Heaven is a Parisian Apartment

Some people like to watch naked people doing things to themselves and others. My porn is this photo right here. My porn involves luxury real estate sites especially those located in Paris, France. What turns me on, so to speak, is an apartment with a view like this that has enough bedrooms to have my family and friends visit. Having a study and having a nice dining room to have lovely dinners makes me flush with desire.

This photo is of an apartment in the 16th District on the Right Bank of the Seine. This the view from its rotunda dining room. The living room and entrance faces the Trocadero Gardens.

I would never tire of waking up and taking coffee with a view of Eiffel Tower. Wouldn't this be a way to retire? Wouldn't it be grand if my obituary read how at age 95 I passed away in my Paris apartment?

This apartment is a freestone building that dates from 1929, it is about 2347 sq feet has 4 bedrooms, a study room, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, a cellar, staff bedroom, and parking. It is all mine for anywhere between 2.3 million to 5 million. It is on the Seine River, facing the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero Gardens. Looking at this photo I can teleport myself there sitting there with this window open in the summer and sit there with champagne or wine. I could watch the barges pass by and marvel at the Eiffel tower lit up at night. After dinner we could pull up high backed chairs with cognac and talk all night.

At first I thought the address was 62 Avenue de New York, Paris France. Now I am convinced it is 1 Rue Le Nôtre, Paris, France due to the fact the building entrance faces Trocadero Park. The reason I know the address is because from the above picture I was able to figure its relation to the Eiffel Tower. Then, using satellite view in google maps I was able to see a building that faces both Trocadero Park and Eiffel Tower with a rotunda feature. Then in street view I was able to match the wrought iron design in the balcony. I can also verify what floor it was by the shape of the windows. In a picture below in the study facing the dining room, you see a window shaped like the window up on the floor I marked with a black box. It is an arched window. It is possible it may be on the top floor since I was unable to see the top floor.

It would be sweet to have a mailing address: 1 Rue Le Nôtre, Paris, France. Sitting at my desk, in my study I could pull out stationary embossed with the return address DKC, 1 Rue Le Nôtre, Paris, France. My black pug, Mitsouko, could lounge on the leather sofa in the study as we listen to classical music on Radio Classique. It is now winter and there is a roaring fire in the study fireplace. All the bookcases would be full of books to read. I would have a larger desk and a more brown or tan leather couch. What better place to cozy up to the fire reading a novel? I want to smell the ink from the bronze inkwell and feel the sensation of an ink quill on fine weighted stationary paper.

Being built in 1929 means that it was built in an era that has captured my interest -- the era between world wars. This means this place must have seen the invasion of Paris and survived the war.

One of the bedrooms would be where our flat screen television, couch, washer and dryer, and exercise equipment would be as the living room would not have television, but be reserved to having guests. The other two bedrooms would be for guests to stay and I would have the master bedroom. The main rooms of this place should not have mundane things like televisions, exercise machines, and washing machines. My fantasy places need to be magical.

For the dining rotunda, I would have to have a large round dining table with white linens, and white floral centerpiece with candles. The table would have to have spaces for up to 14 to 16 ppl. Right here is an antique regency revival mahogany table. The chairs would all be wrapped in sumptuous chair covers, of course.

I wish they had pictures of the kitchen and bedrooms. Does it really matter though? They give enough material about this place that I can escape to this happy place. Where I can have my perfumes on a vanity and take walks by the Seine. Wear Chanel. Have a bob of henna'd hair.

Back in 1984, I loved walking in Paris and it would be such a joy to be able to go to museums, cafes, and various gardens again. If I want to go to the Champs-Elysees to Guerlain or Chanel Boutiques, I could walk to the Passy or Trocadero Metro. Basically, it is mind boggling how many places I could get to on the metro. Using street view on Google, I was able to experience walking from this apartment to the Musee de l'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris , then the Chanel boutique, and then the Guerlain Boutique on the Champs-Elysees. Also using street view, I was able to walk to Soleil de Franklin where I can walk to get produce. OMG! Imagining that I could be walking distance to Chanel and Guerlain gets me hot and bothered in the very best way.

