Saturday, October 29, 2016

Vampire chronicles

What cologne would Lestat have worn in the 1700s? Or Louis, when he was being his aristocratic self?


Sunday, October 16, 2016

streetwear

It's a toss up between A Ma Maniére and A Cold Wall. Both have such interesting collections on display.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Background music

Sometimes light background music can help you focus -- two great categories of this type of sound are ASMR and chanting. Many people try the typical 'ear cupping' or 'plain whisper' ASMR and don't enjoy it, or they try Tibetan chanting recordings and get a shock from the loud metallic sounds included.

Here's a chanting one to try [search youtube for this title]:
Binaural Theta Bass_ ASMR Whispering Chants 432hz + 528hz = Mystical, Spiritual & Magical

Here are some ASMR that are interesting to try [you have to wear headphones with the volume high] where they scratch the 'brain' or top of a 3dio microphone, which makes a very unique sound [just search youtube for these titles]:

ASMR ~.~ Shh, Love ~.~ Deep Binaural Brain Tapping and Scratching
Top of the 3Dio Ears Tapping & Scratching (ASMR Binaural, No Talking)
{BINAURAL ASMR} Scratching Top of 3Dio - No Whispering

An interesting ice cubes one:
ASMR sounds of icecubes in starbucks mug

A unique 'long nails' opening things one:
**ASMR 🎧 Tapping, Scratching, Scraping, Digging a hard SOAP 🔊 (nail-resistance) many TINGLES

Variety ones [including ear cupping/talking etc] with 3dio that are better than the usual ones:
gothASMR Whisper 3Dio | Crinkle, Tapping, Scratching, Blowing
[Miniyu Korean ASMR] No Talking ASMR_Binaural 3Dio Mic Touching
ASMR_ Binaural Sound Series #28 - Scratching Your Ears

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Throwback tv

Many people love NCIS, and many people don't. Either way these pictures somehow takes me back to the early days when the show was first on. The initial runs of tv shows have such a sense of promise to them, all mystery and potential--the potential to be excellent, to be meaningful.

Many times you're let down eventually, but that early mystery is truly exciting. In an alternate universe, the show could have gone a thousand different ways, I love imagining those divergent courses the show could have taken. NCIS and Person of Interest [and even the modern Hawaii Five-0] are shows that had interesting moments in the beginning and went in directions that weren't always what everyone wanted or enjoyed, but despite that, remembering the early days is very nostalgic and fun.

 

Packaging

Beyond best names, sometimes perfume just looks great. Miniature bottles usually win this round, or classic vintage scents, but Le Mat by Italy's Mendittorosa is a front-runner at the very least. Love the name [it means 'the fool', ie the card of the Tarot deck, from the French]. The box is so intricate and lovely, and the bottle is all contrasts and reminds you of ancient Egypt's aesthetics. Even the samples and accompanying materials are well designed.

And they are friendly if you have questions, which is always a plus in our opinion.




Sunday, August 21, 2016

Rainy day

So now everyone has already heard the new Frank Ocean and Spears... In the air conditioning, as it rains outside, a great album to put on in the background is The Choir of New College, Oxford's sacred masterpieces, it's from 1996.

Weirdly, Gregorian chant can make you feel even cooler in the summer, somehow. Belgium's Gregorian Choir of Grimbergen Abbey has a great album Vozes da Tranquilidade.

Best names

After reading The Non-Blonde's blog endlessly, we realized one list that must be made is 'best scent names', because they can really draw you in and make you more open to notes you typically dislike. Here are a few on the docket, the first noted by a vintage perfume ad on their site:

In the fruit/tropical vein: Iles d'Or by Molinard [from the Fr., 'isles of gold']

The unusual, metal and earth: Bitter Rose, Broken Spear from HYLNDS by D.S. & Durga

In terms of wildness: Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Afternoon by OHWTO

The woods of Dark Court by DeepMidnightPerfumes

*** Additions:

Have to add Bull's blood which surprisingly [how have others not gotten there first?] is by Imaginary Authors

And Bal d'Afrique seems like such a great name, I was surprised it was by Byredo!

Have any ideas?

