Happy halloween

Pumpkin pie spiked with cinnamon and cloves, and woodsmoke, those are my smell memories of halloween from childhood. Although the holiday is not as big a deal here as in the US, the kids still trick or treat where I live and I'm prepared with candy.

To mark the day, here is a pic of jack-o-lanterns.

I Profumi di Firenze: Caterina de Medici

It's close enough to Halloween -- and near enough to Bonfire Night -- that we're getting fireworks and sparklers set off every evening.

I processed an order yesterday evening that included I Profumi di Firenze's Caterina de Medici, which somehow seems a fitting accompaniment to all the noise and flash.

This is a full grown woman's floral. There's nothing sweet or gentle or cute about this fragrance. It doesn't shout: it doesn't need to. It is lush and heady: simply head-turning. It's got oomph and sillage and real lasting power on the skin.

According to IPDF, all the fragrances offered derive from 'recipes' dating back centuries, to the time when the Medicis were in power.

This isn't a period in history I know a lot about except that it was full of intrigue, political maneuvering, great clothes and painting, and passion.

Caterina de Medici fits very comfortably into that sort of tableau.

I can't find a really full notes list but this is rose and jasmine over an animalic base. I've sampled it a number of times to get a sense of the fragrance -- then I tend to get covered in it when I'm doing a sample. Can't be helped.

This starts out full on floral. It doesn't slide from something soft or easy into the big blooms: they're there from the get-go.

As it heats up on the skin, on a couple of occasions I got a bit of soap, which I thought might be the jasmine. That aspect doesn't last long before the fragrance becomes big, heady, lush flowers again.

All along I get a sense of the muskiness the flowers both sit on and that is part and parcel of both rose and jasmine. So, it's not as if there's a musky drydown. Rather, this is animalic through and through.

I wonder if there's some lily of the valley in this as well. But there doesn't appear to be any incense or vanilla to mediate or lessen the muskiness.

There is a bit of powderiness, which I think derives from the rose. However, it's not overwhelming and this is not a powdery floral.

For me, this is a diva fragrance that I find more wearable than tuberose-based perfumes: while it is very strong, I still feel like I'm wearing it, rather than it is wearing me.

Finally, it is 'big' in a way that suits autumn and winter wear, and the dressing up which is part of the holiday season.

Aine's choices

It is the half term holiday here and our friend Aine recently visited for a few days.

Aine is in her early teens -- but is confident and sophisticated beyond her years. She plans to become a doctor, an orthopaedic surgeon in fact. She explained which GCSEs she plans to take next year. I felt very tired after the discussion as it is clear she is going to be veryveryvery busy (including triple science, which means biology, chemistry and physics).

One of Aine's non-academic talents is baking. The last time she visited we had chocolate squares, Easter cake, Victoria sponge and a few other things that slip my mind now.

She didn't bake on this visit, but we did visit Bea's of Bloomsbury (you can see the pattern my life is falling into...) and she got the vanilla layer cake with cinnamon cream and pumpkin (far and away the most unusual cake offering that day). When we went for ice cream, Ainy got raspberry pavlova (though she did also finish my son's vanilla with chocolate sauce -- she's still growing, after all).

One evening, after she and my son had finished mucking around on the computer, we did some sampling.

I meant to keep an open mind but couldn't help bringing out the sweeter (implication: for 'younger' tastes) fragrances first. I had given Aine a decant of Dior Hypnotic Poison a while ago, which she enjoyed, so thought I'd start out with Lostmarc'h Lann-Ael first, which is a sweet and comforting combination of cereals, milk, apple and vanilla.

I suggested she start 'yes', 'no' and 'maybe' piles of blotters and Lann-Ael, to my surprise, immediately started the 'no' pile.

We moved on to I Profumi di Firenze Vaniglia del Madagascar, which was a definite 'yes'. It is such a luscious out-there vanilla, how could she pass it up? It is, however, moderated by soft floral notes, so it isn't completely foody, although it does definitely fall into the gourmand category.

