pretty

Ineke A-H: Evening Edged in Gold

Posted on by elemonated

I learned the piano for this song when I was younger. Still in my head!

The Hush Sound’s Lighthouse by Michael Williams (Piano only)

Evening Edged in Gold

Wet: wine, plum, mahogany
Dry: plum, apricot, dusty flowers, sandalwood, leather

Mm, no soap in this one, and perhaps it’s because I was doing my homework while sipping a merlot, but this was a lovely pairing; both slightly sweet, the perfume sweeter, but both plummy, with a little bit of a bite. At first the image in my head was a tragically spilled glass of wine ruining some gloves on an expensive desk. It changed after a while into a woman eating fragrant pit fruits with her gloves still on over the same expensive desk, which is not really the appropriate table to be eating dripping fruit on. Which I guess it the point; it’s just a little inappropriate. And I like it. I may be biased since I’m a brunette, but this is a brunette lover’s scent through and through. Brunette, dark gem colors, hooded eyelids.

Ineke A-H: Balmy Days & Sundays

Posted on by elemonated

I’ve never seen Paperman, and I really want to now. This is some gorgeous music.

Christophe Beck’s Paperman, by Camden Tilley

Balmy Days & Sundays

Wet: Lime, honeysuckle, rose, musk
Dry: lime, honeysuckle, angel slippers, rose, musk, oakmoss

I don’t know what type of musk Ineke uses, but the scents are all so soapy on me. This one’s a little less so, and the oakmoss I think really helps to counter the weird, soapy musk. The notes online don’t indicate any sort of citrus, but the lime for me is front and center, though I don’t know what freesia smells like. It reminds me of times on the slip and slide, the squashed grass and mud mixing with the smell of detergent or bubble soap or whatever was mixed into the water to give it a slick quality, but it’s definitely cleaner and prettier, as if we were engaging in the activity in a field of wildflowers.

Ineke A-H: After My Own Heart

Posted on by elemonated

I usually put poems here, but I think I’ll do music this time.

Robert Starer’s Pink, by Dr. Jason Sifford

After My Own Heart

Wet: lilac, Dove soap, magnolia
Dry: lilac, jasmine, musk, flower stalk

This reminds me of a gift soap shaped in the form of a bouquet of purple flowers of all shapes that my family was once given. I loved that soap because it was purple (and not pink) and it smelled like flowers, which I had a vested interest in from a young age. I used to format huge guides of flowers, their pictures, and their meanings and print them out on our home printer. This is a nice memory of those times, but the musk makes this stay rather soapy on me, and I unfortunately can’t see myself wearing it. For those who don’t mind the soap however, it’s a really fresh lilac fragrance, a little creamy, not too sweet, and because of the soap, really quite clean.

Avon’s Haiku

Posted on by elemonated

This was probably my second blind buy ever, and it was because someone mentioned how gorgeous the bottle was and that it was a strong white floral. Since I agreed that the bottle was pretty enough just to decorate my desk if I didn’t end up liking the scent, I’m a sucker for white florals, and the bottle with shipping cost me like $11, I took the tiny jump and got it.

“I must have flowers, always, and always.” – Claude Monet

Avon’s Haiku

Wet: lily, yuzu, water, musk
Dry: lily, jasmine, pineapple, musk, water, yuzu

Haiku is a very girly, fruity iced drink, all cold floral notes and a slightly tart sweetness, kind of like a frozen margarita if the recipe included yuzu, pineapple, and some essential oils stripped from flowers. It’s a strong floral with a fruity bite to it, and I think it’s very approachable without being boring. It gets to be like a lotion smell when it warms up a little, which should prove very pleasant to some people. I just wish there was something dirty or salty about it. That, I think, would make this a really wonderful fragrance. I’ll take it to the beach with me this summer and find out.

Happy Lunar New Year, guys!

Baaaa.

Jo Malone Rain Series – Rain and Angelica

Posted on by elemonated

As promised!

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of “Ha, ha, he!”

– Laughing Song, William Blake

Jo Malone Rain Series
Rain and Angelica

Wet: citrus, floral, vetiver, a little pepper
Dry: vetiver, pepper, citrus, floral, water

This is definitely a more feminine leaning fragrance. A big punch of floral, tempered little by the warm, almost powdery vetiver and bright lime in it. In fact, the last two really just serve to highlight the angelica on me. Very floral heavy. And actually less aquatic on my skin than Black Cedarwood and Juniper. Definitely more dewy than rainy in my head, but it’s perfectly pleasant.

It’s not quite for me because it’s a little too sweet. The lime fades away too fast for me to really enjoy the juxtaposition. It’s still a lovely scent, and I can see this on someone whose favorite season is spring and also stirs honey into their tea.

Surrender to Chance – April

Posted on by elemonated

April
Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist
Wet: baby powder, lotion, vetiver, carrots?, tiny bit of pepper
Dry-down: baby powder, carrot juice, sandalwood, musk
From far: baby powder, sandalwood

2/16/14

It honestly just smells like Vaseline lotion to me. Like all I can think of is putting Vaseline Intensive Care all over my hands and having the pleasant but slightly medicinal smell follow me throughout the day. I’ll try it in a month and see how I feel then, but it’s just…I mean, it’s nostalgic in a way, but in a way that makes my hands feel a little greasy. I’m so damn confused.

4/20/14

All of the notes I got were the same and it’s still…weird. It’s less like lotion and more like I’ve been peeling carrots all day (and I know what that smells like since I just did that the other weekend for an event!) and it’s just odd. Not entirely unpleasant, just not anything like something I would wear for any reason. Ah well. Win some, lose some, right?

The Surrender to Chance site just in case you forgot 🙂