Archive for ‘Fragrance’

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October 3, 2012

Space NK and leaving beauty boxes behind.

I had a subscription to one of the beauty boxes until recently. Each month, I’d get a pretty box filled with a selection of sample beauty products posted through the letter box. And for a while, it was great. I love to get exciting post, and this was a little treat just for me. But after a while, the lustre wore off the whole thing. I heard rumours that beauty bloggers were getting different products to the rest of the subscribers, purely so they could act as free PR for the companies, and then another rumour about a ‘premium, invite-only’ box, that the company were going to just make available to a select few people. Quite how they were going to decide whose £12 a month was the most deserving of this premium line, I don’t know, but it seemed a little bit of ‘us and them’ behaviour to me. Of course, these were just unsubstantiated rumours, and I’m no beauty expert, but I decided to leave.

The other thing that I really realised about the experience is how much I love to go into stores and play around with products before buying them. Even getting the samples in the post wasn’t really the same, because part of the fun for me is chatting to the staff and learning more about the products that way. So, I’m back in the stores, trying things out, and enjoying the great customer service you often find with beauty brands.

One of my favourite places to do this is in Space NK. I like that they have a range of different brands, and that the staff in my local branch all seem to be really passionate about what they do and what they sell. Maybe they’re on commission, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that I always feel as though I’m being treated well and leave the store with a happy feeling.

At a brilliant card holders’ event recently (where I had my hair straightened) I came away with a incredible free bag of lovely goodies, after spending enough money (on gifts and for other people, so not spending money to get freebies, which is really bad maths!) and I really don’t think it would have been bettered anywhere else. I have favourite brands elsewhere (Liz Earle and Neal’s Yard Remedies for example), and favourite brands in Space NK (Eve Lom, Darphin, Caudalie, Diptyque to mention a few) and there is room in my life for them all! I’m enjoying the process of choosing things in store again, and I don’t think I’ll be going back to a beauty box subscription any time soon.

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June 29, 2012

Fragrance: Eau Dynamisante

It’s been a while since I’ve written a fragrance post. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve been for a play in the perfume departments and beauty stores so I’ve not found any new ones that I’ve liked. Instead, I’ve been using up all of the different perfumes I’ve already got, in some attempt to save a little money. After all, new perfumes are not always best. Most of my absolute favourite perfumes are older classics.

Take Eau Dynamisante, for example. Created in 1987 by Clarins, this is described as a ‘treatment’ fragrance for both men and women by Clarins, and therefore is missed from some perfume reviews. Most notably for me, it’s missed from ‘Perfumes: The Guide‘ which is my fragrance bible. This is perhaps because it’s designed to be worn all over the body as an aromatherapy type treatment, rather than ( in the words of the immortal Coco Chanel) ‘where you want to be kissed’.

I don’t consider Clarins particularly when I think of perfume in the way I would with companies such as Guerlain, who have moved from perfume into skin care and make up. I always think of Clarins as predominantly a skin care company and yet this fragrance has been a success for over 20 years.

The scent is reminiscent of a traditional Eau de Cologne to me, with herbal elements and spicy, citrus and woody (Patchouli, Thyme, Lemon, Petit Grain) notes. It’s got a clean and uplifting feel to it, and really does make me feel invigorated when I smell it. A great fragrance to wear during the day. Clarins make a whole range of body products in this fragrance too. What a treat it would be to use them together. Perhaps I will be venturing into that department store soon after all…

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January 27, 2012

Gorilla Perfumes

I realise, as I write this, that I could be accused of turning this blog into some kind of Lush Love-Fest. It’s my second post about the company in as many weeks. And no, I’m not getting anything out of it. I’m going to plough on regardless, because I spent a brilliant time in the company of a member of staff at the Lush Leeds store recently during an evening to promote their new Valentine’s Day collection. All of which is very cute, and I may well indulge in a couple of  bubble bars, but that’s not what I ended up spending the whole event playing with. I ended up with the perfumes…

I love perfume, there is no secret there. I’ve written before about it: here, here, here and here! (Crikey, that IS a lot…) I also worship my two copies of ‘Perfumes: The Guide’ (by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez) like they’re religious tomes. Even though I am happy to make my own opinions about perfume, all of those I already owned before I bought the book are highly rated by them, so perhaps we have similar tastes.

