Roxana Villa talks the talk and walks the walk.
And I love her for this- among many, many other reasons.
She launches herself whole-heartedly into each endeavor with a full heart and a willing spirit.
Her perfumery is no exception.
She is a perfectionist, romantic visionary for whom botanical is best.
Two of Roxana’s newer compositions are Peace and Gracing the Dawn; she was kind enough to send them last week.
“Oh, Mama ! I could wear this and never tire of it…it’s my drug!” quoth he.
Out of the mouths of babes.
Only, my babe will soon be 20.
But the newest L’Artisan Parfumeur Coeur de Vetiver Sacre creation simply blew him away.
What’s in this potion that makes young existentialist types get the vapors ?
In the words of Monty Python’s John Cleese… “And now for something…completely different”
Searching frantically for a sample vial of basil oil for a special new perfume formula I dumped out a dish of essential oil vials on my table…
My jazz man remarked that the pile “smelled pretty good” this chaos of vials and smells gave of quite the …sillage..hm.mmm really? I said absentmindedly then…Oooooh! As a naughty thought crossed my mind…
Yes, you guessed it. Dump the contents of every vial into a bottle.
It has been a very good year for perfumers to re-interpret the eau de cologne style of fragrance construction. Each new iteration has seen some of the most talented perfumers we have, take the classic architecture of eau de cologne and impose their own design on this venerable style of fragrance.
Patricia de Nicolai makes some interesting additions to make L’Eau Mixte an Eau de Cologne all her own.
Drifting sparks by Lisa Fong for Artemisia Natural Perfume was everything I had hoped it would be. The black currant and fruity sambac gave the sweet juiciness I was looking for reminiscent of animal musk, the ambergris and cedar gave longevity and the bois de rose a peppery kick. It reminded me of a woman’s personal scent, the allure of “musk” without a dirty animal funkiness.
Mandy’s gift to the world of natural and fine fragrance is abundant… she is giving again. If you want to enter this seperate draw for a mini of Lumiere, please leave a comment on this site and on Mandy’s Facebook page @aftelierperfumes about her new website www.afterlier.com or why you would like to win Lumiere or Cassis.
