Soivohle’ (Liz Zorn) Perfumes

I have a confession.  Natural perfumes tend to not do it for me (hanging head and scuffing feet).  Not because they lack artistry or creativity, but it is the ingredients that tends to not set with  me very well or seem a little muddied.  One exception has been Strange Invisible Perfumes. Now I have another exception, Soivohle’, formerly Liz Zorn perfumes. 

 Tobacco & Tulle – From the website, ” tobacco and tuberose absolutes with natural animalic and botanical musks.  Contains cruelty free hyrax tincture, beach harvested ambergris, also contains a touch of green oakmoss.”  I adore this scent. From the moment I uncapped it and sniffed until I had worn it around a while.  There is a tobacco/oakmoss intensity, sharpened by the ambergris on the open, musky and veering to the skanky.  It’s sharp, acrid, but the tuberose just rolls around in there, adding depth and not really softness – maybe just gives all of those pungent notes a good landing area.  The pungent, almost acrid feel smooths out into a great earthy tobacco scent.  It is interesting, hardcore and beautiful, everything I want my perfume to be.

Grand Canyon –  Notes of orange flower, citrus, spices, herbs, myrrh, black pepper and laurel.  A spicy citrus on the open, underlaid with the herbs and incense.  It is made as an homage to the Grand Canyon, and the laurel and herbs in this make it at time to smell like that gorgeous desert air, but like you have one of those spicy cinnamon  orange  things mixed in and some smoky incense being burned over the horizon.  It is completely snuggly and warm and lovely.  March and Marina have reviewed this in the past and liked it, and I’m in the same camp.

Underworld –  Notes  of vetiver, balsams, jasmine, rose, smoky leathery base.  Vetiver, leather and balsam. If you like your vetiver and/or leather served up earthy and smoky, this is your scent.  It is not as green as Guerlain’s Djedi on the open, but it has a similar feel, that rough vetiver.  As it dries down, the floral notes and a spiciness pushes through, softening it.  One of my yoga teachers makes us strengthen to get into a pose, then keeps telling us, as we are breathing hard to soften something – your ears, your fingers, your eyes.  Strength and softness held in tension.  That’s Underworld, and it’s simply gorgeous.

Well, so far, I’m not finding anything I hate or even am indifferent to, and I’ve got several more samples to go through next week!  So I’m a fan now, and I think more of you would be too if you tried them. So!  Yes!  Let’s give away a set of samples on these four.  Just drop a comment, and you’ll be in the drawing.

The winners of the set of Omnia Profumo samples are:  Ninara Poll and Nika.  Just click on the Contact us on the left and send me your address and what I’m supposed to be sending you.

Can we talk about movies briefly.  It seems like almost every movie this winter season has been despairing or ineffably sad in some way or another.  The big exception has been Slumdog Millionaire, which everyone should see, it really is as good as the hype, but don’t expect something big – expect something completely human and full of hope.  In the last week I’ve seen Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler. Both great films with great acting and direction, beautifully shot, and in the end, characters despair.  The Wrestler is seriously hardcore, so don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re going to see this uplifting redemptive movie that may make you cry in the end, but will leave you all fuzzy inside. That just won’t happen. Same with Revolutionary Road – it’s not a love story, and there’s no redemption in it either.  Should you go see them? Yes.  I recommend you read the book before you see Rev Road – it helps flesh out some things they didn’t have time for in the movie.  The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke is brilliant. He has an unself-conscious vulnerability that he has always had as an actor, something that draws you in.  It’s a gift most actors don’t possess, and he should win the Oscar for that performance.  He should also wear Tobacco and Tulle, easy on the Tulle.

I’ve also seen Doubt and Benjamin Button this season as well. And they aren’t full of despair, but they’re not exactly happy-happy-joy-joy flicks, but both are excellent.  You know what I really need? For “He’s Not that Into You” and “Confessions of a Shopaholic” to open in a couple of weeks so I can laugh for a change in the theater!  No, March, I refuse to go some that Mall Cop thing, even though I adore the lead actor in it.

What movies have you see, and what did you think of them?  I did notice in Rev Road, Millie had a bottle of some Guerlain perfume on her dresser – she should be wearing L’Heure Bleue – but I couldn’t make out the perfume bottle on April’s dresser.  Also, have you tried a Soivohle perfume, and what did you think? I know there is a violet one that gets high regard, is it the Domino Viole?

BTW II, who was it that recommended Gina at Blondie’s in Denver for color and a cut?  Brilliant tip. I went there today, and she did an amazing job on my hair, she is just terrific, so thank you!!!

  • memorie says:

    With a newborn and a 3 year old to catch up with, new movies are a distant idea. Well, except for Wall-E, which gets played incessantly in my home. It’s almost as exciting to hear about all these movies as it is to read about all the perfumes!!

    I’d love to be entered into the drawing! Danke Schoen!

  • BenA says:

    I’ve seen four movies recently. I highly recommend both the cartoon documentary about the Israeli invasion of Lebanon Waltz with Bashir and the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. The other two are movies I saw with my kids–Bolt (in 3-D, which was fun) and The Tale of Despereaux. Both were good for kids films (by which I mean I was neither bored to tears nor moved to throw my shoes at the screen, as I had been watching, e.g., Shrek the Third).

    Please enter me in the drawing if it’s not too late.

  • Tarn says:

    I have gotten a few of the Soivohle scents from the Posh Peasant, and there’s not a dud among them!
    I particularly love Chrysalis, Domino Viole, Underworld, and Grand Canyon. Special mention for Writing Lyrical Poetry, as well. But I haven’t tried anything newer, so please put me in the draw – thanks!

    As for movies, I have to hang my head and say I haven’t been to the cinema for ages! In my defence, I work shifts with antisocial hours. But those fims are all on my ‘rent’ list for when the DVDs come out….

  • Revolutionary Road was my last movie. I’ve heard the book is more depressing. I also couldn’t see what April’s perfume was, but I’m sure it was something she had to go into the city to get and not something anyone else in her suburban town would wear. Millie would have bought hers at the local department store, but based on the glamorous image in a magazine ad she loved.

