Neela Vermiere’s Ashoka : Another Iris epiphany

August 7, 2015 by Lavanya

Iris is one of those strange notes that announces its presence by smelling like absence. I am not sure if that makes sense, but most of the time (like I detailed in this post), when I smell Iris- I smell ‘nothing’ and the smelling of that nothing, makes me aware of iris as a note. After some time, the smell of that nothing can get quite addicting. Like a magic trick you really want to figure out. Like most people, […]

Categories: History, Perfume Notes, Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: art, Ashoka Perfume, beauty, Bertrand Duchafour, fig leaf, Iris, Mimosa, Neela Vermiere

Viktoria Minya Hedonist

November 30, 2013 by Lavanya

I had been drooling at the various accounts of Viktoria Minya’s Hedonist but Victoria’s review at Eaumg made me long to try it, to see if it really was all that. How could a perfume that was supposed to smell of peaches and honey smell that good? Thankfully my longing did not reach epic proportions because the generous and darling Suzanne offered to send me a sample. And like Victoria said, I inhaled it, smiled and wanted the rest of […]

Categories: Art, Memories, Perfume Review, Scent, writing • Tags: Hedonist, Perfume Review, Victoria Minya

A tale of two Irises : Invisible Ink and Lemon Candy

October 9, 2013 by Lavanya

I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago, but didn’t publish it because I wanted to try the perfumes in question again. And of course, as it often happens (doesn’t it?) , I promptly forgot about it. However, in the past few days I noted quite a few posts with titles beginning with “A tale of two..”. And then of course I remembered this post languishing in the drafts and decided it was time to dust it off, […]

Categories: Books, Perfume Review, Scent, Travel • Tags: Aedes, By Kilian, Iris, iris nazarena, Perfume Review, Prelude to Love, Scent

Marni by Marni : Ms Charming?

September 2, 2013 by Lavanya

I admit it, I am smitten. Marni is a smiling, charming, slip of an incense perfume that is lighthearted in a way I’d never imagined an incense perfume could be. If she were a woman, she would be an excellent conversationalist who would think nothing of biting into a snack in the middle of a meeting (in her case it would be a pack of vanilla filled wafers). She is different but comfortably so. She loves books and Buddhist meditation […]

Categories: Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: Marni, Perfume Review

Serge Lutens Un Lys : About a Flower

August 27, 2013 by Lavanya

Picture via Wikipaintings If Serge Lutens’ Tubereuse Criminelle was special because it met my olfactory ‘vision’ of tuberose, Un Lys served an almost opposite role: telling me about a flower, before I’d ever smelled it.  But let me start from the beginning. I have always liked Un Lys. It is unabashedly pretty. So pretty, that it took me a while to realize that it was not just pretty but beautiful.  I remember reading Tom’s review on Perfume Smellin’ Things, and […]

Categories: Perfume Review, Scent, writing • Tags: art, lilies, Perfume Review, Serge Lutens Un Lys

Ormonde Jayne Ramblings; first and second thoughts on Ormonde Woman

August 15, 2013 by Lavanya

I smelled the Ormonde Jayne line  first in 2011, relatively late in my perfume-sniffing journey. The problem with this was smelling them for the first time came with five years of baggage. Which included years of longing to smell the line and a boatload of expectations. The beautifully presented discovery set was my birthday present. ‘From’ my husband. And yes, like in the case of most ‘perfumistas’, the hand that pressed the ORDER button was mine, not his. That was […]

Categories: Perfume Review, Scent, Uncategorized, writing • Tags: Ormonde Jayne, perfume, Perfume Review, Woman

Tubéreuse Criminelle : Capturing the Intangible

August 8, 2013 by Lavanya

As I have mentioned in several posts like this and this one, tuberose or rajnigandha is my favorite flower. There was something so sweet and elusive about the flower as I smelled it in the several drawing rooms that I inhabited growing up. To me the smell has always been the olfactory equivalent of letting a light silk scarf slide over my face, its touch cool yet not aloof. Because it is also my mother’s favorite flower, it would often […]

Categories: Art, Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: perfume, Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle

My Favorite Fragrant discoveries of 2011

December 30, 2011 by Lavanya

2011 was a great year for me perfume-wise. It was the year that I discovered a whole new set of perfume bloggers; the year I discovered and fell in love with some of my favorite perfumes ever: Carnal Flower, the Aftelier line; the year I finally sampled  Ormonde Jayne. The year that I had a little extra birthday money to actually buy some of my favorites. The year that I discovered vintage perfumes on ebay as well as ebay bidding […]

Categories: Art, Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: 2011, Aftelier, Amouage, Chanel, Dior, DSH, Frederic Malle, Guerlain, perfume discovery, SSS

Mona di Orio

December 10, 2011 by Lavanya

It is always very sad to lose a loved one, no matter what their age. However, when somebody so young dies, there is an extra shadow that lingers. I was very shocked to hear of Mona di Orio’s passing. I had recently discovered her perfumes, having bought a small split of her Oud perfume made from real oud from Laos. It is a beautiful perfume, with the deep sonorous oud, calming incense and the fruity edible osmanthus that weaves in […]

Categories: Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: Mona di Orio, Oud