To my surprise, though, others in the 'yes' pile included IPDF's Limone di Sicilia (a very tart, green citrus, without any sweetness) and Magnolia Purpurea (a lush, almost aquatic, floral). I find Magnolia Purpurea in particular acutely adult. It is not innocent or girly.

I recently received a Consultation form from a customer who had purchased some samples from my site. She commented that she had been surprised by which purchased samples she had liked, as they weren't fragrances she had expected to gravitate towards given the descriptions and her past perfume choices (ah, the joys of buying samples).

The point being: fragrance preferences aren't set in stone and something bought on a whim can definitely surprise in a positive way. It is certainly useful to keep an open mind -- not to assume that just because you've worn Chanel No 5 for years that you might not like incense or resinous fragrances as well; that a predilection for white florals doesn't mean you won't enjoy some more masculine fragrances.

And, age is not a definite indicator of a preference for sweet, foody fragrances or fruity-florals. And I should know better than to make such assumptions.

In any case, I'm wondering which perfumes Aine will decide she prefers after a month or so of living with her samples. I do expect the Vaniglia del Madagascar will still be a winner. But although I wouldn't quite be willing to lay bets, I am really rooting for Magnolia Purpurea.

Visiting with Hilde

Last week was busy. Very busy. The standout activity for me, though, was the pleasure of meeting one of my perfumers, Hilde Soliani, in person. Hilde was in London for a good part of the week and we managed to meet up twice.

Hilde works in the theatre as well as producing perfumes and is quite a presence, from her statement glasses to her silver shoes. She is very warm and full of fascinating stories. And, she is utterly and completely passionate about fragrance.

We met the first time at Bea's of Bloombury for afternoon tea. Between the tea, cakes and fairy cakes (Hilde had pistacio), we talked perfume and niche perfume: Hilde's line as well our preferences from other producers. We also covered availability, discussing where one could purchase which lines and preferences for UK perfume shopping.

I got the chance to sample some of her fragrances I hadn't yet tried as well as some new things.

We came away from that meeting agreeing to meet up again on Friday morning for breakfast (we both enjoy food as a meeting moderator :) ).

So, on Friday morning, I crossed London to Hilde's hotel on Queen's Gate. We started in where we'd left off. This time, as we had more time, I tried a number of things on skin that I had previously tried only on paper.

I was able to familiarise myself with Hilde's first line of florals, Te Amo, which was inspired by her grandmother. I currently stock Il Tuo Tulipano from this line, which is Hilde's rendition of the feel of a walk through a field of tulips. Tulips themselves actually have little fragrance, so this is more an 'idea' perfume. It is fruity and green and quite luscious.

In my testing of other entries in the line, I was particularly taken with the Iris, which is ever so slightly rough and powdery. Very soft and beautiful but retaining the rootiness of iris which I find tremendously attractive.

From her second line, revolving around the theatre, Teatro Olfattivo Di Parma, I sampled Vecchi Rosetti, which is a riff on the smells of the theatre itself. It starts off with a decidedly unique and, to my mind, tremendously inviting smell of floor wax. Strange and gorgeous. I stock Bell'Antonio and Stecca from this line.

We then moved on to Hilde's newest line, which is all about the glories of wonderful food. Profumo e Gusto in Liberta contains seven fragrances which range from a rather mouth-watering jasmine-melon called ACQuiilsssSSIMA through a couple of gorgeous cocoa-based fragrances (yes, I'm being vague for a reason) to a fresh, tart strawberry scent called FRaaagolasaalaaata, which is the absolute essence of summer.

It was an immense pleasure to spend hours discussing and sampling these wonderful, idiosyncatric fragrances. Hilde's focus is on translating the beautiful and unusual -- whether taste, image, smell or memory -- into perfume. She is committed to using the best ingredients to realise her ideas and is not afraid of pushing the envelope on ideas and combinations.

EllieD Perfume Ellie: A hint of spring during the grey time

I bought grey wool rib tights on Tuesday. I know it is still autumn but I need warm things.

I'm not good in the cold. The first autumn I lived in London my toes started to ache (never happened during years of cold winters in New York). I mentioned the ache (and soon the itch) to a Scottish friend. She hmmmmed for a moment, then she said 'chilblains'. I had to look it up, but yessirreebob that's what I had. Lots of cream with eucalyptus and tea tree oil seem to help to lessen the discomfort. However, now I get them on my right hand too.

