I am an avid perfume collector and scent obsessive living in the ancient city of Kamakura, Japan. I love scoping out the local antique shops and Tokyo flea markets in search of discarded vintage gems; spend much of my monthly income as a teacher on perfume, and have for years been writing about my own collection for friends who come to visit: a menu, if you like, to whet their olfactory appetites while they select a new, unknown scent to linger over and savour.
I would now like to share my musings with you. A mutual exploration to appreciate these scents – all scents, from the classics to the obscure, to the latest commercial releases – from as many different angles as possible.
Perfume is another world – an escape; at the very least a beautiful enhancement of reality. It is joy, delectation, and can seem to encapsulate existence itself in our memory. A well-chosen scent can seem to capture our essence - an ‘identity card of the spirit….’
Neil Chapman…can I have your autograph now? BEFORE you get so popular you forget us little peons in the trenches? You made me re-think perfume. I’d never given it a moment’s thought before you.
Wonderful blog! Magnificent writing. Makes me want to go out and try all the perfumes on here. Congratulations! Looking forward to more posts. xxx
Thank you! I don’t know how it is going to pan out, but I am going to persevere with it anyway. I love it.
Keeping secrets from me? You scoundrel! I love this and you.
what is the shelf life of a perfume if I may ask?
That is a very good question. It is hard to say. I have actually had very few perfumes that have truly ‘turned’ to be honest: I think most can go on for years, even decades, although obviously in theory light is the main destructor..in all my many years of fuming I haven’t really found it to be the case though….
Is there any particular scent you are thinking of?
One of the things I love about this blog is it brings to mind so many perfumes of my past I had completely forgotten about and captures their “emotional essence”.
I look forward to future reviews (especially my beloved Nocturnes).
P.S.Thank you for being the inspiration behind my pen name and with your permission I would very much like to us it!
go ahead sweet wrists…
If I really do capture the emotional essence of these perfumes I couldn’t be happier, seriously, as that is what I am trying, consciously or otherwise, to do.
I do like to write about the new scents as well, but often my passions come more to the fore with a classic. They just seem to have so much more LIFE inside them, most of the time…
Yes, the vintage classics do indeed inspire more passion and I love the way you write about them so poetically
! Also, I am glad that you understood what I meant regarding “emotional essence”. After using that phrase I thought “do I sound a bit over the edge/crazy?” No one I know has ever completely understood my 40 year perfume obsession 
!!
Trust me, I do.
I am also planning a ‘conversations with….’ thing, so if Nocturnes is really your perfume, we could do a collaboration. I would love to hear your take on it..
Wow! big Freudian slip! Meant to say “use” NOT “us”
!!
No no.. I am the shy person who “lurks” for months before I even comment (although I was pretty quick to jump the gun on this blog after reading your vanilla reviews on OT). I am not in any way an expert and I cannot capture fragrances as eloquently as you can. So you will have to go “solo” and I can put in my “two scents” in the comments section! I have only a small amount of vintage Nocturnes left. Therefore, I do not wear it often but it was probably the one that was the closest perfume to be considered a signature scent for me. I must have gone through 20 or more bottles from my teen years into my early 30s. Very few perfume obsessed know about it, which is why I would love for you to review it..since you seem to enjoy Nocturnes as much as I do
!!
At times my reticence, fear of failure and lack of risk taking preclude me from an opportunity that could very well prove to be highly rewarding. I believe that this was such a moment. Therefore, if the offer still stands, I would very much like to participate, in whatever manner you deem fit, when you do get around to reviewing Nocturnes. Just e-mail me…
I will, definitely. Only just read this, sorry.
Wow! What a beautiful blog, and a joy to read!
I must admit I’m writing to you here because apart from wanting to congratulate you I was selfishly wondering whether – as the connoisseur that you are, and as a fellow fan of patchouli – you might be able to give me a little hint?
The thing is, I have been looking and looking for a ‘grown up’ perfume that captures something similar to a cheap fragrance I’ve been wearing for an embarrassingly long time, but that I still adore and that was discontinued in the late 90s (by now even ebay has run out of it).
