Jardins de Carthage by Cinq Mondes

Jardins de Carthage by Cinq Mondes is a perfect fragrance for summer.

The box calls this "Rituel Aromatique" which put me off using Jardins de Carthage for quite a while. The instructions suggest, "Delicately spray the care mist of your choice on your body, hair or on your pillow". But ultimately this is a light fresh fragrance that you can use like any other perfume.

Jardins de Carthage is a light and sexy summer fragrance. Notes, including oud, nutmeg, rose abolute, cedar wood, jasmine, pink pepper, bergamot, vetiver, patchouli, rose bud and musks.Cinq Mondes is paraben free - so you can spritz with abandon.

Perfume Shopping - Latest Offers

If you're hunting around for some perfume shopping ideas, here are some of the latest offers.

Beauty Habit

Beauty Habit are offering free standard shipping within the US until 2nd July when you spend over $50. You need to quote the code BHCUTIE.

Fragrance Direct 

Fragrance Direct are offering up to 40% off some of their summer fragrances.

Smell Bent

Smell Bent are have a new sample pack of five of their travel sprays for $25.

And here they are

The latest family photo

Coco Chanel & My Current Lust List

The Debenhams Chanel counter was blissfully unmanned this morning, so I took the opportunity to let loose with the tester bottle of Coco Eau de Toilette. You have to sieze these moments when they come along.

I wrote about Coco Chanel a while ago. (You can read it here). But I think that Coco definitely smelt better on me in April than it does in June. Coco is too heavy for June. It might work well in the evening, but for a full on hot day like today it feels too much. 

So, here is my top ten lust list - perfumes that I would love to own, but haven't got around to buying quite yet.

1. Ninfeo Mio by Annick Goutal - allegedly based on an Italian garden, but for me evokes the quintessential English summer garden. 

2. Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne - the sweet smell of orange juice, quickly followed by a full-on leafy orange grove. A landscape in bottle.

3. Citron Citron by Miller Harris - This is by no means my favourite Miller Harris fragrance, but for summer it's suitably fresh. Most citrus fragrance are all top note and vanish rapidly. But Citron Citron has depth and is lovely for a hot day.

4. Tiare by Ormonde Jayne - White flowers are high on my list of lovely fragrance ingredients. If you don't feel like forking out on OJ's Tiare, then an economical alternative is Pacifica's Tahitian Gardenia, which I have in the body butter. I could use this every day of the year.

5. Fleur Nocturne by Isabey - I tend to avoid perfumes at eye watering prices. But Fleur Nocturne is delicate and artfully blends a bouquet of fragile flowers.

6. Eternal Return by CB I Hate Perfume - probably still top of my lust list in many ways. A blend of the salty sea and verdant evergreens. If Orange Sanguine paints the orange grove picture, then Eternal Return is the seaside dream.

7. Eau du Sud by Annick Goutal - the second from Annick Goutal on my list. But if you like sunshine fragrances, like Eau Dynamisante, Eau du Sud is unmissable.

What about scents I haven't tried - you ask? Well, I just have to include a few on my list.

8. Orange Star by Andy Tauer is reviewed by Persolaise here. It sounds interesting, and I want to try it for myself. 

9. Tilda Swinton by Etat Libre d'Orange. Apparently Tilda Swinton mentions 'peat after highland rain' in the description.  I'm already in love. Read this great review by the British Beauty Blogger.

10. Eau des Merveilles by Hermes. This is a bit of a wild card. Robin at NST gave it a very good review in 2006. I've picked it because the perfumer, Ralf Schwieger, recently created Orange Sanguine. Orange Sanguine has bowled me over, so I'm curious to try more by the same perfumer.

So there it is, my current list. MyPerfumeLife would love to hear about the fragrances that you're pining after too.

Chanel Nº 5 and the Audrey Tatou TV Commercial

It would be wrong to write a perfume blog without mentioning Chanel Nº 5. This beautiful, beautiful TV commercial, featuring the gorgeous Audrey Tatou  says so much on its own.

