Seeing The Signs – An Interview With Dana El Masri Of Jazmin Saraï
Persolaise The perfume world is small at the best of times, but there are some occasions when its proportions seem laughably minute. A few months ago, a Montreal-based perfumer called Dana…
“You Have A Brand Here” – An Interview With Carlos Huber Of Arquiste
You never know who you’re going to bump into at Harrods. A few weeks ago, I had some time to kill in London, so I decided to pop up to…
Persolaise Review: Oud from Reminiscence (2012)
As soon as I adopt a policy of never using the word ‘oud’ again, along comes an agar perfume which deserves a mention.The Côte d’Azur-based brand Reminiscence may seem like…
Keeping It Moody – Karl Bradl And Bertrand Duchaufour At London’s Aedes De Venustas Launch
image: Aedes De Venustas Mood boards, rare irises and the conservativeness of the French market all came up when I met Karl Bradl and Bertrand Duchaufour in London recently to…
Persolaise’s Osmothèque Reviews + Andy Tauer’s Advent Give-Away
*** To skip to the Tauer Perfumes Advent Draw, please scroll to the bottom of this post. *** I’ve decided that we need to build a nuclear bunker around the…
Persolaise Review: Égoïste from Chanel (Jacques Polge; 1990) + No 5 Jumps In The Bath
As Égoïste has now been allowed to take its rightful place at all UK Chanel counters (until very recently, it was available only at the brand’s own boutiques) the time…
What We Really Wore This Summer – 2013
I know, it’s a hard life. As a perfume critic, I don’t often get to wear scents from my personal collection; I’m usually covering myself in stuff which I’m evaluating…
Is That A Bell I Hear?
Some summer reading… One of those curious little ironies of life: I get tons of ideas for blog posts when I’m in ‘no writing allowed’ holiday mode. Whilst Madame Persolaise…
The Things You See At A Perfume Factory – A Visit To Robertet In Grasse
The photo above shows one of the sights that greeted me and Madame Persolaise when we visited Robertet’s Grasse factory in February*. A heap of mimosa, filling the air with…
Catching A Passing Bouquet – Nice’s Bataille De Fleurs Parade
A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to experience the explosion of colours, sounds and smells that is Nice’s annual Bataille De Fleurs parade. To read my Basenotes piece…
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Home
Normal service is on the verge of being resumed. I hope you’ve all been well during my blogging break and that you’ve enjoyed the reviews that popped up during my…
Christmas Break 2011
I’m just checking in today to say that posts will be a bit thin on the ground for the next two weeks as our focus at Maison Persolaise turns from…
I’ll Just Put The Kettle On
Sometimes, the most potent scent memories are the ones that come as a complete surprise. Deliberately smelling some vintage Fidji or Aramis in order to conjure a recollection of a…
Italians Don’t Like Shalimar + End Of Summer Give-Away
I need a few lessons in basic Buddhism. One of the main problems with having an extremely busy Day Job and a tendency to go away on long holidays is…
This Is How It’s Done: Tanagra And Bouteille On The Côte d’Azur
Although Madame Persolaise’s French is pretty good, she thought it might be useful for us to take a culinary dictionary on our travels this year, just to make the process…
Give-Away Teaser + Reasons To Be Thankful
We’re surrounded by empty suitcases. The washing machine has been whirring away for hours. There’s a heap of unopened junk mail in the bin. All this means we’re back at…
New Cure For Insomnia: Counting Perfume Releases
It’s the final week of August, the holiday’s nearly over and life will soon have to return to normal at Maison Persolaise. It’s going to take a little while for…
If It’s Friday, This Must Be Grasse
Free Wifi hasn’t been as easy to find as I’d hoped, but I’m pleased to say that so far the holiday has gone very well (although I gather the situation…
Mona Di Orio Draw Winner + Impossible Potion – Episode 2 Of The BBC’s Perfume Documentary
Despite the best efforts of an eccentric, pipe-smoking, kilt-wearing American, the trans-Atlantic battle in the second episode of BBC Four’s Perfume documentary is again won by France. In this instalment,…
Wake Up And Smell The PR – Episode 1 Of The BBC’s Perfume Documentary
Irony is alive and well… at least in the world of TV documentaries. After months of anticipation, those of us based in the UK finally got to watch part 1…