Being in Paris would put me in the position to take trains to Istanbul, Venice, Vienna, Dresden, and Bern.

For me heaven is a Parisian apartment.

Amouage Epic was a sublime accident thinking I ordered Amouage Lyric. The first time I got the vial I put a tiny droplet on the top of my hand, as I had another fragrance on my wrist from earlier. It was impressive that even though I was wearing Coco, I could from this one droplet detect its character. There is this soft sweetness I remember from that quick sniff of Lyric, it is never cloying because it is perfectly balanced with spices. There is pink pepper and tea in there. That droplet had so much going on I knew this would be the perfect scent for the New Year. The scent makes you want to recline and think of being strewn on silken sheets with incense around you in a palace.

I shopped to find the perfect top and jewelry for the perfume and found a ruffled, gauzy shirt with dark red and pinkish rose poppies with green leaves and a black background. I also found gold jewelry that suggested Central Asia.

I waited until I was fully showered, dressed, and made up to put the full application of Epic. Listening to the New York Philharmonic play Gershwin fit this sublime sweetness beginning -- that beautiful peppery rose opening lasts for a couple of hours where we decide where we want to go, drive, walk on street lit up with glorious holiday lights, and wait for a table and our food with a perfect straight up martini. Then at the start of dinner the fragrance just opens up and gives an "epic" performance of roses, spices...everything it got. It shocks and awes in a lovely way. Having pillowy, garlicy naked clams and in the halo of Epic was just perfect. My only sticking point was I picked an Italian white, which didn't quite work. Maybe I should have gone with a Fume Blanc. Oh well.

Then as we started driving home the fragrance danced one last time to the fusion live jazz on the radio and then it adjusts itself again and centers itself into a low flame of incense with a hint of the sweetness that was there all along. When I say "centered" I mean that this incense was the type for meditation - there was nothing distracting -- just this resinous low flame.

Overall, we all ate well and hubby was able to share in the perfume's various stages. The sillage was 6-12 inches according to hubby. The experience was so touching and wonderful, I was eager to recapture it. I went over to share Epic with a perfumista friend. While it was lovely, Epic should never be worn when just watching Bowl games. It just didn't work. My suspicions about this perfume was correct, it needs to be worn for special events where the tempo is slower and everything glows and is romantic or dear. Epic is not a casual perfume. Lesson learned. Yet, one last little spritz today as I relax at home. Then I promise to put it away til some special occasion.

Amouage: Planning My Trek Down the Silk Road

Image: JHP Design

During my sniffing trip last Summer in San Francisco, we made it into Jacqueline's Perfumery that features rare and vintage perfumes that is located down the street from Neiman Marcus. Even though I wasn't terribly impressed with the customer service I did get a whiff of Lyric by Amouage. It was a fleeting smell that stuck in my head and I kept wishing rather selfishly that she had shelled out the 260 bucks for the bottle.

The hesitation was understandable because we share the preference for pure parfums or extraits over edp or edt. If we are going to invest in perfumes, why not hold out for the best purity. Amouage seems to be an exception though. Often Heather and I would speak of Lyric in day-dreamy, unfinished sentences.

I would see 10 ml vial decants on Ebay for them and was wondering if I should really pay 60 bucks for 10ml. I broke down for Christmas and bought myself a vial only to find I accidentally ordered Epic. How did I do that. It was purely my fault as I saw a fragrance ending in "ic" and pushed the confirm button. This is filed under the heading, "Why Mommy Can't Read?"