    I wonder if Grand Canyon will remind me of the place. I lived in Tucson and Sedona for the first few years of my life and remember the smells being as distinct as the scenery, but can’t exactly remember them. Enter me, please.

  • Existentialist says:

    I’ve never tried any of LZ’s scents, so I would love to be in the drawing, thank you!

  • Nancy says:

    Interesting comment about how your hair soaks up bleach and rejects dark. My hair is the opposite. After struggling with frizzy blonde highlights for years it was a revelation last year when my hairdresser brought my hair back to the dark side. Frizzy hair went to sleek and shiny. The only movie I’ve seen lately is “I’ve loved you so long.” Please include me in on the draw, all of the samples sound divine!

    • Joe says:

      OK, now THAT is an amazing film. How could I forget? One of the best I saw all year. I’m also very perturbed that Kristin Scott Thomas wasn’t nominated even after all the buzz about her (I haven’t seen the Changeling, but I feel Angelina should have been left off the list to make room for Kristin). Sorry for chiming in so often … I’m just a total movie fiend.

  • annie says:

    8-|Patty….puhleeeeeze let us see your hair with your RED lipstick!!!!!

  • Lindsey9107 says:

    I am officially the only person who thought Slumdog Millionaire was good but not great. My expectations were a little high going in…I expected 100% grit, and the Hollywood-ish glossiness was not to my taste. I found this article interesting: http://www.slate.com/id/2209783/

    Going to see Benjamin Button tonight! I’m excited.

    • Patty says:

      Nope, you’re not! I thought it was great to watch, but it had flaws as a film, so not a big epic masterpiece. I think having high expectations will make it a letdown, though. It’s just not this great, big film.

      Would love to hear your thoughts on BB. Everyone lands in different places on this one.

  • Love Liz Zorns ideas and how they morph into fragrances. Violets and rainwater is nice, but not me, although it may be more me in the summer, and while Grand Canyon is a big favorite, I get a huge rush from Jhango Bay. Others I love: Moroccan Orange, Green Oakmoss, Blood Orange and Vetiver, and Solstice.

    I do worry about changing the name of the company. I know it’s an acronym for Sending Out Inspired Vibrations Of Healthy Loving Energy, but I can’t remember it at all. From a marketing standpoint, a big risk. It’s also pronounced She-VO, and the accent confuses me because it’s not pronounced. So I’ll just bookmark it, wink, and order.

    Oh, please enter me in the drawing.

    • Liz says:

      Thank You Patty for the wonderful words. I don’t usually comment but Anita gave me the heads up on your review and I decided to take a peek.
      Everyone has such nice things to say in the comments as well. So big thank you’s for all the love…
      As far as the company name goes, it isn’t all that important in the great scope of things but here goes. Liz Zorn Perfumes (LLC) is the name of our company, it always has been. At least on paper. SOIVOHLE’ is a brand name.
      It is an acronym and can be pronounced however one likes. I personally pronounce it see-vo. But if you like she-vo, that’s cool too.
      The accent is artistic license, establishing a text logo without having to integrate a specific graphic.. As far as people getting it, or remembering it they do. We have had more positive feedback and interest in the perfumes since integrating the brand. When people call inquiring about the perfumes, or have been to the soivohle website, the first thing they say is how much they love the name and the acronym. As I had pointed out before, it took two years to get the trademark through, so it was in the works for a while before we actually started using it.
      I realize that we can’t please everyone. But not to worry, everything has come together on this in a beautiful way and to have so much wonderful feedback on the perfumes is just another shot in the arm for me. Makes me want to go whip something up.
      Anyhoo: I will shut up now with the Charlie Brown wonk, wonk, wonk.
      Ya’ll Have A Great Day, Liz Zorn

      • That is the BEST news! I used to work in PR and marketing, and going from one name to another is always a risk. Knowing you’ve had a big positive response is great. Your name will always be attached to your perfumes, and that will help people who know your art find your scents, too. More Energy!

      • Patty says:

        Thanks for stopping by, Liz! And also thanks for making so many lovely scents, I’ve been enchanted by so many of them already!

    • Patty says:

      and my sample list gets longer!!!

  • NancyN says:

    I love natural perfumes please enter me in the drawing.

    Need to get busy with watching a few movies- thanks for the rec’s. Slumdog Millionaire is next.

    Can’t wait to see a photo of the handsome puppy.

  • Lavanya says:

    OMG..Those perfumes sound lovely especially Tobacco and Tulle and Grand Canyon!..
    Please include me in the draw..thanks!

    As for movies: I saw Slumdog when it was realeased last year..Then saw Curious case of benjamin button(partly because of March’s review) and Wrestler recently..I loved most of wrestler except for the father-daughter bits which I felt could’ve been slightly better shot/explored?..But this was the first time I saw Micky Rourke in a movie and HE IS SO GOOD..MUST see his older stuff. I really liked Benjamin Button..Also enjoyed parts of Slumdog but I’m probably in the minority about not being over the moon about it..(I thought it was flawed and not as authentic as it could have been but it probably wasn’t intended to be so… What I’m probably trying to say is that I like it as long as it isn’t called a masterpiece..lol). It *is* enjoyable though..

    The movie I really feel like seeing right now is Milk (and Frost/Nixon).

    • Lindsey9107 says:

      Noticed your comment after leaving mine below…I agree completely about Slumdog Millionaire.

    • Patty says:

      You do need to go see his older stuff, back when he was young and just hot as hell. He’s still as talented — more I think now, he’s got more vulnerability now than before, and it’s so appealing to watch.

      Agree on Slumdog. It’s not a masterpiece, but I think it’s what good filmmaking should be. Takes me somewhere I’ve never been, shows it as is, even if it’s glossed over, and then tells me a story of love and hope and redemption. For me, that is the kind of film I’ll go see any day, especially if it also makes me laugh and cheer.

      I do think the problem with Slumdog now is people have expectations of this great masterpiece, and it’s just not. It’s a lovely film that made me very happy to watch,and there are too few of those out there anymore.

  • sylvia says:

    ok, so i know this is like the smallest part of your post, but you live in CO? i was just in denver and boulder last weekend (from CA) auditioning at CU boulder for the masters voice program.

    i’d love to be entered in the drawing for these samples.

