Perfume Pilgrim

10% of ALL perfumes, including Guerlain, Dior, Chanel, Annick Goutal and all others at Debenhams Department Store, Oxford St until this Friday. Some other perfumes are reduced between 25 and even 50%. Georgio, 50ml is reduced to £12.47 and 30ml Anais Anais to £13.95 less another 10%. All the latest celebrity perfumes are also on sale and the aisles are congested with perfume sales staff anxious to help you choose. But hurry, the last sale day is tomorrow.

Marjorie Midgarden by Summer Scent

just arrived at Liberties in London on Sat 1st March. The official launch date is the 1st of April. Unfortunately, they don’t have any information about the perfume yet, nor samples, but I was impressed.  This is a lush golden floral based around a “mystical bloom” of undisclosed name. I smell yellow and white flowers, like daffodils, freesia and tuberose. There is an unusual story behind this one. The model advertising the fragrance is not a model at all and a mother of three. There is a fairy on the yellow packaging and the perfume bottle is handcrafted in Toronto with a lot of bling, painted gilding and crystal stopper. Here is their website.

Some of the listed ingredients includes, jasmine, orange blossom, cassis, genet and a sparkling mandarin top-note, with a soul of honey and musk. This perfume reminds me of a woman, now deceased who used to have a vintage clothing store called the Banana Room. Her shop was filled with her signature perfume, a Guerlain. Her long lithe and wrinkly fingers were covered in dozens of emerald and diamond rings and her ear lobes were stretched with the weight of her carats. Despite her advanced age at the time, she wore dark kohl under eyes and thick mascara on her lashes. She was ever so elegant, deeply tanned feminine and fascinating. There is something vaguely vintage about this scent too, though the coordinating gems would be more like gold and yellow diamonds. The perfume retails at £120 and is much richer than the eau de parfum at £80.

Evening Edged in Gold by Ineke

This is also exclusive to Liberties and in my opinion the most beautiful of the Ineke range. I smell rum balls and myrrh, sweet incense and candy reminiscent of some of my middle eastern scents, but without the heaviness. This might have some balancing aldehyde to lift and disperse the woods and resins. The poetry on the packaging is lovely. “Midnight candy.. star of the evening garden, Angels trumpet, osmanthus and saffron cast their golden spells.” Officially in addition to the above this has plum, cinnamon, leather and woods. I almost bought this one on the spot, without even trying it on my skin, but reason prevailed..

Cherry Blossom Gel Perfume by Loccitane

Opening the unusual bottle reminded me of a childhood white glue with brush cylinder I used to have.(That smelt way too good as I recall!) But this gel really has the texture of white glue and the lid holds a little brush to wipe on to your wrist. The texture is a little gloopy and surprising. I have tried many variations of perfume from solids, to roll-ons to atomizers and oils, but this is the first brush I have ever used to apply scent. The fragrance is charming enough, fresh and sweet with cherry, freesia and blackcurrant. Cheap too at only £13.oo.

It is wonderful to go travelling and then come back to my own stomping ground and discover lovely new smells that appeared while I was not looking.

Rose and Violet Macaroons

Fortnum and Masons now carry a box of rose and violet scented mini macaroons. I couldn’t resist including these, as well a couple of antique rose and violet cards from my own collection to sandwich them. Of course you can also find rose and violet tea, confit, creams, crystallised petals, marshmallows as well. Don’t forget to admire the  gorgeous floral china tea cups for afternoon teas too. If visiting there, don’t miss out on their utterly divine and revamped perfume parlour on the second floor, where you can also smell Caron’s Violette Precieuse.