Nectars des Îles: a fabulous trip to the islands!

[via]

I've gotta tell you: I'm ready for some downtime.

Doesn't that beach look amazing?! And the hammocks. I could sure as hell use some time in those!

The weather has turned here - in fact, we never got much "Winter" here anyway. But more than warm air and sand and surf, I'm craving quiet. Peaceful, blissful silence. If the loudest thing I could hear was the crashing of waves, I'd be quite pleased.

My fibromyalgia has been interfering with my sleep majorly, and I'm painful all of the time. And with two kids, I don't get a lot of quiet.

What's a girl to do? Well, apparently selling your kids for plane tickets is illegal, so I just spray a lovely tropical perfume. Copiously.

My drug of choice is Nectars des Îles from Envoyage Perfumes.

The eagle has nothing to do with the scent - I just photographed the bottle on a book. 

Nectars des Îles was created by Juan Perez, who is a friend of mine, in collaboration with Shelley Waddington of En Voyage Perfumes. Juan makes decadent soaps and candles in Puerto Rico; you can check them out at Exotic Island Products. Shelley makes gorgeous perfumes in Carmel-by-the-Sea (California) which is not only her home but her inspiration as well. You can check her scents out at En Voyage Perfumes.

Juan's creation, Nectars des Îles, was released through En Voyage Perfumes along with Shelley's creation, Vents Ardents. They are both stand-alone scents but were designed to also work well layered (worn at the same time)! Both were well-received in Perfume Land last year. 

Today, I'm talking about Nectars des Îles only, though. Not because Vents Ardents isn't good (it is!) but because the one that really "takes me there" is Nectars des Îles. I'll happily discuss Vent Ardents in another post.

Nectars des Îles originates from the Caribbean and is homage to the delicious nectars and sultry flowers of the islands. It recreates a bouquet of lush island flowers with bold creamy gardenia and tiare petals at the center of the bouquet, accented with multi colored frangipani flowers.

I don't really have to say anything after you read that little blurb above, do I? This perfume is gorgeous. Gardenia. Tiare. Frangipani. Gorgeous tropical flowers, perfectly blended into a sensual perfume that's a delight to apply - and reapply.

But that's not the whole story, that blurb up there. The scent opens bright and tinged with green. It speaks of beauty and pulses with life. No, really. As soon as you catch the first whiff, you know this perfume is vital, beautiful, and very, very well-made.

Soon, the tropical flowers swirl around you. In addition to the florals named above (tiare, gardenia, frangipani), jasmine and ylang ylang are present. I'm delighted to report that all of these divas are so beautifully placed that they do not overwhelm the wearer. Wearing Nectars des Îles I feel like a lei of gorgeous white flowers has been draped around my neck - but this is the most lovely (and most likely expensive) lei ever made. There is not a moment that can be considered cloying or indolic. Nothing smells "too-too". These are tropical flowers presented in their most perfect state.

Eventually, Nectars des Îles softens thanks to some delicious sandalwood, soft and warm, and vanilla, soft and sweet.

Honestly, the scent is fairly linear. There are brighter, juicier parts at the top and a warming and softening at the base, but throughout the development are those luscious flowers. There is also something just the slightest bit spicy from top through to the bottom. I suppose it must be one of the flowers, but whatever it is it adds the most perfect nuance that just elevates this scent from "great" to "really, really special".

[via]

Top: Wild Oranges, Mandarin, Green Citron, Osmanthus Nectar.

Heart: Fresh Gardenia and Tiare petal accord, Absolutes of two frangipani species, Ylang Ylang and Jasmine auriculatum.

Base: Sandalwood Absolute from Vanuatu, Tahitian Vanilla, Amber and Fine White Musks.

I am delighted to whisper this little secret in your ear: Juan Perez is working on some more perfumes! I can't wait to smell them. And at some point I'll be reviewing some of his soaps for a group blogging project. Stay tuned!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go spray some more vacation on myself and pretend that there's not a sink full of dirty dishes calling my name...