancer to? Or are fragrances best left as they are, without flankers or fragrant meddling?
I am very chuffed to have been asked to write a guest-post for Escentual.com (a wonderful fragrance and beauty e-tailer*), in which I have the colossal task of scenting the British Royal Family. This has been one of my absolute favourite pieces to write and I had a blast putting it together so I do hope you will enjoy it. Please do head on over to Escentual to give it a read.
The Perfume Lovers London events organised by Lila Das Gupta as part of Olfactory Events are a fabulous opportunity to learn about perfume, to talk to and meet with like minded perfumeophiles and discover a plethora of new, exciting perfumes. It’s safe to say that every event is a joy to attend so the news that one of my favourite bloggers, Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels, was going to be holding her very own event was very exciting indeed!
I’m sure that I’m preaching to the choir here, but Olfactoria’s Travels has become a go-to blog for many perfume lovers and it’s teeming with beautifully written reviews, informed discussion and passion from Birgit and Tara, who have both changed the face of the perfume blogosphere.
For her event, Birgit promised to take us on a journey through the world of amber, a sensible subject choice seeing as she has rightfully earned the title of “Queen of Amber” through her love for the genre. Now, I’ve made it no secret that amber isn’t my favourite genre of perfumes, but that’s not to say that I don’t like it either, I simply haven’t had the right amount of exposure to it, but now thanks to Birgit and Perfume Lovers London I feels as if I am well-versed on the subject!
The Candy Perfume Boy 