Kyoto Diptyque Le Grand Tour

Diptyque sure knows how to create sensory experiences, and I truly enjoyed visiting their recent pop-up in NYC, Le Grand Tour.

Kyoto was an absolute highlight for me, a peppery vegetal opening of beetroot, mineral fog accord, and soft Turkish rose with dual personalities. One is green and earthy while the other is dark and rebellious; somehow, they both reside inside one composition and complete each other perfectly.

After an hour or two, you are left with a beautiful ambroxan trail and soft aromatic Incense. This perfume could quickly become everyday wear that feels calm and centering but has a prominent backbone.

Ikebana served as an inspiration to KYOTO, and the visual installation was centered around it. It is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō. The tradition dates back to the Heian period when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the tokonoma of a traditional Japanese home.

The most distinctive feature of ikebana is using a wide array of materials, including beautiful blooming flowers, branches, stems, leaves, and mosses arranged in visually appealing ways.

The installation was enhanced by a scent diffusing machine softly releasing Kyoto fragrance as a mist around you.

Anouche Scented Candle by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

ANOUCHE by Maison Francis Kurkdjian is a mouthwatering rose jam scented candle. I am completely with candles, as they help me feel cozy, centered and transported. Quality wise, this is one of the best I have purchased so far.

Anouche rekindles the pleasures of the small apartment where Francis lived in with his maternal grandparents for a few years as a child, not far from the Chateau de Vincennes.

The essence of the aroma captures sweet memories of the rose petal jam, from Francis’s grandmother’s secret recipes. A smooth rose sweetness, touch of spicy honey and a zesty burst of quince. This is one of the best candles I have ever smelled and I wish it would be a perfume. Some day, perhaps one can certainly dream!

P.S. Another favorite from this line is the infamous Baccarat Rouge 540 with the smoothest amber and soft flowers, don’t think this fragrance needs much introduction but if you are a fan, I would highly recommend to get it in the candle form.

Nautica Oceans

In the midst of the golden fall I still crave the fresh salty ocean. 

You know how much I love the niche offerings yet I reach for designer just as often (it all comes down to the mood) I have a soft spot for any Nautica fragrances as my dad, uncles and most friends had at least one in their daily wear rotations and it’s casual aquatic and sporty DNA always brings nothing but good memories. Is it technically created for men? Yes, but that never stopped me from enjoying a fragrance 😉 

On this Monday morning walk, I wore the latest release Nautical Oceans, a new formula that’s completely alcohol free and is water based. Inspired by the life and energy of the ocean it translates its beauty with the smell of soft, aquatic, and calming sound of the ocean marine accord is blended smoothly with the atmosphere of the seashore with slightly musky and woodsy base. Composed by Patricia Bilodeau. As a yachting enthusiast, in the warm days of summer I never miss a chance to enjoy a day on the water and since we are are approaching winter in New York, I will dip into my summer memories until I get to feel that ocean breeze in my hair once more.

Tudo Azul Anima Vinci

Chances are high you have tasted a delicious caipirinha cocktail at least once in your life 

If not, you can start by escaping to Brazil with Tudo Azul. A fragrance inspired by the famous saying in Brazil TUDO AZUL – Everything is Fine Everything is Blue.
A sensory journey from the first sip, oops, meant to say whiff.
Opening of Tudo Azul are freshly muddled limes and oranges with brown sugar. The heart is the spirit of Brazil cachaca liquor, similar to rum, yet distinct for its grassy flavor. You are sipping this cocktail under the blue sky and can taste the salty air coming from the sea. The dry down feels like a sunset on the beach, warm amber woods with a touch of dry vetiver and vanilla.
Tudo Azul became one of my favorites this summer, and I definitely would recommend this to anyone who wants a delicious tropical feeling without any sweetness. The line offers many beautiful fragrances, and I will be covering the entire collection shortly.

Slightly Creamy, slightly zesty, delicious, and very memorable

Maison Sybarite

Conscious living, we are hearing this more often these days. What does it really mean?

I have recently fallen head over heels with Maison Sybarite fragrances and more importantly the entire concept of the brand. 

In the recent years consumerism took over the entire world, we buy things through a click of a finger via our smartphones, a device which became an extension to our limbs. We consume without a thought of why we need it, what is it made out of and how does it affect our world. We apply skincare without having a slightest idea what chemicals and preservatives are we letting our bodes absorb, we devour food because our bodies are manipulated into specific cravings which end up beneficial to multi million dollar corporations, making money on the fact that many consumers are simply unaware of the reality. Luxury market has chosen profits over sustainability for many decades and it’s refreshing to see a brand building their entire concept on the foundation of transparency, quality and sustainability in every facet of its work.

