Oh, crap! I had this post started, then it failed in an autosave, and I have to do it again. Thank goodness I remember what names I drew!
Okay, two winners of the Neelah samples -Alnysie and Masha
Winner of the Denyse Something Special sample – bellemoon. You are so lucky. I love this thing Denyse made, and I’m enjoying her book too. Only a couple of chapters in, but it’s a delight to read about the process and the moments that happen in creating something.
Just click on the Contact Us button on the left, send me your address, remind me what you’ve won, and I’ll confirm I got your e-mail and off it will go in the mail. Enjoy!
On this glorious prematurely Spring Day, I just reached for something and sprayed it on – Frederic Malle L’eau d’Hiver. Odd choice, that. It’s not a favorite, but it was almost like I craved it. L’eau d’Hiver was inspried by Apres L’ondee, but I only vaguely see it. Hiver is like nothing, except it’s something. The subtraction, not the addition. Then I started thinking about all the Malles, so many of them I love and admire, some that I admire, but want to stay a good 20 feet away from (Therese!). What an amazing body of work that line has become, and it ages well. All the scents that started in the line are modern and wearable, while still having great artistic merit. I think I need to go meander again through the whole line. When the one I like the least calls to me, and I enjoy wearing it so much, even when it’s not a favorite, it’s time to look back at all of that line.
I think I breezed through it too quickly on my romp through perfumery, they all went in the big pile called “LOVE” and I thought I would spend more time with them. I’ve spent extraordinary amounts of time with En Passant and Carnal Flower, those two are so far under my skin, it would be impossible to live without them. Yes, both of them are on my personal “Turin Rocket Ship” list. For those of you that missed it, one of the funnest threads in blogdom many years ago was when Luca Turin had his blog and put down the ten scents he’d grab to take on the rocket ship when they told us the earth was blowing up in 5 minutes, you can only take ten with you.
My list has changed over the years some, but much stays the same. I’m relying on my fellow passengers to fill in on the things that I didn’t put in my perfume satchel.
Starting next week, I think I’m going to go back through all the Malles and talk about them and do some sample draws as well. Today is a push for time, though. We have tickets to Peter Pan ballet, and I’ve thought about the perfume to wear to this, an I’ve come up with the only thing I can wear – Carla Fracci Giselle. Cheap and pretty.
Favorite Malle or favorite perfume to wear to the ballet?
How fast is fast…lol? For do you have $1500 to spend on the kart or just the engine? Sounds like the kart and engine (and for that amount of money you could get a very fast one!) but I can’t really help because you are not specific enough.
Wait, what? YAY!!! Sorry it took me a couple of days to get to this, finals weeks!!
So very much looking forward to this! Thank you
Years ago when I was a frequent visitor to the Saks Guerlain counter, the world’s best SA (no longer there) was a lovely European woman who also loved the opera and ballet and used to tell me Guerlain stories that relate to the performing arts. One such story was that Nijinski loved Apres L’Ondee so much that he would buy it for the ballerinas at the Ballet Russes.
Naturally, upon hearing this story, Apres L’Ondee became my go-to ballet fragrance if I can’t think of a different pairing for the occassion. Of course, I try to choose my scent according to the ballet.
Not sure I’d to the Musette thing though SHE could probably get away with just about anything….
With all the show tkts I buy there’s not enough funds to afford Malle perfumes. If I had to pick a favorite, the current front runners would be Iris Poudre (highly appropriate for the ballet), Dans Tes Bras (some may think I just stepped out of the dance studio), and Carnal Flower – nothing to do with the ballet, of course.
The only Malle I’ve tried is L’eau d’Hiver. (Though my TPC wishlist has many on it!) I loved my sample and got a decant which is almost gone, so maybe it’s time for it to be FB.
If I like any other Malles I’m in deep financial trouble!
My favourite Malle so far is the Queen Thérèse. I also love Carnal Flower, Iris Poudre, Noir Epices, Une fleur de Cassie, Angéliques sous la Pluie, En Passant and L’Eau d’Hiver. It’s a very consistent and brilliant house.
There are so many Malles I love! En Passant and Angéliques sous la Pluie are my two faves, but I also love, in no particular order, Carnal Flower, Noir Epices, PoaL and Dans tes Bras. I love Musc Ravageur on my husband.
I’m more of an opera person than a ballet goer, but if I did see a ballet, I’d probably wear something delicate like Après l’Ondée or En Passant. Then again, I might dip into my precious decant of Diaghilev!
ooh, Francesca. That Diaghilev would be a perfect choice!
xo >-)
Perfect, Francesca!
Here’s a two-fer: wear Dans tes Bras to the ballet! It probably wouldn’t bother others nearby and you could enjoy it too.
