My lavender favorites



Hi, everyone. This blog really stinks in that I haven't updated in ages! The holidays were fun but hectic, and they kind of kicked my ass a little bit, causing a fibromyalgia flare that still has me struggling. Hopefully your holidays were as happy as mine and 2012 is treating you well.

So anyway, let's make things a bit more fragrant around her, shall we? 

I was smoothing on some of my favorite skin soother today (the crazy weather is beating my skin up something fierce!) and started thinking about how my olfactory palette has expanded since I started on this perfumista journey. There was a time where lavender was one of my least favorite things to smell. I equated it with dusty potpourri. Sometimes lavender had a medicinal bite that tingled my nose.

Now, while it's not necessarily my favorite fragrance note, it's certainly one I enjoy.

I thought I'd take a minute and share just a few of my favorite lavender goodies.

The Soothing OneDream Cream (LUSH)
I mentioned that skin soother, and this is the one. It's not straight-up lavender. There's chamomile in there, too. Despite the fact that this is a perfume blog, my fondness for this is not just about the way it smells - which is, admittedly, not for everyone. It's also about what it does for your skin. It is a skin cream, after all! Ingredients like oatmeal, rose oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, and tea tree oil pitch in to help the chamomile and lavender soothe skin. Dream Cream helps smooth bumpiness, calm irritation, and minimize redness. Oh, it hydrates, too! While the slightly medicinal and distinct scent may be off-putting to some, I kind of like it. And it's short-lived and close-to-the-skin doesn't throw off my perfumes, which is important! And the fact that my kids like it really makes me smile.*

*It also reduces the girls' and my keratosis pilaris
 (those bumps on the back of the arms and legs)
and Lulu's slight case of excema.
That's not at all scientifically proven, but I know it to be true.




The Weird One
Gris Clair (Serge Lutens)
[image source]
Evocative. Interesting. Maybe even haunting. Gris Clair reminds me of a thunderstorm. Nope, there are no notes of rain or ozone. What is there, though, is a meeting of opposites. A thunderstorm is caused by an airmass is overly warm in the bottom layers, overly cool on the higher levels, or sometimes when both of those things happen. And of course, more duality is obvious when considering the coolness of falling rain drops and the heat of lightening. In Gris Clair, the herbal bite of cool lavender sits up on top followed by the warmer bottom notes of amber, incense and tonka. In fact, it's possible lightening struck this scent, because the there's an ashen, burned tinge to Gris Clair that I find particularly unique and enticing.

Some people find thunderstorms soothing. Other folks find them unsettling. Still others find them to be a little bit of both. I bet the same can be said of Gris Clair.


The Surprising One
Lavandula (Penhaligon's)
One might be tempted to write-off a scent like Lavandula. After all, it's a lavender perfume (read: boring) from a staid, historical company (founded in 1860). But Lavandula is neither stodgy or old-fashioned. It starts with a peppery, surprising bite of lavender with a green stalk. Once she has your attention, Lavandula calms your startled nerves with the cuddly calm of tonka, vanilla, and musk. This perfume never really sits still until the far drydown. Instead, she is constant but gentle movement, keeping you on your toes. My daughters both adore it (it's their favorite sleep scent). I do, too. 



Note for my bruthas:
Certainly, Dream Cream isn't just for the ladies.  I also do not consider Gris Clair or Lavandula to be strictly feminine scents.  I think men could pull of either of these perfumes. All three of these are a little unexpected, perhaps a bit odd, and definitely not potpourri- or bouquet-like. There's no reason men shouldn't try them. And remember, lavender is a focal point in the most famous of men's scents: the fougère!



So how 'bout you? Are you a lavender fan?
Share your favorites in the comments, or tell me why you like -or don't like!- lavender. I'd love to hear your thoughts!


15 comments:

  1. I absolutely love lavender! I remember as a girl I used to insist my mother buy me Yardley's English Lavender soap, simply because I adored that smell so much. I'm totally with you on the Gris Clair...a thunderstorm in a bottle is a perfect description! I also love Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet - this is absolute heaven on a hot summer day. I haven't yet tried any of the Vero Kerns - I'm thinking of Kiki, which is supposed to be centered on lavender - but I have to say - of all the lavenders I love - most of them, and I even put dried lavender in my drawers, if I don't turn it into lavender water and use it in my laundry - is the absolutely staggering Encens et Lavande, which is precisely what it says (not something Serge Lutens is known for!). It's moody, it's green, it's dark, it's vast as a lavender sky...And I really, truly need to get my grubby little hands on some of it! :-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well now I know what I'm going to do with the lavender plants I was going to install this year: make lavender water for my laundry!

