Smoke billows from dimly-lit campfires as night sets in. You know it will be a brutal one. Yet there is hope, for you are ensconced in a cozy caravan sipping Russian Caravan tea. The tea has travelled far, and has taken on the smells and qualities of its travels. It is dark and smoky, like the night. It is smooth and cold-tinged, like the steppes where it has been unloaded time and time again....

The faun awakes from his mid-day sleep, and contemplates his morning’s encounters with some nymphs. In his reflections, his pursuit of the alluring creatures takes on libidinous proportions as he seeks to satisfy his desire. It is a beautiful memory – but did it really happen? Reality fades, and confusion reigns until overcome by sleep – which can open the door to more dreaming. This is the way Etat...

Recently I ran out of my Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir candle. The wax completely evaporated, leaving a very nice glass behind and the thought that Pomegranate Noir is a scent for all occasions. I loved having the candle on in the bedroom in the evening, creating a mellow sweet mood. I loved having it on during the day in the living room, making the bigger room smell expensive. It is very sophisticated in its simple...

When I am stressed out, I just want to curl up in a ball and rest, forgetting all my problems. Having a large collection of sample perfumes, I love finding something forgotten at the bottom of my perfume jar and discovering it all over again. Smells assist in relaxation and the changing of the mood like nothing else. For that reason, people who get tired of scents quickly but like niche and expensive perfumes...

Midnight in Paris by Van Cleef and Arpels is a cologne for men, but it is so deliciously warm that women who love spicy comfort scents will savor it. The drydown is the most manly part of the fragrance experience, and the light being of this scent allows customization. The bottle is gorgeous too, like a starry night. A barely-there pinkish hue tranforms into a transparent blue...

A wardrobe of perfume is just as important as a wardrobe of clothes. Perfume shows who you are. It suits your mood and each season. You wear it to work in understatement, to the opera in luxury. Sometimes you feel whimsical and you combine scents. And no one on the face of this earth can smell like you. A woman must have classic fragrances, office fragrances, sultry fragrances, morning fragrances, evening fragrances,...

Leave it to Serge Lutens to invent a fragrance so divine, I would give any amount of money to possess it. Five O’Clock Au Gingembre is a throwback to olden times, when the ritual of tea drinking was still en vogue. This is not tea with milk. This is spicy black tea with jam, sugary syrup tea with an aftertaste of ginger. The sweetness and comforting spice is what this fragrance is all about....

Reading for pleasure is a joy and delight. Once, I discovered a way to make reading even more pleasurable. It was all thanks to Marie Antoinette’s perfumer. I was reading “The Scented Palace,” about Marie Antoinette’s love of perfumes, when I decided to spray the pages of the book with a certain perfume. I was hoping to capture the wonderful feeling I was getting from reading and associate...

With winter in full swing, one pleasurable aspect of the cold for me is to be able to wear shawls every day. Cashmere, silk, wool, even rayon shawls feel comforting and beautiful. They can be worn simply for a work look, or more sophisticated, for an evening out. Wrapping a shawl is a ritual which every woman performs according to her own wishes. Perfuming the shawl is also a personal journey...

Incense Rose by Andy Tauer is a masterpiece like no other. It is the perfect “dark rose” scent. The way the scent develops over time on the skin is truly fascinating. Starting with the first spray, Incense Rose is dirty and musky. It is almost overwhelming, but give it time. As it settles, the aroma of sweet roses rises and becomes one with the incense. The incense rose game begins as the two scents...

What does gold smell like? Is it a metal smell, or is it a dripping warm scent, like gold’s original hue? Many perfumes imitate sounds, lands, feelings and memories. But is there any perfume that brings to mind pure, 22 karat gold? I tend to think that perfumes that imitate gold will not have the word “gold” in their names. It should be a perfume full of character, warm sands, a silky feel, deep woods. One...

Patchouli is earthy and musty, it is overused but wonderful. Tom Ford’s White Patchouli hit a mix of dirtiness and polish at once. The first spray is overwhelming in a Montale kind of way (which I kinda like.) The scent is heavy and lingering (which I also like) but after a few minutes of a blocked nose, you begin to appreciate the earthy qualities of patchouli. The smokiness is tempered by a light...