lavender: 6 posts

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Lavender is still in bloom around Brussels, its almond-like scent competing with the musty aroma of fallen leaves. I always find it a surprising and jarring scent image, as if summer and autumn existed at the same time. It also never fails to remind me why I love lavender and how readily it evokes sunshine and warmth.

Scent Diary is a place to write your observations about the scents around you. Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.

While looking through my articles, I found this article that I wrote a few years ago but that still remains popular and often-read: A to Z Tips for Enjoyable, Affordable and Rewarding Perfume Hobby. If you have any tips to add, I’d love to hear them.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

The Belgian province of Limburg is an expanse of green fields punctuated by neat red brick towns. Although Brussels is a much more laid-back and calm city in comparison to London, Paris or Berlin, as I stroll through the woods near Hasselt, Limburg’s capital, I feel as if I just left a bustling metropolis. It’s all serenity, stone church spires and the soft rustle of leaves in the trees lining the river. And the rich perfume of lavender.

Although lavender is usually associated with Provence, there is a 4 hectare farm near Herkenrode in Limburg, and it’s open for the summer. “Yes, we have lavender in bloom, and it’s a genuine variety, not lavandin,” I was told by a lady at the nursery. “Please visit before we harvest it.” The following weekend my husband and I drove one hour to Limburg to see the lavender fields of Belgium.

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Burberry has done all it could to sink Brit Rhythm for Women. The awkward name, the cliched marketing lingo of sexy, rock-n-roll, and edgy, and its place of honor as the nth flanker to Brit don’t inspire much excitement. This is a shame, because Brit Rhythm is a sophisticated, quirky lavender wrapped in peony and sheer amber. It’s the most interesting and distinctive fragrance in Burberry’s collection, although you’d never guess so based on its bland trappings.

If your idea of elegance is casual and understated, Brit Rhythm will be a good fit. At its core is a complex lavender accord, a brave choice for a feminine perfume. A common presence in masculine colognes and skin care products, lavender has acquired a staid and dull reputation. That lavandin, a harsher, brasher note, is often used instead of real lavender doesn’t help matters either.

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In my new article for the Financial Times Magazine’s fragrance column, The Best Lavender Perfumes, I talk about some of my favorite lavender blends as well as fragrances that use lavender notes.

Lavender is a much misunderstood perfume ingredient. “Too simple” is a common response from many who’ve long associated it with aftershaves and soaps. Among perfume materials, lavender may not have the femme-fatale allure of jasmine or tuberose, but in terms of versatility, the essence of its tiny violet flowers often outranks more exotic blooms. It can be found in fragrances from all corners of the perfume map. Please read the rest by clicking here.

Climate change and the spread of disease are creating pressures for the production of lavender in France, and I also touch upon this issue in my article.

If you have favorite lavender perfumes, I would love to hear what you enjoy and wear. 

Photo via FT