What's left to say about Chanel Nº  5 that hasn't already been said so many times before? The perfume's official notes are (famously) aldehydes, bergamot, lemon and neroli. Middle notes are jasmine, rose, lily of the valley and orris. And the base notes are vetiver, sandal, vanilla and amber. 

The perfumer, Ernest Beaux, allegedly presented this as the fifth sample to Coco Chanel amongs a range of perfumes. The name stuck, and it was launched on the fifth day of the fifth month in 1921.


At the risk of being contrary, this isn't a perfume that I feel passionate about. I enjoy the buttery, almost almondy middle notes when the 'old lady's handbag' opening has faded. It's difficult to have a fresh appreciation of a smell that's so familiar and has been worn by so many people. But Chanel Nº 5 is king of king amongst perfumes. And long may that last.

Acqua di Gioia by Giorgio Armani

Here's a sneak peak of the advert for Acqua di Gioia, the latest fragrance from Giorgio Armani.

If you like Acqua di Gioia, then MyPerfumeLife's other recommendations are Clarins Eau des Jardins or J'Adore by Dior.

Michael Kors Perfume

The original Michael Kors perfume is my guilty pleasure. It's a lusty tuberose fragrance and no messing. You don't need much as it's potent stuff, but it's truly wonderful.

A bottle of Michael Kors perfume has been standing lonely and neglected in my bathroom cabinet since the end of last year. I rarely have the chance to wear it as I sample new fragrances most days. But today I needed some familiarity and comfort. Michael Kors perfume fits the bill perfectly.

The original Michael Kors perfume was released in 2000 and developed by perfumer Laurent Le Guernec. It's no surprise that Le Guernec is the creator of a whole host of successful fragrances including Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, Marc Jacob's Splash Rain and a whole raft for the Bond No. 9 range including Chelsea Flowers and Andy Warhol Montauk. 

The description for Michael Kors perfume includes notes of freesia, incense, tuberose, creamy flowers, soft woods and musks. There's no doubt that this is a 'big' perfume. Regular MyPerfumeLife readers will know that I'm not generally a fan of the strong stuff. But the sexiness and subtlety of tuberose combined with the other floral elements and incense are fiercely compelling.

The most recent release from Michael Kors is 'Very Hollywood', which shares the basic structure of with the original Michael Kors perfume, but opens with a full on bubblegum note. It will be interesting to see if Very Hollywood is as successful as the original Michael Kors perfume.

For a similarly powerful, but somewhat different tuberose, try Houbigant's Quelques Fleurs L'Original. It's a sexy fragrance too.

Ta'if

Ta'if by Ormonde Jayne was launched five years ago. To celebrate its fifth year a new oversized Ta'if bottle has been unveiled in Harrods. 

Ta'if is a rose fragrance, named after the Saudi Arabian town famed for its rose plantations. Rose is mixed with pink pepper, saffron, dates, orange flower absolute and jasmine on a base of amber to create a true oriental floral. 

Linda Pilkington comments that the new Ta'if oversized flacon was inspired by the giant bottle used by Dior and Chanel for J'Adore and Chance.

Eau Dynamisante

Eau Dynamisante is THE affordable summer treat. 

It's fresh, herby and the archetypal 'sunshine fragrance'. A large 100ml of Eau Dynamisante costs a meagre £27.

Eau Dynamisante reminds me of sitting in a Mediterranean garden on a hot summer's day with the sun beating down on the aromatic herbs and bushes. The notes include lemon, ginseng, thyme, orange, caraway, rosemary and patchouli.

Clarins have recently launched Eau des Jardins in their fragrance range, which may also be worth a try. But my money is on Eau Dynamisante every time.

Estee Lauder

Estee Lauder fragrances are recommended to me time and time again. So far I haven't been able to find one that I get on with. Most recently I tried Sensuous. But it's a bit on the sweet side for me.

OsMoz lists the notes as ghost lily, magnolia, jasmine, ylang ylang, sandalwood, pepper, mandarin pulp, honey, molten woods and amber. Perhaps it's the amber base, perhaps it's the sweetness of the honey. It comes highly recommended and the review over at Now Smell This is excellent. 

