My Perfume fitch

Chanel no. 5 - soft floral
Michael Edwards - fragrance advisor suggests original L'interdit, Arpege by Lanvin, and Ferre by Ferre as possibilities.

L'interdit (Givenchy) was one of my other all time favourites but they reformulated it in 2003 and it now smells totally different. Now a green rather than a soft floral. (It was made by Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn - "L'interdit is a memento of the exclusive friendship between Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn. Floral, aldehyde and powdery, it combines: the depth of clove and pepper; the femininity of rose, violet and jasmine. And the velvety softness of incense.")

Both Chanel no. 5 and L'Interdit have that slightly powdery, deliciously musky scent.

Gucci Rush - woody oriental
I like this so much, instant gratification for the nose.

Aromatics Elixir Clinique - dry woods
Soft and strong at the same time, blends beautifully with your skin

Shalimar by Guerlain.
Ultrasexy. Launched by the House of Guerlain in 1925, and inspired by the building of the Taj Mahal and the Shalimar gardens. It has that powdery musky quality I love, and is name checked in "Party Lights" by Janis Ian - "champagne and caviar, cocaine and Shalimar". The height of sophistication.

Other goodies:
Vivienne Westwood Anglomania
Vivienne Westwood Boudoir (so old fashioned)
Agent Provocateur
Gucci 2 (violets, v sweet)
Puma Flowing (light and fresh - floral,fruity, sweet ambery)
Mens - Anateus Chanel, Hugo Boss, Kouros

My perfume sites
Strawberry Net
Perfume Connection
Bois de Jasmin perfume blog

Things

Like a walk in the park
Things like a kiss in the dark

Last night a word kept running through my brain
The word was "Lanyards"
Why why why? Did I eat too much sugar?

I wore my birthday "Private Dancer" t-shirt to dance class last night. Very apt as it turned out, we did the stripper dance to Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" and the full-on routine with Running Man. Bliss. Other great 80s dances

Imbibliophile

Prob my fave source of booky info is The Guardian. A good source of fiction and non-fiction. I want to read Tristram Shandy after this:
"Uncle Toby, a retired army captain and innocent abroad, is obsessed with the war of the Spanish succession, in which he served. Though the gentlest of men, he dedicates himself to recreating the siege of Namur (where he was wounded "in the groin") on the bowling green behind the house. In one of the novel's characteristic episodes, he offers to show the predatory Widow Wadman where he was wounded. Blushing fiercely, she accepts, only to have her finger placed at just the right point on a map of the Netherlands"

And this on John Peel - Margrave of the Marshes, by John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft
"the Bay City Rollers gig at which Tony Blackburn was escorted across a lake by a Womble ('Look on this and marvel,' Peel murmured to Johnnie Walker at the time)"

Read this!

9 11 revealed - challenging the facts behind the War on Terror by Ian Henshall and Rowland Morgan. Phew.

Big Ups for Banksy

Not John Banks, but Banksy the art terrorist


and Otago Rugby team

Multifaceted

Big ups to Sar, and her cool Knoxville musings being published on Pulse.

Went to the doctor today for my back. She reckons something about faceted joints. I'm getting physio, first time ever for dealing with ACC and the like.

Laid up on the couch meant dvd watching ahoy. My tally of telly madness:
Day of the Triffids - wonderful, John Duttine is the most luscious advertisement for beard ever


Shaun of the Dead - perfection. With a cornetto.

Top Gear - the wonderful German woman tries to go round the Nurburgring in under 10 minutes, and nearly succeeds.

Formula One - Kimi comes from 17th on the grid, to win. Now that was a race.



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Stephen Fry on depression:
So what did he take from his "great episode" of depression? His answer proves one thing about Stephen Fry. As knowledgeable, chatty, and well-read as he is about the world, he's never so eloquent as when waxing philosophical about what matters to the self.

"I would say that it's weather, that it's not something that comes from inside you. It's something that happens almost randomly. It's pointless trying to track it. That doesn't make it less real, though.

"The point about an incident of depression like that is not that it's unreal. It's as real as a storm. But like a storm, it will pass. The key is to be prepared for the moment when it happens, to treat it like a storm. It's not your fault that it's raining. It's not your fault. Nor is it to your credit that it's sunny. The point is that it will rain and it will be sunny and that things shift.

"That (self-blame) happens with people who have a late onset of depression. They think it's connected to something to do with them, that they're the cause, that it's their inadequacy. They also think that it will never pass. I think, therefore, the weather metaphor is a good one."

Things what I like including Brian de bois Guilbert

GENE

Gene was one of the bands that came out round the time of Britpop.
Love their work. Martin Rossiter was in that lovely purple Morrissey/Oscar Wilde vein.

Gene

Your love it lies lyrics:

Given time and a cheap dark room
And I will show you
All the love and wonder
You could buy.
This town lies calm
the low sun climbs
And if you give me time
I'll take you in my arms
and tend you like a vine
but i'm left wanting more.


SAM NEILL in IVANHOE
Ivanhoe pics
It is a worry, but the supreme beacon of all that is enticingly masculine is Sam Neill as Brian de bois Guilbert in "Ivanhoe". The lovely Anthony Andrews is a fine Ivanhoe, but the bad boy Brian is brooding and looks wonderful in chain mail. His penchant for tying up girlfriends and setting them on fire is less pleasing. Especially considering my heroine Rebecca is Olivia Hussey.

If I could choose to look like anyone, I would have a tough time deciding between her or Audrey Hepburn.

BTW, Ciaran Hinds as Brian in tv version is also one hot tamale.