Its main ingredients are patchouli, orange, bergamot, ylang ylang, lemon oil, and then there’s peru balsam, geranium, styrax benzoin and damask rose oil in it too. It’s soft and warm and rich, without being heavy or ‘old lady’.
Does anything come to mind? I know this is a bit of an imposition, it’s just I’ve been looking and trying out various things unsuccessfully for absolute ages and thought you might be the one to help… I hope you don’t mind too much, any suggestions would be massively appreciated!
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to put this wonderful blog out there for all of us strangers to read!
Thank you very much for the kind comments, and I will think about your patchouli. In the mean time, did you read my Patchouli Patchouly post? I wrote about quite a few in that one……
Thanks so much for getting back to me!
Yes I have read that one (one of the first posts I checked out!), it made me laugh because, as you say, unless the blend is right, far from lending you a beautiful dark and mysterious note it can so easily just douse you in the universal smell of old hippies and identikit gothy/grungy teenagers. I did make a note of the ones you mentioned there, and am esp curious to smell the L’Occitane one. The one I’m looking to recreate/’upgrade’ actually is – you’ll probably scream ‘philistine!’ now, and I was too embarrassed to mention it earlier – an old body shop scent. Yep, that’s right. It was in fact the ‘sensual’ one from their early 90s ‘aromatherapy’ range.
I guess it’s the warm wood and fruit combo that makes it special (to me anyway, after all it was discontinued), along with bergamot. Not powdery, not too sweet, not too woody, you know? So the dream would be to find something along those lines… if you can think of anything that would be absolutely amazing!
I would never laugh at that because some of the old Body Shop perfumes were amazing, actually, their patchouli oil included.
My brain isn’t coming up with any bergamotty patchoulis though for some reason, as most of the ones I have come across have been either very dark and earthy, or the ambered ones like Patchouli Patch and Montale Patchouli leaves, OR the ubiquitous fruitchoulis a la Angel or Chanel Mademoiselle, which I am presuming you are not talking about.
Hang on a minute: there IS one that I really loved, actually, which was Micaleff Patchouli that I would definitely buy myself if I had the money and happened to be in London. I am not sure if that is what you would be after but it is really gorgeous, beginning with an amazing orange note, as dry as a a Campari, which laces the patchouli deliciously. It is soft, warm, but fairly dry, and the patchouli is blended perfectly. Perhaps you could source a sample somewhere (Luckyscent?) and see how that goes.
If I think of any more I will get back to you!
You couldn’t also tell me the name of the scent as well, could you?
So I’ve had a good old root around on luckyscents and have ordered a bunch of samples, including the delicious sounding patchouli leaves and Micallef, can’t wait for them to arrive! Thank you again for your time and efforts, hugely appreciated!
My pleasure. I would love to know how you get on as well: maybe I can discover a new one myself!
stephvr-
Like Neil I am curious myself as to which Body Shop oil you are referring to…Please do tell! Neil would never berate us for loving those inexpensive beauties. During my second trip to London in ’95 I had the great pleasure of experiencing the launch of the Body Shop’s “Sweet Faith” and “Leap!”. I bought both, as they had not been released yet in the States. I also adored (with a passion) “Wood Musk”. Unfortunately all three were discontinued. Why do perfume companies do that? It irritates me to no end!
Agree with Alabaster Wrists! Though not a perfume, am currently loving their chocolate, cocoa Butter n seed pod bits soap! The Body Shop have hugely extended peoples’ everyday smell experiences at relatively affordable prices for years. In some ways they placed a value on individual scents that offer an opportunity for people to become familiar with them, as well as creating the perfumes that have their own wonderfully distinctive aroma. Wore their ‘unfragranced’ (though it DID have a fragrance) deodarant for years. As for their peach oil. Gorgeous.
YES! Ninakane1, I forgot about that gorgeous peach (as well as their cassis oil). They also had a sultry vanilla bean body butter that I wore back in the days when I craved vanilla straight up but their was none found in perfume (until Vanilla Fields arrived).Thanks for reminding me!
Big fan of their rose musk and dewberry oil for years too, patchoulie also. Many a teenage Saturday afternoon joy was had, clinking those long glass perfume sticks in the magic tester bottles. Something wonderful about the colours and textures of those oils, and wondering what the smell would be.
