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…
There isn’t much that hasn’t been said about Breath Of God… except perhaps that it’s back! After receiving a five-star review from Tania Sanchez, it proceeded to evoke perplexed confusion…
All this talk of Arctic winds makes me feel like sticking to the Indian theme I started yesterday. Visiting the perfume shops on Muhammed Ali Road is probably similar to…
Now that the weather’s getting colder, my mind seems to keep getting drawn back to thoughts of the summer in Mumbai: raucous rain, sweltering heat and, of course, the perfumers…
Please click here to be redirected to my Basenotes article about the launch of a brand new range of perfume in London… and here for a chance to win a…
Whilst I’m in preview mode, I ought to mention that a recent visit to the ever-enchanting Les Senteurs led to a sniff of Frederic Malle’s new Portrait Of A Lady,…
Popping into Amouage’s London boutique is always a pleasure, but the experience is made even more special when there’s an opportunity to try a brand new scent. The other day,…
Allow me to acknowledge a positive: this weekend, I got a chance to improve my jasmine accord. It’s coming along well; I wish I could say the same about my…
Grossmith Phul-Nana, Hasu-No-Hana, Shem-El-Nessim review by award-winning perfume critic Persolaise (2010)
Please click here for my exclusive Basenotes interview with Denyse Beaulieu, author of the bilingual blog, Grain De Musc. You might also like to click here to read the interesting…
To round off my brief examination of the question of top, heart and base notes, I’m tempted to break copyright rules. You see, on page 481 of An Introduction To…
If there’s one characteristic that Amouage‘s first three Library Collection scents have in common, it is a gauzy sheerness. Opus I conjures an image of florals preserved in a delicate…
For the last few days, a mysterious smell has been bugging me in my study. Most of the time, it’s been totally undetectable, but every now and then, as I’ve…
Putting London aside for a moment, perfume shopping in Britain can be a disheartening experience: sales assistants are often clueless and the stock itself uninspiring. However, there are a few…
Here’s a conversation between a couple overheard in Boots the other day: She: What about this one? He: Umm… don’t know… too sweet, maybe? She: Yeah, you’re probably right. And…
The other day, the unthinkable happened. I was at a perfume shop, chatting with a sales assistant who at one point asked me to smell the wrist of her male…
A few weeks ago, Madame Persolaise and I were on an escalator, descending into London’s Tube network. She was wearing vintage Diorissimo; I’d dabbed my wrists with a few drops…
I realise I’m running the risk of turning this blog into a daily whine, but I’m afraid I still feel like letting off a bit of steam about the scarcity…
Persolaise