Ineke A-H: Hothouse Flower

And the end of the Ineke reviews is here! I especially enjoyed the last three letters of her alphabet, but I admire her talent and ability and can’t wait to take a peek into her Floral Curiosities collection. Florals are absolutely my cup of tea, and I’m sure she’s done as lovely a job at creating those as she did her alphabetical collection.

Yuriko Nakamura’s Winter Romance

Hothouse Flower

Wet: violets, bubblegum, fig, banana
Dry: gardenia, violet, fig, bergamot, wood, banana cream

Whoever enjoy this scent probably takes their tea with cream, as the florals in it are backed by a definite creaminess and richness atop a little table of natural wood. This is a light, sweet scent, the lightest I think, of all of the selections in my little box, but bright and lush, with a scent similar to a ripe fruit. I think it’s a ripe banana, personally, but a ripe banana that’s still on its vine in someone’s garden somewhere foreign to me surrounded by other flourishing plants and you can still smell the tree on the fruits after you pick them, not the ultra-sweet piece of fruit someone’s been allowing to languish on a counter somewhere. It’s really very lovely and unobtrusive in a way all of the other scents besides Derring-Do have been. I would love to smell this scent on someone shy, as I think a fragrance like this garners quiet notice and, just like the smell itself grows on me as I wear it, indicates someone worth getting to know. This person may wear glasses, but they definitely wear cardigans and keep their arms close to their body.

Ineke A-H: Field Notes From Paris

Piano as an accompaniment to string today! I think I first heard this song when I was 16, though I don’t quite remember why. I try not to question discoveries of beauty.

Norihiro Tsuro’s Last Carnival, from the Acoustic Cafe album

Field Notes From Paris

Wet: lavender, coriander, citrus, leather, wood
Dry: coriander, lavender, tobacco flower, patchouli, cedar, tonka bean, lime, maybe a little rosemary

This is my new sexy scent, directly in competition with all of the jasmine I adore. It’s incredibly delightful: deep, dark, and warm, as well as complex. It moves in a swirl like a gust of warm wind, something absolutely welcome in this frigid cold. Strangely, it’s the herbs, the coriander and the bit of rosemary I get that reminds me most of the coffee implied in the description, though the tobacco comes through and keeps the fragrance warm. I love that its sweetness is wholly tempered, and it gives it depth and dimension that I don’t normally come across. It reminds me of bedroom eyes on an attractive person, or simply a person you’re in love with, as love automatically makes them beautiful.

I wear this personally, and I think this is a scent that benefits from a little dancing and sweat, but it’s a beautiful scent and I can see it on a guy who isn’t afraid to wear purple, and is trained in some art or another, which he pursues with passion.