Indeed it was “dewberry” NOT cassis that was the name of that oil.
The old Body Shop Oils in those glass dippers! Amazing. Their new perfumes are no way near as good, unfortunately, but I have to tread carefully with what I say as my cousin’s husband is the International Creative Director!
Thanks to you too! It is indeed a pleasure to think on these things!
Neil-
You will have to satisfy our philistine cravings and do a review on a Body Shop oil!
Definitely. Too depleted from the end of term to write anything at present though. I need a few days of recuperation to get my juices flowing again!
Thanks for the continued support of this wilting narcissus….x
‘…that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.’
hmm, have to agree about the perfume oils though. Their soaps are currently my favourite product. They suddenly shifted in the late 90s from their staple and iconic fruity, berry, musky, rosey ranges (which looking back had a certain Englishiana about it, the younger sister of Laura Ashley or the more hippy cousin of Liberty) – all those little bath bubbles- and suddenly moved to cocoa and beans n nut-based products, then all the hemp which was exciting at the time. They sorta went buttery-creamy, a body-bath n hand-cream move encouraging their regulars from sniff n dab, to sniff n slather. I went through a whole love affair with their Brazilian-nut leave-in conditioner, but their make-ups were lost on me, much as I tried. Can’t tell you how many square boxes of blacks, brown, silver and blood-orange purples eye-shadow still clunk around my bathroom cabinet. Then they price-hiked and had an army of slightly-pushy sales assistants during the mid-Millenium materialist boom which put me off big-time (and their shops are not overly-easy to get pushchairs in…). But they seem to have mellowed of late and some of their relaxed and more innovative flair is returning I think. And it is iconic – had a conversation with a saleswoman in there about White Musk last time I was in – she says she’s never stopped wearing it for the last twenty years, and it’s still their biggest seller.
ooh which has led me to ponder and ask – what perfumes could you recommend that have Brazil nut or cocoa butter in them?
ninakane1- maybe not so much of a Brazil nut note but Pacifica Mexican Cocoa might do the trick? or the solid of Tibetan Mountain Temple-something in the balm formula dries down to what smells like cocoa butter on my wrist (then again the mexican cocoa in the solid would do the trick as well!) And PG Praline et Santal has sweet nutty notes…hope this helps!
Thanks Alabaster, they sound lovely! Absolutely love cocoa butter so am drawn to the Tibetan Mountain Temple in particular! Will give them a walnut whirl!
As I am always one to experiment with essential oils and create my own concoctions may I also suggest that you make your own “solid perfume” by combining raw cocoa butter with jojoba oil (melt in the microwave) and some interesting essential oils such as new caledonia sandalwood absolute (rich, woody and creamy), cocoa absolute (chocolate lovers delight) tonka bean (vanilla-esque yumminess), immortelle (bacon to me straight up but when blended with vanilla notes: superb!) and/or bourbon vanilla (sweet divinity and one our vanilla maniac black narcissus, would surely love). I purchase all my essential oils from Eden Botanicals as they sell samples.
Utterly divine! I am one for dabbling with esential oil concotions and this one sounds lovely! Will give it a go. Thank you.
hello again the Black Narcissus et al, and happy new year!
just a quick update on my orange/patchouli quest, I’ve been trying my way through those samples and so far Montale’s Patchouli Leaves is my favourite, it’s simple, warm, woody but beautiful. This came as a surprise since there’s white musk in it which I usually dislike intensely, but here it’s politely staying very much out of the picture. Profumum’s Patchouly made me smell like a wild beast roaming the savannah, which was interesting, whereas unfortunately the vetiver got in the way of both Micallef and Montale’s Blue Amber (Vetiver being the signature fragrance of a good friend of mine who is a gentleman in his 80s, so as a lady in her early 30s it doesn’t feel right on me).
I find it astonishing how most aromas sound fantastic on paper but can smell positively rank in the wrong blend, or maybe it is my unfortunate combo of an acute sense of smell (runs in the family, apparently) and what is beginning to seem more and more like scent fascism…
Anyway I really admire your ability to delve into perfumes and remain a level headed critic rather than do what I do, which is – at even the most subtle of discordant notes – react like a vampire would to garlic, hissing ‘….euurgh! impossible! get it away from me!’ I shall carry on reading with envy.