Cape

Autumn is waiting for us, and many can't wait -- I need this cape desperately! The one I was looking at sold out at Lyst, but this one below is at that runway site Moda Operandi.


Reviews

One of the most well done, unique, interesting perfume reviews we've seen is a concise, poetic yet spare commentary by Selina420 on D.S. & Durga's scent 'Pale Grey Mountain, Small Black Lake' -- and it has a great official description as well:
“Up pale grey mountain, through silver fog, bracken, bramble, dry heather shrub, past gravestone pile from forgotten time, facing west in whipping wind, the small black lake keeps witch’s ring, where the doomed king looked out to sea, Fenian blood in turf, the chilling quiet, the cry of hounds.”
fog-on-stone, water pepper, lichen
heather shrub, beechwood, bramble
flower, marsh violet
coastal air, chilled water, purslane


Artistry

For art and photography and style, the top perfumer is beyond a doubt California's WildVeil. These photos make me want scents I don't even usually prefer! This screenshot is of the 'aromatic perfumes' on offer, by the way. Brb checking them out--and double points for a 'Bacchae' one.

And also, how have we never heard about the shop that sells tiny, mini perfumes--The Miniature Perfume Shoppe? Tiny bottles are the best.


Sumeria

There's nothing like it. It's always worth it to search out who has a Sumerian collection -- in the case of these picture, the Louvre has a great, enormous set of artifacts.




Rue Cambon

We just ran into the rarely seen Fauré le Page store after doing some retail therapy at Chanel's famous Rue Cambon headquarters. ... All I want is everything!

 

Paris

Be sure to see the odd, small Cernuschi Musée of Asian antiquities in a lovely, antique gated section of Paris. It's an actual old house and seems like one [but not as domestic as say the famous Gustav Moreau musée].

It has a great enormous Buddha on white character inscribed black lotus leaves and this lovely Cambodian-style statue [you must go to the main Asian museum [the Guimet] to see their huge Cambodian collection]--as of 2016 there is a nominal fee to get it, despite the websites saying it's 'free'. Though the collection is small, the area is lovely. And the dragon on the ground floor is exquisite.

 

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Connections

'Fog Forest' by S+M Alchemy Perfume = the smell of 'The forest trail' score theme from the music of Silent Hill 2 [the computer game]. Music and perfume go so well together.


Travel

I need to go back to the Louvre immediately. Even someone bored by art would love the paintings. Look at this tiny dog!


Odd fragrances for odd girls

Perfume is always hard to pick -- there are ones you wear when you're along, ones you put on at night, ones for casual days, and scents for formal occasions. Ie., this list is for those who are beyond Byredo and BPAL. This list is also not for those who feel that 'odd' simply means animal/musky, like Slumberhouse scents [which are great but not what this list is about], or the now trendy 'Bat' by ZoologistPerfumes.

Serge Lutens is fine for the usual crowd, and État libre d'orange is for the wild rebellious kids.

For people who have unique taste, and don't go with the flow, some options are:

The infamous 'Rose with a broken neck' by California's StrangeInvisible Perfumes

Australia has a unique artist in WildHybrid perfumes, try 'The tower' or 'The hanged man', there are scents for the tarot, the Egyptian gods, legends and myths, everything.

Buly from Paris has 'Damask rose' scent for the more traditional yet unique

Obviously PrincipalParfum, which has a series based on nightmares, fascinating

Anything from Montreal's LVNEA obviously

And Ikiryō has rare scents in the rarest bottle design we've seen so far [the one below is called 'Âme Torturée' [from the French, 'tortured soul', what a great name! and the other is 'Lucidité']:



Tropical

Love this Fin Black shoulder bag from PopinJay! So summery.


Shopper's fatigue

In this terrible summer heat, shopping can be more annoying than fun. Instead of searching out tiny, unique boutiques, here are some great sites to give a try:

minimalist Totokaelo, the famous Outnet, these shoes at TheDreslyn, the interesting curated collections on OpeningCeremony, this Kenzo backpack [shown below] from SSense [which has great bags], anything at FarFetch [maybe the unique Olympia le Tan bags], the Scandinavian brand Majls, and NastyGal which has '90s jewelry.