Part of the Valentine’s Day collection at Lush is a new perfume called 25:43. Although I can tell it’s going to be popular, it’s not really me – too sweet. When I said that to the member of staff, she took me over to the table where the Gorilla perfumes were displayed and we spent a good long while playing with these:

The brilliance of this is that there are no names, no fancy packaging, just the scent. So you cannot be influenced by anything other than your nose. So, there are no assumptions on hearing the name of a fragrance such as ‘Dirty’ – which actually has a strong minty top note…

Some of these perfumes originally started out with the B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful part of the company, which no longer exists as a separate business. Thankfully, the perfumes moved across to be part of the Lush business and are available online or in larger stores.

In this blind perfume testing, there were three standout fragrances: Breath of God, The Smell of Weather Turning (which has an incredible minty note alongside oak and grassy smells)  and the Smell of Freedom. These are complex,multi-layered perfumes, unlike anything I’ve smelled anywhere else. I bought Breath of God and have worn it every day since. It still catches me out as it dries down. Amazing. It has an incredible five star review in the Turin & Sanchez book too.

‘Wearing it, I feel a sense of wonder that so late in the perfume game there can still be such a profound invention’ Tania Sanchez.

What I utterly love about the Gorilla perfumes (aside from the lack of fancy packaging showing me great perfume is not about the bottle) is that you can buy different parts. So, Breath of God can be bought as Inhale and Exhale – which you can wear individually or together.  Even more exciting is the triptych of perfumes making up The Smell of Freedom. This is really a perfume journey like nothing you can get in mass market department stores, no matter how much budget you have.

The Smell of Freedom can be bought as one perfume, or as:

Part One: Fire Tree, a warm and woody herbal perfume, with Australian influences from lemon myrtle and fir tree oil. This part is inspired by an Australian Aboriginal artist.

Part Two: Old Delhi Station, again a warm perfume but with a spiciness to it and a feeling of incense. Inspired by a journey made across India to meet an exhiled Tibetan Monk, this contains sandalwood, jasmine, black pepper and patchouli.

Part Three: Oudh Heart, my favourite of the three individual parts, this is inspired by a remarkable man called Sami, imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay without trial, he was freed as a result of work by Reprieve and Lush. This part is full of oudh (one of my favourite ingredients) sandalwood, cedar and orris root.

Again, the three can each be worn individually or layered together. It’s the closest many of us will come to really getting a glimpse into the art of perfumery as well as the inspiration behind a fragrance. Lots more about the story behind these perfumes can be found on the Lush website. I am enchanted by them and I really do urge you to go to your nearest (large) branch of Lush and try them for yourself.

Posted in Barbara Loves..., Ethical and Environmental, Fragrance, Home, Luxury, Margot Loves... | 2 Comments »

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January 13, 2012

We Love Lush.

Last summer, I took my lovely mum out for the day in Leeds for her birthday. We ended up in Lush. To be honest, I’d not been in the store for ages. Which, I see now, was a big mistake.

We had a potter around and I came across a shower scrub called Rub, Rub, Rub. Like a large proportion of the population, I have those little red bumps on my upper arms (keratosis pilaris) and it’s been something I’ve been self conscious about for as long as I can remember. Something that my mum knows all too well. So, she was queueing up with a pot of this for me to try and some bath goodies for herself, when I mentioned to the staff that it was her birthday. Which resulted in a loud and enthusiastic rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” and a free pot of shower scrub each…hurrah! Rub, Rub, Rub turned out to be the BEST scrub I have ever used on my arms and so I’ve found myself buying replacements for that first, free pot on a regular basis. I do think that the staff in the Lush Leeds store are amazing. It might be the result of being surrounded by essential oils all day, but they are unfailingly kind, helpful and a pleasure to spend time with. No wonder people go back time and again.