  • Elle says:

    I also used to not be a particularly big fan of natural scents (w/ the exception of the SIPs), but I’ve been *so* having to eat my words recently. I think Liz Zorn does several stunning scents and can’t believe I haven’t tried the Tobacco and Tulle yet. Sounds amazing!
    Have seen *no* movies for a few months now, but am thinking I have to go see Slumdog Millionaire. I really can’t do sad movies. I can read a less than uplifting book (and quite often do) if it’s beautifully written since I can put it down and take breaks, but that’s just not possible in a movie theater, so unless I’ve got a rock solid guarantee of a happy ending, I simply don’t go. The sadness can haunt me for months or even years – something about the visual experience of it that is different from reading for me. However, must say I adore Mickey Rourke and am thrilled he’s doing so well and adore him even more for his thank you to his dogs.

  • dleep says:

    I am another one who would love to see your new hair. I have been curious about the Liz Zorn fragrances and remember reading good reviews about Grand Canyon, so I would love to be entered in the drawing. I am way behind on my movie watching, in fact, I just saw Juno last week. I loved it. I really want to see The Wrestler. I have always been a fan of Mickey Rourke. He is the baddest of the bad boys. Thanks.

    • Patty says:

      Once I can make a run at blow drying it on my own and have some time, I’ll have pics next week of me and the new baby English bulldog, Vinnie.

      Mickey Rourke is a Bad Boy. I’m still saying, freakish face and all, he is uber smokin hot.

  • Jan says:

    Oh, as usually happens, I need to try yet another line. These SIP’s all sound interesting and Grand Canyon especially so. I’d love to be in the drawing for some samps.

    As for movies, I need to get out more-have not seen any of the great ones on my list!!

    Everyone have a great day.

  • Jan L. says:

    “Grand Canyon” sounds lovely, and I’m adventurous enough to sample “Underworld”. “Benjamin Button” was filmed HERE in the greater New Orleans area, as Brad and Angelina purchased a home here immediately after Hurricane Katrina in order to assist in the recovery. Years ago I worked as an “extra” in motion pictures filmed here and have met everyone from Robert Wagner and Dennis Hopper to Clint Eastwood and Bobby Carradine. I’m tempted to return to it all

    Oh yes, and I’d like to be entered in the drawing, please!::”>

    • Patty says:

      Return to New Orleans or acting? I adore New Orleans. Every time I have been there, I fallin deep love with the place and the people. I’m due to go back this spring, and it’s my most anticipated trip of the year. It’s a special place for me with a lot of great memories.

      • Jan says:

        Hi Patty, I was refering to returning to “extra” work, as New Orleans has a number of Hollywood films on the horizon. I live on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, in Mandeville, and the lake scenes in “Benjamin Button” were filmed over here, about eight minutes from my home. I’m delighted that you find New Orleans a special place and it indeed is; very European-flavored, very Old-World in some respects, and yet current in others.

        Do you shop when you visit here? Where? Visit Canal Place Shops and some of the little places on Magazine Street!

        Jan L.

  • pavlova says:

    Good morning — please enter me in the draw for the Liz Zorn samples and I will also add some to my Perfumed Court order — have been meaning to try these for a while now. Just returned from seeing some great films at the Sundance Festival and time will tell which ones actually make it to broad distribtion. The sweetheart of the festival was a young and talented (and beautiful) British actress named Carey Mulligan — watch for her films —“The Greatest” and “An Education”. “Milk”is wonderful and I am hoping to see some of the Oscar nominated films prior to the awards. Thanks for a great post!

    • Patty says:

      Oh, good to know!

      My most looked forward to movie of a serious nature, coming up, besides The Watchmen, is The Soloist. I’m a Robert Downey Jr. fangirl, and the trailers on that movie are so good, I just hope the film can live up to it.

  • violetnoir says:

    I am dying to see The Wrestler, Doubt and Frost/Nixon.

    To add to the “sad” list, go see The Reader. Kate Winslet is amazing, as always. Give that woman an Oscar! I also loved Milk. Great ensemble acting (Sean Penn transforms himself into Harvey Milk) and historic footage.

    I loved Benjamin Button. The total impact of it is greater than the sum of its parts. I could not stop thinking about it for a couple of days.

    And, if you are as big a Clint fan as I am, Gran Torino is a satisfying story of an unlikely friendship between a craggy old man and his teenaged neighbors.

    Hugs!

    • Patty says:

      Okay, will definitely catch The Reader. I always have this love/hate thing with Sean Penn which I need to get past to go see Milk.

      • Joe says:

        Oh, Milk is great… and by turns funny, warm, inspirational, and tragic. I probably like Penn more than most (I’ll take 100 Penns for every 1 Brad Pitt), but I’m not sure he’d grate on you, though it’s not as if you can forget that it’s him up there on screen. Very worthwhile film though.

  • Lee says:

    Revolutionary Road – not out here til tomorrow maybe, but I managed to get a sneak preview – mixed feelings. I sometimes wonder about those Hollywood films that sit just the right side of mainstream but that seem to condemn the ordinary lives of people, as though ordinariness in itself is a fault. When Yates was writing, there was a different social context. Now, the suburban target seems oh so obvious to me. But Winslet puts in an incredible performance.

    Frost/Nixon is awesome – both pretty much unlikeable, surrounded by decent people who are swallowed up by the egomania of the central characters.

    Wrestler – I’m still haunted by the staple gun.

    Slumdog – charming, gritty, wonderfully filmed, real. A fluffy fantasy without running away from the reality of the urban poor (glad smellovision doesn’t exist)

    Doubt and BB – still to see.

    Love ya.

    • Patty says:

      You know, I didn’t take RR as a condemnation (the film version) of the ordinary life. It seemed much more of a condemnation of people who can’t accept that their lives WERE ordinary, which almost all of us are ordinary in our own uniquey way. 🙂 My take on it was that Frank and April always believed themselves so special and above the downtrodden masses, it made me feel sorry for them because they couldn’t see themselves as they were. Probably all of us have fallen into that trap at one point or another in our lives. I remember as a teenager, I thought I would be a great rock singer one day, even though I couldn’t sing a note, or a movie star. Just believed I was “special” and would never lead some dull, ordinary life, But, hey… I love my dull, ordinary life.

