<
s
c

s
Home / SmellyBlog

SmellyBlog

Linden and Linen

Laundry on the line by MarleneFord
Laundry on the line, a photo by MarleneFord on Flickr.

L'Été en Douce (meaning Soft Summer, formerly known as Extrait de Songes - or the Essence of Dreams) is as light as a cloud and as fleeting as the aroma of linden blossoms which wafts through the streets in midsummer.

Reminiscent of fragrant twigs and freshly soaped skin, l'Été en Douce is light and ethereal and I find it wears better on fabric than on my skin. On fabric it unfolds with the subtle honey nuances of linden and orange blossom with hints of petitgrain; where as on skin, the clean "white musks" and synthetic "white woods" notes are taking over. And there is also an underlining bitterness, reminiscent of almonds but not quite - the mark of coumarin (hay is listed among the notes, but there is non of its delicious sweetness, so I think it's just coumarin - adorable all the same, but just a little flatter).

I'd enjoy it more if it was real summer here, and would wear it in the halo-method, when you spray it in the room and walk into its mist. Preferably while wearing white linen attire or gauzy white cotton shirt. But I'm enjoying just as much after accidentally spilling half of my sample all over my denim dress pants and silk blouse...

Olivia Giacobetti is the nose here, and like most of her creations - she used a very light hand, which makes for an easily wearable (and over-spilled) summer scent, a little abstract and obscure, but very true to its name.

Longing for Summer

The past couple of summer has been a joke (a very sad joke, actually...), and this summer is no exception. I could count the sunny days on my fingers and maybe some toes. So with that longing for summer, I'm going to be reviewing some perfumes that have the word "summer" in them this way or another. And as it turns out - there is no shortage of them!
Parfum d'Ete (Kenzo), eau d'Ete, Rose d'Ete, Summer by Kenzo, Ete en Douce, and than of course I'm going to throw a few others in that just smells like what summer is supposed to be. And if you have any summer favourites or recommendations, I'm all ears!

Omniscent 0.96

Omniscent 0.96 (Yosh) is a nearly all-encompassing scent that is a little play on a potent word *, and defies categorization as it feels like a few perfumes in one. It's colourful, free spirited, comforting, familiar and yet at the same time intriguing and full of surprises.

It all begins with a shrinkingly familiar yet mysterious accord of aloe-vera hand & body lotion my mom used to have eons ago (and shared with me very generously), and Opium parfum combined. There's also the pink pepper note set against vanilla that made me fall hard for Ormonde Jayne’s Ta’if the moment I smelled it (but no roses or saffron here). If there is any basil in the top notes, it's only imparting a spicy, eugenol note that gives it that immediate "oriental" feel.

And there's also the thick, nearly overpowering presence of khus oil, which is a popular oil perfume from India that you would find in folk festivals or on Haight street (or Commercial Drive if you're in Vancouver - which is where I first found all those rich, oriental single note oils such as amber, Egyptian musk and Khus). It's not ruh khus (the traditional distillation of vetiver oil), and it's also not cannabis or vetiver fragrance oil, but kind of a mix of both, which eventually smells just very sweet, woody, rich and intoxicating.

Floral notes are lurking in its midst - big ones such as gardenia, tuberose, and also the quieter, soapy and demure lilac, accompanied by milky, powdery fig accord. But it is by no means floral – these notes rather amount to an abstract, imaginary orchid impression, something that might have been taken out of a mother-of-pearl tinted floral illustration of lotus and peonies on a lacquered Chinese treasure chest. Sandalwood fans in the background release a creamy-woodsy scent that weaves in and out whenever it gets a chance to peak through the stronger personalities involved.

A couple of hours in, the vanilla gets amplified, and it slowly mellows down until the drydown, which is subtle and delicious: sandalwood, vanilla, musk and patchouli, staying close to the skin and having a sensual, dry-yet-sweet appeal that is perhaps what I like the most about Omniscent. This phase will last through the day (or night) and feels like its has a very clean finish.

Omniscent nearly escapes the completely headshoppy categorization simply because there is more to it than just this one single note or another. It has evolution and tells it's story in the Yosh style - which I came to know as free spirited, and humorous: it never takes itself too seriously, this way or another, which leaves just enough room for you to create your own narrative if you wish.

You can find Omniscent at Barneys, Scent Bar or online on LuckyScent.
This review is for the eau de parfum, which is lighter and less dense and dark than the parfum oil (in the numbered flacons).

Top notes: Aloe Vera, Basil, Pink Grapefruit, Pink Pepper

Heart notes: Tuberose, Gardenia, Lilac, Fig, Violet

Base notes: Sandalwood, Vanilla, Musk, Khus, Patchouli

* Omniscient means having total knowledge, knowing everything, and is often one of the attributes of God.

Monkey Monday: Californian's Favourite Oils?

This weekend, with no further excuses, I had to finally unpack all the oils that were wrapped in electric tapes, ziplocs and bubble wraps and put them back on my perfumers' organ for my students. It was my first class at the studio since May before my schedule filled up with packing and airports and trains and other adventures...