Like many girls, my daughter is fascinated with beauty products. We’ve even had that clichéd moment where she tried out all of my make-up in secret, emerging triumphantly from the bathroom looking rather clown-like and smelling horrifically of the half-bottle of perfume she’d doused herself with. I’ve wanted to indulge her a little bit, whilst at the same time holding her back from the worst elements; products that are clearly too grown up for her or full of nasty chemicals. I remember buying products from Cosmetics to Go when I was younger, and receiving the most exciting parcels through the post from them, and I knew that the new incarnation of that company would produce a similar amount of excitement for Eve. So I went back to Lush and came out of the store with a bag full of goodies including Creamy Candy and Pop in the Bath bubble bars and Snow Fairy shower gel. All of which have gone down a storm. As did the Ickle Baby Bot bath bomb I bought, which is filled with lavender and chamomile, so it even helps get both of the kids snoozy for bed! Our new favourite treat is to go to Lush together and choose a new bubble bar or bath bomb and it’s such a lovely thing to do and a great way of moving away from the idea that all treats have to come as chocolate.

The truth is that there is no smell sweeter to me than the top of my children’s heads (which sounds odd if you’re not a parent, and completely understandable if you are) but the second sweetest smell in the world is probably the products from Lush.

My next plan is to go back and find perfume and industrial quantities of wrinkle-filling face moisturiser. Which will be a story for another post.

PS – If you’re in Leeds on 20th January, they’re unveiling their Valentine’s Day selection, with demonstrations and nibbles. Mmm, nibbles…

From 5pm onwards.

Posted in Barbara Loves..., Beauty, Ethical and Environmental, Fragrance, Home, Luxury, Margot Loves... | 7 Comments »

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December 28, 2011

2011: A Personal Review

At the end of every year, I always get an unsettled, ‘must-do-something-but-not-quite-sure-what’ feeling. How much of this is caused by the sheer amount of food I usually consume at Christmas I don’t know, but my usual remedy is to review the year and then think ahead to the next.  I’ve already written my plan for 2012, which is here on the blog, so that part is settled. I have a good feeling about 2012. Not sure why, but I do.

I didn’t write a plan for 2011. Which is why I ended up with 35:35 because I like to have a (flexible) plan for my time. When it came to reviewing the year, I just couldn’t think why I’d not written a plan and what on earth I spent the first quarter of the year doing. Then my lovely friend reminded me that I’d actually spent the whole time fighting for my job. Ah…

How quickly the mind forgets. My husband and I both had to go through months of fighting for our jobs. Months. It was a horrible time, filled with sleepless nights, tears and too much coping alcohol, all whilst trying to keep our stress and fears away from our children. Thankfully, we were the lucky ones, who got to keep the jobs we are both so passionate about, even though I did end up needing counselling at the end of the year to help me cope with everything that’s happened. It’s not finished though, there will be more changes and challenges ahead. Life is change. But we will survive.

Once the dust had settled in April, albeit with a different team, management structure etc etc, I started to focus on my personal life again, starting this blog and my 35:35 Challenge, to do thirty five things I’d never done before in my thirty-fifth year of life. I didn’t want it to be a huge challenge, but something to shake me up a bit out of life’s routine, do something positive after a difficult period, learn something new and have a few happy experiences. I read a study once that said new experiences are the way to slow time down. Following nothing but a routine means that weeks become months, which become years, without you even realising that so much time has passed. Puncturing that routine means that the brain remembers time better, which in turn makes it feel as though it’s not passing so fast.

So, from April, it’s a bit easier for me to remember what I’ve been up to this year. Highlights include my daughter starting school and thriving there (even though I was shocked to realise that girls can be mean from a very early age), taking her horse-riding for the first time, the completion of the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, and getting on a bike for the first time since childhood and completing Cycletta. Cycletta, a women-only bike ride, was a particular highlight because initially I was supposed to do it with someone else, who ended up having a family responsibility on the same day and so couldn’t make it. I nearly pulled out, but in the end I went and completed the ride on my own. It was such a brilliant, positive experience and I was thrilled to complete and chat to so many wonderful women the whole way round. After finishing the ride, I realised that I shouldn’t wait for someone else to want the same things as me before doing something. I have a habit of doing that, but sometimes it means that I never end up doing things I want to do. If I want to experience something, I need to just pluck up the courage and go for it.  I also realised that riding bikes is brilliant and that my body is far better suited to cycling than it is to running.

Other highlights have been a drumming lesson, various massages, and my annual visit to Paris, including a visit to Chanel.  Oh, and I was thrilled to be part of the annual Radio 4 Woman’s Hour phone-in too. I have completed 15 of my 35 Challenges. The first half of 2012 is going to be filled with trying to get to 35!