      So I really did like the movie, but having read the book informed a lot of my view of what they were doing.

      I can’t wait to see what you think of Doubt and BB. I loved them both. Better performances in Doubt. PSH is just perfection, as is Meryl Streep and that cute as a button Amy Adams, who I also have a mad girl crush on.

      xoxox

  • Jane says:

    Hi Patty
    I’ve been wanting to try the LZs for a while now and your reviews have just increased the desire! Add my name, thanks so much.

  • Aimee L'Ondee says:

    Please enter me in the draw! Tobacco and Tulle sounds soooo cool. I wonder how it will compare to vintage Cabochard, which I’m anxiously awaiting as I write this. (tap tap tap).

    So okay, I swear I’m not normally the movie cranky mccrankerson, but it’s either that or I’m a complete freak, because I hated Slumdog. Everybody else loves it. Manipulative and shallow filmmaking, I thought. Sorry, everyone! I know, maybe I’m just not getting the Bollywood spirit, but it wasn’t my cuppa. My favorite this year: Rachel Getting Married.

    • Lee says:

      And we have to agree to disagree, as I wanted to eat my own eyes after watching Rachel Getting Married!

    • Lindsey9107 says:

      Hey Aimee…commented below on Slumdog Millionaire before reading all the comments. You’re not alone.

    • Patty says:

      You know, not all movies work for everyone, and I think that’s pretty cool. I do want to see Rachel, but I think it’s gone from the theaters and is now just waiting to hit my Netflix DVD available thing!

  • kathleen says:

    I must correct myself. The Ankhara is actually frangipane, not tuberose.

  • kathleen says:

    I have been sampling LZ lately, as well. Favorites are Solstice, she describes it as a softly floral & spicy, oriental. For me, all dark green & incense. I can smell the orris root in it as well. The Domino Voile that you mentioned, is a dry violet, starts out dark green, floral, not too sweet with oakmoss base, enjoyable. I’m wanting Ankhara now, which is sweeter, tuberose, and spices. I haven’t sniffed this in a while so my memory is not that clear. From what I’ve tried they are all very enjoyable. As I’ve not tried any that you mention, I would luv to be inluded in the draw, please.

  • Liesl says:

    I’m so far behind you all, am I ever going to catch up? Just when I think I can add my two cents on something, here’s a line I’ve only heard of in fleeting…too busy sussing out the Carons and various ambers, haven’t even touched Guerlain yet….Guess I should just chill, but I’ve been really enjoying all your posts and like to respond when I can, that is, not that I have much to say….Oh yeah. Chill, right? :-s
    Erin, I think, mentioned Frost/Nixon. I, too, would like to see that one. I watched a couple Nixon documentaries on History a while back and became a little fascinated. It seems the political front is always stormy, always has been and always will be. I guess that’s the nature of the beast. Definitely want to see Benjamin Button, which is the one of these two that my husband will willingly accompany me to….
    Dazed and Confused! Been one of my faves for a long time. I dig the sountrack, too. I was born a couple decades too late, having missed all that great music. 🙂

    • erin says:

      Well, at least you still get to listen to the music but didn’t have to live through the ghastly hair styles (and I use this term loosely) of the period. That’s a blessing, I think…

      Imagine a time before real hair products when woman used actual irons on their hair and when fuzzy-froed dinosaurs roamed the earth…*shiver*:o

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, you have to relax when you’re in discovery phase, those perfumes will still be around, take your time and enjoy!

      The first time my kids saw Dazed and Confused, they asked, “Was it really like that?” I thought for a second of all those keggers out in the country and the crappy rec hall we hung out at, when it was open, and laughed. Yup, just like that, except we didn’t do the whippings, the seniors chased down the freshmen boys and beat the crap out of them, just a little more brutish.

  • Shelley says:

    Liz and leather. I wish oh wish she could reconjure her Journeyman; such a fantastic, rich leather (I’d put it more toward L’Ombre Fauve, less Cuir de Lancome). But it is discontinued, and I’m sure nobody else wants it… :-\”

    Second (third? fourth?) the love for Underworld, though I am also rather fond of Writing Lyrical Poetry. Flowers and earth. I love dirt inside a perfume (in the right setting), and this is happiness with the right balance of shadow. (ooh, now who’s getting all perfume blathery?)

    I really want to try Tobacco and Tulle. But, speaking of green oakmoss…I have her Green Oakmoss, and it’s a lovely chypre. “Lovely,” a rather noncommittal adjective, but apt, because Green Oakmoss hits the right edge of fougere without getting too sharp.

    All opinions expressed herein are expressed by an oversleepy instructor sneaking in a little perfume talk whilst (gently) wafting Parfum Sacre…take in appropriate measure… ;;)

    • Patty says:

      Okay, so how do we get Journeyman back?

      I adored Tobacco and Tulle and Underworld the most. Just the right mix of light and dark, softness and strength.

      Poor Shelley! But the Parfum Sacre makes everything better!

  • sara says:

    I would love to try some of Liz’s perfumes. Please enter me into the drawing. I enjoyed all the films you mentioned and would include The Reader to the list. I saw Frost/Nixon on Broadway (with the film leads onstage) so I am curious how that makes the transition to film.

    • Patty says:

      I’m not sure why, but The Reader makes me nervous to see. I’ve seen the trailer about ten times, but it strikes me as being so disturbing, but I think I’ll just buck up and go see it this weekend anyway. I did find it still playing at one of the artsy theaters.

  • Dana says:

    These fragrances sound great! Please enter me in the contest.

    Thanks for the movie rec’s, too. I’m so far behind in movie watching that I finally saw “Little Miss Sunshine” about a month ago and loved it so much I watched it twice. I have lots of catching up to do…

    • Patty says:

      Netflix, that’s the only answer. Once the kids got in high school, I just Netflixed and HBO’ed my way to catching up on all the movies I had missed.

  • Graham says:

    Grand Canyon does sound terrific! And I’m curious to try Underworld – I loves me some Djedi… 🙂 Please put me in the drawing!

