Persolaise Preview: Bleu De Chanel by Chanel (2010)
Here’s a fact: Chanel will soon release a new men’s scent called Bleu. And here’s another fact: most bloggers haven’t had one solitary sniff of it. Put these two facts…
Review: Gucci By Gucci Sport Pour Homme by Gucci (2010)
Ah, the dangers of prejudice. When I saw that a sample of this new flanker had made its way into one of my shopping bags, I immediately condemned it to…
Wonderwood Sample Giveaway Result + Momentary Hibernation Lull
Thanks to everyone who took part in the Wonderwood draw. You’ll see from the image above that the winner is the second person who a left comment: Ines. Hopefully, I’ll…
Scent Gathering With Andy Tauer
I recently had the good fortune to attend one of Ronny Geller‘s Scent Gatherings and spend several hours in the company of Andy Tauer, creator of, amongst others, L’Air Du…
Roja Dove’s Haute Parfumerie
One of the perks of publishing on the Internet is that you can change posts with which you’re not entirely happy. This one is a case in point: over the…
Sample Giveaway + Review: Wonderwood by Comme Des Garçons (2010)
What kind of scent is conjured up in your mind by the words “wood gone mad”? Not, I reckon, a scent like Wonderwood, although that’s precisely the term CdG are…
Amouage – New London Boutique
On a peaceful street in Knightsbridge, hidden behind an unsightly pyramid of scaffolding, is London’s first stand-alone boutique for Amouage, the highly-respected house founded in the early 80s by a…
Smoke Interrupted
Squeezing in a few, manically rushed moments of formulating never seems to produce worthwhile results. Despite the inexorable encroachment of the day job, I’ve tried to spend a few moments…
Perfect Preservation
The next time you go shopping for food, ask yourself if you can smell any of the fresh fruit and vegetables as you approach them. And if you can, then…
Review: Orange Star by Tauer Perfumes (2010)
Confession time: over the last two weeks, I’ve made several failed attempts to write this review. It’s one thing to put down your thoughts on a fragrance whose maker is…
Hard Pressed
I don’t quite know how, but in between the extra demands of the day job, the insurmountable ironing and the million-and-one other things that need doing every single weekend, I…
More Opium
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…