Persolaise Review: Opus IV from Amouage (2010)
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…
Playground Perfume
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…
Fougère Royale Winner + A Pre-Christmas Escapade
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…
Fougère Royale Give-Away Reminder
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…
Review: Portrait Of A Lady from Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle (2010)
Perfume review: Frederic Malle Portrait Of A Lady (Dominique Ropion), by award-winning critic Persolaise (2010, rose, scent, fragrance)
When 24 Just Isn’t Enough
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…
Fougère Royale Giveaway
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…
Tauer Cologne Du Maghreb Winner + Another Giveaway!
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…
Tauer Cologne Du Maghreb Giveaway + Christmas 2010 Recommendations
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…
Mystery Draw Reminder + Quality Control
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…
Review: Fougère Royale from Houbigant (2010)
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…
Breath Of God Sample Winner + Advance Warning: Mystery Perfume Giveaway
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…
Breath Of God Sample Giveaway Reminder + The Delights Of Christmas Shopping
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…
Persolaise The Personal Shopper
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…
The Logic Behind Breath Of God
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…
Sample Giveaway + Review: Breath Of God & The Smell Of Weather Turning by Gorilla Perfumes (2010)
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…
Still In India…
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…
Thinking Of India + Grossmith Sample Set Winner
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…
SoOud London Launch + Giveaway Reminder
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…
Preview: Portrait Of A Lady by Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle (2010) + Sample Giveaway Reminder
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,…