All in, my body doesn't enjoy damp cold weather.

So, today I put on EllieD Perfume's Ellie to get a pop of serious springtime as an antidote to the grey and the damp.

It certainly worked.

Straight in, I get lily of the valley and coconut: lush, fresh, green floral. This pulls you straight out of the grey and plunks you into a lovely garden in springtime on a warm, sunny morning.

Notes for this include bergamot, tangerine, cyclamen, lily of the valley, jasmine, gardenia, rose, fig leaves, vetiver, sandalwood, musk, vanilla and coconut.

As it warms on my skin, it deepens, with the jasmine and rose becoming a lot more apparent -- and maybe even the fig leaves, but I think that's because I love fig notes in perfume so I'm thinking I get it even if I really don't.

A few hours along I can detect the vetiver, which I find very interesting in a white floral perfume: it seems to temper any sweetness and also add a peppery aspect.

There is a gentle animalic undercurrent in this all the way through, which helps to anchor the more ethereal aspects of the fragrance.

A further pleasure to this fragrance is the pure perfume formulation (15ml / 0.5oz), which gives it a certain heft. Then, there's the bottle, which is a classic, cut glass oblong with a stopper: pure glamour.

All in all, it is very beautiful and elegant while still having an interesting kick which keeps it from being just another pretty white floral.

Rainbow Cake: A visit to Bea's of Bloomsbury

I know I usually do this sort of thing in the Interesting destinations section, but this one needs to be front and centre.

Yesterday, I visited Bea's of Bloomsbury, a cafe and tea room in Theobolds Road. I had a perfume-related meeting there, which I'll blog about on Friday.

Bea's is a lovely place that does a wonderful tea for a very reasonable £9. You get all kinds of treats: a couple of very good scones (with awesome cream and nice jam); a fairy cake of your choice (I had peanutbutter -- my guest had pistacio); there were three little brownies (dark, regular and white chocolate); a marshmallow (really, truly -- it was the best marshmallow I've ever had); and a couple of meringues. With a pot of Earl Grey tea -- absolute perfection.

The thing is, I was seated right next to the cake case and saw this amazing thing. It's called a Rainbow Cake: five or six layers of coloured vanilla cake with vanilla icing. I took a pic for my son (I had promised him a visit to Bea's during half term, which is next week). Alas, I can't figure out how to download the pic from my Blackberry (I have a very peculiar relationship with this device -- I'm not sure it's healthy) and I can't find a pic on the net (lots of other pics of Bea's fairy cakes and cakes -- have a look at the website www.beasofbloomsbury.com).

I can't vouch for the taste of the Rainbow Cake (also featured were a truffle cake, a chocolate layer cake, some sort of cheese cake I didn't quite clock, and a vanilla layer cake with passion fruit) but given everything I tried was scrumptious I have high hopes.

In any case, I showed my son the pic: he did one of those open-mouthed looks that are so wonderful on children. Then, he hopped up and down and pointed and said, 'me, me'.

So, I'm guessing I'll get a chance to try the Rainbow Cake very soon (I'll report back) -- and I'll definitely be having another marshmallow!

If there's a UK national postal strike...

If you're in the UK, you'll probably be aware that we are currently set to have national postal strikes that will run over 22-23 October.

As a small start-up, I rely on the Royal Mail and will continue to use its services.

Per Royal Mail, Special Delivery and Royal Mail Tracked items will, apparently, still be delivered on strike days.

I would point out that almost all orders from my site are posted either First Class Signed For or Special Delivery Next Day by 1 PM (again, signed for) and these have all reached their destinations even given localised strikes.

Power reading

About eight months ago, I spent around a half hour with a very patient sales person in the St Johns Wood branch of spacenk. I wanted a lipstick. I wanted a Chantecaille lipstick. As one drops a bit of dosh on one of these I wanted to make sure I got a colour and a texture I wouldn't regret once home.