What to read while browsing? BagaholicBoy for the good life or the Fragrantica forum for perfume. Or the staples of David Lebovitz, Mimi Thorisson, BagSnob, the usual instagram suspects if you're too lazy to do anything but skim photos... which we are half the time! We also love DTLAcustom, which does art on your bags/items, they are such incredible artists.


Monday, August 8, 2016

Scent descriptions

Which perfume is most true to its description? Hands down it is CB I Hate Perfume's 'Under the arbor' -- sitting under the grapes on the vine with your back pressed up against a white, cold stone wall. It seems like yesterday when we walked into his little store in Brooklyn and saw his giant dog [and him!] I was too shy to say hello -- and too busy smelling everything!

The official scent description is this: But mostly it reminds me of the old grape arbor that grew in the yard of the house were I lived as a child. I so loved to sit under it on a summer day quietly reading a favorite book curling my toes in the cool moss...





Saturday, August 6, 2016

Paris

This shirt seems so French, somehow. Well, at least to a foreigner in France! Any Frenchwomen may report to agree or disagree.

It's a 'FRS Gray Bow-Tie V-Neck Short Sleeve T-Shirt' from FrontRowShop.


Sunday, July 31, 2016

?

Has anyone else seen the French trailer for Beauty and the Beast? It was mentioned on HighSnobiety.


Le Labo

Running through Paris the other day, we ran into Le Labo, the perfume store! Based in NYC to our knowledge, we were by the Mabillon metro and it was right there 6 Rue de Bourbon le Château. It has such a New York vibe to it, you really forget you're in Paris.

They had the interesting selection, including the murky 'Thé Noir 29' and really excellent 'Figue 15'; they have so many scents. It was great -- you could just browse the scented cards at your leisure, it was very casual.




The Smiths in Paris

We made the trek out to The Smiths Bakery [by St Germain or Mabillon metro], for its quiche lorraine, and it was worth it! We tried that and the tarte of the day [pêche]. With outdoor cafe tables and a nice little interior beside the glass counter, it was a great time. The street was quiet and the place even had a Berthillon ice cream cart! We should have gotten it there and not do the trek out to the island [île St Louis].


In the Marais

Paris New York is a must-do when up in the Marais. We were going to see the hyped up Broken Arm cafe and concept store, but while the store had a few interesting things in its very sparse layout, the cafe was silent with a tiny, spare pastry case. Instead we went back up the street to PNY.

You can have a set plate of a sandwich/burger, frites and a nice drink. We tried the Arnold Palmer [great and almost fizzy], the lemonade, the burger and a crispy chicken. The beautiful Danish models next to us remarked on the fact that they had not know there was poulet as an option when ours came out. The place was packed, and we happened to grab an outside table on that quiet, lovely street as a server was resetting it, by pure luck!




Friday, July 29, 2016

Jovoy

Jovoy is such a great rare perfume store -- and it's right by the gardens of the Louvre. They have a great website in French where you can type in scent notes in the search bar [make sure to use French words only] and perfumes with those notes pop up [the top 3 are listed with little descriptive icons].

They have many brands of niche perfume, including Frapin, Lubin, and the interesting Terry de Gunzburg line. Apparently the store also has candles [as does IUNX]. The young man who works in Jovoy was great, and stood out.

The brands they have are listed on their website as such:

 A  AEDES DE VENUSTAS AFFINESSENCE ALEXANDRE. J AMOUAGE ANATOLE LEBRETON ANNA RIVKA ANTONIO ALESSANDRIA ARTE PROFUMI ARTY FRAGRANCE BY ELISABETH DE FEYDEAU ATELIER DES ORS ATELIER FLOU
K  KEMI
V  VOLNAY
X  XERJOFF

JAR

JAR perfume is holy ground for scent lovers that have come to Paris. No itinerary is complete without it. We sometimes do perfume tours in Paris for people, and this is a special visit. Right near the famous Jovoy perfume store and close to the Louvre [and Annick Goutal, not to mention the luxe shopping street St Honoré], JAR is very unique and very eccentric.

All the scents are extremely complex and odd.

We just visited twice in a few days, and it was well worth it. Your perception of each of the scents in the table jars changes as time passes. They did not have 'Bolt of Lightening' out when we were there, but never give up hope. The door was open for us, we did not have to ring the bell.