As I was going through the bottles, I had to make note of the "damage" - half a bottle of spilled galbanum oil was the only spillage. Thank goodness I triple-wrapped this potent green sharp note! It nearly took over the suitcase and I was delaying my response, which kinda got too used to a very aromatic suitcase, this being my 3rd trip with this "kit".

So, for this week's Monkey Monday, I figured I will ask you to make a guess of the 3 oils that were most popular with my California students. This is, of course, completely based on the content of the bottles (or the lack of it...). Three bottles ran out completely, and the person who guesses these three correctly will receive some samples of beautiful aromatics from Eden Botanicals.

The 38 essences are (in alphabetical order):
Atlas Cedarwood, Bergamot, Black Pepper, Cinnamon Leaf, Cistus, Clary Sage, Clary Sage Absolute, Clove Bud Oil, Fir Absolute, Frankincense, Galbanum, Geranium, Ginger CO2, Jasmine Absolute, Juniper Berry, Labdanum, Lavender Absolute, Lavender Oil, Lemon, Lemongrass, Litsea Cubeba, Myrrh, Neroli, Oakmoass Absolute, Orange Blossom Absolute, Patchouli, Red Mandarin, Roman Chamomile, Rose Absolute, Rosemary Absolute, Sage, Sambac Absolute, Sandalwood, Sweet Orange, Vanilla Absolute, Vetiver, Virginia Cedarwood, White Grapefruit, Ylang Ylang

Bonus: If you want to make more speculations - guess the 3 least favourite of them all, you will also receive a little sample pack of aromatics to play with.

Extra bonus: If you are feeling even more ambitious - what was the most popular floral note? I'm still thinking what the prize for this might be... How about a surprize?!

The Essential Oil Mansion (July 9th)

Eden Botanicals team

The last stop before heading back to Oakland (and continuing a vigorous packing of the 40 essential oils I left behind on my last trip... Oy vey) was one of my most favourite suppliers ever, whom I always dreamed of visiting: Eden Botanicals. I don't usually disclose my suppliers, but I am making a huge exception here because I've been working with them for so long that I feel like I'm part of their team in some ways too (you'll understand why in a moment).

Eden Botanicals recently moved from their rural Northern California location up in Hymapom, closer to civilization to the town of Petalum in Sonoma County (just under an hour drive from San Francisco).

They were located in a quiet street in a several story-high house that looked like an essential oil mansion, or a castle to me. And for a warehouse that stores tens of essential oils in substantial quantities, the scent was not in the least overwhelming, but pleasant and aromatic and wonderful. Just like walking into a larger version of my tiny studio space when I just open all the boxes where I store my vast of oils stashed away from heat and light.

It was wonderful to connect in person with the people who import top-quality essential oils and absolutes from around the world (as well as other accessories for aromatherapists and perfumers - anything from carrier oils to scent-strips, which, by the way, I was out of and they managed to ship speedily over to Lisa's house so that I can have them for the weekend's many scent events!). I've been working with Eden Botanicals for years, both as my supplier, but also helping them out in writing the ad copy to some of the essential oils they bring from around the world. It's a mammoth project, which is very unlikely to ever end, as they always bring new things and we always tried to keep the descriptions accurate for slight variations between batches.

Eden Botanicals has grown throughout the years but is still a very small, personable company, which includes the new owner, Josh, Kyanne, Mollie and their aromatherpist Julia (the last two are shown in the picture above). They are still planning to move to a different location within Petaluma, and Josh has many exciting plans for this new locations which I can hardly wait to tell you - but will just have to wait till I see and smell them myself.

Avraham Sand's Aromatic Menorah

When showing them my new "Oy de Cologne" Julia told me she was Jewish too and pulled out this interesting essential oil display shaped like a Menorah from AvAroma (Avraham Sand's company in Israel), carrying the "Ketoret" (incense) oils: Costus, saffron, myrrh, frankincense, balsam, galbanum, spikenard, cassia, cloves and more.

Osmanthus from Eden Botanicals

I came with a very specific shopping list in mind (great way to "get rid of" foreign cash, by the way!) and only strayed from it with one ingredients - the new arrival: Osmanthus absolute. It was great that I did, because I completely ran out and the only other sources I have were both extremely expensive and not all the great of a quality. This osmanthus, like most of the essences they scout, is exceptional. This flower, redolent of apricot and leather is still dark and mysterious, but it feels as if there is a ray of light coming through it. There is a quality that I find hard time to truly describe and pinpoint, but is there in all good quality oils: they are vibrant, and feel alive and full of action, as if they are still a living thing. And that's exactly what I'm looking for, and is always worth all the extra costs and effort to find.

I smelled and received a few samples of other exciting new arrivals, including coffee bean essential oil, organic peppermint oil, Somalian frankincense (Boswellia frereana), organic fresh ginger root oil and organic Ylang Ylang. If these do not sound all that exotic, know that when a plant is grown, harvested and distilled/extracted with care, the result is exceptional and inspiring. As is the case with all of these oils.

Last but not least: Eden Botanicals now accept international orders! That's also great news for Canadians, who could now order directly from the website, rather than call in with their order. Yay!
Back to the top