Indie natural line Providence Perfume Co has launched Sedona Sweet Grass, a new unisex fragrance…
Shalini Amorem Rose & Aftelier Antique Ambergris ~ fragrance review
Sometimes transitioning to autumn feels like falling off a cliff. One minute, you’re sleeping with the fan pointed at you. The next, mornings are downright cool, and you’re liberating your wool from the basement. In other words, it’s time to dig out an amber fragrance. Two new amber-friendly fragrances to consider are Shalini Amorem Rose and Aftelier Antique Ambergris.
Shalini Amorem Rose was conceived as “a poem dedicated to the greatest love stories.” Perfumer Maurice Roucel composed the Parfum..,
Lvnea Fern and Moss, Violet Woods, Frost Flowers & Tasseomancy ~ fragrance reviews
Every day I see more perfume-related promotions than I can possibly process, from social media posts to press release emails to advertisements in subway cars. Despite, or maybe because of, all this saturation, word-of-mouth remains a potent force. When a neighborhood acquaintance and fellow fragophile recommended Lvnea, even pulling a small box of sample vials out of her bag to show me, I made a mental note to check out this small indie brand.
Lvnea (pronounced “lou-nay-uh”) is based in Montréal and its owner, April Lea, studied perfumery with Charna Ethier of Providence Perfume Company. Like Providence Perfume, Lvnea specializes in natural fragrances. However, Lvnea’s aesthetic is quite distinctive: dark, moody, with touches of the Gothic and the occult. (Right up my alley, in other words…)
Homemade Perfume by Anya McCoy ~ book review
Are you crafty? Me, neither. But I love talking to people who make things. Once I happily spent half an hour listening to a stranger explain how to transform a thrift store needlepoint canvas into a tote bag, and now I have an adorable vintage needlepoint of a cat and a bird, half a yard of upholstery velvet, and pagoda-printed fabric waiting to be made into that perfect bag. Will it happen? I doubt it.
Similarly, as much as I love perfume, I’ve never had the yen to make my own fragrances. It’s fun to learn about, though, and exploring the fine points of techniques such as enfleurage and distillation gives me a keener appreciation for the perfume I wear. If I ever were to tackle a tincture, Homemade Perfume by pioneering natural perfumer Anya McCoy of Anya’s Garden is where I’d start…
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Eau Cerise, Figue Interdite & Bakul Medjool ~ fragrance reviews
Touching the forbidden is always alluring as well; fascinating and wonderfully naughty. I like this. As I began to research what exactly is meant by forbidden fruits I was surprised and delighted to find out that there are many fruits on the list for various reasons…
So says Dawn Spencer Hurwitz in reference to her latest release, the initial trio in a new series called Les Fruits Défendus (Forbidden Fruits), three all-natural perfumes inspired by the cherry, the fig, and the date. Late summer feels like the perfect moment for these scents. My husband and I grow cherries and figs in our small urban garden, so I’m very tuned-in to their seasonal growth and sensory appeal these days. (We also like to buy dates at local Middle Eastern groceries.)
While I’ve been enjoying all three of these Forbidden Fruits, Eau Cerise is my favorite…