Tabla

For Munich standards, she was a bit late to sign up for a ski course in her early twenties when she enrolled at Sport Scheck. In the early eighties, one was properly equipped with a jumpsuit and skis from Head, and she set off to the Dolomites with her best friend, to beautiful Corvara. The guesthouse with the ski storage at the end of the slope was just the right location. She learned quickly and after a few days was able to leave the blue slopes and ski on red and even some black runs. Okay, not the Pordoi Pass, as it had been closed for some time due to a few serious accidents. If it had been necessary, she would have done that too... for the sake of self-experience...

Once, after the usual après-ski, she wore a pair of thin nappa leather pants in a shade that today would be called nude, with a black turtleneck. She paired it with pointed ankle boots with high heels.
Nowadays a no-go, this outfit was completed by a wide stretch belt with a silver buckle that was very trendy back then. The silhouette of a young lady dressed like this is not only defined by her outfit but even more by the way she walks and stands, how she views the world... well...
She never really cared much about the looks that followed her, always had to chuckle a bit about it internally... Tits and ass have changed my live... it trilled in her head from A Chorus Line as she took her seat at the dinner table. Such lyrics are already a no-go these days... Whatever...

Now to the scent
Hermessence Cuir d'Ange reminds me very much of a nude-colored nappa leather pant that I once owned. I liked those pants a lot, but the leather smell that emanated from them was always a bit too archaic for me. Therefore, I probably only wore them 2-3 times before eventually giving them away.

Just shortly after the first spray, a fresh-sweet heliotrope note immediately reveals a leather accord. I can almost smell the body scent of the animal that gave its skin for this. The leather seems heavily processed, very supple and soft, but left a bit thicker. Some Hermes shoppers are made from such leather.

For several hours, this strong leather note, which clearly reminds me of a horse, dominates the perfume. The scent transforms so skin-like that at times I get the impression it is my own skin that smells like this... wow... that’s nice... I like it...
Perhaps it is exactly this underlying eroticism that is embedded in this leather scent. Partly sweet and airy, then again with sweatier nuances, the perfume continues to evolve without further transformations that I had actually hoped for. After about 3 hours, I notice the scent becoming creamier, but always dominated by the horse leather accord.

With only a few components, such as heliotrope, hawthorn, musk, and leather, Hermès has created a perfume that pays olfactory tribute to its original tradition of being the most elegant saddlery in Paris. An extremely successful horse leather perfume.

The sillage behaves appropriately discreetly; I can still perceive the perfume well on a cashmere scarf the next day.
Overall, a very high-quality perfume, with understated elegance, as one would expect from the house of Hermès. However, I think that predominantly men might be more taken with it. Okay, maybe the wife will sneak a spray if she wants to feel a bit more archaic.

Personally, I am a bit picky when it comes to leather perfumes for myself, so I prefer to sniff Hermessence Cuir d'Ange on others rather than on myself. Best on a man who has never given up the guy in him.
Who and where it can be worn still remains to be clarified. It is certainly a scent for everyday use, but please not in the office. Unless the office belongs to a horse farm, for example, by Lake Starnberg. (Irony off)


I don’t love the perfumes from Hermès so much, but the scarves and belts... and yes, I would also very much like to own a Birkin bag... we’ll see.

I have owned two pieces of amber for many decades, which are kept in tiny turned soapstone boxes. Occasionally, I sniff them, and even after so many years, they have preserved their incomparable, warm balsamic scent. I bought them in Munich, shortly after I had moved there. It was in the seventies, a time when the Leopoldstrasse still had Indian shops with batik clothing and Indian perfume oils.

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I primarily associated perfumes with a lot of amber with men's fragrances, especially when woods are involved...

With Ambra Sauvage, it was completely different from the start. A blind purchase here in the souk turned out to be an absolute hit. It has now become a favorite amber scent that I would also gladly share with a man at any time.

The scent progression is multifaceted, but the main player always remains amber. The various components seem to unfold over many hours in a delightful interplay, which feels like an erotically orchestrated tango to me. Some perfumes have such an enchanting quality that I hear music or see a dance, like with the Gotan Project. A couple is dancing here. The nasty battles between man and woman, caused by melancholy and pain, have long been left behind by this couple. He no longer seeks to dominate her, she no longer plays push-pull games to torment him... Absently playful and seemingly unintentional, they give themselves to the figures - turning... stopping abruptly... looking into each other's eyes...