I love the Malles! L’Eau d’Hiver was the first niche perfume I ever bought, and while I almost never wear it these days, I’m still fond of it. It’s a weird little thing, very hard to describe.
I have decants of Iris Poudre, Le Parfum de Therese, and Musc Ravageur which all get frequent wear, though, and I recently rediscovered my sample of Une Fleur de Cassie, which is incredibly glamourous. Therese will be my next full bottle purchase but with my current budget I’ve no idea when that might be. I wore it all of last summer and it still makes me feel beautiful.
Miss A, you have described my theater audience nightmares down to the last detail. I’m gone come atchu like a spider monkey!
Favorite Malles: Carnal Flower and Iris Poudre. Hands DOWN. I love Une Rose for the first 15 minutes, before the Karanal shivs me in the eye, and Lys Med is soooo pretty yet not demonstrably more moving than DK Gold. En Passant is lovely but… well… passant. Srsly, gone in 18 minutes, every time. I think I’d like to try L’Eau d’Hiver; have just never come across it.
In fact, I think Iris Poudre would accompany me quite nicely to the ballet. There’s something about aldehydes that goes with dressing up, I say… Bois des Iles or vintage No. 5, or Ferre 20 or Eau Premiere, they’d all be pretty great. (I won’t be drenching my poitrine in them, though.)
That’s why I rarely go to the movies anymore. Between the texting and the ice shaking and the crinkling…even a Michael Bay Blockbuster has to work hard to compete.
The ‘theatre’ seems to be a bit better – but just a bit. I miss decorum. Why did it go away?
I second your Iris Poudre but I would have to wear the body cream. The perfume alone does odd things on my skin…:-?
xo >-)
In honor of Musette, I’m wearing Carnal Flower to my ‘fume hating workplace today! Her comment made me laugh out loud, and then more seriously think that I really need to live life out out loud. One spritz to my belly won’t kill folks, and it is so very lovely.
Favorite Malle? I love them all, and own most of the line. It is my very favorite perfume house. Musc Ravageur was my first, followed quickly by En Passant, which shows my range of loves. En Passant probably gets the most wear, as it is very office friendly. Musc Ravageur gets more me-time love, though.
As for the ballet? I’d stick with a Chanel, probably No. 5, but BdI in extrait if I were feeling jaunty. I’ll leave Angel to the pros :D Be well.
Omg! They will ^:)^ you for that. I always love when there’s a slight ‘hint’ of intriguing scent on a person – yes, even in medical situations. And CF is one of those ‘happy’ scents.
Good for you!!!
xoxo >-)
ps. I’ll leave Angel in the cabinet. Somebody else’s cabinet. Far, far awayyyyy…..
i like most of the Malles I’ve tried, but not enough to own any of them except Carnal Flower. Which is a no go because it is one of the BWF’s that gives dh major migraines. I keep hoping the next Malle that comes out will be “the one” for me.
Patty, did you ever get some Quand Vient La Pluie? If not, lmk, and I will send you some of mine. (Do you know after all that looking I saw several bottles on ebay in a period of weeks?)
Hmmm, for the ballet, maybe Chanel No. 5 or a Goutal? Rose de Siwa?
Favorite Malle right this moment? Use Rose! But, of course, I loves me some Carnal Flower and it’s matching body cream.
I see The Nutcracker Ballet almost every year, and wear Anne Pliska when I go. For some reason, AP smells like the Holidays to me.
Looking forward to your Malle fragrance reviews!
Hugs!
I can’t wait to try the Neelas, thank you!!! I’ve been retrying Malles lately, too. Your words are so true, they age well, and the line is remarkable. My favorite is En Passant, but I’m really enjoying Portrait of a Lady as well. I’d happily wear any of them, though some would wear me….
Favorite Malle? Argh! Every single Malle I own is my favorite! But even of those I “don’t like”, they’re still great. I did a real 180 with Noir Epices, and now I can’t live without it; Carnal Flower, yes; Lys Mediteranne (however the hell it’s spelled) makes my life worth living because I’m a lily fanatic; Vetiver Extraordinaire!!!! Even Dans Tes Bras – love it! Though I will say: Therese is the next on the list. I will own that one day – I smelled it in the air booth thingy at Barney’s and swooned. Gorgeous. Must have.
Funny. Noir espices was the first one that I was drawn to, and i don’t own that!
Jared, I soooo wanted to love Lys. In fact, I did. For the first hour. Then that pesky musk came sliding in through the kitchen door and …funny, I can handle (and even enjoy musk) in so many perfume compositions – but those that are predominantly lily? b-(
(same thing happened with the VC&A lily. And Beige. Which I thought would be The New Me. Alas, :(( )
xo >-)
I would go to the Opera soaked in French Lover. Just because. Hell I’d go to the DMV wearing that..
