Conversations and Ideologies

January 26, 2016 by Lavanya

This is not exactly a perfume post in a ‘sort of perfume blog’, so I hope you will forgive me and allow me to pull you into a discussion of a different sort. I’ve never written about beauty products on this blog before. Somehow I’ve never felt comfortable doing so. Until now. You could point out that perfume is a beauty product. However, I have to admit, that for me perfume kind of transcends that category and worms its way into art. […]

Categories: Green Beauty, Science • Tags: beauty, conversations, Green Beauty, non-toxic, smell

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

Bookish Sundays : Lines from a poem

January 18, 2015 by Lavanya

Emptiness, my bride who whistles, who listens? Last week, I came across a couple of lines by Slovene poet Tomaz Salamun in a talk by another poet. Something about these lines requires no context. I haven’t read the poem it belongs to; don’t even know which poem it belongs to. Yet, I thrill to these words suspended in internet ether. What are some of your favorite lines from a poem? Picture Credit: Not sure of the exact source; found it via […]

Categories: Art, Books, writing • Tags: beauty, Bookish Sundays, poem, poetry, Tomaz Salamun

Questions on Beauty : Undina from Undina’s Looking Glass

October 25, 2013 by Lavanya

I came to know Undina from Undina’s Looking Glass because of her desire to share what she finds beautiful, specifically, Annick Goutal’s Heure Exquise. I’ve heard her say before that when she loves a perfume, she doesn’t like to analyze why she loves it, and so I approached her for this project just a bit apprehensively. Yet since Undina is one who loves to tell it like it is, without mincing words, I was also very curious to hear what her thoughts on […]

Categories: Art, Books, Memories, Music, Scent, writing • Tags: art, beautifulness, beauty, Book, music, perfume, questions on beauty, Scent

Seven Questions on Beauty : Mridula Koshy, Writer

October 23, 2013 by Lavanya

While I was on an unofficial blogging break, I came upon a comment by Mridula Koshy on a post, urging me to try the mitti attar in a shop called Gulabchand in Old Delhi.  I was grateful for this information as I am always on the look out for such places in India. Subsequently, I stumbled upon her blog via Persolaise’s blog and discovered that in addition to being a perfume lover, Mridula is also a published author. I am […]

Categories: Art, Memories, Music, Scent, writing • Tags: art, beauty, music, painting, perfume, questions on beauty, scuplture, smell

Seven Questions on Beauty : Natalie from Another Perfume Blog

October 19, 2013 by Lavanya

If you read Natalie’s writing about perfume, you will quickly recognize that her blog is not just ‘another’ perfume blog. Her writing is incisive and honest and provides interesting ‘angles’ on  perfume :  an approach that I identify with and which keeps me coming back for more. 1) What do you mean when you call something beautiful? Do you have different definitions when you talk of different things like faces, art, landscape? Or is everything you find beautiful characterized by […]

Categories: Art, Memories, Music, Scent, writing • Tags: art, beauty, music, painting, perfume, questions on beauty, scuplture, smell

Seven Questions on Beauty : Tara from Olfactoria’s Travels

October 15, 2013 by Lavanya

Tara is a regular contributor to Birgit’s Olfactoria’s Travels and comes across as a lovely person, quietly passionate.  I enjoy her thoughtful comments on perfume and the precision of her writing, which is especially evident in her answers to these questions on beauty. 1) What do you mean when you call something beautiful? Do you have different definitions when you talk of different things like faces, art, landscape? Or is everything you find beautiful characterized by something similar? When I call something […]

Categories: Art, Memories, Music, Scent, writing • Tags: art, beauty, music, painting, perfume, questions on beauty, scuplture, smell

Seven Questions on Beauty : Sigrun from Riktig Parfym

October 12, 2013 by Lavanya

Sigrun Olafsdottir’s perfume reviews come as a breath of fresh air. Her descriptions are often unusual, yet spot on. I still remember her review of Aftelier’s Cepes and Tuberose, and how, to her, the perfume embodied the scent of a pair of (nice) trolls in a Swedish horror story. If you can’t see the connection, go read her review! After reading her thoughts on beauty of course. 1) What do you mean when you call something beautiful? Do you have different […]

Categories: Art, Memories, Music, Scent, writing • Tags: art, beauty, music, painting, perfume, questions on beauty, scuplture, smell

Seven Questions on Beauty : Laurie Erickson from Sonoma Scent Studio

October 7, 2013 by Lavanya

Laurie Erickson, perfumer and owner of Sonoma Scent Studio is a delightfully warm and approachable artist who can best be described as a ‘perfumista darling’ for her interesting yet affordable line (and perfumes that are available in small bottles!). Many of her perfumes reflect her love for the outdoors and nature and that love comes through in Laurie’s responses to these questions on beauty. 1) What do you mean when you call something beautiful? Do you have different definitions when […]

Categories: Art, Memories, Music, Scent, writing • Tags: art, beauty, music, painting, perfume, questions on beauty, scuplture, smell