So, it’s been an interesting year and I have my plan for 2012. I’m feeling more settled, and ready for whatever comes next.

Happy New Year everyone!

What was your highlight of 2011? What are you hoping to do in 2012?

Posted in 35:35 Challenge, Cycling, Running and Exercise, Fragrance, Home, Luxury, Margot Loves..., Travel, Walking | Leave a Comment »

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October 7, 2011

Home Spa.

Now I don’t have training to do for any physical challenges, it’s safe to say that I have slowed down a bit and haven’t made it to the gym as often as I should. I’m also trying pretty hard to deal with my sugar addiction.  No more full sugar coke and Danish pastries for me for a while – at least until I sign up for another challenge. Then I’ll give myself licence to eat a bit more!

What I tend to do when I’m trying to avoid food, is turn to the bathroom. Indulging in lotions, potions and other lovely things stops me from putting my hand in the biscuit jar too often – it’s pretty hard to eat and paint your nails (using my new NARS polish in Orgasm) at the same time! Plus, it makes it easier to eat better if you feel as though you’re looking after yourself on the outside too.

So, I thought I’d share some of my favourite products with you. We all like a nosy around each others bathroom cabinets to see what other people are using, so here’s my ‘I’m on a Diet’ Spa Evening…

All the ingredients for a great spa evening...

The first thing I do is light some candles (preferably from Jo Malone, The White Company or Dyptique) and  run a bath, adding REN Rose Otto bath oil. A classic, this foamless oil has the best  Moroccan rose essential oil scent ever, so it’s truly relaxing and moisturises your skin beautifully. I leave the bath to cool a little while going through the rest of my home spa routine.

I have a quick shower, using Lush’s ‘Rub, Rub, Rub’ salt scrub. It’s bright blue with a floral scent, and most importantly, it does a great job of tackling the bumps (keratosis pilaris) on the upper arms.

Then once I’m out of the shower, it’s onto a facial. My cleanser of choice is Eve Lom. The slightly medicinal and eucalyptus smell (always reminds me of horse hoof oil), takes a while to get used to, but I do love it now. Partly though, it’s because I know how well the product works. I massage it into my dampened skin and leave it on for a while before using the provided muslin cloth to take it off again. It cleans, exfoliates, decongests and soothes. I cannot cope without it now, and notice a real difference to my skin when I run out!

For my Spa Evening, I often exfoliate as well as use the Eve Lom muslin cloth. A recent discovery is Dr Brandt’s Microdermabrasion exfoliating cream, which I apply onto damp skin and massage gently round the face, especially the t-zone. It has a lovely lemon-y scent and really fine grains, making it really gentle but effective.

After relaxing in the bath, I’ll then apply a facial serum, often Caudalie’s Vinoperfect radiance serum. Serums make all the difference to a daily skin-care routine, adding so much more than just a moisturiser, especially now I’m in my mid-thirties. My skin isn’t too bad, but I am noticing more issues, so I want to try and deal with them without resorting to extreme measures. Having said that, I have started doing that thing of looking in the mirror and stretching my skin back with my hands to see what I might look like after a face lift! Oh dear…

As an aside, my favourite moisturiser at the moment is also by Caudalie – Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Fluid. A moisturiser that tackles imperfections, pigmentation, texture, and radiance – basically all the problems I have at the moment!

If my skin is really congested I do also love to use Darphin’s Aromatic Purifying Balm. With twelve different essential oils, it smells amazing and I use it over cleansed skin at night.

The REN Rose Otto bath oil removes the need for a body moisturiser after the bath. So, it’s straight into clean pyjamas and having a warm drink, before going virtuously to bed…

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September 19, 2011

Fragrance: Part Three

These days I don’t have a signature scent. I prefer to wear a different fragrance depending on my mood. During the day, I might wear something lighter and greener, unless I need to feel grown up, then I’ll head for the Chanel Les Exclusifs, of which I have written before.

My perfume choice is also affected by the time of year. Summer has me wearing florals such as Balenciaga. I’ve worn this since being introduced to it by Roja Dove and I love the young, summery and violet scent of it. I also love Prada’s ‘Infusion de Fleur D’Oranger’ with it’s neroli and bergamot – which feels pefect for hot summer days in Italy.  As this is the fragrance I wore the last time I was there, it’s linked in my memory with this:

The scent of Italian Lemons

Night Swimming

Il Giardino Garzoni, Collodi.

