Welcome back to the first instalment of  Mood Scent 4 in 2021. Seeing in the New Year was somewhat of a relief, however things have been slightly disappointing so far, with the events in the USA and the unwelcome presence of the COVID virus that is not going to be leaving us any time soon. In France in my region we are under a 6pm curfew which is not that bad in the week as no restaurants, bars or cafes are open anyway and it’s winter, but in the weekend it’s a rush to get home at the due time. Anyway I’m staying optimistic although at times things can seem a bit grim and lacking in joie de vivre. On the other hand in my home country in New Zealand, life goes on as normal, notwithstanding the travel restrictions, that make entry difficult. You need to book a quarantine space (strict hotel confinement for two weeks) and the first three months of the year are fully booked already and the April dates haven’t been released yet …

Fragrant life continues and it’s a good time to revisit favourites in the collection and to forge new friendships with scents that you may even have forgotten you had. Sometimes you might have a friendly encounter with a scent that has been hiding their charms. Today my fragrant partners, Portia at A Bottled Rose, L’Esperessence and I Scent You A Day are your perfume selectors for Jewels In The Crown, those scents that we can’t do without. This has prompted a revisiting of the collection for the purposes of today’s fragrant mission and it’s no easy task. This is a tricky question really as it’s a bit like choosing your favourite child (although not nearly as appalling). You know that I have written about each of these fragrances before and please note that I have heavily borrowed from my earlier notes on these fragrances. There are many more favourites that are difficult to do without, but for the sake of selecting a handful here, many have faced the chop. Currently these are my Jewels In The Crown, but ask me again next month and the list may include five different fragrances.

Anubis : Papillon  : Liz Moores : 2014

Anubis is a sultry diva who is looking to behave badly in a dark space somewhere, hiding away from onlookers. This has been my favourite Papillon perfume for some time now, although Bengale Rouge is very tempting too.  Anubis has such an hypnotically smoky, sexy vibe. There’s a leathery, aspect with dirty jasmine and frankincense that somehow smells more intense and majestic than the sum of its parts. This is a scent that I tend to reserve for special occasions where it now feels like a ritual to be returned to again and again.

Calling All Angels: April Aromatics : Tanja Bochnig: 2013

This is one of my Crown Jewel fragrances and came to mind fairly quickly and I wouldn’t want to be without it. I’m paraphrasing here from my earlier notes on this perfume and I truly believe that Calling All Angels now offers a form of spiritual healing. It really feels like pure bliss for me. 

Calling All Angels is one of those natural perfumes that doesn’t seem like a natural perfume. It smells richer and stronger than what you may be used to for a natural. It also won the Art and Olfaction Artisan category in 2014 for good measure and really is a gorgeous fragrance. Calling All Angels has a powerful sense of being and a hefty presence. It’s a sultry, golden, ambered incense swamped in dark, magical resins and a heavenly labdanum. Occasionally I detect a subtle smoky flicker and at others a honeyed, vanilla. This is much more my style than the austere, cold incense perfumes like L’Artisan Parfumeur‘s Passage d’Enfer or Kyoto from Comme des Garcons. Calling All Angels is exactly how Tanja has envisaged this scent as she wanted to summon a warm, gourmand incense scent. It’s joyous. It sings on skin and is draped in warmth and love.

Jeux de Peau : Serge Lutens : Christopher Sheldrake : 2011

A scent from Serge Lutens is essential for me, as it was the first perfume house that I truly fell for and first loves are difficult to shake. The first time I smelt Jeux de Peau was in Printemps Paris and the scent stayed with me all evening and I purchased it on the same trip. The scent is a true boulangerie beauty with a doughy smell mixed with milk and sandalwood along with an apricot jam facet. It’s a wonderful foodie gourmand and great for the cooler months.

Lune Feline : Atelier Des Ors : Marie Salamagne : 2015

Lune Féline is a sumptuously rich gourmet vanilla perfume with an ambered touch. It’s a decadent over the top sweet treat that I would bathe in if I could. It has an addictive, alluring opening with a touch of spice, courtesy of cardamom and cinnamon and at times a distinctly dark cocoa vibe too. The perfume is plumped up in the base with resins, musks and woods which lend a darkly luscious dimension to the scent until its conclusion. Tahitian vanilla is summoned here in all its fruity, floral and yes definitely sweet glory. It has a treacled golden syrup like smell and if you have a fetish for loved up gourmand vanillas then you must try this. It’s simply heavenly and one scent that I keep coming back to again and again. It also lasts and lasts and is one of the most popular scents in the Atelier Des Ors collection for good reason.

meltmyheart : strangelove : Christopher Laudamiel : 2016  

This is one of my favourite floral centric fragrances on the market full stop with the most wonderful orris butter. This gives meltmyheart such an amazing lift and texture. The scent of the orris in meltmyheart along with a gorgeous dark chocolate facet is truly exquisite. It’s a gift wrapped in love with a sexy kiss. There is oud in here too as is the case with all of the strangelove fragrances and is blended seamlessly but is not the star of the show as is in their showstopper deadofnight.

So that’s a wrap. Thank you so much for stopping by and please make sure to read my fellow Mood Scent 4 group writers : Esperanza on L’Esperessence, Portia at A Bottled Rose and Samantha on I Scent You A Day.

Notes : Images from the brand websites and Queen Elisabeth’s coronation photo by Cecil Beaton.

Disclosure : I provide services to Atelier Des Ors, however it must be noted that Lune Féline was a favourite before I worked with the brand.