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Every day is a winding road….

A Few Tuberose Scents

Finding One's Signature Scent–I love Tuberose fragrances, here are a few:

Fracas: I've just rediscovered Fracas, after a quest to find my favorite tuberose fragrance. This time around, I love Fracas and find it suits me! Fracas is considered the ultimate Tuberose fragrance, created 50 years ago, a complex, powerhouse fragrance, which you may either love or hate–there tends to be no middle ground. Fracas can be a Femme Fatale, an ‘Own the Room' confident woman's fragrance, a rebel and a provocateur–not that I am any of those things, yet I love the scent. I would not recommend a blind buy of Fracas, but instead do test it first. You might only want to begin wearing only one spray–this intense fragrance lasts! (I think my first time around with Fracas, I spritzed too much, leading me to back off from wearing it–easy does it!). I would also not wear Fracas to the office. While Tuberose predominates, Fracas includes top notes of Peach and Bergamot, middle notes of Jasmine, Gardenia, Narcissus, and Lily of the Valley, and base notes of Sandalwood, Amber, Oakmoss, Vetiver, and Cedar. Review: Fragrantica Fracas.

White flower of Tuberose Polianthes tuberosa. Credit: Michel VIARD iStock standard license.

More Tuberose fragrances I've tried:

Diptyque Do Son, Fragrantica's Review. Do Son is a beautiful fragrance, a very light and wearable Tuberose, with accords of Jasmine, Orange Blossoms, the Scent of the Sea. and a base note of Amber. I love this scent, but wish it were stronger and lasted longer–however, its softer qualities make Do Son a better scent to wear in situations where Fracas might be too much.

Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, Fragrantica's Review. Carnal Flower contains the most Tuberose flowers of any perfume. It opens with Eucalyptus and Bergamot, and carries a green note throughout, giving it a fresh, modern sense. Yang Yang, Orange Blossom, and Musk accords accompany the Tuberose. I enjoy Carnal Flower, and find it very wearable with great longevity, but I'm not in love with it–the eucalyptus is not me. When choosing a scent, we are all different–it's definitely worth sampling.

Jo Malone Tuberose Angelica, Fragrantica's Review. I have had two bottles of Tuberose Angelica, and enjoyed wearing it in the past. Now, I find the fragrance sweet, powdery, and lacking complexity, with a tuberose that is not distinctive or prominent.

Enjoy!

🖤 Mara

Cherry Blossoms

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Under the cherry blossoms
strangers are not
really strangers

Kobayashi Issa, translated by Zaria PK. Cherry Blossom Haiku

This year, I missed the blooming of the cherry blossoms at the Portland Japanese Garden . These photos are from a few years ago. The cherry tree is over 100 years old. The Garden is spectacular all year round–Highly recommended!

🖤 Mara 🌸

Links:

Portland Japanese Garden

The Elusive Signature Scent and Natural Perfumery

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My mother possessed a nose for lovely perfumes and often gifted me with a bottle. A couple became Signature Scents for me at various times. I discovered Tuberose and Sandalwood transport me back in time to special experiences in my childhood among family friends in Old Hawaii, a time of innocence, steeped in nostalgia and a pentimento of the exotic, a world long since faded away. For others, Tuberose is deeply sensual and to be used with care. So much is individual, as well as the formulation. Scent carries memory and tells a story.

In search of my Signature Scent, I'm drawn to the process of making my own Natural Perfume. I ordered a book, Foundation of Natural Perfumery, by Ayala Moriel, which is the outline and class notes from her 9 month class in Natural Perfumery. Tonight, the fascinating book arrived–so much to learn!

I have a preliminary impression of the perfume I hope to create, using scents I love, which I think might work together harmoniously. Heart notes of Jasmine, Tuberose, Orange Blossom, perhaps a little Gardenia and Rose. Base notes–Sandalwood, Patchouli, Vetiver, Vanilla, Oakmosss, Labdanum, Ambretta, Cedar. Top notes elude me for now–I think maybe some Bergamot, Neroli, Pink Peppercorn. There will be more I am sure.

Once feel ready, I'll order a few organic oils to begin from Lotus Garden Botanicals. Art, creativity, science, sacred ritual, healing–all aspects of the alchemical process of Perfumery.

What scents to you love? Do you have a Signature Scent? If so, what is it? Have you ever created your own Natural Perfume? I'd love to hear your comments!

🖤 Mara

Links:

Fragrantica: An Encyclopedia of Fragrance.

Tuberose: The Harlot of Perfumery.

Lotus Garden Botanicals: Top shelf natural perfume and essential oils.

Ayala Moriel Handbook of Natural Perfumery

I Will Meet You There…

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“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there”.

—Rumi

Translation by Coleman Barks, The Essential Rumi-–one of my most beloved & treasured books! Recommended 🖤.

I love the exquisite, timeless poetry of the 13th Century Sufi Mystic, Jalal Al-Din Rumi. These words, especially in our dangerously polarized world, speak of human connection, of reaching across the divide to find peace. We are all human beings 🖤.

The Simple Beauty of an all Black Wardrobe

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“I’ll stop wearing black when they invent a darker color.”
Emmanuelle Alt, Former Editor Vogue Paris

“Does it come in black?” Most often, my first response when contemplating an addition to my wardrobe.

I'm a woman who lives in black, having discovered the simplicity, the beauty, the elegance of wearing (almost) all black.

The transition to wearing black was organic and over time, as my sense of myself as a woman matured, and emerged in an expression of my own personal style. I moved in the direction of perhaps a uniform, though without necessarily using that word. Nothing loud, nothing demanding attention, but classic understatement.

I do occasionally wear some other neutral shades—white shirts, blue jeans, white jeans, some gray (tweed jackets), colorful silk and white cotton shirts, colorful scarves, but pretty much everything else in my wardrobe is black.

One does not need nearly as many clothes or outfits when wearing black—only a few quality pieces, which if chosen with an “editor’s eye”, can be mixed and matched, with endless creativity in the use of design and fabric, casual or dressy, or as a backdrop for a beautiful scarf or shawl. In other words, the coveted, and so very practical, capsule wardrobe.

Less truly is more.

Stay tuned for curated mostly black outfit inspiration in the coveted classic chic French style.

🖤 Mara