Using the revolutionary water based technology, (zero alcohol used ) we are seeing a brand for the first time ever to use the cleanest and safest ingredients and processes blended in the most luxurious compositions without sacrificing quality, longevity and beauty of perfume

Spicy Calabria is a decadent sultry and absolutely narcotic. Kicks of with a spicy ginger mingling with bergamot and limetta, it merges into the voluptuous heart of addictive wormwood. 

Buttery orris flirts with a spicy aroma of black pepper  

The base lays a foundation of smoky and dark labdanum intertwined with an earthy and grounding patchouli

Stunning work, amazing longevity and beautiful DNA of the brand

Will be talking a lot more about this house stay tuned

Maison Sybarite

Blanc Polychrome Atelier Des Ors – Champagne & Greasy Fries

Champagne, like all wines, is an experience for all of the senses – color, sound, texture, flavour and in this case the fragrance too. Tasting beverages with a goal of making out subtle profile nuances is very closely tied to the experience of perfume for me. Learning to recognise and define the distinctions in notes and accords – making associations, finding the right words – is what makes tasting wines and spirits so relatable and especially fascinating. Our brain has to distinguish between nuances of white, yellow and pink; between fruity, spicy and floral aromas; between subtle, delicate and powerful aromas – between all those different qualities that make Champagne wine so irresistible, up to and including its magical bubbles. It’s very rare that you find a fragrance that so closely resembles the most popular of them all – BRUT. That’s exactly what Blanc Polychrome by Atelier Des Ors smells like to me.

Fizzy opening of citrus fruits, it hides the heart of delicious green figs, slightly sour and tart rhubarb, aromatic lavender and jasmine. The dry down or the aftertaste is a soft sensual trace of musk mixed with moss. Wear it. Indulge in it. 

In the US we have grown accustomed to drinking champagne on special occasions and consider it a celebratory drink, but I urge you to take another look at it from a whole other perspective. Try pairing it with the cheeseburger next time, add some Parmesan fries and wash it all down with a glass of chilled bubbly. You will be amazing how well the acidity of wine balances out the fats in the food. I learned that trick from the head sommelier of @moetcliquot and she sure knows her champagne pairings. So spritz on some Blanc Polychrome, bite into that burger and thank me later!

Champagne has been around for centuries now and we have many historic sighting of overindulgence. Madame de Pompadour for instance, ordered Champagne by the gallon for her parties alfresco – her expenditure on bubbly says it all: at least 1,800 bottles of Champagne were consumed in the course of one masked ball at the Hôtel de Ville in 1739.

#champagne #atelierdesors #foodanddrink #blancpolychrome #perfumereviews

Lust In Paradise Ex Nihilo

In case you want a personal garden on the go, Lust In Paradise by Ex Nihilo is full of lush peonies, roses and juicy lychee fruits, it’s an ultra feminine floral vibe that became one of my most wearable fragrances in the late summer of 2021.

Now when I find myself int homiest of chilly fall weather, perhaps we are past the time when peonies and roses are blooming but I love the idea of being able to tap into that mid summer haze, waking up to a soft creamy aroma of freshly cut peonies standing by the bed, filling the room with its intoxicating floral breath. The dry down is a soft whiff of floral soap, one of those ultra pricey ones you would get from the high end apothecary. Elegant, soft and approachable. 

Imagine rubbing the flower petals between your fingers, delicate yet so powerful. The peculiar thing about this composition is the trail it leaves behind, a soft woody musk that shift into rather masculine direction and creates a sense of duality in the fragrance. Would I call it seductive or lustful? Probably not, I would much rather picture it as a perfect pairing for the lady who lunches, wearing decadent pearls and kitten heels, sipping on a glass of delicious rose.

#exnihilo #perfumelovers #lustinparadise #exnihiloparfums 

Lust in Paradise Ex Nihilo by Olya Bar

Life Through The Fragrant Lens

Life is a very subjective experience, yet that’s what makes it so exciting to share with others and discuss each of our journeys and the things we encounter. Fragrances, Food, and Skincare are the three passions I have carried through life with me for as long as I can remember. It started when I was a kid; my first bottle of perfume was Liz Claiborne Vivid, my sister had gifted it to me when I was five years old, and I would cherish it as if it was the biggest treasure on earth. Hey, for a five-year-old, it was. Little by little, I would learn about different aromas all around me, and it became quite an obsession. Years later, it helped me significantly to love and explore food much more profound than most people think of it. Eventually, I started to grow my collection of perfumes, my grown-up library of treasures, as I call it.

I invite you to come along on this journey through life; as beautiful and complex as it is for most of us, its little pockets of happiness that help get us through it all.