Jeff Buckley covers Bob Dylan's Mama, You've Been On My Mind

I just had to post this video - the late Jeff Buckley's cover of Bob Dylan's beautiful Mama, You've Been On My Mind. It's been a recent Dylan favourite of mine, hearing it off one of the official Bootleg Series tapes. I read that it was recorded during the sessions for Dylan's Another Side album, but for whatever reason never made the final cut. It is still a great song and beautifully covered by Jeff!

SOTD - Guerlain Bois d'Armenie

Following my post of solemnity and austerity (sort of) yesterday, in a similar vein I wore Guerlain's Bois d'Armenie. Some of you may recall that I have had some longevity issues with some of the perfumes from the L'Art et la Matiere line, but today Bois d'Armenie stayed the distance and smelt excellent in the continuing cold spring weather we are experiencing. 

On my skin Bois d'Armenie is mostly about incense and woods, with a hint of smoke and balsamic sweetness. It is a relatively quiet fragrance, but very well executed.

Third Blogoversary

It just occurred to me that yesterday was the third anniversary of my blog. I almost forgot, but thought I would mention it primarily because when I started, I never thought it would last three months, yet alone three years!

It has been a lovely three years, during which time I have learnt a lot about perfume, but even more importantly, made good friends with like-minded fume heads and enjoyed participating in, and following the perfume blogs of many individuals. Thanks to all of you for enriching my life in some way!

A good Good Friday perfume?

Today being Good Friday, it is a day of abstinence from meat, if you are a Christian believer and of course, a day of obligation, meaning attendance at the Good Friday mass.

Being a good little boy (and more than a little fearful, thanks to a a staunch Catholic upbringing), I attended mass of course, and so I wore Heeley's Cardinal, about as incense-centric as it can get, although having written that, I can actually think of a few others that would have fit the bill, including Norma Kamali and Avignon, for example.

Sitting on a pew and feeling the solemnity of the occasion, it seemed appropriate to have wafts of austere and contemplative incense perfuming my immediate person.

Moving onto matters culinary, it was fish of course. I baked cod in foil, flavoured with a bit of salt, pepper and lemon and served it with sweet potato mash and coconut milk rice, with a hint of tamarind and lime. I think it was quite good, but whether that combination is good or not, I don't really know. Why don't you tell me, and also let me know what you had or are having for dinner this evening?

If you were going to a Good Friday mass, what perfume do you think would be appropriate? Would it be incense?

Terry de Gunzburg

I was at Hoopers today, which as regular readers may know, is one of two local department stores in my town, which has a very good fragrance department and some friendly and knowledgeable SAs.

I was interested to see that they now have the entire Terry de Gunzburg perfume line. I had never heard of Terry de Gunzburg, if I'm being perfectly honest. I've been informed that she is a French makeup artist, who created the Touche Eclat makeup range for YSL. I am no makeup expert I'm afraid, so I can't comment on that, but I do know that the perfume bottles are very stylish, as can be seen below. 

There's something about these bottles that reminds me of the Armani Prive bottles. I think its the flattened cap.

Anyway, while all the fragrances are listed as being for women, I didn't really think this was the case. The two I tried on skin are Ombre Mercure, pictured above, and Lumiere d'Epices. Ombre Mercure has notes of violet leaf, jasmine, rose, iris, ylang-ylang, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin and vanilla. Lumiere d'Epices has citrus top notes of bergamot, grapefruit and blood orange, a floral heart of orange blossom, jasmine and rose, and a base of cedar, nutmeg and clove. I thought for an initial wearing, both impressed. Lumiere d'Epices's main note for me is orange blossom, quite spring-like. The spices aren't particularly prominent and the cedar wood is subtle. Well done though. Ombre Mercure is a more oriental fragrance. The violet and iris aren't that prominent to me, but in the dry down the presence of a smooth sandalwood note is unmistakeable and welcome.

Others in the line include:

Flagrant Delice, which on paper smelled mostly of fig, first a bit milky, then sweetening to a more gooey fruity accord.

Reve Opulent, which to my nose, again on paper, is a fruity floral.

Parti Pris, which again is quite oriental, with tuberose and balsams, a hint of tobacco and other florals. 

So, quite an interesting line then, and I think well worth exploring.

Le Labo Labdanum 18

Over the years I've read some very mixed reviews of Labdanum 18. There seem to be, broadly speaking, two camps. The first love it and praise its warm, cozy, cuddliness. The other abhors its sweet, fluffy powderiness.

Having worn the perfume a few times, I can say that I understand how one could fall into one of the above camps. In many ways Labdanum 18 is sweet, powdery, warm and cozy. Fortunately, for me at least, the fragrance wears a bit dryer on my skin, which suits me just fine.

I wore Labdanum 18 today for the first time in quite a while, on a frigidly cold spring day. As an aside, I can't wait for this winter to end. It has been the coldest for some time and I am sick to death of it. Anyway, I think the cold today made the perfume feel more austere than usual, which is saying a lot, as I doubt many people would describe Labdanum 18 thus. Perhaps I should rather use the term 'pared down'. Most reviews will mention Shalimar as a reference point and I can see similarities, albeit the Le Labo being a far more modern interpretation of the style. However, to my nose Labdanum 18 bears far more of a resemblance to Musc Ravageur, which is probably no coincidence considering that the two perfumes share a common creator, the great Maurice Roucel. However, Musc Ravageur is far more sensual and animalic, with a greater musky kick, in other words a bit more growl and claws.

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle - Bigarade Concentree

As much as I love the Frederic Malle line, I must confess that Bigarade Concentree leaves me feeling a little nonplussed. 

It smells decent, but having been a fan of Ellena's earlier Cartier Declaration, I can't help but feel that Bigarade Concentree is simply a riff on a very similar theme. Citrus (bitter orange), a hint of cumin (perhaps), a whiff of spice (cardamom?) and some subtle woods (cedar?). Those all appear in Declaration, but amped up to a far more interesting level in my opinion. And also don't forget that Declaration can probably be had for a third of the price.

Yes, it is a somewhat cynical view, and in fairness, Bigarade Concentree is a good perfume, but I personally think there are far more interesting compositions in the Malle line. Another thing: longevity is not particularly good on my skin. I haven't tried the original Bigarade from the same line, but if this one is fairly subdued and fleeting, then who knows how much less the other is?