      I have to try Encens et Lavande. I suppose since I'm such a fan of Gris Clair, I just figured...why? For some reason I figured they'd be similar. But it's Serge, so of course they're not similar enough for me not to need both! ;)

      xoxo

      Delete
    2. I loved reading this post, there are not that many other lavender fangirls out there as I know of! Encense et Lavande is very gifferent from Clair Gris, a lot more herby and drier somehow. Make me think of Scttish moors. Lutens also has a third, sadly overlooked, lavender, namely Fourreau Noir. That one is more similar to CG than EetL, but is sweeter, has more vanilla, caramel and animal. It's really funny, starts out cold and masculine but in the middle, does a sex change, and ends up as a sweet feminine gourmand. Highly recommended.

      Delete
  2. I always loved lavender as a scent - in creams, soaps and sachets. But recently I discovered a lavender perfume that I like a lot - Brin de Réglisse from Hermessence collection. Now I'm interested to try other perfumes with this note: it might be that I like it in this form as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Undina, that's got licorice, right? I am not sure if I'd like it. If I obtain a bottle (instead of my minute sample-decants) of either of the scents here, I'll pass them along for you to try!

      xoxo

      Delete
    2. It does contain licorice and I didn't think I would like it either (I can't even think about eating that thing!) but unexpectedly I liked it when I tried it on the skin.

      Delete
  3. I was blown away by Gris Clair when I first sniffed in a few years ago - but for some reason, it's too masculine on me now. And same w/Tarl re: the soap - I still buy that once in awhile as it makes me smile!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are days when picking up Gris Clair makes me feel like I should have just used an old fashioned razor, soap and lathering brush! I know what you mean about "too masculine". Other days, it's just bottled comfort.
      Thanks for commenting, Frida!
      xoxo

      Delete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Take 2... I had forgotten to include Gris Clair to the list below: how could I leave out Uncle Serge, I wonder, being a fan of the early hour (or 1992, as it were!). I understand how GC can seem masculine, and this one has fascinated me for a long time before I finally gave in and went for a bottle; but its super-dry aromatic vibe is unlike any other lavender-based fragrance I know, utterly compelling.

    Lavender is irreplaceable and immediately recognisable; to me, it is one of the most salubrious and comforting scents.
    Current exponents in my perfume wardrobe include Pour un Homme de Caron, Brin de Reglisse by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermessence and Donna Karan's Lavender, worn layered with the Labdanum from the same collection.
    I like how each of these three fragrances will take lavender into different territories: herbaceaous-animalistic (the civet in Pour un Homme), un-cloying and evanescent sweetness (Brin de Reglisse) and incensy skin scent (DKNY collection).
    Who would have thought this simple aromatic herb could be so versatile?! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Larinha, sorry for the delay in replying --- I've been at work.

      It really is compelling, that Gris Clair, isn't it?

      I have to check out Pour un Homme de Caron and DK's Lavender if I can get my hands on them. Sounds like you have great taste! I will probably choose to pass Brin de Reglisse due to my previously stated aversion to licorice. ;)

      xoxo
      jen

      Delete
  6. I'm hiding in the corner, taking notes on what to stay away from...

    Because, see, lavender hates me. Headache city. I mean, it's the Giant Metropolis of Instant Freakin' Migraine That Lasts ForEVER. Even the blooms do that to me. I can sometimes take lavender in fragrance, as long as it's below a certain low concentration, but that's iffy.

    I'm just jealous. Y'all enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mals, this is how I feel when people discuss tobacco facets in perfumes -- making the mental note to stay away or at least tread carefully (I have found *a few* that work, but usually a migraine launches me into misery).
      xoxo and STAY WARM! I bet your corner of VA is chilly. ;)
      jen

      Delete
  7. I'm not a big fan of lavender, but every once in a while it makes me smile. Andy Tauer's Reverie au Jardin is definitely my favorite lavender, and that's truly an exception because usually I prefer lavender as a "bit player," so to speak, in a fragrance, rather than the starring note.

    I must say, though, your descriptions are exquisite, Jen. And even though I already have sampled and don't care for Gris Clair, your writing is so pretty I'm almost tempted to try it again. Maybe I will. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suzanne, I need to swing by Reverie again. I was kind of "off" lavender a few months ago when I tried it. Just not "feelin' it" as they say. I am in a better place now ao I should go back again.

      Thanks for the compliments. Ya'll set such a high bar with your writing I need to be on my toes to even try to be in the same arena. ;)

      xoxo

      Delete

I am so glad you chose to comment! I appreciate it. :)

Sorry for the stupid verification things I had to add to the Comment Section, but I am being bombarded with spam.