...@Briarthorn:Well, the most striking photo/s I have gathered so far are either sad postmortems or other serious portraits. They tend to burn themselves into my memory....if you like here you can see some of my collected things :https://www.flickr.com/photos/129444235@N05/sets/As for the very old books: I do not read those from beginning to end but perouse through them occasionally. I like having them for their age' s sake and the topic they cover. Two are my favourites. The first describes moral advice for a young king, the other one is about medicine.....toothaches are to be healed with the fat of green frogs and laudanum :-) Quite interesting....well, it was the 17th century.

...Fracas by Robert Piguet :https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=s6bSrGbak1gMaria Callas sings “O mio babbino caro“

...I recently discovered "Bel Ami" by chance....a random sniff at the Hermès counter, not expecting anything but woah ! what a scent. It literally blew me away. Very masculine indeed but simply irresistible to my nose. Had to have it right away. The vetiver version is wonderful, too.Also Hermès favourites of mine : Un jardin sur le Nil. Will never get tired of this one. I usually wear heavy oriental bombs but whenever I need something "airy" and "fresh" I usually choose this one.Or "Voyage d´Hermès". Spicy and unobtrusive.I am still undecided whether "Calèche" is something for me. To me it is nostalgic, soapy and very ladylike. Something that smells like the women in "Mad Men"....... I think I might enjoy this one."Rouge d´Hermès" is nice, too but for sandalwood I simply prefer Chanel´s "Bois des Iles" and Guerlain´s "Samsara" over RdH. Two more than decent alternatives simply win over this one.For some time I wore the famed "Ambre Narguilé". I got tired of it some day and gave away my little travel-size bottle. Too foody, too much of all good things actually. At least for the time being...I might change my mind again....but I guess I´d try my luck rather with "Lann Ael" (hope the spelling is not too far off).

...Dulcemio:Standing next to a gal in the elevator for about 30 seconds this morning, she wearing something with a synthetic citrus-musk-sharp floral-overly fresh with a cleaning product vibe, and me, in my warm, sweet, earthy, patchouli elixir. The combo was sickening, just sickening.But this wonderful patchouli scent certainly made the mixture halfway bearable :-)

..."Shams Oud" by MEMO

..."Deep Roses" by Montale...or "Aoud Queen Rose" by the same brand.

..."John Varvatos Oud""The odd-fellows bouquet" by Atkinson´s

..."Maharadjah" by NicolaiThe lavender-cinnamon mixture still strikes me in the best of ways :-)

...I used to buy blind liberally 2-3 years ago but not so much anymore. Of course, there were failures and there were gorgeous finds but all in all I do believe it is indeed better to actually test a fragrance at least once (and even that might be a high-risk thing)....depending also on the price of the juice.Say, I would not buy an Amouage or Kilian blind but Scentstory´s "24 Gold" might be a candidate to take the risk :-)

..."Herba Fresca"One of my all-time summer fav´s.

...Just discovered this brand very recently. Been familiar with the name before but never tried anything from Nicolai.My first contact with the house is "Maharadjah". Gorgeous perfume, so impossible in its formulation but yet so possible to wear.For me a 100ml bottle worthy.Will definitely try some more of her fragrances, good to know where her boutique is in Paris. I have the feeling Parfums de Nicolai is a bit underestimated amongst renowned niche houses ? Quel dommage.

...Such beautiful paintings here to look at. Always fun to peek in from time to time :-)

...Last week I visited the National Gallery in London. Great museum with awesome works at display.I instantly fell in love with these two paintings :1 ) Salvator Rosa "Philosophy"2 ) Zurbaran "Saint Francis In meditation"Have I mentioned that I adore Albrecht Duerer´s self-portrait ?

...@ Dulcemio Boucher is sooooo refreshingly carnal :-) He lived in a time without over-sexualized media and society and still he had a more refined and distinguished sense for human desire than most artists have today, I dare say :-)@ DeeliteBut definitely in his style (which, by no means, is a bad thing at all) :) I like the serene feeling these genre paintings transport. The light rules everything...and the thoughtful expression on the model´s face. Superb nonetheless :-)@ Cryptic Fine painting, very intriguing indeed ! I love the topic. Resisting a temptation is often a difficult task and us weak humans need to pull all of our strength not to succumb.

...When springtime arrives I very much enjoy a few scents more on the light side :-)Such as :Habit Rouge (so citrussy in the beginning, to me a very light perfume)Un jardin sur le Nil (have loved it for years, despite my chypre-oriental soul)Cristalle Eau Verte (another citrus scent)Azuree (a scent cannot get any sunnier, IMHO)Private Collection (a classic, comforting and elegant)Herba Fresca (fresh, sparkling, upbeat) Voyage d´Hermes (motivating and unobtrusive, I very much prefer it when travelling by train or plane)Yerbamate (the fluffiest almost-masculine green powder scent I have ever known) :) Not sure yet if Ninfeo Mio is OK for me (the fig dangerously resembles a very sweaty armpit note on my skin)....

...I think I will stock up a few fragrances which I would like to stick with me for some more years - unchanged.My stock-up candidates are :KnowingAzureeAromatics ElixirDioressence (the current one but I am not sure if it now contains any of the substances concerned)

..."Herba Fresca"Love that minty note and the grassy freshness in summer. I only wear this scent in really hot weather.

...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2J8GFvxsLI :) :cry: Somehow it´s so fun to watch this rant but at the same time it is sad. I so much feel with her and videos like that should open some company´s eyes.At least Estee Lauder still has a gorgeous "Knowing" - for how long, I wonder....

...Ninfeo Mio and Habit Rouge (HR is still on its way)...it soothes my bad conscience that both are used bottles :-)

...I have given up on buying vintages as I was often disappointed with what was left of the originally gorgeous scent.As sad as it may be to be without my beloved perfume memories but I do not enjoy these fragrances anymore if they are either on the verge of turning bad or even have crossed that line already.I am not a bottle collector either but have some miniatures as a keepsake for those nostalgic moments.