Guerlain

Mood Scent 4 Wellbeing Wonder Perfumes

It’s Mood Scent 4 time again where we, 4 bloggers around the globe, show our thoughts on the same subject every month.  Sam (I Scent You A Day) from Wales, Megan in Southern France (Megan in St Maxime) Portia in Australia (guest blogging on A Bottled Rose) and I (from The Netherlands) chose to write about Wellbeing Wonders today, given what is happening in the world due to the Virus. We could all use some well-being wonders at the moment. 

It may sound frivolous right now to write about fragrances and beauty. But I have found perfume and beautiful things like flowers to be very uplifting, calming and comforting these past couple of weeks.  Nature is showing us its own natural pace with spring blossoming flowers like vibrant magnolia and joyous yellow daffodils.

In The Netherlands we are in semi lock down as we are still allowed to go out for a walk to get some fresh air opposed to other countries where people are not allowed to walk outside except for shopping. What is uniting us on this planet at the moment, is that we are going through the same things in our own way as we are all effected by the virus. Quite an exceptional experience.

Back to perfumes, I picked 4 perfumes as Wellbeing Wonders, 3 of them are reasonably priced, in case you would like to buy them online. The first is April Aromatics Precious Woods, not a cheap fragrance but well worth its price, this is why.

April Aromatics Precious Woods Eau de Parfum -Calming and Grounding-

Precious Woods invites us to take a slow calming walk in a green moist forest. German perfumer Tanja Bochnig was inspired to make this fragrance when she scented an Indian forest after the rain. Wearing it makes me feel like having both feet firmly on the ground. It has a very calming effect. This is not surprising as one of the main notes of Precious Woods is sandalwood. Sandalwood has been used by all Indian spiritual traditions (Brahmin, Buddhist and Hindu) to induce a calm state of mind and for meditation.

Precious Woods features natural notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, cistus, vetiver bourbon, patchouli, Buddha wood and white Sage. It is infused with small herkimer precious stones


Paul Smith Rose Eau de Parfum – Uplifting –

Elegant and effortless chic is a word which comes to mind when smelling Paul Smith Rose. It smells better than a bouquet of large stemmed pink roses from an exclusive flower-shop in one of the most expensive areas in the city. Paul Smith Rose is very uplifting and places you in a pink bubble for a moment. It is available online for a fairly reasonable price and was created by perfumer Antoine Maisondieu.

Paul Smith Rose features notes of green tea, violet heart rose, violet, magnolia, cedarwood. 

Guerlain Mitsouko Eau de Toilette – Comforting –

Many have written about Mitsouko which I will not repeat other than that it is a classic comforting masterpiece. Mitsouko was created more than 100 years ago in 1919 by perfumer Jacques Guerlain. The Eau de Toilette refills sprays (93ml) are still available online for 30 euro (not on this photograph) which is cheaper than a regular roomspray. This Eau de Toilette might not be as rich as the pure perfume but it works wonders when you spray it on your cushion or sheets before going to bed. It certainly is a wellbeing wonder for me.

Mitsouko features notes of bergamot, jasmine, peach, rose, oakmoss, pepper, cinnamon, vetiver.

Caron Pour Un Homme Eau de Toilette- Calming and Relaxing-

Pour Un Homme is a calming lavender perfume with a warm amber and comforting vanilla base. These notes have a very calming and relaxing effect. The fragrance is available online for a fairly reasonable price. I just found a 125 ml bottle with shower gel for 30 euro online as a giftset. Highly recommended for relaxation and calming the mind. Although Pour Un Homme is called For A Man in French, it is not for gentlemen only…

Pour Un Homme features notes of lavender, vanilla, musk and amber.

These are my 4 Wellbeing Wonder Picks. Have a look on Sam’s blog I Scent You A Day, Megan’s  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose to read their choices and read how they are doing  I am very curious, aren’t you?

I hope you and your loved ones are able to stay calm, centered and positive during the upcoming period. Stay well!

Do you use perfume as wellbeing wonder now? Which one do you use?

Disclosure: all photographs were made by Esperessence. The perfumes mentioned in this article were bought by Esperessence as well.