I ended up with a sheer formulation in a colour called Nebula (it's a very dark rose -- darker than my lips but not too dark). I still love it (in fact, I'm now obsessing over a Chantecaille colour called Fig, which is somewhat darker than Nebula).

I thanked the SA for her patience. At one point we were discussing Chantecaille products and I asked her whether she read Makeup Alley on the internet. She looked at me blankly. I metaphorically shook my head. I am aware MUA is more popular in the US. But, it is a wonderful resource for all things makeup and fragrance, with discussion boards and an extensive product review section. It would seem to me that if you sell something it is worth doing a bit of research on what your potential customers might think about it.

I read the MUA fragrance board and surf the reviews to see what people think of the fragrances I offer. This doesn't inform all my choices regarding what to stock, but it helps with my thinking about fragrance consumers' likes and dislikes.

I read a number of perfume blogs as well. This is a way to keep up to date on what is released and what is out there, plus it makes me think in new and different ways about fragrance, whether mass market or niche.

All of this reading is also quite pleasurable. It's wonderful to be passionately involved in something about which other people are passionate.

But it also brings to mind an advertising phrase used by a US (I think it started in New York) clothing company called Sims: "An educated consumer is our best customer". Yes indeed.

So, if you haven't had a look at www.makeupalley.com, www.basenotes.net and www.nstperfumes.com (among lots of others) and you're into makeup and/or perfume, I highly recommend you do so. They're all invaluable when it comes to shopping -- and deeply pleasurable reads as well.

PS If you have any suggestions for a burgundy lipstick that might work on an NW20 please let me know :)

A fragrant book group

On Tuesday evening, I accompanied my friend and neighbour, Kathy, to her monthly book group meeting to introduce the participants to the perfumes stocked at Scent-and-Sensibility Perfume. I blogged about this sort of 'scent gathering' in late July. These gatherings are useful for me in a number of ways. They are a means of advertising the site. I am able to gather contacts for my email/newsletter list. Participants, particularly those who are unfamiliar with the world of niche perfume, seem to very much enjoy experiencing these more unusual fragrances and discussing their perceptions of these perfumes and scents more generally.

The gathering on Tuesday took place at Hagar's house, a gorgeous huge old place located in the Willesden area of north-west London. Five women participated this time (there were seven at the July gathering).

The reading group usually eat and then discuss a book. We sandwiched the fragrances between dinner and the book (which was The Cellist of Sarajevo this month).

I presented 14 of the 25 perfumes I stock (I had tried to get through all of my stock at the July gathering -- way to much to be going on about), ranging from the soft salty floral Ael-Mat (Lostmarc'h) through the heady resinous amber-incense of Tauer Perfume's L'Air du Desert Marocain to the dense tobacco-coffee of Hilde Soliani's Bell'Antonio.

To start off these evenings, I ask participants if they wear perfume and if so what sorts of things. On Tuesday evening, a couple of women (Hagar and Maggie) mentioned Chanel No 5 and Hannah said Penhaligon's Bluebell plus a spicier one from that brand for which she couldn't recall the name.

Once the sniffing began, some clear preferences presented themselves. Sofia enjoyed the lightness of Ael-Mat and really disliked the heavier fragrances, in particular the incensy ones, scrunching up her nose in distaste with each of these.

Kathy, who had enjoyed I Profumi di Firenze's Limone di Sicilia at the July gathering, liked the lighter citrus from Lostmarc'h, Din Dan. She was also intrigued by Bell'Antonio.

Hagar and Maggie gravitated towards the florals: Hilde Soliani's Il Tuo Tulipano and IPDF's Magnolia Purpurea generating oohs and ahhs.

Hannah was intrigued by IPDF's Ambra del Nepal and Tauer's Vetiver Dance, saying the former reminded her of the stronger Penhaligan she enjoyed.

In fact, AdN seemed the common ground of the evening, with everyone expressing pleasure in its fragrance.

As with the first scent gathering, participants were surprised by how different and evocative these sorts of fragrances are, and how 'true' they smell (vs more mass produced perfumes).