All of this reminiscing has renewed my passion for travel and made me look all the more forward to next summer’s trip to Rome. Better get the Earworms back on!

In the meantime, I’m going to hunt for a new perfume for Autumn and Winter. Something that I can wear for everyday, so not too heavy, but I do tend to wear things that are woodier, muskier and generally more grown up in the Autumn and Winter. Perhaps it’s time for a classic. Maybe Mitsouko, by Guerlain.

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September 9, 2011

Fragrance: part two

Fragrance is an emotional subject, although when you enter a department store to be assaulted on all sides by the latest offerings, it is easy to forget to really take your time and make sure that you love a perfume before parting with your money. It is important to wear a fragrance for a while to fully experience the longer lasting middle and base notes which are the real heart of a perfume and do not truly arrive until after the fresher, louder top notes have disappeared. This is not something that is uppermost in the minds of people trying to get you to buy whatever new scent they are trying to sell!

For me, there are a handful of perfumes that will be forever associated with specific people and moments in time.

The first of these is ‘Eternity’ by Calvin Klein. My perfume bible (Perfumes, The A-Z Guide, by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez)  describes this as a ‘ screechy and soapy’ rose. Which it is. For me,  it is also the smell of Rhodes, a greek island that was the location for my one and only foreign holiday as a child with my parents and younger brother. My mother bought a bottle of Eternity at the airport on the way there and wore it every day. Infused in my memories with the sun, sea and Greek hospitality, this perfume is the one I wear to feel close to my Mum, even though she doesn’t wear it these days.

Eternity, anniversary engraved bottle

‘Envy’ by Gucci fares better with Turin and Sanchez, as a five star green floral. Sadly now discontinued (although you can still pick it up in a few places) Envy was one of the first perfumes I bought for myself,  as I was lured into the undeniable glamour and luxury of the Gucci house, and intoxicated by the smell. I wore this for a long while, and my oldest friend bought some for me, so it will always remind me of her, which is now a memory tinged by sadness as she emigrated to Canada. Rather amusingly, ‘Envy’ is really similar to ‘Pleasures’ by Esteé Lauder. Considering the contrast in the marketing of these two fragrances, it makes me smile to think of how similar they smell.

Another perfume that will always remind me of old friends is ‘Poison’ by Christian Dior. Famously loud, this is not a fragrance to wear when you are going to be in close contact with other people and certainly not out to dinner. We all wore it to dance in night-clubs, pretending to have an air of sophistication beyond our years. It formed the backdrop to many a memorable evening and in my mind is part of our coming of age. We also used to wear ‘Tendre Poison’, a lighter, greener version, which is also now discontinued. Lura Turin says of Poison, “This is the fragrance everybody loves to hate, the beast that defined the eighties…” (Although I’d like to point out that we were wearing it in the 1990′s in case anyone is trying to work out my age!) Apparently, it’s back in style, along with other loud eighties favourites this winter. If you choose to wear it, do so sparingly!

These days, I take great care in choosing new fragrances, and I’ll be writing about new favourites soon. If you’re interested in buying a copy of my favourite perfume guide, take a look here: Perfumes: The A-Z Guide: Amazon.co.uk: Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez: Books.

What are your sentimental perfumes, and why? Do tell…

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August 19, 2011

Fragrance: part one

I’ve written recently about fragrance, and of the memories associated with it, but I’ve been reading ‘The Essence of Perfume’ by the incomparable Roja Dove and so my thoughts are still on the subject.

I had the great fortune to meet Roja last year and listen to him give a talk on fragrance, during which he tested us with a series of different scents on white paper strips. He also had with him the original series of bottles in a case from which Mme Coco Chanel chose number 5, giving rise to the perfume of the same name. As you might imagine, it was a great thrill to see them first hand. He is an incredible speaker, and has a great ability to hold an audience completely captivated. I could have listened to him all night.

The sense of smell is developed when we are young, so memories associated with certain smells are imprinted onto our minds. When we smell the same thing as adults, the memories return. This explains why I have a great fondness for the smell of crayons, sweaty horses, old books, mouldy Barbour jackets, cut hay and new trainers!

I have quite a number of books on perfume, one of which is ‘Perfumes The A- Z Guide, by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. It is, simply, one of the best, funniest and most entertaining books I have ever read. I highly recommend it.

