Search Results for: route

The base accord in Morocco – a neo-retro spice souk-lite cologne with a pleasing roundedness – is all woody powdered musk warmth of the old school style : D met me in it on Saturday night and it was lovely … Continue reading →

Some perfumes change name. Yves Saint Laurent’s Champagne famously turned into Yvresse due to the fury and chagrin of French grape farmers. Heeley’s white flower orgy and extrait de parfum Bubblegum Chic is now Jasmine OD; veteran rock gods Metallica … Continue reading →

Japan Postal Services has always been extraordinarily efficient. Sometimes I have sent something – in the past it would often have involved perfume – and it has got to England within three or four days: the British equivalent presumably also … Continue reading →

“Echantillon gratuit. Ne peut être vendu que par ….” is a standard, unforgettable French phrase printed on the back of free boxed samples given out by the more magnanimous perfume houses telling you that this item is a gift and … Continue reading →

Violets can be pale and bitter. Unsugared, as perfumes they are often pallid and aqueous – scents such as Caron’s Violette Precieuse (reissue) that were centered around violet leaf, rather than the Parma-tastic flowers; Ann Flipo’s Verte Violette for L’Artisan; … Continue reading →

Ordinarily I find that too much intimation of the ‘forbidden’ or the ‘naughty’ in perfumery is something of a turn off. While we all know that sex sells, a name like ‘Flower Porn’ immediately arouses my close-to-the-surface inner skeptic (the … Continue reading →

I wasn’t really sure whether I would go. This would be breaking two taboos that have held fast over the last two years: gathering with friends indoors, and going to Tokyo. A Christmas party, at the apartment of Joy. Would … Continue reading →

Me on Zoom yesterday Me at home watching The Fury in our upstairs videotheque on Sunday, but how I actually FELT doing English interviews all day yesterday. It is no secret that while most Japanese high school and university students … Continue reading →

I was reading an article this morning by a journalist rhapsodizing about the summer, all the things he had done; all the places he had been, cross-country; feeling so liberated; how people he knew everywhere went crazy for travel, to … Continue reading →