Tag Archives: Contemplative

Mood Scent 4 – Rainy Day Perfumes

Welcome to the first joint blogging project by Mood Scent 4! We are four perfume bloggers from France, Holland, England and Wales who will be posting on a different joint subject every couple of months.  Each time we will all pick a selection of five or so fragrances to fit a particular mood or occasion. You’ll find links to the other blogs at the end of the post.

We hope you have fun reading our different choices and adding your own in the comments.

Mood scent

I love it when it’s raining outside and I’m cosy indoors with little to do but listen to the raindrops patter against the window pane. Generally I don’t wear perfume on days like these unless I’m testing out a sample, but it’s fun to imagine what would be rainy day appropriate.

Silences by Jacomo

Notes: Orange blossom, Galbanum, Bergamot, Lemon, Green notes, Cassia;  Iris, Jasmine, Narcissus, Hyacinth, Rose, Lily-of-the-Valley,  Vetiver, Musk, Sandalwood, Oakmoss, Cedar and Ambrette.

This one feels just right for a rainy day in spring, both by name and scent. While most people have retreated indoors, you might want to take a peaceful walk in the rain. A soaking from an April shower seems to amplify the green aroma of vegetation in the air. Silences is a verdant green with a few flower petals and a little powder, that has a calming effect. It is also a bargain if you can find it online.

Celtic Fire by Union

Notes: Pine needles, Fir balsam, Marmite, Birch Tar, Peat and Bog Myrtle.

CELTIC_FIRE_U_001

My dream rainy day scenario would be eating toast by a roaring fire inside a cabin up in the Highlands of Scotland. The next best thing is Celtic Fire with its peaty, smoky aroma and quirky use of a salty Marmite accord. It’s a statement perfume with a certain meaty substance to it. There’s nothing quite like it.

Dzing! by L’Artisan Parfumeur

Notes: Leather, Ginger, Tonka Bean, Musk, White Woods, Caramel, Saffron, Toffee, Candy Apple and Cotton Candy

dzing

If you do choose to spend your rainy day with a good book and it’s not the digital kind, then Dzing! would be a good accompaniment. It may recreate the smell of the circus but there’s also a whiff of old paperbacks in there, which have started to curl at the edges and smell of musty vanilla. It’s also a clever, completely unique scent and you don’t have to worry about the soupçon of skank if it’s just going to be you and your novel of choice.

L’Eau Froide by Serge Lutens

Notes: Olibanum, Sea Water, Musk, Vetiver, Mint, Incense, Pepper and Ginger.

I know there’s not a lot of love for the Serge Lutens L’Eau line but I like this one. I can’t handle big incense perfumes like the mighty Avignon by Commes des Garcons, so a gentle watery incense with aromatic touches suits me just fine. L’Eau Froide is a softly refreshing fragrance that wouldn’t be too distracting and could match a contemplative mood on a wet day.

Vanilla Smoke by Aftelier Perfumes

Notes: Yellow Mandarin, Siam Wood, Saffron Absolute, Vanillin, Vanilla Absolute, Lapsang Souchong, Ambergris and Coumarin

Vanilla-Smoke-Aftelier-Fragrantica

Here you get gorgeous, soothing vanilla wrapped up in lovely, rubbery leather. Vanilla Smoke is my ideal comfort scent and will be particularly perfect when autumn rolls around and it starts to get cold and rainy. Enjoy it while taking a rain check – put your feet up and sip one of Mandy’s fabulous Fragranced Teas.

rainy day

Make sure you check out the other posts at Megan In Sainte Maxime, I Scent You A Day and L’Esperessence.

What are your own Rainy Day Perfumes?

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Étui Noir by Miller Harris and No.02 Eau Sento by IUNX

Two unassuming beauties…

 

 

My mate Tina G from Australian Perfume Junkies  purchased a few fragrances during her recent trip to Europe (naturally). When we met up in London, she was kind enough to share decants of two of them with me. You can read all about the fragrant fun we got up to that day here. We managed to fit in a shed-load of sniffing and it was a total blast.

 

Étui Noir by Miller Harris

 Top: Bergamot Italy EO, Tangerine, Elemi Gum
Heart: Iris Butter Morocco, Incense, Cashmere Wood, Styrax EO
Base: Patchouli Indonesia EO, Vetiver Haiti EO, Leather, Amber, Birch EO, Labdanum Abs

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I know Tina is drawn to both iris and leather – as am I – so although I generally don’t gravitate towards Miller Harris, I was keen to try her decant of Étui Noir (‘Black Case’). It was released this year and is Eau de Parfum strength.

From the little I’d read, I expected Étui Noir to be a rather dry and austere leather but on spraying I find out that couldn’t be further from the truth. The crisp citrus opening is there and then it’s gone, revealing a cosmetic, powdery iris embedded in sweet suede (as opposed to tough leather).

I’d describe Etui Noir as a cosmetic fragrance crossed with a suede scent, in a similar vein to the far drydown of scents like Naomi Goodsir’s Cuir Velours, Ramon Monegal’s Cuirelle and even Chanel’s Misia.  Like Misia, it’s a bit too sweet for me but then I have an extremely low tolerance for sweetness in perfume these days.

The base is predominantly amber and patchouli and lasting power is excellent. Unlike most perfumes in the leather category, I don’t find it smoky or tarry. This along with the sweet iris powder makes it very accessible; easy to wear while still being chic. It stays close to the body, but this suits its ‘second skin’ character. Étui Noir is one of those fragrances that will quietly surround you with the aura of silky soft suede.

 

No.02 Eau Sento by IUNX

 

 Notes: Cedar leaf, cypress, driftwood and red seaweed.  

 eau sento

 

I’m a fan of perfumer Olivia Giacobetti because she has such a light touch, even with traditional heavy materials. Here she takes wood and makes it as airy as wisps of Japanese incense. Eau Sento is the kind of transcendent, contemplative, woody scent that I can enjoy wearing. Vanessa of Bonkers about Perfume quite rightly likens some perfumes in this fragrance family to being “trapped in a tea chest”, but this is the exact opposite. It’s all about space and fresh air.

Don’t be unduly put off by the aquatic aspect. That ozone hit of seaweed is in the mix, but it just makes the scent more interesting – it places the wood at the water’s edge. Eau Sento has the soothing quality of incense, like staring out at the sea and finding all your problems suddenly put into perspective.  As with a lot of Giacobetti’s compositions, it’s simple yet quietly compelling: a thoughtful seashore scent.

 

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Do you like these kind of quiet yet thoughtful fragrances? 

 

 

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