When I received the decant I put a tiny, tiny droplet on the top of my hand and was amazed at the strength and longevity - not to mention the breathtaking beauty of Epic. Pepper, tea, spices do this intricate dance amongst the damask rose floral and it really does take you on this intoxicating journey down ancient silk road. It is a grand perfume that I will wear tomorrow night for New Years' Eve. This is not a work or perfume you go about your day with. I am not sure if it is a sexy perfume except in the context you imagine yourself captured as part of a harum on your journey along the silk road. It is more a special occasion scent or a scent to daydream to (or dream to). Epic is a commitment of most of your day. It is a statement perfume saying that you chose this occasion to wear the most precious and exotic ingredients expertly put together.

Since rose perfumes are great companions to culinary garlic in meals, it is a pairing I should try with this.

My memory of Lyric didn't jibe with its origins at a Perfumery stated by the Sultan of Oman using precious materials from the Middle East. Lyric seemed to me to be very French and western more so than Epic.

It's longevity may make the price a bit more tolerable -- a 100ml bottle is $300.00. For $59.00 you can have 10 ml from a seller on Ebay, Mudassir. He also has a direct store which he prefers we use and what a nice selection he has. It looks like I found a great source for fumes with him. He has kindly offered me a sample of Amouage Reflection (which is awesome because it seems it will be a nice addition for the coming spring) with today's order of Amouage Lyric. So I will be adding my reviews of all three Amouage fragrances soon. Now, if only I can manage to try Amouage's Attars...

Chanel: A Redemptive Tale

My journey through the world of Chanel almost was cut short. One day in the late Spring and Summer when I was beginning my journey to become a perfumista, a co-worker brought a bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle to me. She had the bottle for several years and she never really liked it. Being that I was so eager to collect perfumes, she thought I may like it enough to offer it a new and more appreciative home.

That next morning before work, I dived in and applied it to the wrists, earlobes, inner elbows, and between "the girls" in a daring move to give it an honest try. At first my impression was that it was interesting, but not necessarily in a good way. Was it a nuttiness? It was just this odd scent palate different from the Dior's and Guerlains I had tried.

I was determined to keep on course despite the worry that this could go bad while I had to work. As the day progressed my fears were realized as the fragrance turned on me and I felt progressively confused, angry, and scared that I would be trapped in this long-lasting scent. It was a scrubber which took 4 trips to the bathroom sink to remove the smell that cried out for a tomato juice bath. It took awhile for me to not look at a Chanel label without a mix of revulsion or fear.

A friend lent me EDTs of No. 5 and No. 22, and I found them both to be very pleasant -- especially No. 22. No. 22 was just prettier and more sparkly in a wrist vs. wrist test. Then I bought a small bottle of vintage No. 19 Parfum when I couldn't find No.22 on Ebay. No. 19 is very close to my heart. No. 19 made me pine for other Chanel's with its sophisticated leatherish notes I know that this could be a signature scent if not for the brutal fact that it is discontinued in that form. It is cruel to oneself to decide on a discontinued and rare scent as a personal scent. If you do you make heartbreak certain. No. 19 parfum smells full-bodied and wonderous on me. It meshes with my chemistry.

On a suggestion of posters on Perfume of Life, I have also tried Egoiste Platinum and the Original Egoiste -- both for men. Those vie with Eau Sauvage by Dior that I love wearing.

One night I smelled Coco ( minus the Mademoiselle, of course) on my dear friend and thought it very fetching. This Christmas Santa got me a .25 oz of Coco after showing my mother-in-law around the Neiman Marcus counters. This has the potential of being my signature scent even though folks will claim that the vintage version is superior. At some point, I have to let go the notion of finding the elusive version that I may end up never really finding and just appreciate contemporary and available versions of perfumes. When I wear Coco with its warm, rich spiciness that has a sophisticated reserved nature. Coco makes me think I live in a mansion overlooking an incredible view wearing Chanel clothes with a fabulous haircut. Someone observed that Chanel fragrances are very aspirational. While Caron is said to be for the Countess, and Guerlain for the kept woman -- Chanel is for the independent, modern woman with impeccable taste.

