Scented Garden : How to Grow Tuberose

To start my fragrant garden series, I would like to write about one of my favorite scented plants, tuberose. Its fragrance of jasmine, coconut and warm skin is one of the most intoxicating and addictive, while its tall stalks densely adorned with lily-like white flowers are graceful and beautiful. As it happens to be, tuberose is fairly easy to grow either indoors or outside, if you have a nice sunny spot. After all, tuberose is a tropical plant, and as much as it will adapt to its new surroundings, it will always crave the sun. If the plant can be given at least 5-6 hours of constant sunlight a day, it will reward the gardener with the most luscious and opulent of scents....

Kenzo Flower : Fragrance Review

Kenzo Flower is an example of a well-crafted and unique fragrance, which is neither a hard-to-find niche nor a revered classic from the turn of the 20th century. Created by perfumer Alberto Morillas and launched in 2000, it still remains as one of top selling fragrance in Europe, along with marvels like Chanel No 5, Dior J’Adore, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Thierry Mugler Angel and CK One. Flower is a beautiful example displaying that an impressive sillage and tremendous lasting power do not have to conflict with a nuanced and delicate overall impression. In fact, throughout its development, Flower retains a soaring, radiant quality, which is quite unexpected in a floral oriental blend.

Top 10 Spring Fragrance 2009 and Prize Draw

It is an exciting spring for me for many different reasons! First of all, I got engaged to a wonderful man who supports me 100% in all of my endeavors (even if it entails being a skin model for the new fragrances I am testing.) # I am sure that you will hear plenty of musings from me on the wedding scent ideas in the coming months! Secondly, this morning I learned that my article Scent of Cities: Kiev has been recognized with a FiFi award for Editorial Excellence. It was a very personal article for me—I wrote it thinking about my childhood city, and as I prepare to return to Ukraine next week after 4 years of absence, this recognition holds a special significance for me. I also want to congratulate all perfume bloggers, because the Editorial Excellence in Blog category is an important gesture of appreciation on the part of The Fragrance Foundation for our work. It is wonderful to be a part of such a diverse and interesting group.

As I consider the season and the scents that make the spring of 2009 special, a few favorites stand out immediately. My list below (in alphabetical order) reflects my preferences this spring.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and The Scent of Spring : Flavor and Fragrance

Vibrant green scents are indelibly associated with spring—the sticky sap covering young buds, the first green blades of grass, the delicate fragrance of spring flowers. In perfumery, the family of green notes is extensive, ranging from the essences of galbanum, petitgrain, basil, and violet leaf to the recreations of fig leaves, ivy, fresh cut grass and cucumber skin. The classical green grand parfums like Balmain Vent Vert, Estee Lauder Alliage and Chanel No 19 rely on the vegetal verdancy of galbanum for an explosive green effect, while Bond no 9 Gramercy Park, Chanel Bel Respiro and Marc Jacobs Grass are accented with the new generation of aroma-materials that give them a more subtle green facet. Admittedly, I find the modern green compositions too tame for my taste, especially when my spring scent explorations lead to such intense discoveries on the market stands as bitterly green dandelion leaves, spicy kale and my absolute favorite—broccoli rabe (also known as broccoletti, broccoli di rape, cime di rapa, raab or rapini.)

Amouage Homage : Fragrance Review

For me, a year is a long time to declare loyalty to any single perfume, but I only have to reach my hand for Amouage Homage to feel a wave of pleasure and serenity. Homage evokes something poignantly nostalgic for me—a memory, a gesture, something long lost and almost forgotten. On the technical level, it contains the elements I love—rich rose and jasmine absolutes, subtle animalic oud notes, crispness of amber and sensual sillage. It is not a fragrance that screams for attention. Even though Homage is quite potent—I need to apply literally a single drop, it stays close to the skin. …