Tom, is that the (now) Bois d’Orage?
xo >-)
Wow Musette! Soaked to the socks in Angel? LOL
I like several of the Malles but lately Noir Epices has been my favorite.
Hmmm…L’Heure Bleue would be a nice choice for the ballet I think.
…I’m still distracted by the mental image of Musette in her soggy socks and ostrich feather.
That’s feathers. FEATHERS! At least 3. Various colors. Probably soak those in Angel, too! ;))
xo >-)
Oh Gawd Angel soaked Ostrich! I actually cursed and then laughed when I read that!
I think we should ALL go to the ballet (opera) like that. Or…oooh! The symphony!! Each wearing something really STRONG. With the feathers. And the sodies. And the peanuts.
oh, c’mon!!! ;))
xo >-)
Okay so I was watching The Jersey Shore a few weeks back and there was a clip of Snooki applying her perfume before hitting the clubs…well back up first I saw an interview she did where she talked about her perfume collection and made sure the world knew she owns all of the Britney Spears fragrances…anyway in the clip where she’s applying perfume it was like her body was on fire and she was trying to put out the flames with a bottle of perfume. She just kept spaying and spraying and spraying. It wasn’t even body spray it was EdP or somethign. The Pièce de résistance was how she concluded the perfume shower by spraying her crotch. I was horrified and fascinated at the same time! So now I have this mental image of you Musette in that scene instead of Snooki, with a skin tight lycra minidress and ostrich feathers.
and an skritchy …..:”>
xo >-)
I would go to the ballet soaked to the socks in Angel, wearing an ostrich feather headress. [-(
and I would bring a cellophane bag full of peanuts. In the shell.
and a 64oz Pepsi full of crushed ice, which I would shake every couple of minutes, just prior to making that SUCKING sound.
xo >-)
OK, that made me laugh out loud!!
Then, I read it again and laughed again. Thanks.
Hopefully, I won’t be sitting anywhere near you in any theater any time soon….
LOL! it’s not me….I live with someone who suffers from Cellophane-IceShaker Syndrome. If he wore Angel on top of that? I would be in Stateville by now. :-w
xo >-)
What a great laugh, you rebel you! Love it. You could make a trip to the opera in that as well (win emoticon) Looking forward to the posts on the malles patty. I would go to the ballet in my attrape
Lyric (the Chicago house) is gnashy. They might bite me hard and throw me from the box! 8-x
And eat my peanuts!
xo >-)
You are precious, and make me laugh every day. Bless your peanuts and wet socks!
I owe you an email!
😡
xo >-)
Okay, so do you hate the ballet? Or just the other ballet-goers? I still want to go to the ballet with you in this get-up.
Was that you behind me at the symphony last week? Why didn’t you say so? :-)
You cracked me up!
I would so join you. I would empty my entire collection of YSL Paris ( appr.10 bottles) and would join you. With backcombed hair and in neon pink. We would make a great pair!
I’ve been meaning to try Malles perfumes but I always get sidetracked with something else. Tocca Giullietta is one you could probably get away with for the ballet. It’s light but kind of too light. It’s been years since I’ve gone to the ballet and/or seen a play so I don’t have a clue right now.
They really are worth trying. Even if you end up not loving any of them, there’s no denying they are some of the most intriguing, excellently crafted perfumes out there today.
xo >-)
Dammit Patty!
I was certain that it was my destiny to win the Denyse Something Special sample.
Arghhhh!
The waiting is the hardest part.
Yay! I filled out the form, but it was acting weird, let me know if you can’t read my address! Really looking forward to smelling them!
I’ve been waiting for the Malles since they were first supposed to arrive in September, but my local store *finally* got most of them two weeks ago! I rushed to go have a sniff, but I think Meg is right when she suggested to me that they aren’t fragrances to be sniffed on a blotter in the middle of a store. I really liked all three samples I’ve seriously tested in the past months, and got myself a bottle of En Passant this month. Une Fleur de Cassie will someday be mine too… At the store I felt underwhelmed by a few of them, given the praise I’d read about Malles, but I won’t give up on any of them yet! And I was really drawn to Une Rose, Musc Ravageur, and L’Eau d’Hiver. I’m waiting for a decant of the latter, and hoping to get at least samples of the two former!
And they didn’t have Le Parfum de Thérèse… It was the one I wanted to smell the most! Maybe they’ll have it when I visit tomorrow… :)
Patty and I are Evil Scent Twins on this one. Like Diorella, PdT is weirdly beautiful (and created by the same great nose). It’s most beautiful in the body cream, in my opinion. I love it a lot and wear it often.
you’ll have to come back and let us know what you think, after you’ve spent some time with it!
xo >-)