Guerlain has Guerlainaide, Chanel does seem to have a bit of what I call Chanelaide that gives Chanel a feeling of a certain pedigree. Guerlain is a romantic mystery that belongs as a muse for an artist at the turn of the century laying naked on crumpled sheets. Caron is more of a precious, bejeweled and blue-blooded, perfectly lady-like with china doll features. Chanel has a verve, confidence that is charismatically handsome with a bold bob, crisp white shirt, and a pilot's cap. Guerlain has wine that was brought up to warm up a cold, artist's flat. Caron is just a touch of champagne that is worth a weeks work in a bottle on an ornate and formal dining room in an old castle. Chanel is a woman delighting the surrounding men in the room with ribald and intellectual talk over an old scotch in a room reminiscent of a banker's club.

Since sampling Caron fragrances at Jaquelines in San Francisco, I know I could never be a Caron girl. For the longest time I have felt very much like a Guerlain girl and that is where my heart is, but Chanel appeals to my mind as well as my nostrils.

This is only the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Chanel.

Then there is the House of Amouage... oh dear god..that is an entire new post.

San Francisco Sniff-o-polloosa Part I

On Saturday, September 12, 2009 my friend Heather and I met up with a Perfume of Life Perfumista, Bergamot (Rachel) in San Francisco's Union Square. Our goal was to smell as many perfumes as we can in one afternoon.

We started out and ended at Neiman Marcus where there was a Creed, Tom Ford, and Guerlain. The Creed counter had a list of over a hundred fragrances Creed has which is overwhelming. The two Creed fragrances that stood out on the paper strips was Flourissimo and Fantasia de Fleur. The Flourissimo was the one created for Princess Grace for her wedding and it was a wonderfully pretty white flower scent. It had an old school vibe to it like a Diorissimo but brighter. It was like Diorissimo because it wasn't a sexy scent, but very well behaved -- surprising since it has a naughty tuberose in it. I could wear this in the Spring and times that I would wear Diorissimo. Fantasia de Fleurs by Creed, was by far my favorite Creed. It was created in 1862, so it is an old school fragrance. It was an over-the-top floral with musk but it was really beautiful to me. These fragrances are available online for 65 bucks or so, so I may end up adding them to the collection at some point. There was 2000 Fleurs, but it was merely a "meh" for me, which was wild because I do like over-the-top florals.

Tom Ford has always been interesting to me. Once I smelled his White Pachouli from the bottle and absolutely hated it and then I tested it on my wrist anyway. White Pachouli settled down and I ended up liking it, not liking it enough to buy, but at least I left with a better impression. The Tom Ford counter at Neiman allows you to try their Private Blend EDP fragrances seperately or in combination. Heather tried Champaca Absolute and Velvet Gardenia, and I tried Tuscan Leather. These are intended to be unisex scents and we found that they had a masculine character to them. They stood out to be very high quality scents. That Monday morning at work, I wore Tuscan Leather to work and it was a really nice warm, smoky, sweet leather scent of a worn expensive leather couch. In some reviews they accuse this as being linear, but it does start out sweet then gets into a more smoky leather. One wonders if I pair Tuscan leather with Champaca Absolute or Velvet Gardenia if it would offer more complexity. Online, some say to pair it with Tobacco Vanille to make it more smokey like that boys club with its solid wood paneling, overstuffed leather sofas, a roaring fire from a fireplace out of Citizen Kane's mansion, aged cognac, cigars, amber tiffany bankers lamps, and carpets with deep, rich colors.

For some reason I cannot get it out of my mind. I am going to see if I can try a poor man's version M7 from YSL which is another leather to love. Chanel 19 is suppose to have leather notes, and I never noticed that but if true it would explain how I love it so.

More from my trip in the next post...

Hand-Me-Down Treasures

A good friend gave me some vintages that she got from her late grandmother that she had no interest in keeping. They are now taking their place of honor on the vanity in a cool dark place.

1. L'Aimant by Coty (1927): According to basenotes.net this was created by Francois Coty and Vincent Roubert. Haven't gotten to this frag, but smelled it out of the bottle and it smells very pretty. Apparently, L'Aimant is still in production, but this one seems to be from the way back machine.