Azuree is an Estee Lauder perfume that I'm keen to try. It's included in Luca Turin's select list of 'five star' fragrances, which already sets it apart from the crowd. Apparently Selfridges and Harrods are the exclusive stockists in London, so I will make a special journey to try it. Its reputation is as a 'sunshine' fragrance. Any perfume that brings the summer to you has to be a good thing. The note include orange blossom, Tahitian flower, gardenia, coconut, vetiver, myrrh and sandalwood. Sounds delightful.

Bronze Goddess has had a lot of coverage lately and for a summer fragrance it's certainly charming. But it's a real beach scent and not something I could envisage wearing the whole year round.

Jasmine White Moss is a recent 80s revival for Estee Lauder in the Private Collection. The name of the fragrance sounds like it's going to be light and transparent. But Jasmine White Moss is, typically for Estee Lauder, a big fragrance. I tried it recently and I didn't love it.

Four other Estee Lauder fragrances that make it onto Luca Turin's 'five star' list. Pleasures, White Linen, Beyond Paradise and Knowing.  

Pleasures was released in 1995, and is the fore-runner to current popular scents like Marc Jacobs Daisy. It's all about smelling clean.

Knowing is a rose chypre, released in 1988. By all accounts it's 'big' perfume. The reviews at Basenotes are almost universally positive.  

White Linen, a floral fragrance, released in 1978, was created by none other than the empress of perfume, Sophia Grojsman. 

Grojsman is the creator of perfume successes incuding YSL Paris, Lancome Tresor, Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds and Calvin Klein Eternity, to name a few.  

Finally, Beyond Paradise is a floral fragrance that Luca Turin can't say enough good things about. It's impossible to find a quote that fully sums up his enthusiasm.

So, back to the Estee Lauder counter I go. One of these has got to smell good on me...

First Perfume

If you're looking for a first perfume for a daughter, niece or godchild, then Harajuku Lovers are tailor-made for young girls. And not all of them are overly sweet scents, so worth a look.

For older girls, Annick Goutal's bottles are hard to beat for their pure romanticism. Petite Cherie was created by Annick Goutal for her daughter Camille. What could be more appropriate?

4711 was the first perfume that I ever remember owning. I had a tiny little bottle with the unique green and gold label. The bottles are ornate and almost as memorable as the scent itself. The smell is of a classic cologne, and definitely worth trying if you want a classic fragrance.

My daughter was given a Chance Eau Tendre sample back in April. As she's six years old, there's every possibility that she'll remember this as her first perfume. It's got pretty pink packaging, is rather sweet and girly, so actually it would be quite appropriate.

 If you're looking for a perfume with mother and daughter relationship, then Arpege could be a good one to try. Jeanne Lanvin, so the legend goes, was inspired by her daughter practising scales on the piano so she called the perfume, Arpege, meaning ‘arpeggio'.

Or, perhaps most obviously of all, you could give your daughter small bottle of the fragrance that you use. Guaranteed they will love it - all little girls want to be just like their Mum.

James Heeley

James Heeley fragrances seem to be designed for a man's man. They're not frilly or whimsical. They're strong, simple and clearly named. It's refreshing for a fragrance brand to be so, well, manly.

Figuier - Possibly the longest lasting fig fragrance that I've tried. I put it on in the morning and could still smell it late into the afternoon. When perfumes have such long staying power it suggests that they are largely synthetic. But that aside, it's a well-orchestrated fig fragrance. It's more potent than other fig scents, like Diptyque's Philosykos, which is softer, with more subtle layering. But all in all I enjoyed James Heeley's Figuier and will definitely wear it again.

Sel Marin -  It was Chandler Burr's recommendation for Sel Marin in the New York Times a few weeks ago that prompted me to try James Heeley fragrances. Burr suggests that Sel Marin is a great fragrance for this summer. It's decidedly masculine, with notes including Lemon, Bergamot, Sea Salt, Algue, Vetiver, Birch and Cedar. I wore Sel Marin for the first time today, and need a few more days to really get to grips with it. 

