Hey there Perfume Posse, Well next week I’ll be off on my India Adventure. I haven’t been back there since 2013 and am super excited. My last long term partner Varun is a hotelier there. We were together a few years in Sydney but then his father took ill and Varun had to go back to run the families hotels. We tried to keep it alive trans-continentally but it was hard. So SUPER excited to hang out with him again.
India Adventure 2017
This is my first time going to India in the monsoon season and it’s always been on the wishlist. We are planning to go north to Assam and Darjeeling where neither of us have yet been. Varun has organised 10 days with a driver up there and a couple in Rajasthan with his family before going back to Delhi for a quick hello and then home. As always, too many things to do and not enough time.
We are expecting temperatures to be around the 20-25C highs each day with days of rain and sunshine. That is kind of Sydney spring weather so I am pretty sure that it will be comfortable.
What perfumes am I thinking of taking?
Currently the list looks like this. All of these fragrances I have in manufacturers Travel Size. Important for flying.
Niki de Saint Phalle: Going to need a chypre. Niki dSP is so easy wear and fits most moods.
Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur: Can’t go anywhere without my lavish Hindi/French roses. I can’t wait to wear it in India.
Hermès Hermessence Iris Ukiyoé: Green with softly cardboard iris and a faintly indolic orange blossom. It has the Ellena greasy swirl and is a polar opposite to the smells of India.
DIOR Miss Dior vintage parfum: I have travelled with Miss Dior parfum a bit and it always goes down a treat. Also, I love its vintage purr.
Cacharel Scarlett: Yeah, I have a maybe 20ml travel of this radiant and irradiated white floral. It’s so OTT that I think it will be heavenly in India.
Guerlain Samsara vintage parfum: Come ON! Why wouldn’t I take this sandalwood/white floral sensation. It is flamboyant, head turning and utterly fabulous.
Want to try these? Go to Surrender To Chance, they have samples of most of them
How do you like my selections?
Portia xx
Have a great trip! I am of Indian origin, and haven’t been back since my grandmother’s death in 2012. I hope to go back in the near future.
Hi Koyel,
Thank you.
Isn’t it the most fascinating country. Every 100km it seems to shimmer and change. I reckon I could spend my life traversing India and never get bored.
Portia xx
Wonderful choices, dear! You are ticking all my boxes with these, particularly the Niki and the Iris Ukiyoe (so glad to see this underappreciated gem getting some love), and of course, Mohur. Hope you have a fabulous time! You will certainly smell fantastic!
Oh, and let’s not forget the beautiful Samsara!! 😉
All wonderful choices and a nice amount of variety 🙂 Have a great trip!
Thanks on all counts Nemo.
See you when I’m back.
Portia xx
I love your travel scent wardrobe! Have a wonderful and safe trip. I hope that you will store up some lovely memories that you can bring to mind at home when you spray on these fragrances–can’t wait to hear about your trip!
Thanks KateE,
That’s a beautiful wish, I will mindfully (yeah I hate that word but it fits so well sometimes) spritz and remember on this holiday. Also there will be a MOUNTAIN ofd photos to share with you all.
Portia xx
The trip sounds wonderful! Yes, please, tell us all about it when you get back. Love your fragrance choices, but have never smelled the Hermes. Niki de St. Phalle is a favorite.
Hey Pam,
Will do, promise.
The Hermes is subtle but persistent. VERY Jan Claude Ellena.
Portia xx
Vintage Miss Dior and Samsara, FTW!!! I also love the idea of wearing Mohur in India (or any NV, for that matter). I think I might have to try MDCI’s Fetes Persanes too. Have fun!
Ha Ha Ha HeidiC,
FTW means F*#K The World here in Oz. I had to go look up For The Win.
I never smelt MDCI’s Fetes Persanes, would it work? You have met all kinds of intrigued
Portia xx
That sounds like a nice diverse sampling to take. I was flirting with ordering Niki for myself and now I think I shall! Have a wonderful and safe trip.
Hey Jennifer,
Thank you.
Niki de Saint Phalle is so cheap nowadays. I hope you love it like I do.
Portia xx
Bon voyage and safe travels. Wonderful choices, Iris Ukiyoe and Samsara especially made me smile. Your frags will float you through your adventure on a cloud of beauty.
Thanks Tiffanie,
See you on the other side.
Portia xx
I like the Dior and haven’t tried any of the others. I hope you have tons of fun in India.
Thanks Eldarwen22,
I should have a couple ofd stories for you when I get back.
Portia xx
Portia, I enjoyed your planned scent wardrobe. You’re too cute! I love that you plan your fragrance! I love chypres; not familiar with Niki de Saint Phalle. I need to sample. Samsara will be gorgeous in India! Safe travels!
Hey Kathleen,
Can’t be unprepared on foreign soil. That would be letting the team down.
Niki de Saint Phalle is one of my all time faves, still available very cheaply at fragrancenet. Get the spray.
Portia xx
Your scent wardrobe sounds fabulous Portia! Love your taste. What a great selection. I’m picturing Varun like Dev Patel’s character in “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” Did you all see that movie? Hilarious and fun. Is it the right time of year to tour the tea plantations? When I read Assam and Darjeeling, that’s what I think about. Tea smells wonderful, too. Have a cup for me and enjoy a safe, happy trip. 😀
Hey DinaC,
Thanks.
Funny you should mention The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel series. For decades i’d not been to the theatre because I knew it would come to DVD and I could watch stuff in the comfort of my own home.
When I started dating Jin he and Kath conspired to get me back into cinemas with the first movie. It was SO like my Indian experiences that I ugly cried from start to finish, yes it was gruesome. So to answer your question, yes. EXACTLY like it.
We will definitely be touring tea plantations and having cups of the local produce mixed with milk and spices called Masala Chai (Spicy Tea). I will raise a cup to you.
Portia xx
Cacharel Scarlett sounds PERFECT. Surely you can only combat the insanely wonderful intensity of India with a jubilantly OTT fragrance… Cant wait to hear about your travels Portia…
Hey The accords,
Cacharel Scarlett is perfect, I can’t wait to see how it stands up to India’s cacophony of scent.
One of the best scents I ever wore there was Beyond Paradise by Estee Lauder, somehow it both captured and cut through the melange.
Portia xx
I love your perfume choices, particularly the Dior and Guerlain. I hope you have a great time in India. I’d love to go there. I love the cuisine and the colors. Will you be bringing back perfume??
Hey BevFred,
Thanks,
The perfume in India has taken a turn for the worse. Last time I was there instead of creating their fabulous attars everything was a copy of some mainstream shocker by Hugo Boss or Calvin Klein. I think they have also started using created components and without the real sandalwood bases they all smell yuk compared to the stuff I bought there in early 2000s.
It’s a bummer.
Portia xx