Here is an extract of what they say about my beloved Chanel perfumes:

Bois des Iles: ‘ It is basically perfect and, though eighty years old, seems as ageless as everything Chanel did in those inventive years. If you think of all the best Chanel fragrances as little black dresses – sleek, dependable, perfectly proportioned – Boise des Iles is the one in cashmere’

Cuir de Russie: ‘ There have been many other fragrances called Cuir de Russie, every one either too sweet or too smoky. This one is the real deal, an undamaged monument of classical perfumery and the purest emanation of luxury ever captured in a bottle.’

So far, so perfect. (and, yes, for those of you who read my previous post, this is the Cuir de Russie post accident!)

What I’m interested in now, and what will form the next few posts on fragrance, is where my thoughts on other perfumes differ from the thoughts of others simply because of my memories of them.

So I am planning a series of posts about this, but I am really interested to know what are your favourite smells, fragrances, perfumes – and why?

‘Sit with someone and breathe in their scent and they give you one of the most beautiful of all gifts – the gift of memory. You may not have seen someone for years, but with one breath of their scent, the memories come flooding back, dreams are revived, love is rekindled.’ Roja Dove.

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July 26, 2011

Fragrant memories.

My darling daughter taught me a valuable lesson recently. Not on purpose, you understand. Like many things that happen to me, it started with an accident.

To begin the tale, I need to backtrack a bit to this Spring. In Paris, on Rue Cambon stands the original Chanel boutique. I’ve spoken before of my love for Chanel, but this year was only the second time I’ve stepped inside the hallowed store and this time, I was shopping.

To shop in the Chanel boutique here is a wonderful experience. For those of us not fortunate enough for it to be a regular occurance, it truly is a thing of excitement. Above the store is the famous appartment of Mademoiselle Chanel herself, not to mention where the white-coated staff of Chanel work their magic each collection. For a very special glimpse into this world, take a look at the documentary series: Signe Chanel – Haute Couture Collection [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Signe Chanel: Film & TV. This Spring, I particularly coveted a black dress with deep pink camellias on it, which I subsequently saw Anna Wintour wearing, so I am pretty confident that I made a great (although imaginary) choice!

Anyway, one of the many things I am passionate about is fragrance, and I was fortunate enough on this occasion to purchase two wonderful new ones, from Les Exclusifs de Chanel, which are only available in a handful of places across Europe.

I’d spent a considerable amount of time, in a state of what can only be described as giddiness (so sophisticated) making my choices, ably assisted by the staff at Chanel, who clearly understood that this was not an everyday shopping trip for me (my outfit alone gave the game away) and were patient, kind and liberal with the free samples. Once I’d made my choice, I was then taken to a separate room to make my payment. There is nothing as crass as a cash desk in the Chanel store!

The wonderful fragrances (Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, for those fragrance fans out there) were safely taken home and worn on special occasions, or quite frankly whenever I needed a lift. Both heady, warm and very grown up, they offer the emotional reassurances you need to take on the world. If Bois des Iles were a person, she’d be a glamourous great aunt, who still smoked, wore cashmere and called everyone ‘darling’. I love it. Cuir de Russie feels like a more dangerous character, leathery, smoky and somehow dirty, but in a great way. If you are interested in fragrance, you need to seek these out, they’re incredible.

That is, they were incredible. Until my darling daughter smashed one of the bottles all over the wooden floor boards in my bedroom. After the initial upset, which I have to admit was very tearful, my husband was able to help me come to terms with it. Ok, I’m being melodramatic, I admit, but I have precious few luxury items these days, and loads of lesser perfumes all over the bathroom but it just had to be this one that was lost. Isn’t life just like that?

He reminded me that, although the fragrance was so very special, part of what had made it so was the memory of its purchase. A memory which I remember every detail of. A memory which still makes me smile, brings back that giddiness and which I will have forever. It helps of course, that the bedroom now has the scent of that memory soaked into it, so I get a reminder each time I walk in. It helps that I still have a teeny, tiny amount of the perfume left for when I really need that grown up help. And it helps that I am going to make a new memory by saving for a replacement bottle to buy next year in Rome. But what is really important is that I was given a little reminder that memories are more important than material goods, however beautiful they may be.

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