  • Samantha says:

    How cool that you should talk about Tobacco and Tulle today…I was just last night putting that on one wrist and Vanillaville on the other,trying to decide which one I liked best! Tobacco and Tulle won out but just barely..I love them both. Maybe I was influenced by Liz Zorn saying that it was an homage to Albert Camus…The Stranger was pretty much required reading for me and all my Goth friends when we were teenagers! I’d like to try more, especially Underworld so please enter me in the drawing as well.

    • Patty says:

      Oh, must try vanillaville just to see what she did with that.

      I was really shocked as I picked up and tried vial after vial, that I liked all of them, even if they weren’t all perfect for me, I admired the construction and clarity of thinking that went into them.

  • chayaruchama says:

    Hi, babes !

    Happy to see Lizzie gettin’ the love…
    I’m a big fan; agree w/ Underworld, love so many of her works.

    I’m a ‘heavy’ film fan, too.
    Adored The Wrestler, regardless of its flaws.

    • Patty says:

      Another Wrestler lover. It did have flaws as a movie, but I haven’t stopped thinking about The Ram since I saw it, that character is burned into my head, the same way his character in Barfly is burned in. He’s an amazing talent and can take whatever they give him and make it better by 1000%. Can you tell how torched I’ll be if he doesn’t win his Oscar?

  • MJ says:

    Ooh! Do enter me! I’ve been wanting to try Grand Canyon. There are just so many lovely things to try…..so many frags and not enough clean unscented wrists to try them on….

  • JAntoinette says:

    You had me at Underworld…

    All this movie talk is making me jealous. I have just moved to France and nearly all the movies here are dubbed. I just can’t watch Mickey Rourke with a french accent. I’ll just have to wait for iTunes to pick it up!

    • Nika says:

      Hey, at least you can’t complain about the lack of perfume over there:d

    • Patty says:

      No theaters will do an English version? How sad!!! Wll, they’ll all be on DVD soon enough, can you do netflix there?

      • JAntoinette says:

        No netflix here! It’s one of the things I desperately miss about the U.S. We can drive to Bordeaux; the bigger cities have a few original version films, but sometimes you just want to go down the road a bit and enjoy a movie. Oh well! They do have plenty of strange and depressing movies in french 🙂

  • March says:

    One thing I find interesting about the LZs is they often start on a vaguely dissonant note, and then they organize themselves, so it’s this cool effect — like listening to the orchestra tune up and then start to play. Not to go all perfume geek on you.

    Grand Canyon is prob. still my favorite, but I like several others. And you def. need to try violets and rainwater, you violet lover. It was a hair aquatic on me, but I really bring out that note on my skin, so I can’t fault the perfume. :)>-

    • Patty says:

      What a great description and perfect. That’s exactly it, the orchestra pit before the concert, then it just forms up.

  • Lora says:

    Please enter me in the drawing – thanks!

    I have a five-year-old and a five-month-old, so whenever I manage to haul myself to the movies, I see things like “Horton Hears a Who” and “Cars.” 🙂 But I’ll have to catch some of these on DVD … late at night … when hopefully the children are asleep!

    • Patty says:

      I remember those days! do you know how many times I saw all the Star Wars movies and how many times we saw The Wizard of Oz and all the Disney shows? Though I have to admit, I laughted my butt off at Aladdin.

      Soon enough, they’ll be all busy with their lives and you’ll have plenty of time to slip away to the movie theater in the afternoon. It’s the best part of life. 🙂

  • Eileen says:

    Glad to see some love for Liz Zorn’s work! I’ve tried a number of fragrances and found most of them to have something interesting to say. A few in particular are Blood Orange & Vetiver (exactly that), Domino Viole (green!), and Misetu (hard to describe). No need to enter me in the drawing, as you can see! :d

    Let me know when you find a light and funny movie — not sure I’m ready to head in to some of these heavy one just yet!

    • Patty says:

      Another fan, yeah!!!

      There are two coming up that should be good, the two I mentioned. I’ve just become a big movie fan again of the “seeing it in the theater” variety. If you’re looking for a great comedy on DVD, get Ghost Town. It’s dryly hilarious and touching and not stupid funny.

      • Eileen says:

        I’ll put that on the list — thanks! Between winter and the economy, Ghost Town sounds like just the ticket.

  • Magpie says:

    Oh ::sigh::…natural perfumes. I would love to love one, I would. I’ve tried. For me, longevity is the big drawback. Nothing seems to last longer than 45 minutes on me, an hour at the far outside. Most recently I tried SIP’s Black Rosette, and it was fabulous for the entire ten minutes it lasted. How do these do in that regard? I’m afraid I’m a child of the 80’s and thus expect sillage and longevity in my smelly juice 🙂

    • Patty says:

      It is a problem. I’m not sure that LZ’s will solve it. I put them on lst night, and they are gone this morning, so they don’t have super-longevity, but they seemed to be reasonable longevity. I’m not one that requires more than about 3-4 hours tops out of a perfume and I’m ready to move on to something else anyway. But I’ll try and pay attention to the ones I review next week.

  • Marina says:

    I need to try Underworld.

    Slumdog Millionaire was very good, but made me over-emotional 🙂

    • Patty says:

      Underworld would be a great fit for you. Have you tried Tobacco and Tulle? That seems like one you would like as well, no?

      Really? I remember the ending, I went with my sons, and we all just laughed, it was so great. I really want to go see it again. Hmmm…. maybe I’ll do that!

  • Louise says:

    Ooooh, new hair? What way did it go? Lighter, darker? Longer 8-|? Shorter? Shaved :d/?

    I have a little sample set of LZs, and many are wonderful. Problem is…one leaked in the fancy baggy I stored them in and all the labels bled. There’s a great rosy leather one-any idea?

    The rest are all lovely, and LZs are truly one of the natural perfumes I can wear well @};-

    I’m going to see The Wrester tonight, and enjoyed Gran Torino (great story, meh acting); Revolution Road, not so much. Next-Slumdog and Benjamin B. Many indies on my list, too. Nice to have some choices 🙂

    • Patty says:

      We put in some dark, more gold for the blonde, but I think we’ll do more gold and red next time. The style is just a little different, but about the same length. She did my bangs darker, which works great for my newly tinted eyebrows!

