A Scented Year – 2010
Image: Roxana Villa The year’s almost over, which means it must be time for another list. Today, I’m very pleased to be able to take part in an inter-blog roundup…
Image: Roxana Villa The year’s almost over, which means it must be time for another list. Today, I’m very pleased to be able to take part in an inter-blog roundup…
This is when I really start to enjoy the Christmas break. The madness of the last two days has faded away, and I can just sit around the house, being…
Preparations for Christmas are the most important item on the agenda at the moment, so I’m afraid I haven’t got any time to spare for writing, but I will just…
You won’t hear much from me for a few days, because the snow has cleared – thank goodness! – and I’m off to persuade the SAs at Guerlain, Montale and…
We’re all aware that, over the years, perfumery has been influenced by other art forms and, indeed, by wider socio-historical developments. Nevertheless, it’s always fascinating to see concrete evidence of…
The house of Amouage – one of a tiny number of international brands with bona fide Middle Eastern credentials – has often produced dazzling perfumes by taking classical, old-world structures…
I think I ought to start charging for perfume shopping consultancy services. The other day, another close relative – a young woman who recently left home to go to Uni…
Thanks to all of you who entered last week’s draw. I can now reveal that the destination for my pre-yuletide getaway with Madame Persolaise is Quite a predictable…
Yesterday, Madame Persolaise and I decorated the entire house (with the help of a few hapless elves), so we’re now officially in Christmas mode and ready to tuck into mince…
Perfume review: Frederic Malle Portrait Of A Lady (Dominique Ropion), by award-winning critic Persolaise (2010, rose, scent, fragrance)
Regular readers of this blog will know that, every now and then, I’m drawn to the subject of time… or, more specifically, the lack of time. I’ve been thinking a…
Things are starting to get busy again at Maison Persolaise, mostly because of getting ready for Christmas (every year, I forget how long it takes to wrap presents) but also…
Before I announce the winners of the draw, I just want to thank all of you who entered. I did, of course, read and enjoy every single one of your…
You wouldn’t necessarily know it from this blog, but I’m quite fond of lists, so I thought I ought to mark the first weekend of December with a round-up of…
Making your own blotter strips can be quite a contemplative experience. Last night, whilst the snow steadily covered the skylights at Maison Persolaise and the temperature plunged below ‘you can’t…
How do you make a fougère that has enough fougère-ness to justify the label but not so much that it smells like a disappointing cliche? That’s precisely the challenge faced…
As we start the first day of the final month of the year, I’m pleased to be able to announce that an extremely exciting draw is going to take place…
Madame Persolaise and I went Christmas shopping on Saturday. Big mistake. I can’t say that our present-hunting was entirely fruitless – when we finally returned home, I grudgingly conceded that…
For the last week or so I’ve been playing the role of perfume consultant for a very close relative who’d like me to buy him a bottle of something for…
Here’s a fascinating little follow-up to yesterday’s Gorilla Perfumes reviews. I was contacted by a representative of Lush who’d read my post and wanted to explain that the name Breath…