amazing | Pomelo girl thoughts

The new Annick Goutal boutique on Madison Ave.

Posted on December 14, 2015 by elemonated

It’s a good day when you can kick back with the lovely people of Sniffapalooza and the NYC fragrance community and get buzzed on perfume.

Mr. Chokkattu and I stopped at Lladro first, but I forgot to take pictures of the pretty porcelain, brand new candles and a new votive. No matter, they had three new home fragrances. Gardens of Valencia and Mediterranean Beach are both florals, Mediterranean is heavier on the musk, and I Love You, Mom is a gourmand, floral on top of chocolate and honey.

WCW: Hedy Lamarr

Posted on November 11, 2015 by elemonated

Google featured her on Monday for her birthday, but since today’s a Wednesday, I thought I’d save her for Woman Crush Wednesday!

Not only is she iconically gorgeous, “the most beautiful woman in Europe” helped the WWII effort against Axis powers by developing jam-proof radio guidance systems for torpedoes and selling war bonds to people, as well as contributed to daily life by improving traffic lights and an Alka-Seltzer type carbonation tablet. Read More

Starting off November with a bang

Posted on November 10, 2015 by elemonated

Picture from the NYTimes article linked below

Drinking three glasses of champagne ‘could help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease’
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/drinking-three-glasses-of-champagne-every-day-can-help-prevent-alzheimers-disease-a3109626.html
The article has been amended to say that it’s three glasses of champagne a week, not a day! Which is good because I don’t think anyone was trying to push someone to expensive alcoholism in the pursuit of avoiding mental degradation. As someone with a grandmother with Alzheimer’s, and have a terrible memory in general, I feel like I should probably start drinking champagne just in case. Preventative measures and all. Read More

Sniffapalooza Fall Ball 2015!

Posted on October 30, 2015 by elemonated

Finally getting to this post!

I’ve been indulging my fragrance hobby for more than a year now, but only fairly quietly in the safety of my own home and in the awkward embrace of the internet. However. This changed last Friday when I attended my first Sniffapalooza event; the free kick-off at Twisted Lily, my own local niche fragrance Mecca that I’ve purchased from before, but ever only online. The website’s treated me well though, some of my old posts like 6 Scents 6 Selves, my UNUM review, my Twisted Lily favorites review, and my Ineke A-H reviews were sourced from Twisted Lily (click on each word for a different Ineke review!)

Woman crush of the week: Tracey Stewart

Posted on October 27, 2015 by elemonated

I know I’m supposed to wait until tomorrow, but I have time now that I don’t know when I’m going to have later on this week, so I just wanted to make a short post high-lighting how cute I think Mrs. Stewart is!

(Also, I WILL put up a post detailing my Saturday at the Sniffapalooza Fall Ball, hehe. Once I get some time and regain some energy!)

Tracy Stewart Counts Her Sheep, and More – NYT

You may have heard that John and Tracey Stewart are opening up a Farm Sanctuary branch in Middleton, NJ. Read More

1989* Mitsouko

Posted on October 21, 2015 by elemonated

Update: Someone has since informed me that the box is only indicative of the box design year and helped me figure out that this is actually a 1989 bottle using this website! Thanks!

Because I’m the luckiest woman alive, Mr. Chokkattu gave this pale, pasty, stressed-out version of me 1983 Mitsouko Eau de Parfum.

Inner box; so pretty!

Cute little 7.5 mL bottle!

The lovely golden outer shell!

1983 on the box!

I’ll post a review when I feel like I’m dying less, but if I am unable to convey my excitement given my current state of exhaustion, know that I am close to crying.

If you want to learn more about Mr. Chokkattu, he also has a blog, plus I have a whole post about him during our time in Iceland.

I love him I love him I love him.

6 Scents 6 Selves

Posted on October 15, 2015 by elemonated

These are all male-leaning or unisex, but I have no problem wearing Fils de Dieu or Le 3’ Homme myself and I am a tiny, rather unimposing female. The Jungian personalities that I decided would be best suited to each fragrance is also just my opinion. I would never discourage anyone from wearing what they like unless they ask for it explicitly! Mr. Chokkattu and I decided that these were the most versatile that we collectively own, so the list is obviously biased in our direction.

Nearly all of the fragrances in mentioned in this list come from Twisted Lily’s The Sands sample collection which I purchased for him a few months ago. I would like to take this moment and congratulate myself on being able to choose gifts really well, and also bask in the smugness of getting Mr. Chokkattu’s older brother in on the fragrance game without actually having to interact with him. (He basically stole the sample of Tom of Finland Mr. Chokkattu had received from Scent Trunk.) Anyway.

Enjoy the list!

Business, Food

The Definition of Hospitality

Gallery | Posted on October 10, 2015 by elemonated

Food history is hands down my favorite subject. It’s amazing how a meal can shape a culture, and that’s what we’re faced with when the people of Charleston sit down for the recreated Fuller Dinner. The delicious and historical dishes against the rich and conflicted backdrop absolutely make this event worth writing about, definitely beyond the dime-a-dozen new restaurant openings in NYC. I wish I could find something as cool as things happening near me, but I think I might have to drive down to Philadelphia to get anywhere close.

We Are Chefs

“Yes.” That was Kevin Mitchell’s answer when he was approached by food historian Dr. David Shields to take on the part of 19^th century African-American chef Nat Fuller and reenact an 1865 iconic biracial banquet that took place in Charleston, South Carolina. A year later, along with key Charleston community members, Mitchell and Shields pulled off one of the most significant post-Civil War events to happen in the South—again.

Chef Nat Fuller
Nat Fuller was born in 1812 on a plantation on the Ashley River in Charleston. He was sold several times before he was bought by William Gatewood, a 20-year-old lottery agent from Virginia. At age 15, Fuller began his training as a butler and a gourmet cook, because Gatewood was interested in increasing his social standing in Charleston. Fuller apprenticed under some of the best cooks in the area. He had a talent for cooking and became…

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Imaginary Authors: Stories II

Posted on October 6, 2015 by elemonated

Here comes installment two! In my previous post about Imaginary Authors, I decided that for these fragrances I would do something different and write some short stories based on what comes up when I smell them. These stories are based on a vigilante concept that Mr. Chokkattu and I discuss whenever someone who’s a waste of space shows up on the news, and the style hopefully smacks of Brandon Sanderson as well as a tiny hint of Haruki Murakami perhaps. Hope you enjoy!

Cape Heartache: pine, oak, embers, strawberries, vanilla Read More

Rudimental in the states, and other updates

Posted on October 1, 2015 by elemonated

On Tuesday night, I got to see my favorite music group and Ed Sheeran on stage together (for like $35!) the other night which was all kinds of amazing.