For me, it is always interesting, useful and pleasurable to listen to people talk about their impressions of and feelings about perfume. So, an enjoyable evening all around. I left before the book discussion and the next day Kathy reported that they'd continued to discuss the fragrances after I'd left. Maybe more perfumistas in the making.

Dorissima Narziss

Doris Brugger's fragrance Narziss takes its name from a character in Hermann Hesse's novel Narziss and Goldmund.

I read this years ago, as a teenager, and recall it fit perfectly within that period of my life. I won't recap the plot but simply say that Narziss was the grounded character and Goldmund the wanderer.

While I can't recall much of the character Narziss, the fragrance Doris has conjured certainly has a groundedness to it. However, it's a lot more than that.

It starts off sharp, herbal and green but even from the start it hints at something darker and deeper and wilder.

I recall this being mentioned on the Makeup Alley website's Fragrance board several years ago by someone whose taste I deeply admired and I tucked it away in my head as a fragrance I should try. However, it wasn't widely available.

Among the notes listed for this are tarragon, sage, rose, cedarwood, vetiver, tonka and fig leaves.

It was conceived as a masculine but that is by the by. 

This remains sharp, herbal and green even as it develops. But it makes me think, strangely, of deep brown velvet, the forest floor, of shadows and a world which might really include magical creatures.

A true shape-shifter of a fragrance.

As this deepens and dries down, I get the vetiver, cedar and tonka, but they underscore and anchor rather than overwhelm or change the top notes. These remain clear and sharp, in relief against the woody notes. I am somewhat flummoxed by this: it is almost as if the top notes float along, as if on rails, as the perfume progresses, never losing their true nature.

There is something deeply mysterious in this fragrance, something to remind one of Arthurian legend, castles, cloaks and rough-hewn jewels. This is the fragrance of depth and substance, strong-willed and passionate, whether worn by a man or a woman.

I know I am mixing my periods and metaphors and similes and whathaveyou but Narziss invites that. It is a glory of modern aromachemistry which manages to distil into smell dream and magic and myth. It begs you to imagine.

Ah, you say, you're completely over the top on this. Indulging in over-flowery perfume language. Get a grip.

Nonsense. There is nothing regular or mundane or every day here -- and there's no point in denying it.

A discombobulation on spices

Christmas foods and accessories are already in the shops here. Even after more than ten years living in this country, I find that disconcerting. We haven't even had Halloween yet. In the US, Xmas stuff doesn't appear until after the Thanksgiving holiday, at the end of November. This seems to me reasonable. But, there's no similar demarkation here, so I guess there's nothing to stop the marketing two months early.

So, this means I've had discussions of Christmas cooking recently, which led to talk of spices in seasonal cooking and baking -- and then, somewhat inevitably, to me thinking of spices in fragrances.

Most of the time spices play a supporting role in perfumes, adding piquancy or oomph to more central ingredients. However, there are some fragrances in which spices come front and centre. In most instances, I don't find these sorts of scents wearable. They may smell really good, but that doesn't necessarily mean they make great perfumes.

Sometimes, however, they do.

I've come up with one 'don't' first, one 'on the fence' and then a number of 'dos'.

Don't

I've tried to love Diptyque's L'Autre on skin, but it's not to be. This is big cumin and coriander, and smells like something that would make a truly great curry. Turin and Sanchez in The Guide label it 'Garam Masala'. Yes indeed. I love the way it smells out of the bottle, on paper.

I can't, however, get myself to want my skin to smell like this. There's edible and then there's edible. I've tried it a number of times because I love the idea behind this. Alas, I just can't manage the reality.

On the fence

I thought I would adore Laura Mercier's Ambre Passion. It started out this great amber and creosote thing. But then, after around a half hour, it slid into amber and cardamom: sweet on spicy sweet (though I find no cardamom in the notes list). I guess the idea of these two smells together should work well, and probably it does -- just not for me after that massively beautiful dry strange opening. However, I've seen lots of glowing reviews on this precisely because of the sweet on sweet thing. It seems that for many people this is very edible and come-hither.

Dos

Serge Lutens does spices very well indeed.

First, Arabie. This sits right on the edge of too foody but never tips over into that realm. Spiced dried fruit, this is the fragrance of the souk. It too is mouthwatering. It is also lush, full, a nose-to-wrist perfume.

