Naughty

The other day, one of the directors at work called me naughty, and my friend Viv nice. It made me giggle, but only later I realised how appropriate that comment is with regards to my new perfume. It's Vivienne Westwood's Naughty Alice. I bought it in York last month, as a birthday pressie either from my folks or from myself (jury still out). Today I wore it (to go with my Vivienne Westwood pumps and t-shirt). It's sexy and musky and floral all in one. Ylang ylang, violets and black roses. The packaging caught my eye in the shop, and the smell is equally beautiful. When they threw in a free bottle of body lotion, I was sold.

Ta'if

"The top notes are pink pepper, dates and saffron, the heart is of rose, freesia, orange flower and jasmine, and the base is of broom and amber. Ta'if is a earthy rose scent; the broom, amber and saffron in the blend make an accord that gives me an olfactory impression of the warm earth from the Arabian town of Ta'if where the roses are grown. The rose in the scent is voluptuous and full blown, supported by the warmth and spice of the rest of the blend. This is definitely a warm fragrance, rather than a cooler rose scent." Now I am not able to describe a perfume in this way, but blogger Londonmakeupgirl is. So I 'borrowed' it from her.

For ages I had been planning to visit Ormonde Jayne, a London perfume house. They have a little shop just off Bond Street. When I walked in, the shop girl was helping a middle aged couple find the right scents for them. They were lovely, 'normal' people, as opposed to the many rich folk you find in Bond Street. It seemed their son had given them a voucher each, such a lovely gift. Ormonde Jayne is a tiny shop. They have a handful of fragrances, and that's it. After watching her help the couple, I was quite keen to stick my nose in some of the bottles. When it was my turn, I described what I did and didn't like. Five minutes later, I walked out of the shop with Ta'if on my left wrist, and Sampaquita on my right. Twenty minutes later, when the scent had settled, I returned to buy Ta'if. What a lovely scent it is. And what a nice 'London' thing to have.

Summer in a bottle

Last year I missed out on Estee Lauder's summer only scent. By the time I needed a new body spray and realised how much I liked the fragrance, summer was over and it was off the shelves. When I walked into Fenwick yesterday, I bumped straight into the Estee Lauder counter. I smelled it, I bought it and today I am wearing it. It's summer in a bottle. Instant happy smell.

Oh, and the whole reason I was in Bond Street? To pick up a new Bayswater bag at the Mulberry store. For free. The bag I've had for about 1.5 years had some wear and tear that was very visible and couldn't be repaired. Warranty only lasts a year, so imagine my surprise when the store offered me a replacement bag or voucher for the original value of the bag! Customer service at its best. So happy as Larry I picked up my new bag that now sits on my couch being pretty. Just for the day though, as of tomorrow it will be my work bag, just like the previous one.

Fragonard Soleil

You'd think three different perfumes should be enough to cover all moods and occasions. Then again, you'd think one or two handbags would be sufficient and most women know that is nonsense. However, when a (male) mate commented I could always sell some of my handbags should I lose my job, I decided enough is enough (this was before the Mulberry Alexa came out I must admit). Still, the joy of a nice handbag or nice perfume is a great one. So when I came across a little French shop in Hobart, with beautiful perfume bottles, I was drawn in. Sensible enough not to buy a large bottle when on holiday and in a different mood, I fell for this tiny bottle of Soleil of Fragonard. And now I regret it of course. I loooove the bottle and love the fragrance. I feel prettier and sunnier and girlier when I wear it and imagine people's heads turn to see who's wearing that lovely jasmine scent. This 7ml of heaven in a bottle I will make last as long as possible. To feel good, and to remember that special holiday at the start of the decade-with-no-name (unless that name got sorted in my absence and I completely missed it.