s

SmellyBlog

Lys Méditerranée


Lys Méditerranée creates the illusion of inhaling a lush Easter lily (AKA Madonna lily), resulting in a pollen-dusted nose. Top notes of lily are followed by the drip of citrus-honey, light and juicy, and a warm, full bodied orange blossom and rose for a touch of pure elegance. The orange blossom makes this particularly cheerful and happy. The dry down is warm, rich and ambery yet somewhat dry with the prominent note being Peru Balsam oil (which is woodier and less sweet than the balsam itself).

The sweetness is intoxicating but never heady, as it releases itself in small spurts of nectar. Lys Méditerranée may start off as innocent as a Madonna Lily but continues on to an almost pornographic nectar-dripping seduction.

Lys Méditerranée was designed by Edouard Fléchier for Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums. Other perfumes by Fléchier: Une Rose for Frederic Malle, Dior's Poison and Tendre Poison, Christian Lacroix C'est La Vie, Montana Parfum de Homme and the reformulation of Montana Parfum de Peau.

Photo: The Secret Life of an Easter Lily courtesy of Steve Kirby.

Orange Blossom Cologne

I ignored this cologne from Jo Malone for the longest time, even though I never thought it unpleasant. In fact, I ignored most of the line, because for the most part I find the scents too "traditional" and the prices too high for something so conventional. Another reason I ignored it was due to a sample mix-up: even though they were manufacturer’s samples, my Orange Blossom and my Lime, Basil & Mandarin samples got confused, and so I thought that Orange Blossom was a conventional citrus & herb cologne and dismissed it with no second thoughts. Than when I got that mini-package - an extra mini bottle of Lime Basil Mandarin was slipped in as an extra, so I decided to give it a try. I quickly realized there was a mistake in the samples, and after further investigation learned that my charmging “Lime Basil and Mandarin” was actually Orange Blossom…

I was just stunned by how gorgeous Orange Blossom was! This is no ordinary citrus, nor what you would expect from an orange blossom scent, and it is quite unique. The note that stands out for me is the mandarin. When I put it on I was immediately transported to our family orchard I took care of my entire childhood, where I played and watered and weeded the trees. It was one of my favourite places and any scent that brings me back there is welcome to my collection. The heart is definitely orange blossom, which is one of my most favourite notes, and it helps that citrus top notes to linger just a tad longer than most other citrus colognes would.

From Little T's Dresser

I promised you all a while back around Mother’s Day to tell you all about Tamya’s favourite smells. So, here we go. This post is about a few real tangible products, and the next post will be about her favourite fruit and food etc.

Tamya’s dresser (not that she really has one, it’s more part of her shelf-full of little treasures and little girl’s jewelry), includes two perfumes that she actually used at certain point or antoher, and a few minis that are there waiting for her to get interested. I think we can easily wait a few years before splurging in Diorissimo, Champs Elysee, Mitsouko and Narciso Rodriguez. For now they will just get occasionally splashed on the floor by little visitors who admire their attractive miniature packaging.

Petit Guerlain, the first perfume I ever bought her, is a wonderful scent, that can be applied in abundance. I got it for her when she was about 4 years old and she liked it right away. Everything about this little perfume is made right:
The smooth, pebble-textured frosted glass of the oval bottle and it’s round cap with matching texture (easy for little hands to grab on, open and close).
The liquid within is alcohol free, which is basically a solution essences-infused Turkey Red Oil emulsified into water (with a few preservatives and other emulsifiers judging by the ingredient listed on the box).
It is prevented from spillage by a reducer in the neck of the bottle…
As for juice itself: pure and delicate. It is soft, clean, gentle and fresh. Truly delicate, like you would want your little one to smell without overwhelming their senses. It can be applied with abundance with no risk involved. Notes include lemon, orange, lavender, mimosa, rose, orange flower, and tonka bean.
It makes for a wonderful eau whenever you need a simple, clean fragrance. I am referring to the Eau de Senteur, which comes in a splash bottle and safe enough for toddlers to apply on their own. It is also available in an Eau de Toilette, which is alcohol based, and is better used by older kids.

Tamya used to splash this all over in the morning or before bed time, usually turning the bottle upside down on the upper part of her wrists, in the most cute manner of all. It’s been a long time since she wanted to wear it though.


Petit Parfum, the first perfume I made especially for tamya, is a roll-on essential oil, and looking back I think it’s a bit too strong for kids, but wonderful scent to wear around them without overwhelming their senses. The formulation is very concentrated, as it is in parfum oil. The notes include lemon, lavender, neroli, lavender absolute, agarwood and olibanum. The lavender absolute is a stunning turquoise colour, and gives the yellow jojoba oil a lively green shade; when made into almond oil it’s more turquoise-y. The bottle is decorated with a handpainted red ladybug.
To wear it the classic Tamya way, smear the roll on up your arm and around your neck before bedtime. You will have the best sleep, guaranteed.

