Anniversary reminiscence

Tomorrow (9 September) my wife and I (who else?) celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The traditional anniversary gift for this year is tin, and although I did contemplate a tin of baked beans as a present, sense prevailed, as did the thought of trying to make it through the next ten years.... In some ways it seems literally like yesterday that I found myself on the verge of getting married. I was a bundle of nervous energy, excited yet also filled with trepidation at the thought of the immensity of what we were getting ourselves into. Ten years later I'm grateful for the great times my wife and I have had together. It hasn't all been plain sailing, but for the most part being married is something I wouldn't change for the world. Ten years ago we were naive, both twenty-somethings with hardly any possessions. Ten years later we have moved to another country, experienced drastic career changes, bought a house (with the crippling mortgage to boot) and somehow ended up with two kids. How did we manage that? Ten years ago perfume was but an afterthought in my life. Who would have thought that a decade later I would be obsessed by it and writing a blog? On a more serious note, for some reason thinking of my wedding day brings back some melancholy thoughts as well. One of my dear family friends, Barbara, who was at our wedding, died from cancer that year. She had breast cancer about ten years before that, went into a long remission, then it came back with a vengeance in 2000. On our wedding day she was already suffering again, probably well aware that this time it was the start of the end. We didn't know - no one did that day save for her husband. Such was the selflessness of Barbara that she was all smiles and happiness that day, putting on a brave face for our sake. Less than three months later I was sat at her bedside, saying my last farewells, staring at a haggard and lifeless face whose soul was probably already moving to the next life. On a lighter note, her husband Trevor was bitten by a goat on our wedding day. The reception was held at a farm and Trevor thought the goat needed some wedding cake. Suffice to say the goat thought otherwise and Trevor's thumb bore the brunt of its wrath!

Tomorrow night my wife and I are going out for a simple dinner at a local pub, one that serves some very good food. Perhaps we will share a bottle of wine and I'm sure, a few smiles, laughter and perhaps even a few tears. Instead of the usual 10-year traditional gift, we have decided rather to treat ourselves to something we each like. I am thinking of buying a full bottle of perfume, something that will perhaps remind me of this special day. I don't know what I want though. Such is the fate of a perfume addict that one loves so many different perfumes and it's hard to come up with one single item. On my initial shortlist are Serge Luten's Ambre Sultan, Creed's Bois de Portugal and Christian Dior Homme. I'm also not sure what to wear tomorrow night. Do any of you have any suggestions?

Here's to you Wendy, my love.

Divine L'Homme de Coeur

Iris is very often thought of as quite a feminine note in perfume, although I personally love its use and generally don't struggle to pull off most iris-based perfumes. I have sampled quite a few iris perfumes over the last few months, including ones by Le Labo, Van Cleef & Arpels and Chanel. I've never tried Iris Silver Mist but would love to get my mitts on it at some point. Thinking of masculine iris perfumes, the two that spring to mind are Dior Homme and Divine's L'Homme de Coeur. I won't go into much detail on Dior Homme, suffice to say that I love it, but it is not as forwardly masculine as Divine's - there are notes of cocoa and makeup and perhaps lipstick, which seem to divide opinion. Just visit Basenotes to find out how polarising Dior Homme can be. However, I digress. This is a review of L"Homme de Coeur. The notes listed include angelica, juniper berries, cyprus, iris, vetiver, ambergris and wild vanilla. The opening is quite sweet, possibly from the angelica, and quite aromatic. Not surprising considering the juniper and cyprus notes. I thought I detected some citrus, which is not listed. Iris does pop up after a while and the effect of dry, almost dusty iris with fragrant fir notes is a surprisingly good combination, and slightly unusual. I'm not sure if any of you have tried any perfumes by Divine, but all the ones I've tried have quite an aromatic, almost spicy earthiness. The heart is where iris is most prevalent. This is not a powdery iris note, nor floral, nor rooty. It is hard to really say what it is, but probably woody and miles apart in feel from Dior Homme. I would say that if you can get a proper masculine iris note, this would be the one. However, overall I would not say that L'Homme de Coeur is an iris-dominant fragrance; there is a lot else happening here. The vanilla and ambergris combine wonderfully with the iris and vetiver to create a spicy, earthy, yet ever so sweet accord that frankly, is rather compelling. It's not a combination I've encountered before, but it works very well. The longer the fragrance wears, the less obvious the iris is, I think. It's there if you sniff closely enough, but it doesn't progress in the way iris perfumes often do - slightly aloof, cold, sophisticated and ethereal almost. L'Homme de Coeur is sweetish, warm, woody herbal and spicy. For you ladies out there, I would say that this is quite a masculine perfume, but if you can get past that, you might find an iris perfume unlike any other you have smelled before and I would certainly recommend at least trying this. Incidentally, Divine has (or used to when I ordered about 18 months ago) a great sample programme, where you can order samples of the entire line from their website, for very little actually. 

Image credit - www.fragrantica.com