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The scent starts with peppery lavender freshness, and immediately an amber note breaks through, which lasts for hours in an incredible balsamic depth.
What stands out on my skin is that the base notes are dominated by styrax incense. I suspect it is styrax bark, which, when I burn it, has a slightly bitter quality compared to the resin.
Here, it is fused with high-quality patchouli. This styrax note gives the perfume an indescribably austere and timeless elegance.
One might think we are dealing with a serious amber scent for men. However, that is not the case. Two wonderful companions, iris and a bright vanilla, give the scent a fairy-tale charm that makes it uniquely unisex.

The bottle is beautiful in its simplicity. The bottom of the bottle is embossed with the D’Annik Goutal seal, and it bears a high-quality label with the fragrance name. The cap is made of metal and is gold-plated.
The box is exceptionally beautifully designed. It resembles a shrine that can be opened with folding doors, in which the bottle rests like a small treasure.

The perfume is perfectly suited for the now beginning cooler season. With its amber warmth, it carries the memory of warming, gentle summer days in its heart. Its balsamic depth may ignite a longing love hunger and sets the stage for the play of closeness and distance that defines the magic of love.





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Addendum on 1.2.2021
My now more trained nose detected the beautiful iris, which adds a delicate creaminess to the amber.

The scent starts off citrusy fresh. Probably to put the tester's sense of smell at ease, I thought to myself during the first sniff...
I have no idea what exactly Paradisone® is. In any case, this component of the top note must lend that bright floral quality that caps the citrusy top.

The fragrance fairy at Beck in Munich was eager to show me this other iris scent after the one I originally aimed for unfortunately didn't get along with my skin.
I pretended to know who she was talking about when she excitedly told me that Alberto Morillas finally has his own brand - Mizensir. Oh God, am I outing myself here as a philistine when it comes to renowned perfumers? Never mind.....

Initially, I turned to other scents at the LEN counter, without first politely assuring the fairy that I would return... which I did, as the fragrance immediately found its way into my shopping basket. After about three-quarters of an hour, a very beautiful iris-sandalwood scent had developed on my wrist.

The fragrance can be described as follows:
After the citrusy top note has faded, a very beautiful non-dry, bright sandalwood emerges after a few minutes, along with a fresh violet leaf and iris.
Depending on what one focuses on while sniffing, one or the other may dominate. Thus, the perfume remains present for perhaps over 1.5 hours in the further course.
Then something astonishing happens, which I experienced so distinctly for the first time with a fragrance. The perfume completely shifts; the sandalwood steps back, and iris takes center stage, remaining clear and non-soapy for some time. In the further course, a lightly powdered sandalwood perfumed with iris remains.

Bois Iridescent is a fragrance that oscillates between iris with violet leaves and a very bright, high-quality sandalwood. One might imagine it like a beautiful iridescent silk taffeta fabric, in which delicate green-blue and magenta threads have been spun. An incredible play of colors when such silk is crafted into a lavishly gathered ball gown. Perhaps that’s what is meant by iridescent.

Overall, a fine iris-sandalwood scent. Due to its restrained sillage, Bois Iridescent is also a wearable fragrance for the workplace and is definitely unisex.

Today while tidying up and reorganizing the perfume cabinet, I came across this beautiful Deseo bottle....
Yes... where have you come from, my little darling... I haven't sniffed you in ages... come here…. what a pretty bottle you are......

I sprayed a little, oh, it’s still very good. I remembered that I definitely haven’t worn this fragrance in over 10 years, yet it was once such a great holiday love…..


...........I remembered, in 2009 we actually managed to treat ourselves to a few saltwater wraps again while planning our vacation. Saltwater wraps are synonymous with diving holidays for my husband and me. We have been diving for over thirty years.

Since we prefer traveling to just vacationing, only a few locations qualify for a diving holiday. The Red Sea, for sure. We don’t find the Caribbean that interesting. Andaman Sea-Thailand, yes. But if you also want to really relax, and by that I mean what I understand by relaxing, the Maldives have always been the only option.