2. Mademoiselle by Louis D'or (1963): According to Cleopatra's Boudoir's ebay guide, Louis D'or created at least 5 perfumes in 1963. Those perfumes were: Amour, Ceil, D'or, Mademoiselle, and Reve. I ran across a Trois Perfume set with three different perfumes: Automne - Hiver - Ete. Then I did a search on Ebay and found Autumn Moon, which says it is Louis D'or - Paris, but also has on the label Northridge, CA. There is another gift set I found on Ebay that has six perfumes: Zorba, I'm Loved, Eternal Love, August Moon, Madam Loubarry, and Golden Louis. This one I have not tried yet. That plastic stopper is not the easiest to get open. Funny that I thought that this was created by Louis Dior, but when I took the photo I was able to magnify the label to find it was Louis D'or. It looks like I will be the first person to review this on the Internet.

3. Mari de Lise by The Louangel Group (1950-1960): According to BabelFish, Mari de Lise means, "Husband of the Dye Stick". In Ifa Divination: Communication between Gods and Men in West Africa, it says, "From that time on, because the dye did no sacrifice, when a cloth has been dyed, someone else wears it, and people say, "Don't you see the work of dye? Dye is the husband of Cloth,"And they take a staff to stir dye and then lean the staff against the Dye's neck." I am not sure what to make of the name.
There is absolutely no information on Mari de Lise on the Internet, so it is either really, really rare or for some reason it never caught on. Mari de Lise is created by The Louangel Group of New York. They made a men's cologne in the 1960s called Aries. According to Perfum Intelligence, this house launched a perfume in 1950. I will let you know what I think. I will try this one over a weekend so I am not caught at work by a fragrance that doesn't work. My guess that this house was one of the many that popped up after the war to take advantage of the new affluence. Looks like I will be first on the Internet to review this one.

4. Miss Dior Eau de Cologne by Christain Dior (1947). Finally a perfume that I am familiar with as I have a mini splash bottle of this. Before I was a Guerlain girl, I thought I would be a Dior Dame. Somewhere I had a classic CD blazer I bought in the 1980s and the fragrances so far suited me. I have only tried Miss Dior once, but I found myself comparing this to the flowery, pretty Diorissimo and J'Adore L'Absolu and sexy, bedroom fresh, Eau Sauvage unfairly. This is a scent that needs to be appreciated for itself and I am not sure I gave it a fair shot, now I have enough to do that.

Coming in the mail is Balmain's Vent Vert, which was also born in 1947 and from what I read of both could be interesting to compare. There are good reviews at Bois de Jasmin, Now Smell This, Perfume Smelling Things, and Perfume Shrine. You can also check out what folks say about it at basenotes.net.

5. Shalimar Eau de Cologne by Guerlain (1925) (in Pouchet et du Courval round disc shaped 3 oz bottle with cone stopper) I have a mini bottle of Shalimar that was in my set of Seven Guerlain perfumes. There was a hesistation to try it, because it seems that people often speak of Shalimar like more of a cautionary tale than of one of Guerlain's gems. The house of Guerlain always surprises me in the best ways and each time differently, whether it is Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Chamade, and now Shalimar. There is no doubt that when putting on Shalimar that you need a light hand, but this is a beautiful oriental - not vamp oil like you would think by people's attitudes toward it. In another post I will do more of an indepth review, but I loves my Shalimar.
When I told my friends on Facebook I was trying Shalimar on, an older male friend said it brought on memories of his mother. My response was that if you are collecting and use vintage scents there is no avoiding bringing someone's mother or grandmother into it.

