Di Palomo

I've been lusting after this for absolutely ages.

By ages, I mean years.  At least 5 years. Probably longer thinking about it.

Di Palomo's White Grape with Aloe is the sister scent to one of my all time favourites, Wild Fig and Grape (they have a bit of a thing for grapes in their scents).  The Wild Fig is wonderfully rich and spicey, deep and cosy and perfect for winter.  If I bury my nose into my scarves, I can smell the lingering traces of ripe fig and mimosa mixed with the distant memories of sandlewood and vanilla.  Delicious.

The White Grape with Aloe is everything that the Wild Fig and Grape isn't.  It is clean, fresh and sharp and blows away the cobwebs of winter like a cleansing spring breeze.

I used to go into town without any perfume on, just so I could pop into Fenwicks and spritz some on myself.  However, I was a poor student at the time and couldn't justify the £35 spend on the bottle, especially as I was always torn between this one and the Wild Fig.

Well, I finally caved.  I've been gradually working my way through and using up all my half open bottles of perfume in a vain attempt to try and de-clutter a bit, and when I finally got rid of 4 half used bottles, I replaced them all with this one.

Di Palomo scents are tricky to track down on the high street.  Most perfume shop assistants stare blankly at you when you mention them, and Fenwicks have now stopped carrying the line.  John Lewis still have them but in all honesty, the easiest place to get hold of a bottle is the website.

They are an English company (based in Devon to be exact), and all their products are made in the UK but inspired by the scents of Italy.  The White Grape with Aloe is influenced by the fresh scent of grapes in the vineyards above Lake Corbora in the early morning as dew droplets still linger on each ripe, plump grape.

Sharp top notes of green leaf and aloe mellow out into a lingering light aroma of jasmine, white grape and pear, all resting on base notes of white musk, wood and amber. Is crisp and sparkling, the equivalent of a chilled Sauvignon Blanc after months of treacly Merlot. 

The Di Palomo range has a medium length longevity, with most of the impact having faded by mid afternoon and requiring a top up and the silage is not too extreme either (a positive for me as I dislike being a walking perfume bomb).  There are a whole host of goodies in each range you can use to layer the scents if you wish to extend the longevity of the perfume, including bath elixirs, shower gels, body and hand creams, body butters, dry oils and even fragrance sticks, a fact that I have taken advantage of from the Wild Fig and Grape products.  All the products are filled with natural oils, such as fig, honey and aloe and as such leave your skin feeling silky soft.  I've been known to sit on the sofa with my legs in the air rubbing my calves together going 'but they feel so soft!' after moisturising.

The range is, in my opinion, also very good value for money.  This is a 100ml bottle and will last for a good few months for £35.  There are four varieties to choose from, all inspired by those heady Italian summer days.  In addition to the two I love, there is also Tuscan Rose, inspired by the courtyard of a Tuscan villa overhung with Linden trees and the newest range (and the next one I want to try), Orange Blossom with Wild Honey and Olive, inspired by the scent given off by the olive and orange groves in the heat of the day.

As the days grow lighter, green starts to return to trees and the first hints of spring are in the air, this, for me, is the perfect scent to welcome in the new season.

In case you were wondering, yes, I did stick the bottle of perfume and a bunch of grapes in the bottom of my bathtub, climb in, lie down face first with my legs up the slope of the bath and take these pictures.  What of it?

This post was not sponsored by Di Palomo.  I bought the bottle of perfume with my own money, and, as far as I am aware, Di Palomo don't have the first blue clue that I have written about them.  I will be informing them on Twitter though, so there.

If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a cheeky follow, or say Hi to me on my Facebook group or Twitter or Instagram!

Serge Lutens, Un bois vanille

I've been waiting a while, over a year in fact, to do this review as I wanted a new bottle of my favourite perfume in the world to photograph.

This is my signature scent.

Serge Lutens, Un bois vanille, is, to my mind, the ultimate in vanilla fragrances.  It is no secret that I love my vanilla scents; that warm, comforting, sweet blanket of smell that envelops you and gives a big squeezy cuddle in its bounteous bosom, but if you are not careful a vanilla scent can suffocate you in a treacly mess of syrupy miasma and leave everybody in your wake wondering why they are suddenly craving a cupcake with extra icing.

Serge Lutens have managed to create that rarest of all creatures; a vanilla scent that isn't cloying.  The edge of liquorice cuts through the vanilla and leaves you feeling like you are less in candyland and more in a grown up's chocolate factory.  It is so refined compared to other vanilla scents that it is completely suited for uni-sex use. 

The name translates as a vanilla wood so it is no surprise that there are also sandalwood notes adding depth and interest in the dry down as well as notes of coconut adding a smooth and creamy sweetness to the vanilla. 

Un bois vanille also has remarkable staying power.  It will last on me all day, without leaving a perfume bomb behind me, and attracts attention without fail.  If I hug someone when I am wearing it, they will almost without fail ask me what perfume I am wearing and Steve can't get enough of it!  It is a definite nuzzle inducing scent.

It's also not a very common perfume, I have yet to find someone who wears any of the Serge Lutens scents, all of which I find are typically grown up scents with none of the alcoholic vapours you find in cheaper versions, and they last.  I wear Un bois vanille at least four times a week and one bottle will last me for 18 months.   House of Fraser is the only mainstream department store commonly located on high streets I have found that carries it, although you can easily buy it on line.  At £70 a bottle it is not the cheapest scent on the market but for me it is absolute value for money.

The packaging is clean and simple and very French chic.  No gimmicks, no fancy stoppers, no strange twisted shapes that cut into your hand when you attempt to spray.  Serge Lutens relies purely on the strength and complexity of his fragrances to do his selling, not clever marketing gimmicks and I think he has it spot on.

I also find that this scent is suitable for use all year long, except perhaps on those hottest of sticky summer days.  I really want to explore more of the Serge Lutens range (I have my eye on Five o'clock au gingembre and I own a sample of L'Eau, a remarkable clean fragrance) but if doing so means straying from Un bois vanille, then I don't think I have the heart to make that sacrifice.

Si by Giorgio Armani

Code, by Giorgio Armani is one of my favourite evening scents but it is a bit too strong in my opinion for daytime use.  It also doesn't have the vanilla overtones that I love and look for in all my daytime perfumes.

Then Armani bought out Si.

Firstly, before I go into the deliciousness of the fragrance, just look at the bottle.  Simple, elegant, understated and golden.  I can't stand gimmicky perfume bottles with enormous stoppers that take up too much of my valuable toiletries space.  This little bottle is just perfect, sleek and curvy at the same time and an atomiser that delivers a decent amount of scent in each spray.

Even the box packaging is clean and graceful in a delicate blush pink.

So onto the scent.  The top notes are vanilla, patchouli, freesia and blackcurrant with blond woody undertones and it is soft and spicey and incredibly feminine.  Steve absolutely loves it on me.  It is perfect for this season as it is quite warm and delicate and would probably be too heavy for summer.  There is a sweetness to it from the vanilla but it is not overpowering or sickly.  In fact the addition of the patchouli adds an elegance to this scent. 

It has a relatively low sillage which I like as I don't feel like I am leaving the scent equivalent of a breadcrumb trail behind me and I have found it to last a good few hours.  I have also found it incredibly easy to wear - equally suited for a day in the office to a weekend spent with friends, whereas I only wear Code on a night out due to its strength.

It is quite pricey and would not replace my beloved Un Bois Vanille by Serge Lutens but as I struggle to find vanilla scents that are not too sickly sweet this is another one that will become a staple.

Have you tried it yet?  Are there any scents for Autumn/Winter that you are keen to try or recommend?