Flying flowers...

Yesterday I was at Artis (zoo in Amsterdam) and visited a Butterflies Garden. A place full of bright colors flying around you. And fragrant tropical flowers and fruits as well - a true paradise for everyone who appreciates fragrances and colors. But the butterflies themselves - they don't smell. So, I think it would be a good idea to tease the imagination and try to see if butterflies recall any fragrant associations.


This one could smell like a modern marine-"watermelon" accord started by L'eau d'Issey or an older aldehydic perfume - like Rive Gauche, White Linnen.


Actually, it's the same one, but from the "side view". But a completely different smell. Woody oriental with smell of patchouli, sandalwood and resins like benzoin. And of course, an amber accord.


A difficult one. This contrasts between yellow and black recalls the contrast between bergamot and oakmoss in chypres. Well, let it be just chypre in general. But it could be a contrast between jasmine and leather in Knize Ten, for example.


This one is defenitely a vintage fruity chypre like Mitsouko or Madame Rochas.


This one is a floral aromatic of Camomile or Tagets. Can be Aromatics Elixer as well.

Why do I like the spring

This blooming Cherry tree is an ode to the spring.



No wonder why April is the most favorite month to me.



I wish you all a fragrant and blossoming weekend.

Updates by VirtuMax

Here are some latest updates for my non-perfumery blog Essences by VirtuMax

Some thoughts about synchronicity:
http://essencesbyvirtumax.blogspot.com/2009/03/synchronicity-fair-wind-to-find-destiny.html

Postcrossing - a funny postcard exchange projedt I found and now involved
http://essencesbyvirtumax.blogspot.com/2009/04/postcrossing.html

An interesting surprise from "Britains got talent" and thoughts about the dreams
http://essencesbyvirtumax.blogspot.com/2009/04/little-bit-about-our-dreams.html

Chaparral - walking through the fields and woods of California

Recently I compared Roxana’s perfumes with gifts. And they are. Roxana pays a lot of attention and love to packing and uses cute little pots and bags as well as wax sealed envelopes and letters. Do you remember the feeling of expectancy while untying, unwrapping and opening a gift when you was a child? It’s pretty the same here except that breaking wax seal ritual makes it look a little bit magic.

And than there is another joy coming – the fragrances themselves. Chaparral was the most intriguing one from the sample pack I’ve got. This is the fragrance from Californica series celebrating and exploring the beauty of plants growing in this area. I’ve got it in two versions – liquid and solid perfume.

Solid Chaparral overwhelms with its power of warm, almost chocolate sweetness of woods and a touch of cool herbs. But on the skin the situation is reversed. Roxana says that Chaparral is a dance of Air and Fire in the breeze. It’s true, because the play between the hot and cool notes goes through the fragrance. On my skin Chaparral opens with warm herbs. It’s like a sunny day when you stand on a green field and breath the aromatic bitterness coming from the herbs warmed by the Sun. You feel the space and breath the air freely. And than you go to the woods you’ve noticed somewhere at the foot of the mountains. You feel the air getting cooler under the shadow of the trees and what you smell is a play between cool balsamic notes and warm woody accords. At the end a note of smoke joins the woods. It’s like the fire you make to cook the diner and to celebrate this inspiring sunny day.

The image of liquid Chaparral is more clear and sharper. As if you see each blade of grass. There aromatic bitterness is sharper too and it plays with a contrasting sweet citrusy note. The note of smoke comes much earlier and accompanies the woods right from the moment you came to the forest. The rhythm of this dance is faster and the steps are more dramatic. But it’s still the same theme…

Chaparral stays close to the skin and gives it very natural smell as if you were crafting the whole day with herbs and woods. Although remaining pretty subtle the fragrance is tenacious and gives you hours of pleasure of walking among the woods and fields of California.

Credits: image from Roxana's website - http://www.illuminatedperfume.com