Can we all stop talking about perfumes as if they become extinct after a shelf date and should be retired to some olfactory graveyard, where they might be admired but never worn? Fine, you mother wore Lanvin Arpege. My mother drank milk, rode a b…

Continue reading → Your Mother!

Fragrance brands have cottoned up to the fact that jaded travellers who have to sail through the Symplegades to travel by air are searching for a little escapism: anything really to make them get it through the tiresome waiting for their luggage to get…

Continue reading → Bali Dream by Estee Lauder: a Travel Exclusive

One of the houses I feel a certain affinity towards is Divine, and to their credit, these feelings have been built not on artificial branding strategies or clever advertising, but purely on their scents. Their masculine scents, although perhaps a little safe, are elegant, luxurious and refined. Their female scents have had this rare effect on me, making me wish I owned them from the moment I

Continue reading → Divine by Divine : Perfume Review

In a funny little tale recounted to perfume journalist Susan Irvine, the notorious Russian perfumer Sophia Grojsman was followed by a drunk one night, forcing her to walk quicker in the night streets, upon which he called out: “Hey lady, I am not follo…

Continue reading → Paris, Je t’Aime

He arrived back from the farmers market with the usual suspects: greens for juicing, plenty of salad greens, plump berries of all kinds and a surprise! I thought, mmmm chocolate perhaps? He instructed me to close my eyes, which I did obediently. Then h…

Continue reading → Name that note

Like watching the prima ballerina dancing the night away en pointe during La Sylphide there often comes the realisation that behind such delicate artistry and graceful elegance there must be an insurmountable amount of toil and wistful spending of self…

Continue reading → The Scent of a Sylphid

Dearest Ida, better known to most as Chayaruchama, was kind enough to send me a whole bunch of Neil Morris fragrances to sample, after I said I was really curious to try them. This week (on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) I invite you to explore the samples Ida sent me, here on Fragrance Bouquet. The first two perfumes are Parfum d’Ida and Spectral Violet.

Parfum d’Ida:

Parfum d’Ida is a

Continue reading → Parfum d’Ida and Spectral Violet by Neil Morris : Perfume Reviews

*This post is dedicated to the wonderful, warmhearted, generous friend who recently gifted me with a bottle of Kelly Calèche. She always impresses me with her great manners and thoughtful character. May her generosity find its way back to her tenfold.*

Last summer, Hermès’ newest launch, caused quite a stir among perfume aficionados: Everyone wanted to have a whiff of the newest member of the

Continue reading → Kelly Calèche by Hermès : Perfume Review

It would be hard to imagine fashion in today’s world without prêt-a-porter. Up until the 50’s however, luxury ready-to-wear fashion was unheard of. When it comes to the question of who popularized high fashion as we know it, most remember Yves Saint Laurent who was indeed the first couturier to open a ready-to-wear boutique, Rive Gauche in 1966. Some will even remember that Givenchy and the

Continue reading → Forget me Not : Chloé (Original) by Chloé

In the first decade of the 1900s, Jeanne Lanvin, the magnificent, iconic couturiere and founder of the house that still bears her name, begun designing outfits and dresses for one of her younger sisters and her daughter, as well as for her own, beloved and doted upon child, Marguerite. Soon, word spread, and Lanvin became famous as a mother-daughter fashion designer. Lanvin especially loved to

Continue reading → Forget me Not : Arpège by Lanvin

Opinions seem to be split down the middle when it comes to heliotrope. Some love it and seek its warm, comforting scent, while others hate it with a passion, reporting aversive reactions to it. Rarely are there any indifferent comments to be found when it comes to heliotrope scents. But that is a good thing, isn’t it? Something that sparks such intense emotions, whether these belong to one side

Continue reading → Heliotrope : Two Sides of the Same Coin

By guest writer Ida MeisterI am such a neophyte, that I feel a disclaimer is in order. To begin with: it should be noted that I am neither a writer nor a perfumer. I am simply a woman possessed by a 50 year love affair with fragrance, who lives for her…

Continue reading → Fragrance review: Midnight violet by Ava Luxe

Perfume Shrine has the rare privilege today to host talented guest writer Denyse Beaulieu, aka Carmencanada, on a review of the very new and exclusive Palais Royal scent by Serge Lutens, the ink-coloured jasmine-rich Sarrasins. It is rumoured that soon…

Continue reading → Sarrasins by Serge Lutens: perfume review

I cannot resist spending a lot of time shopping when visiting Thessaloniki. Well alright, I’ll admit, I cannot resist shopping - period, but the habit tends to become exacerbated while traveling. You see, much as I adore our beloved capital, Amsterdam, it can at times be characterized as fashion starved. Thessaloniki thus, can be awarded the distinction of being fashion forward, if only by

Continue reading → Edwardian Bouquet by Floris : Perfume Review

The haunting, eerie feeling of Eric Satie’s Gnossienne no.1 is tied to my mind to smells that resemble Kelly Calèche, the new feminine scent by Hèrmes, created by acclaimed house perfumer Jean Claude Ellena. Like the ethereal yet stangely hypnotic n…

Continue reading → Kelly Calèche: fragrance review

Vanderbilt was given to me as a gift years ago. My initial feeling towards it was indifference: Nice enough, but most definitely not me. Ten minutes later I was knocked back by its intensity, left reeling in a nauseous state of despair that no amount of washing liquid would help subside. Yet, I could not bring myself to give it away. I feared its effects, every cell of my body still remembering

Continue reading → Vanderbilt by Gloria Vanderbilt : Perfume Review

As I have already indicated, I started this Annayake week because I fell in love with Hanami, Tsukimi and Annayake pour Elle, and it was only those fragrances that I was initially planning to review. After I started writing the feature though, it seemed like such a shame to leave Natsumi and Yukimi out, to leave things incomplete, even though admittedly, I have not become enamored with them in

Continue reading → Natsumi by Annayake : Perfume Review

“We carry the perfumes of Annayaké exclusively” the kindly sales assistant informed me when I inquired about them, taking extra care to raise her tone of voice slightly to accentuate the last vowel with the correct intonation after I had mistakenly pronounced it in a rather western manner. She was right of course. I do not know why I did not think of it myself. Perhaps it was out of force of

Continue reading → Hanami by Annayake : Perfume Review

There’s something to be said about perfumes whose development does not hold too many surprises. They are trusty, they will remain true from the moment you wear them till the moment they fade. They offer a single dream, a single location to which they will transport you and once there, you do not have to second-guess your surroundings. It is safe to put your guard down; seasons might change, the

Continue reading → Bal à Versailles by Jean Desprez : Perfume Review

I remember the day I first smelled Laura by Laura Biagiotti very clearly. I was fourteen years old, out for a cup of coffee with a good friend and she, knowing that I loved fragrance samples brought me several her sister had brought back with her from a trip to Italy. We tried most of the samples together, right there at the cafe and the verdict was unanimous: Laura was the best one of them all.

Continue reading → Laura by Laura Biagiotti : Perfume Review