Second, Ambre Sultan. Oregano has a big impact here: it mutes the sweetness of the amber, so there is nothing comforting in the least. Rather, this is much drier than your average amber and thus infinitely hotter and more mysterious.

I Profumi di Firenze Spezie de Medici. Beyond having a truly lovely name, this is Christmas in a bottle to me. Orange overlayed with clove and cinnamon, this a melange of different seasonal aspects: pomander balls stuck with cloves and burning orange oil wafting through the kitchen during baking. I have also been told it is the scent within a museum in the Spitalfields section of London called the Dennis Severs House.

Tauer Perfume's Une Rose Chypree gets a huge dose of sizzle from the addition of cinnamon. This amps up the rose's fragrance beautifully but with a floral counter-effect on the cinnamon of smoothing it out, making for something that is seriously deliciously sensuously warm all the way through.

I've written about the Chanel Exclusif Bois des Iles before. In a few words, this is the sexiest gingerbread in the universe. A beautifully crafted perfume that strangely smells both austere and mouthwatering.

I expect I'll be revisiting this theme -- as I haven't delved into vanilla and spices, nuts and spices or the big old world of gourmands. Besides, I'm sure there will be loads more discussions of holiday baking over the next few months and that can only lead in one direction...

A new perfume: Ellie from EllieD Perfume

My boxes runneth over?

I am delighted to announce an addition to the perfumes offered by Scent-and-Sensibility Perfume. Ellie, from the EllieD Perfumes and composed by the nose Michel Roudnitska, is now available on the site.

This is the first perfume strength fragrance I am offering.

It is a glorious white floral, with notes including bergamot, tangerine, cyclamen, lily of the valley, jasmine, gardenia, rose, fig leaves, vetiver, sandalwood, musk, vanilla and coconut. The perfume is named for Eleanor Dunn, the grandmother of Jessica Dunn, the woman behind EllieD.

Ellie is springtime in a bottle. Both nostalgic and truly modern, this is a lovely evocation of loving memory.

Ellie is availabe in 15ml (1/2 oz) stoppered glass bottles. As with all other fragrances offered by Scent-and-Sensibility Perfume, samples are availabe as well. As Ellie is pure perfume strength, samples are 1ml in size and cost £9 each.

Not quite what I was expecting

My fascination with immortelle continues.

In persuit of a sample of another fragrance using this note, I sent off a short letter to Serge Lutens in Paris asking if they offered one of their small wax sample 'folders' that include El Attarine, which I had read included immortelle -- and was also a strong, animalic fragrance.

Around two weeks after sending off my query, a small, heavy envelope dropped through the mail slot. Low and behold, SL does produce a 'folder' which includes El Attarine (it also has Un Lys, Encens et Lavande and Iris Silver Mist, a fragrance that gives me the creeps).

What joy! What pleasure! What customer service!

I rubbed my thumb over the wax rondel for El Attarine and then rubbed my thumb over my left wrist. I let it sit for a few minutes.

Such anticipation. I am so taken with immortelle at the moment and am trying to come up with a reason to visit Harrods in the near future to have another go at Dior's Eau Noir (I can think of few reasons to visit Harrods beyond the scent floor, but that is a big draw).

The notes for El Attarine include immortelle, musk, honey and dry woods (per Serge Lutens Nearly All the Facts).

With great anticipation, I sniffed my wrist and ... recoiled.

Where is the dense, syrupy fragrance I expect now expect from my other encounters with immortelle? Certainly not on my wrist.

This. Is. Cold.

Indeed, it reminds me of Iris Silver Mist even though they have nothing in common note-wise. I get metallic. I get mint. I am utterly and completely perplexed.

I try it again the next day thinking that maybe the mint was a one-off. Alas no. This time it's mentholated.

As it dries down on me (it is quite long lived, still being apparent eight hours after application from the wax sample) there is a bit more of the honey but the overwhelming sense I still get is of something cold and sharp.

So, not at all what I was expecting or indeed anticipating.