As perfume people know, you cannot ask any questions about the scents, only the names are not secrets. The room was much smaller than we had thought from the pictures online, and was not as gleaming and pristine as I had imagined. Somehow that kind of added to the charm when a truly gorgeous young man strolled in to conduct the visit's activities.

They had 'Diamond Water' out, which was a standout great scent [in terms of normalcy and a regular person wearing it], and the others were 'Ferme tes Yeux', 'Golconda', 'Jardenia', 'Jarling' and 'Shadow'.


Paris

Who isn't in France during the summer? It's an essential a stop as Capri. Many go just to visit the perfume mecca of the world -- and they will not be disappointed. We've read all the 'Paris perfume pilgrimage' ideas online, and visited them all. There are many stores with purely niche perfumes, like:

Sens Unique -- in the Marais [by St Paul metro, land of incredible take-away falafel sandwiches at L'As du fallafel], there is a tiny, white walled shop that features Pierre Guillaume/Parfumerie Generale, for one. Try his light garden scent '16 Jardins de Kérylos'.

Liquides -- this is a small store near the incredible, top notch cafe Paris New York, near the sadly much overrated Jacques Genin in the 3ème [ie Filles du Calvaire Metro]. Be sure to try the Edgar Allen Poe perfume 'Nevermore' by Frapin. It also has the unique and hard to find 'L'Etrog' by Arquiste, which smells like the bitter, odd ancient lemons that are on Jewish passover plates.

Parfums et senteurs du pays basque [in the Marais] is another option if you like to try dozens and dozens of handmade, more etsy-type quality scents.

Stores that feature a particular brand are equally great -- especially the large, darkly lit, purple Serge Lutens store. Many of his scents are very famous. It is located in a lovely windy garden at the Palais Royal a bit away from the Louvre hustle and noise. It's a very transporting location, and going on a cool, dark, windy day only make it a better experience. You may have to ring the bell even if the store should be open.

It's a good idea to go to the big, busy Sephora at the Champs-Elysées and try all Serge Lutens perfumes before going to his own store. That way, you know what you want to smell again and have a passing familiarity with it all. We like to be armed with a question about a particular scent when we enter any perfume shop. Be sure to try the famous red liquid [be careful] rosey La fille de Berlin, Feminite du Bois [woody], and the deep rose Sa Majeste La Rose.

IUNX is another great perfume store. We sought out the less seen location at the Luxembourg Gardens [at the top of it], but you can buy/smell it at their store in a hotel on the luxury St Honoré street near the Louvre. Try 'No. 04 L'Eau Azteque', which is a nice light scent -- on some it smells like white peaches.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Ercolano

Better than Pompeii, or as they say Pompei Scavi, is Herculaneum. It's much smaller and richer in terms of houses, paintings on the walls, and there are less people there. It's so memorable and more fun that slogging through the enormity, heat, difficult walking/stones and bugs of Pompeii. There are even terrifying bodies frozen in death by the dozens at the bottom.

The paintings on the interior walls of these elite's houses are so unique, delicate and mysterious -- here's a quick snap of one little section:


Enchantress

The most interesting character in Suicide Squad so far has to be the Enchantress [ie Cara D.] by our count [her new promo video shows a new costume, love it] -- and if she were walking by, what would her dark mystery and power be like in terms of scent? Maybe either Lvnea's forest line or Principal Parfum's line of perfumes on nightmares and trauma. So interesting and creative, and of course unique. Has that ever even been done before; who knows? [Ca Fleure Bon did an incredible article on them here]. 

We bought a solid black spruce perfume bar and are trying to find where we misplaced it... so in reality we'll just buy another when we give up looking. 


Italy Travel recs

Naples is a place few people think of first when traveling to Italy, and they're missing out. It's very safe [for the most part] and many people will help you as you use your Italian and they try their weak English. The food is better than the rest of Italy, no joke. The marinara and margherita pizzas are the best in the world -- literally.

