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

The Figurative Fig : Review of Aftelier’s Fig

September 2, 2011 by Lavanya

I LOVE figs. The ooey gooey richness of the dried version. The bright yet fleshy richness of the ripe fruit. Yes, the recurring adjective when I think of all forms of fig is their scrumptious richness. Aftelier’s Fig definitely has a richness borrowed from the fruit. Yet, it has an elegance that I haven’t encountered before. A fruity, boozy elegance, if you will. More like forbidden than fresh wholesome fruit, with almost a plummy prune-like quality.  I happened to read […]

Categories: Art, Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: Aftelier, fig, natural perfume, Perfume Review

The memory of a place: Etat Libre D’Orange Rien

August 19, 2011 by Lavanya

When I lived in Bangalore, I lived in an area called Malleswaram. One of the oldest parts of Bangalore, it still retains an old world charm. It has been, maybe, twelve years since I’ve actually lived there, but I can still see the vegetable market with the vendors lining either side of a tented area. If I try harder, I can even hear their voices loudly proclaiming the price of 1 kg of beans, carrots, drumsticks. I remember being able […]

Categories: Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: Etat Libre D'Orange, niche, Perfume Review, Rien

Perfume Review: Anya’s Garden MoonDance

October 20, 2009 by Lavanya

When I first sniffed Anya’s MoonDance, warm and evocative – like tuberose absolute, I felt like I was slipping into a satiny dress and the perfect pair of shoes. But this phase was short lived and soon I felt like flinging my perfect (and imaginary) footwear, and running across a wet, muddy garden. I suspect that the earthy herbal notes were responsible for this almost unholy craving. The earthiness to me, was reminiscent of green tea and henna (though from […]

Categories: Perfume Review, Scent • Tags: anyasgarden, moondance, Perfume Review, tuberose