Esprit du Tigre - There are a lot of write-ups about this fragrance. Allegedly tiger balm was the inspiration for Esprit du Tigre. So far I haven't been able to bring myself to try it. Tiger balm is a potent smell, that's really difficult to shake off once it's on your skin. But perhaps Esprit du Tigre is not going to be quite as I imagine. The note are winter green, campher, cardamom, clove, black pepper, cinnamon and vetiver. Sounds lovely.

The other fragrances in James Heeley's range include Cardinal, based around the key notes of incense - frankincense and labdanum ciste. Cedre Blanc, is a cedar based fragrance, softened by notes of cardamom and cumin. Cuir Pleine Fleur is a leather fragrance. Leather is a note that just doesn't agree with me - it makes me want to gasp for breath. Iris de Nuit is depicted as "the seductive and delicate scent of Iris amidst Tuscan cyprus trees". The vivid description makes me keen to sample it. Menthe Fraiche is fairly self explanatory. There doesn't seem to be a description of Ophelia on the James Heeley website. According to OsMoz, the notes are orange, green stem, jasmine, ylang ylang and tuberose. And finally Verveine's note are bergamot, lemon verbena, blackcurrant, jasmin and white musc. Makes it sound incredibly fresh.


The fragrances in the James Heeley range seem decidedly alpha male - lots of leather, mint, violets, cedar and woods in general. The packaging and design are unfussy with clean lines and no-nonsense names. I like the character of the brand and the couple of scents that I've tried so far have been solid.

Haute Parfumerie • Lady Million Launch • JLo's Love and Glamour

Friday Link Love

Fabulous description of the Haute Parfumerie at Harrods by Sorcery of Scent.

Jennifer Lopez's latest fragrance launch, Love and Glamour, at Make Her Up.

Paco Rabanne's 'Lady Million' launch.

The other side of the world, it's winter, not summer scents that are topical.

And finally, the Scent Critic raves about the original eau de cologne, 4711.

Fifi Awards

The US Fifi Awards winners were announced yesterday. I didn't manage to sample all of the nominees in time for the final results, but here they are:

Hall of Fame - Michael Kors

Male Celebrity of the Year -Usher

Fragrance Hall of Fame - CK One

Women’s Luxe -  
Lola Marc Jacobs


Men’s Luxe -
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver 


Unique Boutique - Tom Ford Private Blend White Suede

Women’s Nouveau Niche -Bond No. 9 Astor Place 

Men's Nouveau Niche - Bond No. 9 Brooklyn

Women's Popular Appeal - Halle by Halle Berry 

Men's Popular Appeal - Seduction in Black by Antonio Banderas 

Women's Private Label - Love Rocks by Victoria's Secret 

Men's Private Label - Patrick Dempsey 2 

Editorial Excellence in Fragrance Coverage -  Elle.com Blog - Enduring Fragrance

The complete list of Fifi Awards winners is on the Fifi Awards page.

Alien Perfume

A girl sitting next to me recently was wearing Alien perfume by Thierry Mugler. It was an incredibly good smell, with one, almost chemical, note standing out. Possibly one of those smells that's truly enjoyable on other people, but half an hour is about enough for me.

It was Thierry Mugler's earlier fragrance, Angel from 1992, that initially made him a household name. In particular, confident, outgoing people, who want to stand out seem to identify with Mugler's fragrances. This is born out by a comment from Janey Holliday, one of my guest bloggers, back in March,

"Of all the girls I know, who wear Angel, they have all been quite like me: outgoing, passionate, ambitious, confident, positive, happy.."

My guess is that Alien perfume also appeals to confident people, who like to stand out from the crowd. The name, the distinctive and unusual aroma, the packaging - the whole image creates a talking point. A girl (or boy) who wears Alien perfume enjoys being noticed.

In Katie Puckrick's review of Alien she says that it's the most requested review she's ever had. And the genius perfumers behind this scented sensation? Dominique Ropion and Laurent Bruyere. Dominic Ropion is famous for creating fragrances including Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower and Geranium pour Monsieur, and most recently Acqua di Gioia.