I don’t want to leave unmentioned that we have long avoided the luxury resorts there. Who needs toilet seats adorned with Swarovski crystals, or an underwater restaurant?
I’m happy with a barefoot island with beach bungalows, preferably with an interesting house reef that is easy to dive. In the evening, a sundowner, good food, and excellent room service. Also, a well-equipped dive center with nitrox tanks, nice people on the dhoni, and a private guide for the first dives.
In 2009 it was Vakarufalhi, the island hadn’t been luxury-ified back then. A typical pancake island, with a very shallow lagoon, the nursery for small reef sharks. They are a bit longer than an arm - so really still babies and extremely curious. If you stand still, they come up to you and gently nibble at your calves.

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Usually, you fly to the Maldives via the Emirates or Oman, where there is a stopover and enough time for perfume shopping. I believe in 2009 we had a layover in Sharjah.
Now I finally get to the fragrance.

An extraordinary test bottle caught my eye while I was browsing. A bizarrely shaped gemstone, the cap and bottle blend into one another. A first spray and ... bam, my holiday began……. Only as it empties does it reveal that the bottle is made of light blue tinted glass.

The bitterness of the yuzu fruit and a special aquatic accord, which I couldn’t quite place, immediately captivated me… I misted myself a bit with the perfume and hurried to the checkout. Our flight was already being called and my husband was waving impatiently from afar....
Relatively quickly, a sandalwood base emerged and to my great delight, the fragrance shifted more towards floral without giving up the aquatic note, remaining so for many hours. Much later, all the other base notes showed themselves, with the aquatic tone and a hint of flowers quietly lingering until the end.

Deseo remains unforgettable for me, connected with diving in 2009 in the Maldives. It is for me a summery-sensual-erotic island feeling fragrance… When my husband helped me peel off my suit after diving, and a scent mélange of exotic floral accords, sandalwood, neoprene, and my saltwater skin tickled his nose….

Besides Deseo, I don’t know any other pop star fragrances. (I could change that too....)
and I still find it charming after all these years and still wearable.

Daughters-in-law are known to have a hard time, but is that really the case?

When I first met my future mother-in-law, I could see at first glance that she was a true lady. But more of the pragmatic kind.
She turned out to be a pragmatist indeed. But not only that, which I only realized much later. Moreover, she hardly allowed other opinions, although she never openly expressed this. Even when something could be substantiated profoundly, in a scientific manner, she hardly commented on it, even though it was factually understandable for her. I could only read from her body language when she agreed; she would nod a little absentmindedly.

One might think that as a daughter-in-law, I would have no chance with such a woman. Well, that was not the case at all.
I managed to connect with her because I was similarly literarily inclined as she was and could therefore engage in conversation.

I could see her. In truth, she was a very passionate woman. She loved gemstones. Throughout her life, she collected gemstones, just as I collect perfumes. Ahhha ……………. a magpie.... so she is a magpie.
For my birthday, she gifted me gemstones from her collection all those years. Thanks to her, I possess a considerable collection of emeralds, rubies, aquamarines, topazes, pink and green tourmalines, diamonds, and many other stones.

She really had no knowledge of perfumes at all. I suspect she secretly regretted this. However, she loved fine soaps.
At some point, I brought her this fragrance as a reminiscence of the city where she lives.
I know she found it enchanting; she had no experience in how to categorize a scent, a perfume. She simply thought it was good. She wore it too, which was remarkable for a woman like her.

A few weeks before this wonderful woman passed away, I showed her the emerald pendant that I had recently made for myself at the jeweler. She recognized the stone immediately, the one she had given me so many years ago.
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Colonia Intensa is a fragrance that is invigorating, refreshing, and simultaneously relaxing. To me, it feels heart-opening in its deep green manner. Like the emerald. It is said to symbolize rejuvenation and regeneration and is supposed to restore our physical and mental balance when worn.
Colonia Intensa might be attributed something similar on the fragrance level. This could be due to the fact that it perfectly unites the finest ingredients in masterful balance.
Cardamom, Calabrian bergamot, Sicilian lemon, ginger, myrtle, artemisia, neroli, cedarwood, patchouli, benzoin, musk... Nothing more is needed, but also nothing less.