Hey there A Bottled Rose, It’s a Mood Scent 4 week. WOO HOO! This month the crew are looking at Wellbeing Wonders. OK, hopefully we are all in some kind of lockdown and crew taking it seriously. Australia seems to be taking a very lasses faire attitude so far but I think that will become more rigid as the disease progresses here. Already Covid19 has changed the way we interact, work, shop, live and love. I’m off for the foreseeable future. Jin is still working on the trains, they are essential service. I’ve started meeting friends across the road in our cemetery, 2m apart on picnic rugs. It’s BYO food and beverage. LOVELY sitting in the warm autumn sun or the dappled shade. So, what fragrances are we thinking about to help our mind stay healthy in this time of mainly solitary living? Are we choosing meditative, fun, deep, warm or comforting scents? Maybe we want super weird or bombastic things that we could never wear in the workplace? Are you revisiting, culling, testing or going with what you know? My line up is eclectic for different moods.
Obviously, these choices are subject to change, daily.
Also, while this is a lighthearted look at isolation, illness and the current pandemic: on a serious note: Please Stay Home. As much as you, or your work, can. The less people you interact with the less transition of this insidious and hideous virus can occur. If you get Covis19 and go to hospital none of your friends or family can visit. You will die alone with tubes sticking out of you and not enough people to care for you. Please Stay Home.
Can’t wait to read about your favourite Wellbeing Wonders in the comments too.
So excited to be blogging with these three superstars again: Esperanza L’Esperessence, Megan Megan In Sainte Maxime and Samantha I Scent You A Day. Check theirs out too.
Mood Scent 4: Wellbeing Wonders
3 Fleurs by Parfum d’Empire
Suddenly lately I remembered this bright and cheerful old school floral fantasy. Minty roses backed by tropical yellow and white flowers. I’ve worn it couple of times already in lockdown and I makes me smile rapturously. OK, she is a little assertive. No scratch that, 3 Fleurs is a little bit of a diva. The first couple of hours are decidedly, and lavishly, fragrant. Perfect Working-At-Home with no restrictions wear.
Datura Noir by Serge Lutens
This is a rarely talked about Serge Lutens that I wish more people would get their noses on. A thick, buttery, coconut laden white floral with hints of dark greenery, almonds and vanilla. Peaceful and lush, I am finding it particularly calming in these times that are so uncertain. Not a shy or retiring fragrance but not a HUGE bombastic white floral either, Datura Noir seems to sit right in the middle at fragrant but not obnoxious. Definitely one of Serge Lutens easier to wear perfumes.
Jersey by CHANEL
Over the last couple of years I find myself drawn to lavender. When Jersey first came to my attention in 1012 i thought it boring and banal. The name annoyed me and it really felt like CHANEL were putting out a poor version of mens fragrance and flogging it to women as a NEW IDEA. The lavender vanilla combination reminded me of Carin Pour un Homme and Le Male by JPG and I already had those immaculate creations, why would I want some watered down, dried out version. Since then my tastes have evolved and the perfect poise of Jersey, it’s uncluttered, sheer, almost musical perfection now takes my breath away. Perfect for time alone, calm, reflective and still.
Le De vintage EdT by Givenchy
In my recent isolation clearing out I have discovered a plethora of 10ml dehydrating decants. Le De was one I loved so much, wore a few times and the it got forgotten in the deluge of new. A spicy, aldehydic floral in the old style that wears like my dream of being a mid-century Hollywood movie starlet. Kitchen sink perfumery that creates a perfume that is much like a Phil Spector songs musical wall-of-sound that came along in the next decade. My favourites are Da Doo Ron Ron and Be My Baby in the 60s, then ABBA’s Dancing Queen copied it perfectly in the 1970s. NOW you know how Le De smells.
Madame Rochas vintage EdC
Madame Rochas is another old school beauty. Glorious golden aldehydic floral top/mossy chypre base. Guy Robert, the legendary perfumer, created something so special and timeless. Madame Rochas leans darker and more mysterious than le De’s buoyant vivaciousness. Dryer, furrier and infinitely more sophisticated, this is a perfume for a woman. Still in the realms of kitchen sink perfumery the base is full of creamy sandalwood, the dry pencil shavings of cedar, sweet resins, woods, tonka and the dry, lightly salted rasp of vetiver. Madame Rochas is for those days at home you want to waft dangerously.
Pluie de Soleil by Phaedon
You want to whisk your troubles away? Laugh in the face of certain doom or impending penury? Here is the ultimate fragrance to toss all worries and fears aside. Juicy to the point of ridiculous, pineapple is king, surrounded by citrus, strawberry and peach and all undercut by a creamy vanilla. The opening is all about a fruity cocktail and dry down is like a pine/lime ice cream. I’m not sure if Pluie de Soleil will beat your lockdown loneliness but it will definitely send your mind somewhere else for a little while as you enjoy it fun looniness.
So what are your favourite Wellbeing Wonders?
Portia xx
A Bottled Rose 
Rose rose rose. I’ve worn lots of my rose fragrances. And taken baths in rose oil and rose bubble baths. That helps me all the time.
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GinaT, It reads like lockdown is suiting you just fine. A bunch of glorious roses sounds delightful.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia. Sending my love to you and Jin. Please stay well.
I am on a jasmine kick and have only just found out that the essential oil is good for stress and the immune system, so I must have a primal instinct for what’s good! Wearing Floris’s Night Scented Jasmine as my fragrance, and using various face and body oils containing the EO … just can’t get enough of it at the moment. For the very few occasions I don’t feel like the NSJ, I’ve been wearing Floris’s Edwardian Bouquet which reminds me very much of Madame Rochas.