According to OsMoz, the notes for Alien perfume are Sambac Jasmine, Cashmeran, Solar Not and White Amber. So what other fragrances is Alien perfume similar to? Its potency and individuality remind me of Dior's Dune. Dune has similar staying power and clarity and shares the amber base.

Yosh Fragrances

The niche perfume house, Yosh, has six fragrances, all with intriguing names. You can read more details about the perfumer Yosh Han at the Eau de Yosh website.

For a bit of fun rather than listing the notes I'm going to provide a pictorial list for each Yosh fragrance. It's a reminder of what perfume is all about, and how skillful a perfumer has to be to bring all these ingredients together in harmony.

Sottile 1.61

White Flowers 1.41

U4EAHH 2.43

Ginger Ciao 2.27

Stargazer 7.71
Omniscent 0.96

Poucher's

Poucher's is THE guide book for anybody interested in getting started making their own fragrances. Poucher's is a big investment at £181, but apparently well worth it. 

I would love to hear feedback from anybody who has used Poucher's to get started in their perfume career.

Eau de Colognes

Eau de Colognes are less concentrated fragrances, which makes them perfect for the summer months. All of these eau de colognes are suitable for both men and women. So buy a generous bottle and splash it on liberally all summer long.

Firstly, my latest find, Eau des Minimes. Unusually for eau de colognes, tonka is included in the list of notes. And it's the hint of tonka that gives Eau des Minimes its unique edge. Definitely worth a try.

One that I've written about before is Fleur de Vigne by Caudalie. This is still one of my favourite eau de colognes - beautifully fresh with a mild vine blossom hint. 

Dior's Escale a Portofino is an incredibly elegant eau de cologne. If citrus fragrances help you to feel alive in the mornings, then this could be the perfect eau de cologne for you. 

Verging on being more of a perfume than an eau de cologne, Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne is beautiful for hot weather. The smell of citrus fruit layered onto mild woody notes will transport you to an orange grove.

This morning I received a sample of Heeley's Oranges and Lemons Say the Bells of St Clements. I'm trying it for the first time today and think it's going to be pretty good.

Last, but not least, Diptyque's Eau de Neroli is a gorgeous, light fragrance.  Neroli is a classic blossom note that is ideal for summertime. No list of summer eau de colognes would be complete without a neroli fragrance.

Let me know what eau de colognes you're enjoying this summer.

Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne

Have you every walked past a window, thinking that it was a mirror? You're expecting to see your reflection, but you see something entirely different. It takes a second or two for your mind to marry up your expectation and what's actually in front of your eyes. 

I had a similar experince when I first tested Orange Sanguine. I poured a few drops onto my wrist. The initial hit of orange juice was so powerful and evocative that I expected the liquid to be orange and pithy. It took me a second or two to remember that I wasn't pouring orange juice onto my skin.

You probably don't want to smell like Sunny D. However the initial smell fades very quickly to something altogether more sophisticated. It's leafy and green and lets me dream that I'm sitting in an orange grove.

I don't drink orange juice, or any juice for that matter. It makes me feel too unwell. I rarely eat oranges as it's too much of a faff. In fact, I really don't have much affection for oranges at all. There seems something deeply toxic about them. The colour's too bright. The fruit is much too sharp and acidic. 

When I first heard about Orange Sanguine, I didn't think it was going to be for me. However, the smell is intense and voluptuous. Whereas lemons are fresh, zesty and enlivening, oranges are the more complicated elder sister. Orange Sanguine combines the smell of the fruit and the juice and the leafy orange tree.

I've only got a teeny tiny sample size of Orange Sanguine, but I'm tempted to invest in a full size bottle. It will allow me to dream of sitting in an orange grove in southern Spain this summer.

The perfumer for Orange Sanguine is Ralf Schwieger. He also created Frederic Malle's Lipstick Rose and Hermes Eau des Merveilles. They both sound very different to Orange Sanguine, but this perfumer may be one to watch.

Prize Draw Winner - The Result

Thanks to everybody for entering the prize draw. In my usual low tech method, all the names went into a hat (okay, a mixing bowl).

