Friday, June 1, 2007

Got any suggestions for Margot?

Margot Adler was kind enough to answer my email and take a look at my blog post about her dislike of perfume. With her permission, I'll share her reply:

"most of the scents just seem so artificial not like a walk in the woods...at all... the two perfumes at chandler's event that I thought were lovely were light blue and le jarden sur le nile... but when I put them on my skin, I didn't like the result. Most of the scents in candle stores just seem over powering... I am not allergic to anything... I like things like almond, amber, etc. but most of the perfumes I find over powering...I did a story on bond number 9 perfumes,a couple were ok...like eau de noho, and eau de soho, but most were yucky." Margot

When I asked if it was okay to reprint her email, I mentioned that there are perfumers who work exclusively in natural essences, and that their work might interest her. She asked for suggestions. So, BGN readers, now that we know something about her preferences, what do you think Margot should try? I can think of several of Ayala's scents she might like. Anya's Fairchild is a possibility, I think Pan would be stretching it. I don't really know the Aftelier line, but I suspect some of them might be promising. I'll forward any and all suggestions to my favorite NPR reporter.

19 comments:

Jen said...

I think that's great that she responded and is willing to try some new things. I don't have much experience with naturals so I don't have any recommendations but I will be interested to see if she tries the naturals and what her opinion of them are.

Juvy Santos said...

I have zilch experience with naturals, M, but perhaps she might like something from L'Artisan's line as well as Anya's? Just a thought...Premier Figuer and Bois Farine, maybe?

Juvy Santos said...

ack, meant to add, too, that the reason why I'm thinking L'Artisan is that they do tend to be light (she seems to be easily overpowered).

Also maybe ANY of CB I Hate Perfume's scents....those are stunningly lifelike, I think...

Juvy Santos said...

sorry, one more comment!

You put me on your blogroll!
*does a little dance*

Anonymous said...

Hey, BitterGrace, Surfed my way over here from Perfume Posse to Winterstorming to you. What fun! I've liked your comments at the Posse, so no surprise I like you here, too.

Hmmmm, I'm always a little lost without my perfume notes to myself (on my hard drive at home), but the first thing that comes to mind is CB's Black March. Wowee, does that smell like beautiful earth!

I'd also suggest she check out some of the offerings of Sonoma Scent Studio. (Run together the name & add a ".com" and there you have it.) SSS has lots of single-wood scents, some quiet lilies & incenses, things with great subtlety (too subtle for me, often) and natural. Oh, and Diptyque Philosykos for pure figgy goodness? And the CdG Incense line? My mind races on this topic, but I'll try to stop now! --Ellen

BitterGrace said...

Thanks for the replies!

Jen, I think it's great that she resonded, too. Now if we could just find a reason to email Ken Rudin ;-)

Good recs, Ahrianrad, and she shouldn't have any trouble sniffing those in NYC. I'm honored to put you on my blogroll, and thanks for putting my on yours. My mate, Mr. Art Critic, dug your DC review!

Very pleased to see you, Pitbull Friend. Does your screen name refer to who your friends are, or the nature of your friendship? Sounds good to me either way. Excellent recs, esp. SSS, which I had completely forgotten about.

Whodoo said...

I also thought CB. If she wants to smell like walking through woods, CB's got the best -- Forest Floor, Burning Leaves, etc. And I think she needs oils rather than edts, to keep the sillage down, so CB is good for that. If she can't find anything in his catalog that she likes, there's no hope for her. :-D

BitterGrace said...

Ooops, my smiley for Jen got deconstructed. I can't fix it. Just think of it as a Cubist smiley.

BitterGrace said...

Thanks, Renee--Oils and low sillage seem like good ideas for her. Who among us has been to the CB boutique? I wonder if she's aware of it, since she's in New York.

chayaruchama said...

I think Ava-Luxe Moss might be just the ticket, to begin with.
It's anything but loud, brash, or intimidating.

Aftel's Amber, and her Shiso and Cepes et Tubereuse also would do well.
Possibly a dab of Farnesiana would give her almondy softness, without artificiality.

BitterGrace said...

Ooh, thanks, Chaya, those all sound great. Cepes et Tubereuse? How intriguing.

chayaruchama said...

That CeT has your name all over it, Maria.
Imagine the sylvan beauty of mushrooms with white, waxy delight ?

It isn't over the top-
Just exquisite, slightly earthy, absolutely brilliant.
FBW, no question.

BitterGrace said...

Chaya, don't you know it's a sin to tempt the weak? That does sound incredible. ;-)

Anonymous said...

That Chaya is such a tease.

Jen said...

I like the Cubist smiley! Don't think I don't wonder what Ken Rudin wears.;-)

Whodoo said...

I've been to CB's boutique. It's in a part of Brooklyn called Williamsburg. It's a small place and quite out of the way. It's a nice neighborhood, though, and there is a decent restaurant nearby -- probably more than one since I've been there, probably a year ago now. If you want to actually speak with CB, call ahead. I was in that store over an hour and he was busy the whole time, so I never got to say hello. But I made good friends with his dog, and smelled every single thing in the store. Ended up buying "Porcelain," and a friend bought "Narcissus."

BitterGrace said...

Renee, what does "Porcelain" smell like?

I just sent MA an email with our recs. I gave links to various sources, including the page at CB's site which gives detailed instructions for finding his shop, so she should be able to get there if she wants to.

Thanks, everybody, for all the input. I'll let you know if I hear anything back from her.

Anonymous said...

Hi, BitterGrace:
I did some surfing around here to try to find the origin of your nom de screen, but couldn't find it. Are you connected with the band?

Some very good friends of mine are pitbulls. I do dog rescue and particularly like to help the pits and pit mixes -- they are very bright, athletic, and eager to please, which unfortunately makes it possible for them to be taught evil as well as good. Thanks for asking! --Ellen

BitterGrace said...

Ellen--I have known some very charming pit bulls. It's a shame they get such a bad rap. They are banned from the dog parks in Nashville, which is ridiculous. I have 3 rescue pups myself, of various indeterminate beeds.

Nope, no connection to the band. I took BitterGrace as a screen name many moons ago at Perfume of Life, and I've just carried it with me. It's actually my given name, translated back to its Hebrew source. There are at least a couple other BitterGraces in the blogosphere.