      Rosy leather? Wow,no idea. I only have like 8 or so, and that doesn’t ring any bells. Do you know which ones are in the bag? I can sniff the ones I have and see if one matches. I’ve got like 4-5 more to go through. I really do like the LZs, and my expectations were zero when I got them because naturals never seem to work very well for me either.

      Let me know what you think of the Wrestler. You and I agree about Mickey, anyway. Even though this season’s crop of movies have veered to the despairing, I still really have enjoyed this movie season more than any other for the last couple of decades. Lots of great choices, big films and small, most that make you think or simply don’t provide all the answers.

    • Eileen says:

      Two guesses are Underworld (smoky, floral, with leather drydown) or Cordavon Rose (sharp, smoky leather with rose intertwined). CR may not be in production anymore..

  • Silvia says:

    Just a quickie to say I’d love to try these, kindly include me in the draw, have smelled nothing of this line and sounds fab.
    Thank you.

  • Momlady says:

    Okay, sign me up. The Underworld sounds intriguing.

  • Eva says:

    Hiya Patty, would love to see a pic of your new hairstyle and please include me in the draw. Slumdog was excellent. 🙂

  • Nika says:

    First of all, thanks for the prize samples, I’m very excited to sniff those!!
    I love and own many Liz Zorns and find all of the ones I have exceptionally well-done and interesting. They have her signature all over and all seem to develop one certain theme with different components, in varying shades, tonalities and hues. I admire how she can create a very complex perfume that doesn’t fall into a million little fragments, each note plays it’s role without compromising the whole.
    My long-time favorites are Misetu, JoJo and Sinti. Also love Palomino and Citrine Rose. Chrysalis is one of the most blissful perfumes I’ve ever smelled, it makes me feel like I died and went to heaven. Haven’t tried much of her later perfumes, but I am looking forward to it this spring.

    • Patty says:

      Thanks for those recommendations! I agree with you. She has a very discrete note composition so you can find the theme all the way thorugh the perfume’s drydown. So far, none of them have muddied up, which I very much appreciate.

      Now I have to go track down Chrysalis, it sounds beautiful!

  • Pikake says:

    Hi Patty,
    Did you get my PM on Facebook? If you did I am sure it’s of no surprise that I would love to try the samps of the Soivohle scents. I have yet to try them. They all sound lovely and intriguing.

    As for movies I adored Slumdog. Have not seen any of the others you mentioned. Did see Frost/Nixon and Frank Langella was just incredible. I want him to win best actor at the Oscars. He’s my new fave.

    • Patty says:

      I’m not sure I did? If you want to click on Contact Us over on the left, then I’ll be sure to get it. I’m a retard with the FB mail system. 🙂

      Haven’t seen Frost/Nixon, but part of that is I usually don’t go see movies that replay a part of history I lived through – well, except for Dazed and Confused, which cracks me up every time I watch it because it WAS exactlly like that. I keep thinking they made Frost/Nixon for history buffs or people who weren’t alive then. I’ve heard it’s really good, though.

      • Pikake says:

        Redid the PM attempt! Maybe I’m the FB retard?:o)

      • erin says:

        Hey Patty, great post. And I’d like to be entered as well, please.

        I saw Frost/Nixon yesterday after being harassed into seeing it by my beau (who is a political junkie extraordinaire). I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The film doesn’t just tightly focus on the interviews (as I feared it would) and really does a good job of creating a sense of the time in which this unlikely event took place. And the performance of the fellow who plays Frost is fantastic, just as stellar as Langella’s Nixon though less scenery chewing. Watching them enact this intellectual and emotional boxing match was kind of weirdly thrilling. Ron Howard is a bit ham handed as usual–he seems to have never found a metaphor that he couldn’t bludgeon his audience with–but it’s worth seeing for the performances. Oh, and we get a two second shot of the guy who played the most recent Mr. Darcy’s bum. Matthew what’s his name…just saying.

        FYI: I heard through a friend who’s a writer in Hollywood that Rourke is supposedly having some small corrective surgeries to try and put his face back to something like normal. But, you know, either way I’ve always thought he was a beautiful beast.

        • Pikake says:

          Erin,
          I agree, both actors were amazing. I had just seen “Strating Out In the Evening” on netflix w/ Langella where he was a totally different character. So I was blown away by his range. I loved the guy who played Frost. I don’t think it should best picture by any stretch, but I’m rooting for my man Frank <:-p

        • Lee says:

          Michael Sheen
          Matthew MacFadyean (sp?)

          *Polishes geek button*

          • erin says:

            I appreciate the helpful geeky shout out–otherwise I’d just go around referring to him as “the hot-mopey-Gaelic-named-guy-in-the-latest-Jane-Austen-movie.”

            He really did make a great Darcy–managed to stay true to the character as written without making him seem like a completely hopeless knob. That’s no small trick, I think, given how difficult it is for people now to relate to Darcy’s nature and motivations…

            Alright, I should probably take this over to a Jane Austen blog. Sorry.

        • Patty says:

          Oh, dear, thatdoes it, now I have to go see it.

          totally agree on Rourke being a beautiful beast. It would be nice if he could make some minor adjustments to fix the botching on his face, but even then, he’s never going to be a pretty boy. He’s just magnificent in all his slightly misshapen glory.

  • ggs says:

    Attn March, Patty, and Louise:
    You are IN with the red lips trend. I just saw a photo spread on aol.com about red lips then read an issue of People (february) at the salon that says red lips are in for the season “what’s hot!” (IT also said nude nail polish is back too, but we’ll just pretend we didn’t see that;I was having my nails done in deep eggplant at the time.)
    smiles,
    Gail

    • Patty says:

      Nude Nails? Oh, no, absolutely not. What a HORRIBLE trend. I thought they outlawed nude nails along with the chocolate brown lip liner?

      I’m still working on red lips, but I think it does work and completely punches up how you look. It’s just another facet to show. Mad Men would be responsible, I think, for that return.

    • March says:

      Red lips yay! I keep seeing photos of celebs wearing red lips, so I figured I was on trend (for once.)

      Nude nails, ew. They look like h—- on me, just like I have long alien fingers with no nails. Nude lips are corpse-like on me too. I think that trend only really works if the nude is a contrast color against darker skin.