And the name that my daughter pulled out was:

Thanks to everybody for entering and all the great suggestions. 

Bellatrix - would you like to email me with your address? You can email me at reachjessicajones@hotmail.com And I'll send you the lovely bottle of Ormonde Woman in the next couple of days.

English Pear & Freesia by Jo Malone

Have you ever been on a date with somebody who ticks all the boxes, but you just don't fancy? He's good-looking, with a great dress-sense, got lots to talk about, but somehow he just doesn't have that certain something? That's slightly how I feel about English Pear & Freesia. I want to love it. It's flowery and fruity, and beautifully composed. But on a personal level, it just doesn't grab me.

The perfumer, Christine Nagel, is the creator behind perfumes for Dolce & Gabbana, Thierry Mugler and Cartier, to name but a few. Most notably for me, she worked with Francis Kurkdjian on Narciso Rodriguez For Her, a major success. The drydown of English Pear and Freesia has some shades of Narciso Rodriguez For Her, but I couldn't put my finger on what exactly.

English Pear & Freesia is destined to be a runaway success. It's a beautiful fragrance, and I look forward to seeing how well it does. It's the FIRST fragrance that complete strangers have complimented me on. Oh why can't I love you English Pear? I feel deficient for not loving this fragrance. It's like when all your friends and your Mum love your boyfriend, but you'd rather be on your own reading a good book.

Other Jo Malone fragrances featured on MyPerfumeLife incude Nutmeg and Ginger and the Jo Malone Cologne Intense perfume series.

Perfume Give-Away - Ormonde Woman by Ormonde Jayne

Dear readers - I am giving away a shiny new 50ml bottle of Ormonde Jayne's Ormonde Woman to one lucky winner. To be entered into the draw, please leave a comment in the comment box. One winner will be chosen at random at 1pm BST on Friday 4th June 2010.

 

I'm trying to improve my blog, so your comment has to be how I could improve MyPerfumeLife. More photos? More about a specific perfume or a specific type of perfume? More give-aways? Details of where to buy and prices? Links to online perfume shops? Any and all suggestions are welcome. And you can enter more than once if you have more than one suggestion.

 

To be in the running for this lovely bottle of Ormonde Woman simply leave your comment in the comment box. The winner will be chosen at random (either picked out of a hat or by a random number generator – TBC) and the competition closes at 1pm BST on Friday 4th June 2010.

 

Best of luck!

Avery - London's Newest Perfume Boutique

London's newest perfume boutique is Avery Fine Perfumery, 27 Avery Row, Mayfair, London W1K 4AY

"Avery utilises cutting edge, interactive technology to capture the imagination and stimulate the senses. The windows are two large aviaries, each housing ‘perched’ fragrance bottles. Customers passing close to the windows will automatically cause the perfume bottles to emit a ‘virtual’ spritz of scent and even the most modest of movements will cause the mist to swirl and create a virtual imprint of the customer’s silhouette. The interior features an interactive birdsong soundscape with three distinct areas from tropical to woodland and animatronic flowers that will blossom with the stirring of the air! On screen, a feather is blown by a virtual breeze, perpetually airbourne to represent the delicacy and esoteric nature of scent. Perfumes are presented on a beautiful rococo dressing table with shapely birds feet, where clients may ‘preen’ and make their selection. A lush, hanging garden complete with mini-fountain of weeping rabbits and surreal artwork dominates the rear, serving to relax and calm customers whilst reinforcing the message that fragrance and art are intertwined – twinned expressions of emotional fantasy."

Check out other London perfume boutiques featured on MyPerfumeLife: Le Labo in Marylebone, Ormonde Jayne in the Royal Arcade, and the Aesop boutique on Mount Street in Mayfair.

Vogue Magazine's Modern Vintage

There's a selection of perfumes in the July Vogue called Modern Vintage. I've ranked the the Vogue selection, from my favourite to least favourite. 

Diptyque Vetyverio - When I first heard that Diptyque's newest fragrance was based on vetiver, I decided to give it a miss. But I was wrong - this is a very pretty fragrance, the vetiver is beautifully balanced by rose and grapefruit.