It's easy to stay in an 'American' type hotel and get around on the metro or train, and you can always take a cab as well [like today, when there was a train strike and we were out in the countryside exploring!] Another thing to seek out is a sfogliatella frolla, which is a sweet cream center in a sweet pie crust ball [unlike the typical sfogliatella that look like shells]. Here is a recipe if you want to make some, send the extra to us!

Sorbillo is hidden away on Via dei Tribunali (near # 32, though it's the one with the stone engraved sign above it, not the blue/white awning) is the best place for pizza -- this is a '4 seasons' [quattro stagioni] one with vegetables and meats. It was literally incredible. The pictures don't reflect how perfect this wood fired pizza was:


Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Mail


When you carry a Mansur Gavriel or Fauré Le Page bag, it's de rigueur to also send out personalized stationary--but nowadays there are options beyond the usual monograms. Typically people turn to the mainstays of initialed cards and letters, but most of what's out there is rather boring.


One line we like for stationary is The Grove Street Press -- these examples below are our favorites! I love the drinks one, but the others are gorgeous, and so unique. The birthday one is so sweet, and so much more personal, thoughtful, than a typical card.

The collages is of course the now famous bucket bags -- the pink ones are so sweet.





Sunday, July 10, 2016

Recs of Instas

Best travel instagrams, mostly scenic pics without people in them:

@danielkordan, @youngadventuress, @lebackpacker, @colerise, @chrisburkard, @expertvagabond

Best style instagrams, living the life with luxury place, food, bags, etc:

@thebagsnob

@thebaghag

@bagaholicboy

Saturday, July 9, 2016

A world all its own

The Okhtein 'Palmette flower minaudière oval gold' clutch here at Wolf&Badger is a purse worthy of Paris--who isn't stopping by this year, it's such a great travel destination. This piece is such a work of art, so detailed and the Okhtein brand is created by Egyptian sisters [that's the brand name, 'sisters' in Arabic].



The 'Palmette flower minaudière square silver' clutch is also incredible, it has this Tibetan vibe to some in a way:



A few unique bags

TheCorner is one the sites like FarFetch, Lyst and Net-à-porter, and it has a few things that haven't been seen on other sites, like these bags:

This Maiyet one is incredible, it's a small yet complex bag located here:







And this Dolce & Gabbana one here, is so classic looking, light, lovely and sweet, all bright skies and Mediterranean atmosphere:


This bag is so unique, it's a clutch that is very modern/Bali vacation appropriate [it is fair trade as well, the site says], it's a 'Black reins wrap clutch' here at Sahel:




And also there is the really neat 'Polaroid' necklace [you can put in a photo supposedly, but the natural one has a lot of appeal/charm] by Epiphanie here.





New Finds: Not Just a Label


The infamous indie designer site NJaL has incredible finds -- like this Flying Witch Bag below on left. It's by the brand Mrs Herskin, which has other unique gothic pieces like the Witches' Sabbath Bag [very shocking and a piece of art]The Demon Box Bag is another amazing piece that is gorgeous: it's below on the right]. It's some kind of steampunk dream fantasy with a dangerous medieval edge. Mrs Herskin has a website here.


Travel essentials for fashion lovers

For typical jet setting, classic-minded travelers, it's a hard call between Fauré Le Page and Goyard. Both are Paris classics that are unique in design and a little under the radar. Fauré wins by a hair, though, because of their innovative re-interpretations of past house designs. Goyard needs to step up its game and get some unique evolutions in design happening.

People often monogram or stripe their Goyards, but really you can commission that anywhere on anything. Hopefully that will come back in style

The third more indie options is of course VeryTroubledChild, which took inspiration from the Wes Anderson movies. You can buy their stuff at their site VTC here.

Fauré Le Page is available online at different sites, including the VestiaireCollective here. In Paris it's at 21 Rue Cambon.

Goyard is at 233 Rue St Honoré in Paris. You can buy vintage items at TheRealReal here.


Sunday, April 17, 2016

Film

It turns out Guardians of the Galaxy has a great score by Tyler Bates, "Black Tears" is incredible as is the main theme. And the film itself is surprisingly emotional and serious. I think a lot of people were hesitant to try it because they assumed it would be all jokes/silly constantly, but it's not. The serious parts just kill you with emotional, it's so sad. The best part is what Peter gives to his adopted father as a surprise, too funny!