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aperfumeblog by Blacknall Allen by Blacknall Allen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Monthly Archives: November 2012
Twelve Smells of Christmas – Day Two: The Smell of Falling Snow
The smell of snow is one of the most ethereal smells on earth. It’s very difficult to catch, being essentially frozen water and ozone, and I can’t think of many perfumes that even try. Of course, one famous house did … Continue reading
Posted in People, Perfume, Plants
Tagged Arpege, Byzanze, Calandre, Caleche, Chanel No 5, L'Aimant, Rallet no1, Rive Gauche
14 Comments
Twelve Smells of Christmas – Day One
It would have been nice to align the twelve smells of Christmas (or any other winter holiday you celebrate) with the items listed in the old carol. But I can’t think what partridges in pear trees smell like – other … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume, Plants
Tagged Baghari., Cointreau, Eau des Merveilles., Elixir des Merveilles, Fendi, Grand Marnier, Robert Piguet, Theorema
8 Comments
Prince of Cats
Treat or claw, Smell my paw, Give me something Good to gnaw! (my daughter’s verse composed for Trick or Treating Cats) You may have read that oakmoss, that dark extract that lends Chypres their swarthy good looks is on its … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
Tagged Cartier, Cuir Ottoman, L'Air de Rien, Le Treizieme Heure, Parfum d'Empire, Tabac Blond
4 Comments
That’s Another Fine Bottle You’ve Gotten Me Into
To misquote the immortal Oliver Hardy, who was generally accusing his comedy partner Stan Laurel of being the prime instigator of their continual disasters. With me, it’s my brain. Why? Because my Brain thinks it’s intelligent. The Brain thinks it’s … Continue reading
Posted in People, Perfume
Tagged Krigler’s Lovely Patchouli 55, L'Air de Rien, Nahema, Parfums de Nicolai, Rochas Femme
12 Comments
Nutmegery
My daughter likes to claim that she is a Nutmegger, that is, a native of Connecticut. I don’t like to tell her the origin of the state nickname. It’s actually a folk memory of the local cottage industry in the … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
Tagged Grapefruit, Jasmine & Mint, Jo Malone, Killian, Memoire Liquide., Nutmeg & Ginger, Orange Blossom, Straight to Heaven
8 Comments
A Minuet for Mignonette
If you’ve ever cruised through the Wrightsman Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you notice one thing at once. The colors are different, different from 21st century Pantone shades, strikingly so. I used to think, because of age and … Continue reading
Posted in People, Plants
8 Comments
Jaded
The flawless green perfume is something that I keep looking for year after year. In a perfect world, there would be one fabulous, gem like scent a year to ooh and ahh over, but in this cold world of hot … Continue reading
Music for Mosquitoes
Some perfumes are simply aimed at a very high note on the scale of smell. They are in the citrus, aldehyde, or floral ranges, nothing else can stretch that far. I mean, even standing on its tippy-tip toes, an oriental … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
Tagged Adieu Sagesse, By Killian, Forbidden Games, Good Girl Gone Bad., In the City, In the City of Sin, Jean Patou, Niona
13 Comments
Count Alfred D’Orsay and the Elusiveness of…..
The one difficulty in Brideshead Revisited (okay, there are a lot of difficulties in Brideshead Revisited, but I’m only interested in one of them) is the question Sebastian Flyte’s charm. We are assured that he has it, repeatedly, but somehow … Continue reading
Posted in Bruce Ware Allen, People, Perfume
Tagged Byron, Count Alfred D’Orsay, Countess of Blessington, L’Eau to Bouquet
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A Meeting of Roses
Smells can convey so many things that sometimes it surprises me. Take my recent testing of about five rose fragrances: Tom Ford’s Café Rose, Ineke Ruhland’s Briar Rose , Chloe, the new release from One Dozen Roses Amber Queen, and … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
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