      • Musette says:

        for folks like you, with paler skin, I can see where nudes wouldn’t work. Conversely, the aggressive reds look like h-e-hockey sticks on me. I can rock a nude lip and a nude nail. As I was telling Mistress March, I have peelers, so any sort of nail color not clear or nude is a disaster.

        And….chocolate brown lipliner works just fine….but you have to be a tad more ‘chocolate brown’ than either of you are! Me and J-Lo, we love us some choco liner! ;))

        xo>-)

        • March says:

          I put on chocolate liner with nude lipstick once, just for the thrill of it. Just to really rock the look like you see in Cosmo on some gorgeous woman 14 shades darker than I am. I looked like a clown in a lame horror movie.

          I love love love dark women with pale lips. Those MAC girls blot their lip color out with a neutral nude/beige, then put, like, a soft pinky-gold shimmer on top of it. I’d cut off a toe to be able to wear that.

          • Musette says:

            No, don’t do that. Keep your toes!:o It ain’t ‘all that’ babe. It is one of those “we want what we can’t have” thingies. I look VERY old in red lipstick now (and the glasses and curly hair end up making me look sort of Bozo-ish. Don’t ask…. and then I see a picture of that blasted Cate Blanchett rockin’ a red (or that plat blonde model……) and I whimper with deep desire…but it cannot be…Bozo is ever-vigilant…

            anyway, YLLB really works best on colored girls (not being non-PC – I mean ‘colored’ as in women who have some non-pink color in ’em, not just Blacks). For us, the brighter colors all too frequently look clownlike whereas you, with your Snow White coloring, can rock a red like nobody’s biz! I seen it. It’s true!!!

            xo>-)

  • Musette says:

    Lovely review! For the most part I agree with you about natural perfumes and am with you on SIP and LZ being exceptions. I would love to be entered in the drawing because I would love to try Tobacco and Tulle…

    Crap. Never mind. That’s just rude. I have the other 2 and can simply order a samp of T&T. See? That’s what greed does to a weakling like me :”>

    Okay – I absolutely LOVE Grand Canyon. It works on me like it works on March and like March I tend to wear it as a bedtime scent. Very soothing (I am such a copycat). Underworld scares the daylights out of me – in a good way.

    A great ‘love’ is the beautiful Violets and Rainwater. I wear it whenever I want to imagine that I am in a gentle mist, looking for iridescent frogs in muddy puddles…. I was pleasantly surprised to see it hold its own in these frigid temps. Can’t wait to see how it plays out in the spring.

    How much do I love it? I bought a FB!! Alert the media!

    <:-p

    • Patty says:

      OMG! Okay, that’s it, I have to get it now. FB fo Musette? Check.

      I’m not sure if you’d like Underworld or not. I think you would. It’s only dark on the open, but the drydown is really, really lovely. NOw, all of that could go astray, that’s what it was like on me.

      • Musette says:

        I have Underworld and I love it (I always screw it up and call it ‘Underwear’ which has no bearing on anything, save my own frazzled brain!) But it can be challenging when I’m feeling fragile – and I’ve felt fragile for awhile now! (I’ve noticed that I’m staying away from Mitsouko which is always a sign – she is one of my HGs!!!)

        Did I ever riff on LZ’s Historical Jasmine? It is so gorgeous it would turn your hair EXACTLY the shades you want!:x Miss Shelley and I absolutely love that scent.

        All in all, I think LZ does an incredible job with her ‘fumes. I find them to be sort of clear-headed, if that makes any sense, with all of them having a clear idea of who they are…… they’re not ‘messy’.

        ……I’m blathering….forgive me. Hope you know what I’m trying to say there!

        xo>-)

        • Musette says:

          March says what I was trying to say, only she says it WAY better – a littler further down the postings.

          xo an embarrassed >-)

          • Patty says:

            I get what you’re saying. Clearheaded is how I think of them too. There’s a start, a middle and an end, and they have a direction. Sometimes it seems like perfumes just sort of sit and BE, but hers are like following a little story.

        • Shelley says:

          I don’t think you’re blathering… and I’m the one who forgot to mention Historical Jasmine. Yum ahhh beauuutiful. Old style. But not.

  • Calypso says:

    I second the motion: Show us your new hair!
    Please enter me in the drawing, also.
    I recommend Gran Torino, the new one with Clint Eastwood, which he also directed. If you love Clint at all it’s a must-see. A fabulous performance and the movie is very “real” and gritty in many ways. He’s an awful racist crabby old guy with a few redeeming features, but there’s nothing cloying about this movie. Despite being about hard issues (immigration, racism, death, gangs, urban violence, urban decay), it’s also got some super-funny moments, and I don’t think the whole movie is a downer.

    • Patty says:

      I have to work on my blowdrying skills!!! I’ll get to it probably next week, along with pictures of the new English bulldog.

      Gran Torino was great. Clint Eastwood growling is always worth the price of admission. I do have a couple of complaints about it, though. I just didn’t buy his racist reversal in a few days, it was just unrealistic, but I know the point they were going for.

      But the Hmong grandmothers in that movie were priceless. I would have loved a lot more of them onscreen. They did more without speaking English than most actors do with pages of script.

  • Christine says:

    Huh, I was just talking about the LZ’s and getting Violets and Rainwater myself. But now it seems like I have a whole lot more to try! So why not, enter me in the drawing.

    On the movie front I’ve seen three of the above movies (not Rev. Road or Doubt, yet). Slumdog was just dazzling, wasn’t it? Such a great little trip to the movies. It’s funny the Wrestler I guess I found a bit too predictable, but was exactly what I expected more or less. Rourke was fantastic in it…but my god, his face. The boyfriend was very disappointed by it, but I think he set his expectations to high and was looking for something a bit more along the lines of Aronofsky’s other films. And last but not least, we just missed a shooting (in the theater) when we went to go see Ben. Button, so, yay South Philly! Thankfully, being that it was Christmas Day and we had spent it playing board games with friends I was already a bit tipsy and so I had no fear. We gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up!

    • Patty says:

      Did you order the Violets and Rainwater? I do need to try that one, it sound lovely. SHe has a great touch with perfumery that I like.

      slumdog is happy perfectiond, I agree. It’s not a big movie, but it is internally. To think it almost went straight to DVD. Thank goodness for Fox Searchlight.