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Thanks Jillie,
Jin and I are doing very well. More by good luck than management.
JASMINE! Such a fabulous scent, especially in a soliflor. I have the Santa Maria Novella triple distilled jasmine extrait. It’s fabulous. Also Nuda by Nasomatto for when I need a jasmine fix.
Floris’s Edwardian Bouquet is like madame Rochas! Good to know.
Portia xx
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A looooot of Mohur. Mingled with others. Cannot wear Rose & Cuir or 1957 right now. They are full on Cookie Run scents and I’m not doing that at the moment. I do not know when they will reopen restaurants here, or if things will be so damaged that I won’t do it any more. We shall see. ❤️
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YAY for Mohur Val.
I think we will be surprised at how quickly life returns to normal in the small ways. You may do a smaller quota for a while but after a dramatic fiscal downturn people are going to need small, affordable pick-me-ups. That is about the most perfect description of one of your cookies. They may not be able to fine dine for their socialisation anymore but a coffee and cookie won’t break the bank.Fingers crossed.
Portia xx
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Oh I think I will return but need to mentally prepare myself in case. And I will find another way to do stuff regardless of what happens!
They will not reopen until at least the middle of May, so let’s see. xx
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Yeah, everything is paused. Here we are told June 28 is the current lockdown end but that’s open to renegotiation.
Fingers crossed.
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Wow, they are already announcing end of June? That was my personal guess but so far it’s until May 4 here in Quebec. I’m betting they’ll just keep moving it out so people don’t freak.
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Wearing everything and anything. Sometimes several different scents in the day. I’ll start out with whatever and next time I go to my bedroom I’ll spray something else if I feel like it. The only rule is that there are no rules.
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Woo Hoo Cassieflower,
This is basically how I live my life anyway. Spritz often and with gay abandon.
Portia xx
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And why not, we have to please ourselves, if possible
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Tania, I usually please myself anyway. Can’t be pleasing anyone else before I please me😁
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Preach Cassieflower.
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Hi Portia, great choices. Loved them, especially Jersey due to the relaxing Lavender. I didn’t like it at first either but I can imagine you wearing it now gloriously. Pluie de Soleil sounds wonderfully cheerful 😁 not sure about the pineapple though. XxxEsperanza
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HA! Esperanza, Pluie de Soleil needs to be tried with an open mind. It’s NOTHING like I would ever have expected myself to want to smell but here we are.
Jersey is an interesting one. A few people I know have taken a while to come round to it.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia – glad to hear you’re doing Ok in Oz. Loved your choices and I like Datura Noir as well although it doesn’t seem to get much mention at all and it’s easier to wear than a lot of Lutens too. Xx💙
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Heya Megan,
Isn’t it strange that Datura Noir gets overlooked so often? Maybe people want something more challenging from Lutens?
Portia xx
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You had me at 3 Fleurs. I love a big diva floral and I haven’t even heard of this one. As usual my dear, you are educating delightfully and making me want to track things down like an olfactory bloodhound. I love how you talk about perfumes you didn’t used to like but then fell in love with. This fascinates me as I have several I used to ignore that have now become firm favourites. I also love the idea of “fun looniness” in “Pluie de Soleil”. I’m not a pineapple fan in perfume, but on your say so, I’ll double dare me xxx
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Sam! I can so imagine you wafting 3 Fleurs. It would be sensational on you.
Portia xx
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Big classic chypres at the moment, like Azuree, Aromatics Elixir. I think I will wear Salome in the next days. Cannot stand vanilla at the moment, and it’s also getting to warm for this.
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Hi Tanja,
WOWZERS! You are hitting the good stuff. Azuree and Aromatics Elixir are beautiful memory scents for me. Did you ever try the original Trussardi Donna? Another in the style but sadly DCd. It’s worth finding.
Portia xx
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No, I never smelled this.
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Mitzah, Cedre Sambac, Lustre, Borneo… anything and everything. I’m amazed they’ve already announced June 28 for end of lockdown there. Here in Quebec they just shifted it out to May 4 but I expect it to keep sliding.
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Hey TaraC,
WOO HOO! Borneo! You know it’s one of the few Serge Lutens I don’t own? Weird, because I love patchouli.
The idea is that we might keep sliding out too but they’re putting it so far out to make planning easier.
Portia x
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Hello, all! So lovely to have seen this post when I got up this morning. I’m reading everyone’s choices with interest and have decided, at this late stage in the game, that I actually need to take notes to follow up the lovely things I read about. I have been grabbing a sample or decant in the mornings; the most recent being Profumi di Firenze’s Senza Fine. Lots and lots of flowers and citrus; the single review on Fragrantica describes it as ‘yellow sunshine’ and I am not great with notes but even I can tell it’s yellow. As a bonus, both the cat and the dog love it and tried to lick it off my arm, but it survived both attempts.
Stay well and safe, everyone. Portia, lovely to hear your voice again.
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Hey there Sue,
Good to see you here.
HA! Don’t you love it when the pets go wild for our perfume. SO CUTE!
Yellow sunshine is a terrific descriptor, I’m going to nick it and use it.
Portia x
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I don’t have any favourites for the lockdown if I even remember to wear perfume these days – or wash, haha – but I do own Mme Rochas from the 60s so might revisit. And I loved Le De, but my bottle turned.
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Hey Vanessa,
I’m wearing perfume but have always been bathe resistant. Last night I had the most fabulous boiling hot bubble bath though. Korres Basil & Lemon Shower Gell bubbles! Sop gorgeous.
I can SO imagine you wafting Madame Rochas.
Portia xx
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