More Opium
Persolaise Some of you may recall my brief lament for the loss of YSL’s majestic Opium. Well, in the name of courteous reciprocal linking, I’d like to draw your attention to…
Review: Orange Blossom by Penhaligon's (2010)
Many scents are described as soft, but few actually convey the sensation of resting your head on a floating pillow of immaculately-shaped petals. Penhaligon’s Orange Blossom – the latest release…
Andy Tauer Back In London
Some of you may already be aware that Andy Tauer, the creator of several well-loved niche scents, including Lonestar Memories and Orange Star (soon to be reviewed here on Persolaise)…
Stunning Wages
If you’ve got a couple of minutes to spare, you might like to read an article in last Sunday’s Observer (click here) about the wages of some Indian workers who…
Double Bonded
The clock keeps ticking and it won’t be long before I’ll have to put the essential oils away again and devote several weeks’ worth of evenings to the day job,…
Review: Eternity Aqua by Calvin Klein (2010)
When I found out that Escape For Men has been discontinued, a triumphant smile appeared on my face. Sadly, that’s now faded, because CK have played around with the formula…
Relatively Mainstream
One thing I never take for granted is my wife’s patience. During our brief pop into France, we had to go into every single – and boy, do I mean…
Food And Fragrance
Whilst going through my files today, I encountered the very first perfume formula I put together, which – in my naive way – I thought smelled pretty good, until someone…
Orange Star London Launch
Please click here to be redirected to my Basenotes article about the recent launch of Andy Tauer’s Orange Star in London. Thanks, Persolaise.
Review: Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphéa by Guerlain (2010)
The Aqua Allegoria range often gets a bad press, but I reckon Guerlain ought to keep going with their fragrance haiku, because every now and then it allows us to…
Launching The Past
I think excitement is always made more electric when it carries a crackle of nostalgia, like the anticipation of meeting up with a dear friend you haven’t seen for over…
Review: L'Eau by Serge Lutens (2010)
Artists are allowed to change direction. But their fans aren’t obliged to follow them wherever they go. So when Serge Lutens decide to propel themselves as far away as they…
All Greened Out
The words ‘outdoorsy, ‘practical’ and ‘green fingered’ are never, ever used to describe me, which is why today was something of a trial. A sizeable patch of our garden has…
A Genuine Start?
I think I’ve mentioned before that the demands of my day job go through distinct phases. Most of the time, I’m fortunate enough not to have to take a great…
Review: Géranium Pour Monsieur by Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle (2009)
What’s the smell of the modern dandy? Does a metrosexual wear one of the generic woody cocktails that flood the market at the rate of twenty a week? Does he…
Spring Bargains
Don’t ever let me say that good luck never comes my way. Today, at an antiques fair, I spotted a pristine, sealed box of 10ml of Diorissimo Esprit De Parfum.…
The Science Of Scent At The Royal Institution
Some of you may be interested to learn that the Royal Institution in London has rescheduled the Science of Scent talk that was meant to have taken place in April;…
Of Time And Salisbury
Time for formulation has been almost non-existent over the last few weeks. The inevitable delays caused by the ach-cloud-induced rail journey from Istanbul meant that it took a while for…
Review: Idylle eau de parfum by Guerlain (2009)
When Idylle hit the shelves late in 2009, the response from Guerlain acolytes was muted. The realm of the soft-focus floral was, they felt, best reserved for flash-in-the-pan celebrity fragrances,…
The Scent Of Blighty
This is too good not to post; it’s extracted from an article in the current edition of the Times Education Supplement: The tourism quango VisitEngland was pilloried for spending £8,500…