Theft, Leonard Payne, & The AbdesSalaam Attar Book

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday: a very kind reader of the blog informed me that roughly 190 pages of a 254 page-length book that he recently purchased was taken from my writings on this free site. Not sentences, not paragraphs, but practically everything I’ve ever written on AbdesSalaam Attar was presented in its entirety. And the thief —Leonard Payne— actually confessed to all of it in his introduction!

Leonard Payne’s book, Perfumes: The World of AbdesSalaam, the front cover. Source: Amazon.

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“The Dog Ate My [Chanel] Homework”: Apollo

I never thought I’d ever use “The dog ate my homework” — that old hoary chestnut, cliché, and excuse that some kids use when they haven’t done their homework—  but Apollo actually ate my homework! Well, to be precise, he ate a good third of my draft of the Chanel Le Lion review. No, I’m not joking.

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Areej Le Doré Chinese Oud

Chinese Oud, the latest release from Areej Le Doré, is a perfect example of a self-taught perfumer honing and refining his style over time to become the equal of many professional, big house noses today. The opulent parfum is the result of a collaboration between Russian Adam and his friend, Jamira Oud, who distilled and worked on many of the rare Chinese raw materials, including wild, aged, nearly extinct Hainan agarwood which is considered by many collectors to be one of the top varietals in the world due to its unusual floral, fruity, and citrus tonalities.

I’m going to tell you upfront, right from the start, that I loved Chinese Oud and I thought that it was not only complex but also one of the more approachable, versatile, refined, non-blocky, and smooth floral leather ouds (or floral oud orientals) from Areej Le Doré.

Chinese Oud, 10 ml bottle version. Photo: Areej Le Doré

Chinese Oud, 10 ml bottle. Photo: my own.

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Say Hello To… APOLLO!

I wanted to introduce you to my new child, the holy terror and infant delinquent called Apollo. He’s huge, he’s naughty, he’s defiant and unruly, he’s an agent of chaos that has turned my life (and house) upside down— and I love him.

I would love him far more, however, if he let me sleep more than an hour at a time and didn’t use my arm as a pin cushion for his cannibalistic tendencies. (The wild child is nicknamed “Jaws” for a reason!)

I promised you a photo deluge of puppy adoreableness, so get ready for the Tales of Apollo!

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