09 Monday Dec 2019
Posted in Perfume Reviews
I recently received an unexpected text from a friend, the kind of message that makes you stop and shut your eyes just for a second and then read it again more slowly, hoping you misunderstood it at first glance. But no…it was the very saddest kind of news. Our friend Gaia had passed away very suddenly, at the age of 49.
22 Friday Nov 2019
Posted in Passing Fancies
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Reading: Just started Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, because I’ve never read it and I’m preparing for a trip to Savannah.
Audio: I recently watched a documentary about the Laurel Canyon sound of the mid-60s. It was a mediocre sort of film, but now I’m listening to various bands from that era and remembering how much I love The Byrds.
Video: Waiting for The Irishman to come to Netflix…
20 Wednesday Nov 2019
Posted in Perfume Reviews
My latest post on Now Smell This is a review of Dancing Roses and Salty Flower, two fragrances from Viktor & Rolf’s Magic Collection.
You can read it here.
18 Monday Nov 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent, Art and Scent
“Freetrapper is our most modern masculine scent, but its origins are early America.”
Freetrapper is a fragrance from the NYC-based niche perfume house of D.S. & Durga, whose website goes on to explain,
“Beaver trappers were the cowboys of early America. Renegade mountaineers of the Jacksonian era who cut trails through the wild in search of beaver pelts — prized by hatters, doctors, and perfumers. Dark cedar, snake root, synthetic beaver castor, and wild bergamot.”
So far, so good. Frontiers…settlement…hunting…goods and trade. Earthy, animalic smells. I get it.
But there’s more to read, plus this ad that’s been appearing in my social media feeds lately:
14 Thursday Nov 2019
Posted in Art and Scent
yasiin bey (American, born 1973). Alämayyähu and yasiin, 2015. © The Third Line
I always try to keep an ear (and a nose) out for works of olfactory art that I can visit in New York. This time, the opportunity has come right to my workplace, in yasiin bey: Negus (November 15 through January 26 at the Brooklyn Museum.
From the Brooklyn Museum website:
“We present the U.S. debut of yasiin bey: Negus, a listening installation of yasiin bey’s latest studio recording, which will not be released in any digital or analog mediums. . . .The latest in a series of international presentations of Negus, the exhibition acknowledges the importance of hip-hop as a fundamental American art form by making the 8-track, 28-minute recording available without the distractions of technology. . . .In addition to Negus, the exhibition includes artworks by Ala Ebtekar, Julie Mehretu, and José Parlá created in collaboration with bey, as well as original music by celebrated pianist by Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou.
Negus is presented as an immersive sound installation that can only be experienced in person. The recording is unavailable for purchase via digital or physical platforms. Bey designed the multi-track recording as an installation to encourage people to be fully present while listening to it.”
In fact, the experience is even more immersive than visitors may initially realize…
13 Wednesday Nov 2019
Posted in Uncategorized
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Photo via Barneys.com
Once in a while I need to chat about something other than fragrance (imagine that!). Last spring I reviewed some lipsticks from Femme de Poppy, a new niche lipstick line by Poppy King. This fall I have two new shades to rave about: Well Red and Flight Risk…
11 Monday Nov 2019
Posted in Uncategorized
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“American soldiers select French perfumes at the gift counter of the Seine Section post exchange in Paris (France) March 28, 1945.” Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images.
01 Friday Nov 2019
Posted in Perfume Reviews
My latest post on Now Smell This is a review of Kelly + Jones’ Crush Collection, a trio of fragrances named Vigne, Bouquet, and Terroir.
You can read it here.
27 Sunday Oct 2019
Posted in Books and Scent
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Sylvia Plath on the Yorkshire Moors, September 1956, via Smith College
Earlier today I started noticing Sylvia Plath’s name appearing repeatedly in my Twitter feed. Then I realized that today’s Google Doodle is also a tribute to Plath. It’s the anniversary of her birthdate — October 27, 1932.
I started reading Plath’s writing when I was sixteen or seventeen and she remains one of my favorite poets. Today, then, seems like a fitting date to share a few lines from Plath’s journals, as published in The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (2000).