All I can do is shrug my shoulders ... and plan that visit to Harrods.

PS NowSmellThis posted a link to a Financial Times article on Serge Lutens. I have added the link to it below

http://www.howtospendit.com/#/articles/146-seducer-of-the-senses

Dorissima: A new perfumer and perfume

I've spent the past week and a bit waiting on a box. It has arrived.

I'm very pleased to announce an addition to the lines offered by Scent-and-Sensibility Perfume.

Dorissima is a German niche perfume and body products company run by Doris Brukker. Doris was a fashion PR before starting Dorissima, her all-natural line. Inspired by a meeting with the perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi, she began to produce fragrances.

Her Narziss (the name is taken from the Herman Hesse novel Narziss and Goldmund) is a resinous melange. Composed of tarragon, sage, Atlas cedar, vetiver, tonka and fig leaves, Narziss is green and herbal over a beautiful woody base.

The fragrance, which is eau de toilette strength, is offered in a striking matte black bottle.

It is a gorgeous concoction, mysterious and beckoning under the sharp green top.

Narziss is £80 for 60ml. It is also available in the 2ml sample size for £4.

Sniffing with Jan

I recently met up with my friend Jan to do some sniffing at Liberty's scent hall.

Now, Jan is a customer (IPDF Caterina de Medici) as well as a friend. But she's new to the obsession. So, we sprayed a lot of things to get a sense of her overall likes and dislikes. In the past she's worn Opium (purchased for her by a man), Chanel No 19 and Hermes 24 Faubourg. So, a bit all over the map.

During our visit to Liberty she gravitated towards citrus and fresher things, including Aqua di Parma Colonia Absoluta (wonderful cologne with animalic base), Byredo Green (gorgeous truly green sappy fragrance), and two Inekes: Daring Do and Balmy Weather. She also liked Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur, which isn't either citrus or fresh (vanillic musk which is sexy as hell if it works on your chemistry and wan vanilla if it doesn't -- I'm in the latter camp).

A good friend of Jan's wears Patou Joy, so she tried that ("too pongy") and I suggested a go at Lanvin Arpege (also too pongy).

I finally tried Piguet Fracas again. Very buttery tuberose. I've come to the conclusion that tuberose is just not me -- it doesn't matter which nose and perfume house produces the fragrance. Maybe one day I'll find something that proves the exception to this. I certainly hope so.

We had a peek into Liberty's ground floor tea room, which looks really lovely, and then walked over to Jan's club, a place called Blacks which caters to writers and media types. It's not really tucked away -- in a big old beautiful Georgian townhouse on Dean Street in Soho -- but it definitely feels like you're in another world.

I read a review of this place that includes the following: "... The result is a place with great members and staff who don't suffer fools gladly".

Well, so he said. We tried to order decaf lattes and got serious attitude about 'we don't do decaf'. Throw that rattle out of the pram. Whatever floats your boat.

The place is gorgeous in any case: a myriad of rooms to hang out in, with nooks and different 'feels' to them. Huge windows overlooking Dean Street in Soho mean you can get something to eat and/or drink and just stare out. According to Jan, it's a good place to hang, work, nap, network.

You enter from basement level and the day we went I think someone must have been doing paintwork or some sort of restoration, as a rather wonderful and strange chemical smell hung in the air.

We took our lattes in a room filled with odd tables and lovely pillow-strewn couches. It would be an awesome location for a scent gathering, I think.

It is also a place that begs members (and invited guests) to be scented -- and to me it calls for things within a very wide range. I could invisage someone coming for an early coffee and a meeting choosing to wear something mysterious and smoky, perhaps Tauer L'Air du Desert, Molinard Habanita or Piguet Bandit.

For lunch and a discussion of a book deal, Guerlain's Jicky.

An afternoon of writing and dreaming might merit Chanel Bois des Iles or Ormonde Jayne Ormonde Woman.

Meeting a friend for a glass of wine and a gossip might call for the irony of Thierry Mugler's Angel.

And for an assignation with a potential lover, Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan, Bond No 9 Chinatown, Agent Provocateur's signature fragrance or Caron Yatagan.  "Yes I said yes I will yes".