6. Emeraude de Coty .40 oz (1921) (in an art deco bottle with a green and gold screw bakelite cap The maker "Coty" is embossed in the glass beneath the bottle.) This is a spicy confection of a perfume that was really well received here by myself and hubby, but I need to wear it again before reviewing, because there may have been remnants of Le Dix I was picking up. Le Dix will be reviewed later as well. I say confection because there was a sweetness to it and hubby thought he sensed the hint of chocolate. One thing I noticed was that there was something in it that reminded me of L'Heure Bleue's medicinal note, but it wasn't medicinal but more like a mint, but not really mint. Was it the aldehyde? That's it! Next time I try this it will be after a shower and I will pick this puppy apart.
One of the things I do is imagine the woman who would wear this in the perfume's heyday. Is Emeraude Betty Boop in a Komono?
Check out fragrantica and basenotes about Emeraude and the consensus is that only the vintage Emeraude is worth trying.
7. White Shoulders cologne 2 fl oz by Evyan (the bottle is like this but with a gold cap) (1935) A boyfriend I had in the 1980s, said he loved White Shoulders, but at the time it seemed too powdery and too old. It just wasn't me at the time and I really wasn't into perfume. This was not the perfume to flip the switch. Tresor, would be the first to capture me in my 20s. This is not the White Shoulders I remember. Apparently, the Elizabeth Arden version is not like the original Evyan. So I will give this one a try and let you know my impressions. Basenotes says that the top Notes are: Neroli, Tuberose, Aldehydes. The middle notes are supposedly: Gardenia, Jasmine, Orris, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Lilac. The base notes are Sandalwood, Amber, Musk, Oakmoss. If these notes are true I am bound to love it as you know I adore Tuberose, Gardenia, Jasmine, and Lily of the Valley. What can go wrong? Check out what the folks at Pink Manhattan had to say about White Shoulders.

8. Oscar de la Renta Parfum (1977) In 1977, I was 11 years old and had no idea of perfume. No one in my family wore it except my dad wore Old Spice. This is a bit green behind the years compared to my parfum loves. An out of the bottle sniff revealed a scent that is pretty nice indeed. This Oscar de la Renta's first fragrance that is eponynous, Oscar. Being a child of Sesame Street, Oscar would not be the name I would name this scent, but I haven't review it yet. Snort.

9. Chanel No. 5 (1921): When borrowing two spray EDT of Chanel No 5 and No. 22, I fell in love with Chanel 22. When I couldn't find an affordable Chanel No. 22, I found No. 19 and we lived happily ever after. This No. 5 I have is an eau de cologne which was supposedly discontinued in the early 90s. This EDC should be similar to the EDT, but people have said that the era No. 5 the cologne comes from is very special and I should be in for a nice surprise on this one. The No. 5 I tried just fell flat in comparison to No. 22 and I still hope someday to get my hands on it. It is so precious I will be able to get to know this classic and over time grow to love it. Maybe some day I will get over this mad crush over No. 22. This is all very remarkable when you think I had such an aversion to Chanel after that unfortunate Chanel Coco Mademoiselle incident.
[Last night again I tried No. 5 after Vent Vert wore down and the No. 5 again fell flat. I may need to get a small bottle of parfum before I pronounce No. 5 a gonner. Also troubling is there seemed to be a tiny bit of what was bothering me in Coco Mademoiselle.]

10. Chanel No. 19 EDT splash (1971): According to basenotes.net and Perfume Smelling Things, Chanel No. 19 was born in 1971 when I entered kindergarten -- Bois de Jasmin has it at 1970. Like I said before, I loved No.22 first, but came to love No. 19. I already own a parfum version of No. 19 and I love it, so getting an EDT version is going to be interesting. A comparison test is needed.
It must be the hyacinth note that gets me as my dear Chamade has hyacinth as well.

This boon has clarified for me that I am destined to wear perfumes from yesteryear. So far scents from before I was born like me and I like them. I have found the most kindred spirit over at The Vintage Perfume Vault. Amelia is a fellow Northern Californian, who writes brilliantly about the lesser known vintage scents and has already given me ideas what to hunt for.
If anyone wants to add their comments and perhaps date this bottles for me, please feel free to have a try. Check in for more reviews as I try them.

My Perfume Shrine