      Agree on Rourke and am so glad he is back. I don’t even care about the face anymore, I can live with it as long as he stays that talented.

  • Joe says:

    Hi Patty: I bought several Soivolhe samples (none that you reviewed) a couple months ago and enjoyed a few, notably Moroccan Orange, Solstice, and Purple Love Smoke. PLS is a little weird — very smoky violet but strangely compelling. I keep going back to it trying to figure it out. I’d buy a bottle of any of the three I mentioned. Whether I *will* buy a bottle of any of them is another story — the list keeps getting too damn long.

    Movies: We agree on Slumdog. Maybe I should go see that again, because you’re right, there’s nothing out there that makes one feel good about the state of the world (and that’s from someone who often likes some bleak hyper-real drama). Rev Road has really stayed with me and I’m curious about the book (New Yorker had a great piece about Yates recently). But damn, talk about making me feel depressed and unhappy with my boring life!! Yowza.

    Button: very good but didn’t rock my world. Doubt: saw the play and just want to see the film for Streep. Still want to see The Reader, but I’ll have to brace myself for that kind of heaviness also. Feel like I can skip The Wrestler. Where’s the fun? I refuse to see Bride Wars even though I like Anne Hathaway a lot. There’s always my huge Netflix queue, which is a project in itself.

    • Patty says:

      I have the Purple Love Smoke too, and started to review it, and then just couldn’t really get a fix on it. I like it, but it is odd.

      RR did a good job of covering the book, I thought. They didn’t go off on some other trajectory than Yates intended, so that was good. And it’s sticking with me too. Winslet played April so cold, the whole thing was chilling, but even though I would never be capable of doing what she did, I identified with her disaffected, disconnected emotions from some times in my past. Probably most women would.

      Sometimes I think it is staring at boredom and hopelessness and refusing to see it that is the best way to live. Denial is key. :d/

      The Wrestler is worth seeing for Rourke’s performance, really! But you can probably wait for the DVD and save the $10.

      Relate on the netflix queue. Every week I got through Entertainment Weekly and input all the new movies that I’m not going to get to or want to see again. That queue is 4 miles long right now.

      If you want a funny movie, see Ghost Town, it’s out on DVD, and Ricky Gervais is comedic perfection in it.

  • Chris G says:

    Great review! I’m intrigued with her line and would love to be entered in the drawing. Thanks!

  • Natalie says:

    The Wrestler was the first movie I’d seen in a movie theater in almost 4 years (!), and despite its predictability (and my realization in the first 5 minutes that I was sooo not in the mood for such a film), Mickey Rourke is really amazingly good in it. I haven’t quite forgiven him for messing with his gorgeous face, but he can still act, that’s for damn sure.

    The Soivohles sound right up my alley, and I’d love to be entered in the drawing — thank you!

    • Patty says:

      You know, I’m getting used to his face. I still can’t figure out what he did, was it the lips and the cheeks? But at least his skin is rugged enough that it almost is working now that he’s older. If he’ll just let it all go, he can be hot again. 🙂

      But he’s definitely got talent to burn, and I’m so happy to see he’s got a couple more movie project lined up. I think the next one is with RDJ, which is kinda cool, but can you imagine what the set would be like if they both went back to using? Eeeeek!!!!!!!!!!1

  • Francesca says:

    Post a picture of your hair! Don’t make us die wondering!

    Only thing I’ve seen recently in an actual movie theater is Slumdog Millionaire, which my husband and I absolutely loved. Other than that we’ve been watching a lot of DVDs, at home, notably 3 silents by Frank Borzage starring the lovely romantic team of Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell.

    Those fragrances sound delightful; Please enter me in the drawing.

    • Patty says:

      I’m not sure I’m up to two picture postings in a week! 🙂 It’s always a little tricky with a new stylist because they don’t know your hair. LIke, all the darks colors she added are about four shades lighter than the should be because my hair is really a bitch to process dark, very resistant, but sucks up bleach like a sponge. So the places that were supposed to be dark aren’t as dark. Next time we’re going to go for more red, I think.

      If I can get it to blowdry the way she did it, I’ll get a snap.

      Slumdog just makes me happy. It’s one of the few movies that I will buy as soon as it’s available on dvd.

  • Mindy says:

    I ordered a sample from Soivohle (Violets & Rainwater) almost a week ago and I can’t wait for it to get here. I would love to win some samples, everything on Soivohle sounds wonderful. I’m not much of a movie person. The last one I saw was Iron Man.

  • Janet in California says:

    Grand Canyon sounds just right. And I love the idea of Micky Roarke wearing Tobacco and Tulle.

    I can’t remember the last movie I’ve seen. Nothing that is out now. I need to get busy before the Oscars.

    Please enter me in the drawing.

    Thanks!

    • Patty says:

      If you only see one Oscar-nominated movied, pick Slumdog. If it’s two, Slumdog and Benjamin Button. 🙂

      • Melissa says:

        After an allergic reaction to a natural perfume that triggered quite an asthma attack at the fall Sniffa, I am pretty wary of naturals, but I do enjoy some of them without my airway closing off! I adore LZ Underworld. And among other lines, I surprised myself by loving a soliflore, Ayala Moriel’s, InCarnation, a spicy little carnation number that drew a number of compliments when I tested it.

        As for movies, I loved Slumdog Millionaire. And despite some of the shortcomings of Gran Torino, (a certain degree of character predictability, unrealistic attitude adjustment on the part of Clint’s role, etc) it was a perfectly enjoyable film.

        • Melissa says:

          Ok, I really need to look at the reply to box. This is two days in a row that I have replied to a random comment accidentally, rather than to the main post! (:|

        • Musette says:

          I forgot the Ayala’s! I got a charming li’l samp of Tamyla (I don’t think I’m spelling that correctly) and it is absolutely lovely – but it doesn’t last very long on me. Like quite a few of her other scents, as well (my ‘mista friends have been incredibly generous in sharing their knowledge and their samps of this wonderful perfumer).

          Darn shame it is so fleeting. Otherwise I would flirt with the idea of a FB!

          xo>-)