Moving from the UK to Singapore

I’ve been really busy lately, between holidaying in Paris, then Milan, then Bologna, then Turin, and finally packing up my ENTIRE LIFE (including the perfume collection!) into boxes to be shipped back to Singapore. As such, I must really apologise for my lack of updates on the blog. I should be able to start writing again from 24th June onwards, which is when I’ll land in Singapore. I’ve started on a number of posts for the blog, so you can imagine what the backlog is like: a review of Vero Profumo’s Mito, my interview with Mark Buxton at Roullier White, my 2nd trip to Paris, including a guide to Le Marais, and vintage hunting in Milan, not to mention numerous other perfume reviews. Sigh. I wish I had more time to sit down and write, but as it is I’m exhausted and sleep-deprived. At the moment I have on my left arm Magnetic Scent’s Indigo and on my right arm I have Serge Lutens’ Fumerie Turque. I’m not quite sure what inspired that selection, but then again my head is mush.

I’ll make up for all of this with a huge giveaway when I’m finally settled in Singapore.

What do you wear when you’re just crazy busy?

<3,
~ The Smelly Vagabond

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Phaedon – Coton Egyptien

It’s been averaging a scorching 28 degrees celsius here in Paris – my face and arms are red from sunburn (forgot the sunscreen, and I can’t tan; I just burn and peel) and I’m constantly craving cold water. At times like this I wish I had a fragrance with me that has a ‘cooling effect’ – this reminded me of Coton Egyptien even as I sit in my Parisian hotel room typing out other things for the blog while my travel buddy snores loudly as he sleeps soundly in bed. I’m also craving good poems, so share them with me if you’ve recently come across any!

The Smelly Vagabond

source: fragrantica.com

Cotton

I spent days trying to write
the perfect letter for you.

I wrote and scratched out
words. I crumpled paper
until my floor started to think
it was a cotton field,
and I thought of inviting you
to come pick through it,

to see if you could find
the softness I was trying
to tell you about

but I was too afraid
your fingers would wear raw
on the bolls, that you would grow
tired of stooping
to pick up the things I’d grown
in my head

so I put an empty envelope
in your mailbox, and wrote

Love me, please,

on the outside,
instead.

– Gabriel Gadfly

“I wrote and scratched out words”

I’ve been wondering for some time what to write about Coton Egyptien by Phaedon. Did I love Coton Egyptien? Well, yes and no.

Coton Egyptien opens with the sheerest, most delicate…

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Perfume Haiku Series: Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermès

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermès

Unripe green mangoes
Hang on trees by the river
Sour meets salty

~ The Smelly Vagabond

Off to Paris!

Dear all, I’ll be off to Paris for a couple of days, and I’m looking forward to reporting on my fragrant finds when I get back! And this time I’ll remember to take pictures! I should still be able to post haikus from my phone, though. Till then, toodles and have a lovely weekend! 🙂

~ The Smelly Vagabond

Christian Dior – Cuir Cannage

source: mimifroufrou.com

If Knize Ten were a leather-clad biker rocking a Harley-Davidson, and if Jolie Madame were a cigarette-wielding bad ass Mama-san dressed in a violet cheongsam, then Cuir Cannage has to be a smartly-dressed, high-ranking executive striding confidently into the office while carrying a leather briefcase/handbag.

Diehard fans of leather who whine about suede not being leather will have nothing to complain about, nor will those who like their leather to come without too many floral or animalic embellishments. Despite the somewhat medicinal opening, Cuir Cannage does its job of being a smooth and elegant leather, and does it well. The light sprinkling and dusting of powder throughout the composition keeps it restrained and serves as a reminder that Cuir Cannage isn’t about delivering knock-out, migraine-inducing punches in the manner of LM Parfums’ Hard Leather, but seeks rather to be the definition of refinement. And just when one is left wondering if the person wearing the suit has a pulse, a tiny (very tiny!) trace of birch makes its presence known, a reminder that it is still very much human at its heart.

I could see Harvey Specter from Suits wearing Cuir Cannage.

Ultimately, Cuir Cannage is ‘safe’, but in a good way. It’s very nice, very nice indeed.

~ The Smelly Vagabond

Perfume Haiku Series: Incense Avignon by Comme des Garçons

Incense Avignon by Comme des Garçons

Priests in dusty robes
File into a musty church
Incense procession

~ The Smelly Vagabond