Lovely to hear from you again!
I think I am actually like you as well: acute sense of smell and I also have pretty intense reactions towards things: many niche perfumes simply strike me as VILE, often whole ranges of very highly regarded ones as well, which makes me feel like I have somehow missed the plot or am behind the times or something. Yet for The Black Narcissus I do try to remain level-headed to some extent and write vaguely objective reviews. I think I achieve this sometimes, like in that one I did of Where We Are There Is No Here by I Hate Perfume: I do actually hate that scent and yet I could see something interesting within it, some facet that appealed to the mind, or at least the prose fingers…..
As for patchouli, the white musk thing is problematic for me as well and the Montale is a little to warm and musky for me: however that house on the whole make wonderfully FULL perfumes that are like elixirs and last forever. Did you know at the Paris shop you can even have the strength intensified if you want. I mistakenly did that with my Intense Tiare, which was perfect as it was: in my stronger version it lost something and I regretted it. In other perfumes’ cases though it might be really worth it. What are your next quests?
Love your posts- am relatively new to thus but very much on my way to perfume obsession!
Obsession is the way to go: it is a soul- ravishing pastime so welcome to the fray!
A question about the relationship of the Japanese people with perfume has been haunting me and I think you are the person to ask. The thought came to me when I smelled Kilian’s Asian Tales. To my nose they were blunt, colourless visions of the orient through uneducated western eyes. Then I had the chance to talk to a Korean friend who told me that there is a very strict perfume language in the Korean culture: jasmine is worn by women while sandalwood is something only men would were. There is a lack of information about perfumes created in the Far East and I can’t find any information on this. Any references or personal knowledge would be most welcome either here or through emails at memoryofscent at gmail dot com.
Marvellous site. You tell some magnificent stories. I am a ‘newbie’ to the connoisseurial domain of perfumes but have read your blog avidly and am somewhat in awe of your knowledge. You breathe passion into every scent and I am intrigued. More more please sir! I must confess to being a little regular in my toilette. Guerlain Vetiver for the week, Nuit de l’Homme for the weekend and a daring dash of White Patchouly (TF) for parties and those special evenings. Thank you for your fascinating pages. I look forward to more inspiration.
I am honoured! Thankyou so much. Once the blasted computer works again I shall roar back into action!
Hurray! ‘We want you back, don’t care what we have to do, we want you back, doodoodoodoodoodoooooo’ Luv Kylie & Co x
Actually Serafina, I think that might have been Bananarama…but I’m sure they want The Black Narcissus back too!
Ah yes, I think you’re right.
Met your mum for lunch recently and she told me about your perfume writings. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all I can find, keep writing!
Jennifer (from your childhood). Remember Lucas and Samantha
The extremely strange thing is that I was literally just talking about you last night as Duncan and I walked up the hill back home: how of all mum’s friends and the kids we had to spend time with, I liked playing with Lucas and Samantha the best. Such strange synchronicity.
Hope you are well
XX
( I used to LOVE the Sodastream you had…so envious…)
(and Jennifer, or Aunty Jennifer, as it still feels correct and polite to call you, for some reason I have no memory of what perfumes you wore (if you did: please let me know some of your favourites over the years if so: has John ever worn anything? I need to know these things…)
Somehow I see you in things spicier than what mum wears, though I could be completely wrong….
Only just noticed your question. Yes I like quite heavy, spicy scents, nothing floral. Obsession,poison ,samsara.. Recently I have quite taken to Britney Spears midnight fantasy
Samantha’s favourite is obsession,she wore that on her wedding day.
John wears what I buy, so spicy and more importantly on offer
I think I like strong perfumes because I don’t think my sense of smell is very strong
Love Jennifer
Hello. The Perfumed Dandy suggested I come look here. What a lovely, delightful site you have! I’ve enjoyed reading about muguet and violet so far, and I see I have other delicious postings to catch up on. I am looking forward to it.
I just love this whole world that exists beyond the dreariness of the everyday. I am loving it more and more.
We are “through the looking glass” now, aren’t we?
I think so..