Mood Scent 4 : Duvet Day Perfumes

 

Its Mood Scent 4 time again! Sam (I Scent You a Day), Megan (Megan in St. Maxime), Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies) and I write about a different  theme every month. This time we have chosen to post about our favorite Duvet Day Perfumes. Which perfumes do we reach for on our days off when we relax in bed or stay comfortably in our pyjamas all day? I have chosen 4 fragrances with comforting and relaxing notes of sandalwood, vanilla and Turkish apple tea.

1. Pierre Guillaume Paris 18 Cadjméré Eau de Parfum 

One of my absolute favorites Duvet Day perfumes is Pierre Guilaumes 18 Cadjméré. The comforting creamy sandalwood pairs extremely well with the light milky coconut creating a harmonious fragrance which makes you want to stay in bed or on the sofa all day in your pyjamas. A light touch of spices uplift it slightly.

Some say Cadjméré refers to the soft touch of Kashmir and mère” (mother in French). As the most important note sandalwood is often qualified as “maternal wood” due to its creamy and comforting qualities. I love to wear this fragrance when I want to slow down or before going to bed for its soothing effect.

Cadjméré includes notes of tangerine, aromatic sap, rosewood, Kenyan cypress resin, sandalwood, ambrette seed and vanilla.

2. L’Artisan Parfumeur Traversée du Bosphore Eau de Parfum 

The relaxing Traversée du Bosphore is a good choice for your occasional duvet day. It was inspired by a trip to Istanbul in 2010 by French perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour and opens with sweet Turkish apple tea and a pinch of cinnamon powder. The apple is slightly covered with sugar powder and softly baked in delicious browning butter. This is not a fresh crisp green apple more a sweet warm appetising apple desert. The Turkish apple tea note is mixed with Turkish delight, both very sweet at the beginning but never too candy like. It is just the right amount of sugar.

After a few minutes the scent of almonds appears. Comforting vanilla is the base of this fragrance with a little sweetness probably from the sugar powdered apple and Turkish Delight. Traversée du Bosphore is a wonderful little comforting tourist trip to Turkey with its sweet apple tea and turkish delight while remaining at home in your pyjamas.

Traversée du Bosphore includes notes of apple, pomegranate, tulip, iris, leather, saffron, Turkish delight accord, vanilla and musks.

3. Guerlain Shalimar 

Although Shalimar makes me feel like a movie star from the roaring twenties with natural glamour and sensual elegance I love to wear this at home for its comforting and relaxing effect. The balsamic properties of Vanilla sooth me and I love to wear this before going to bed. It’s a wonderful duvet day perfume and one I can’t live without honestly.

Shalimar notes include bergamot, rose and jasmine, opopanax, vanilla, iris and tonka bean.

4. Le Labo Labdanum 18 Eau de Parfum

More suited for our upcoming theme Sexy Duvet Day (no, just kidding here!) but, an honorable mention go to Le Labo Labdanum 18, created in 2006 by master perfumer Maurice Roucel. This cosy and warm powdery fragrance envelopes you like a soft cashmere blanket. Civet and castoreum add a sensual ‘dirty’ touch making it very seductive while still remaining incredibly confortable.

Labdanum 18 notes include labdanum, tonka beans, vanilla, castoreum, patchouli.

Have a look on the Sam’s blog I Scent You A Day, Megan’s  Megan in St. Maxime and Portia’s Australian Perfume Junkies to read their picks for duvet day perfumes.

What are your favourite duvet day choices on your day off? Did you like my choices?

Disclosure: all photographs were made by Esperessence

Do You (Or Would You) Open Vintage Perfume Bottles?

 

Some month ago I posted a question on Instagram  if I should open a vintage bottle of Guerlain Shalimar and Mitsouko. Most of the answers were: open those bottles!  I opened the Shalimar bottle and posted a photograph during Christmas. I still haven’t opened the vintage bottle of Mitsouko perfume for some reason. Tara from A Bottled Rose inspired me to open the vintage Vol de Nuit pure perfume bottle with one of her posts on Instagram. I am enjoying Vol de Nuit while writing this article. It’s glorious, I am glad I opened it.

This made me wonder why was it so difficult to open this bottle of Vol de Nuit? What use is it to keep it in a box or special fridge and not enjoy it in all its glory? Are you not “supposed” to open vintage bottles when you collect perfumes?

What do you think? Do you open your vintage perfume bottles? Or would you open them?