At certain point, Tamya was really jealous of my Perfumed Pendant and was almost ready to rip it off my neck. So I filled one with Tamya Crème Parfum, and she is happy ever since. She rarely wears it, but it is still frargrant with yuzu, jasmine sambac and cedar. Jewelry for her is not really meant to be worn, it’s meant to be played with. This weekend you could read about the story of the creation of Tamya parfum.

Orange Flower Water – also know as Zaher or Blossom Water – are an excellent skin toner, especially for oily or zit-prone skin of adolescents. Soak a cotton pad with the fragrant water and wipe face thoroughly, enjoying the euphoric scent of orange blossoms. You can find orange flower water in most Mediterranean markets, as they are used to flavour pastries, drinks and sweets. Or you can opt for a more expensive one from aromatherapy companies. The most luxurious orange flower I have ever smelled was Neroli Hydrosol from A Little Olfactory.

Tamya loves coconut and pineapple, so I will also include two items that in her life are not so much a vanity, but a necessity.
Coconut Escape Body Milk
For moisturizing her fast-paced growing pre-teen skin, after bathing Tamya gets covered from head-to-tow with a mist of Coconut Escape Body Milk from Escents. It is scented with coconut and tonka bean. This is by far the smelliest, fastest way to get your teenage girl to prevent stretch marks.

Cirlce of Friends Abebi’s Safari Detangler
Aside from its delicious pineapple aroma, I would be lying if I said that Tamya love this product. But her mommy sure does, as it has proven to be the most effective way to combat those bird-nests that appear daily in the hair of a little girl who hates brushing it. Spray it on the affected area, work it in, and brush. No pain, guaranteed - from a perspective of a young lady who hates her head and hair being touched in any way. The Canadian based line is tested on parents only, and promotes cultural diversity. It is full of fun products that are available online or from The Hairloft – the only hair salon that can get Tamya’s hair done, and in less than 30 mintues while watching (or ignoring) her favourite music video. Judging by the performance of this item alone, if we were allowed to visit there more often, we would have had the entire line by now.
P.s. I wanted to include photos of the other products, but I am experiencing some technical difficulties with uploading more photos. I recently switched to Blogger's Beta, and some things have improved since than, but others are a bit problematic... Hopefully I will be able to add all the other images later.

A Whiff of Happiness


Fallen Frangipani, originally uploaded by mz_skade.

There is a moment of revelation when approaching a familiar scent – for a moment there are two matching vibrations between two scents – the first one being the one in the smeller’s mind and the other the actual scent that is being smelled. A whiff of a flower and the vapour emanating from a bottle met and struck a chord in my ofactory heart when I smelled Fleurs d’Oranger.

The top notes of Fleurs d’Oranger are likened to dewy orange blossoms on the tree in early morning. However, this tree grows in Serge Lutens’ garden, which means it has an unbelievably rich soil. The blossoms warm up to the glowing sun of high noon and attract humming bees to transform them into honey. They exude a sweeter scent with the help of understated tuberose and jasmine notes. By the end of the day, the rich soil reveals itself in full blast with the signature Serge Lutens amber. The blossoms have melted into sweet golden honey and turned deep orange, saffron, crimson and fuschia in the sunset. Its creator was right: it is the scent of happiness.

p.s. The above photo is yellow-hued fragipani flowers in a golden-glowing atmosphere. Although orange blossom flowers are colourless, I associate their cheerful fragranace with the colour yellow. Yellow always puts a smile on my face...I love to wear golden yellow-freesia colours with my Fleurs d'Oranger, including a yellow flower in my hair - it make every moment so much sunnier in so many ways, even in the darkest of days...

Citrus Blossoms


Citrus blossom is the quintessential scent of spring in Israel. And if you think that it ends with orange blossoms, you are seriously mistaken. All citrus trees are in full bloom, and if the humming bees don’t waste their time to make honey from all the sweet & tart fragrant nectar, even more so the perfumer and fragrance enthusiast should not miss this fabulous season. I am surprised that the Middle East does not have a tradition of going out to the orchard to admire the blossoms, much like the Japanese admire their Sakura.

The most fantastic thing about citrus blossoms is that the while their scent is distinctively floral, they are also reminiscent of the fruit to come. After all, the fruit is what will come out of the flowers! And as you can see in the pomelo blossom photo above, the little fruit are already starting to emerge.

Orange blossoms

Lemon Blossom
Back to the top