Frankincense, Myrrh, DSH, and other scented Christmas gifts

Have you ever heard it said that the gifts given by the three wisemen are representative of perfume? Or is it only perfume people who start making connections like that?
Frankincense and myrrh are both heavily fragranced incenses, and the third gift was the gift of gold (given by Caliban? I have no idea), signifying the flacon, or the vessel for the perfume.

I am very much not a Christ child, but scented gifts do tend to figure prominently in my Christmas wish list.
I haven’t tried any of the following, but here’s an inventory of what I received (you’ll be happy to hear that it involves a lot of DSH and Zoologist, two brands that I’ve been meaning to explore and have a tendency to go on about).

From DSH:

• Tsukimi, Foxy, Au Lait, Musc al Madina, Indus, La Belle Saison, Reveries de Paris, April, Poppy, Peony, Habibi (I want to name my next pet Habibi or Rasputin), Chinchilla, L‘Etole de vison, Chataignes du bois, Arabesque, Rendezvous, Une Robe de Zibeline, and Mirabella.
• As well as a few exciting extras, Dawn is super generous with samples!

From Annick Goutal:

• Ce Soir Ou Jamais

Zoologist:

• A mini bottle of Hummingbird ( ❤ ), having drained my previous decant
• Camel, Elephant, Civet, Dragonfly, Nightingale

Everything is a sample size unless otherwise stated. So excited to play with these ^.^

Last Night/This Morning and Samples (of Perfume)

I think yesterday may actually have been my first all-nighter? To the extent that I have been awake since 8 am yesterday morning (it’s now three minutes after 4 pm, today). And I spent the night hanging around outside in Paris, so I don’t think you can really ask for a better first nuit blanche (all-nighter in French). Interestingly, this also coincided with Paris’ Nuit Blanche music and light festival, so there was lots to see and do. And the Marais is always pretty active on Saturday nights.

I have many more things to say about French Tinder (Did I already mention that there are SO MANY PEOPLE NAMED QUENTIN?) like I now know how to say mind games. These are the important life skills.

But in the meantime I just want to talk about perfume.

As in if I could magically have the samples that I want most (that aren’t on m decant wish list) what would I pick? (Also I bought Rose de Nuit by Serge Lutens on eBay recently and I’m super excited! I have been wanting that perfume for quite literally 6 years.

Also did you know there are more Dior Private Collection scents in the stores in Paris that aren’t available in the US? I have to say I didn’t find any of them particularly enrapturing, but they were fun to visit. My favorite would have to be Jasmin des Anges, which was much more a tart blackberry than a jasmine. But it was a pretty nice blackberry.

Okay, back to the topic at hand.

• Ce Soir ou Jamais- Annick Goutal: A super nice and musky overblown rose that I haven’t yet had the chance to try in any meaningful quality. I think I might love it.
• Rose Trocadero- Jardin Retrouve: I seem to be in a rose mood. I want this to be the fresh green garden rose of which I have been dreaming.
• Kingston Osmanthus- Eric Buterbaugh: Too bad 10 mLs costs three weeks of groceries.
• Equestrian- Sonoma Scent Studio: Obviously I can’t leave alone anything doing with horses.
• Miyako-Auphorie: This one got a whole lot of buzz not too long ago and I still haven’t tried it. But I’m here for fruity suede osmanthus vibes.
• Onyx- Sage Machado: Musky coconut? Neat. I want to try.
• Noir Exquis-L’Artisan Parfumeur: I tried a bit of this in store and one point and think I may be very much a fan. SO cozy!
• A bunch from Zoologist. But if I had to pick it would be Nightingale or Civet. Followed by Dragonfly, Panda 2017, and Elephant.
• Suede de Suede and Dojima- Mona di Orio: There are two new Mona di Orios and I haven’t smelled them yet. Shame.
• Mardi Gras- Olympic Orchids: Speaking of Civet.
• Acqua Celestia- Maison Francis Kurkdjian: I keep smelling this in stores and wishing for a bit of my own.
• Joyeuse Tubereuse- Guerlain: Only if I can’t find my sample. I have the sneaking suspicion it’s still in the USA.
• Tabacca-Costamor/Frank 3-Frank: You know you need to smell it when you’ve been waiting so long the brand and scent name changes.
• Tabac Tabou- Parfums d’Empire: Tobacco, honey, narcissus. Give me.

By the way also all of these from DSH 😛

Have I Outgrown the NYC Perfume Scene?

The short answer is ‘No’, of course.
But for the first time, the long answer is ‘No, but…’

The background: I went to NYC last weekend, mostly to visit a close friend before I say ‘Goodbye to all that’ and take off for the land of marinieres, pastries, and (more) perfume.
This was my second trip to Manhattan this summer- the first time the main purpose of my trip was my IFF interview and olfactory intelligence test (and to see the Rei Kawakubo exhibit).  Obviously a lot of water under the bridge since then.
And while I was there then, I visited Bergdorf Goodman, Twisted Lily, MiN New York, Aedes des Venustas, Osswald, and even CO Bigelow. In short, all the perfume places.

And it wasn’t that I was burnt out this time around, but after the blow out that was the last trip… there wasn’t a lot new to explore or discover.  Turns out not even NYC’s perfume sphere is without its limits.