A local secret: the Sichuan Kitchen at Poplar

I think my husband and I might have discovered a real gem of a restaurant not far from where we live, called Sichuan Kitchen. Having googled it online, it looks like it isn't very well documented online and so I guess it could be considered as a local secret. Well, I don't think it should stay a secret and I'm doing my little bit to spread the word!

Sichuanese cuisine is characterised by the abundant use of chili, Sichuanese peppercorns and garlic. The dishes are fantastically flavoursome and the fragrance so pungent, I find that it has almost addictive qualities. My first taste of Sichuanese food was at Bar Shu, a wonderful restaurant which is situated in Soho and is quite well known and highly praised: Guardian review. I would honestly say that the Sichuan Kitchen is just as good in terms of the quality of the food but much less expensive. I was really impressed with all the dishes that we ordered and the staff were very friendly, keen to engage in a conversation with us.

My husband and I shared four different dishes: Gong bao chicken with peanuts, fish fragrant aubergine, fried chili beef ribs and a pork chili dish that came in a delicious red chili broth. I would recommend all of them but I particularly loved the Gong bao chicken, the meat is so succulent and blends wonderfully with the crunch peanuts and the warming sweet-sour-spicy sauce. Absolutely delightful.

The Sichuan Kitchen is located at:
213  East India Dock Road
Poplar
London E14 0ED


I also recommend this book for any aspiring Sichuanese cooks!:

Dunlop, Fuchsia, 2003. Sichuan Cookery. London: Penguin Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-140-29541-2

Feist at the Royal Albert Hall

Last night I went to a Feist concert with a friend. Until recently, I didn't really know much about Leslie Feist apart from her catchy 1-2-3-4:

and I'm so glad that I was introduced to her music, because I'm a big fan now. The concert took place at the Royal Albert Hall and featured music mostly from her new album, Metals. This album is another world from the playful and lighthearted 1-2-3-4. It is much deeper and in times quite wistful. But it's never depressing, due to its uplifting beauty. Wholesome might be a good word to describe it too. The creative and extensive use of percussion instruments adds to the melancholic mood but it is her vocals, so delicate and yet paradoxically powerful, that really shines through for me.

With such a stunning album, my expectations were quite high for this concert. I wasn't disappointed, it was such a beautiful concert. Not only was the music fantastic, the concert was visually stunning. There was a big screen behind the band which had abstract images projected onto it which blended so well with the light effects and the music. I also loved how there often were close ups of the band projected onto this screen blended in with the abstract images, particularly interesting when unusual percussion instruments were used, like windchimes and a punch-hole music box.

It was such a fantastic sensual experience, musically and visually. The atmosphere was also something else, especially when Leslie invited members of the audience to slow dance on the stage. 

La vie dorée

What's new is that I've opened a shop on Folksy called La Vie Dorée. It features items that I've been busy creating this weekend. Some of my favourites are:

Click here to visit my shop! It's still understocked but I'm currently busy making new things.

A little visitor

We recently noticed that there is a butterfly in our flat. Quite a surprise as we haven't opened our windows recently and we live in a pretty urban area (I haven't seen a butterfly since I left Cambridge!). 

Wherever it came from, it's a beautiful creature that puts a smile on my face. I wonder if I should let it out into the (urban) wilderness?

Here it is, feeding on some sugar solution I made for it.

Apple pie

The other day, to celebrate our 6 month wedding anniversary, I made an apple pie for my husband, which was the first dessert I ever made for him. In turn, he made a smoked salmon and garlic cheese spaghetti dish which was also the first thing that he ever cooked for me.

The pie was made using Delia Smith's recipe (see here) and is based on the French tarte Tatin method of making a pie - cooking it upside down. This has the great advantage of keeping the crust really crisp until its eaten. As Delia suggests, it's amazing with a dollop of crème fraîche. It's so simple to make and tastes delicious :)

P.S. Delia has a slightly more authentic recipe for tarte Tatin: Lucy's Tarte Tatin but I've never tried this one before. I think I'll give it a go one of these days.

An off-topic post today: KONY2012

These last few days, I've been overwhelmed by the spread of the charity International Children's (IC) campaign, KONY 2012.

It has spread extremely rapidly on social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Amazingly, the views of this video has increased from about 1 million when I saw it yesterday to 15 million this morning.

While I'm very happy to see that awareness of the abuses in Uganda is being spread to many people, especially by using social networking in the best possible manner, I am unfortunately rather sceptical about this organisation and its campaign. A lot has been said on the web already but the article that I saw this morning in the Guardian sums it up well:
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/spT7nhr-OiPgPSkOd_cicLg/view.m?id=15&gid=world/us-news-blog/2012/mar/07/kony-2012-video-viral-invisible-children&cat=most-read

I have some qualms with the thought that by supporting the KONY2012 campaign, one is effectively supporting the Ugandan military, as what IC proposes to do is to put pressure on the US government to aid in the capture or killing of Kony. As we has seen in numerous examples in recent history, just getting rid of one leader does not solve problems. Of course I agree that Kony should be arrested to be tried for crimes against humanity, I am not sure the best way is by supporting a corrupt military which may end up committing equally or worse crimes once it has acquired extra knowledge and military know-how from the US. What I mean is that although arresting Kony is a good idea, it should not be done in the pretence that that in itself will stop the abuse in Uganda and in a way that supports corrupt groups like the Ugandan military. Other leaders and his child-army will remain. The Ugandan military may seize even more power. Overall, the strategy seems poorly thought out.

However, I don't claim to know best and perhaps this indeed is the best strategy out of the possible ways to end the crimes in Uganda. At least the KONY 2012 campaign has raised awareness and that is not a bad thing.

My mosituriser holy grails

Being a scientist, I've always been very sceptical of any claims made by the beauty industry regarding their products and also by any overly enthusiastic praises from users of said products. I guess we all know about the placebo effect!

But, having said all that, there are a few moisturisers that I really swear by. Firstly, I think the key to keeping healthy skin is to be very careful in the sun. I know people sometimes make fun of me for wearing products with SPF everyday, even on the greyest of London days. However, I'm a firm believer that the biggest damage done to our skin is by UV rays (unless you're an excessive drinker or smoker of course) and those are not completely blocked by clouds! (in fact, some suggest that there is an effect called cloud enhancement of UV rays: http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/sunshine-on-a-cloudy-day )

So daily, I tend to use any facial moisturiser with SPF15. I'm currently using Olay's Complete Care Daily Sensitive UV Fluid SPF15.

Image from: here

In the summer months, I use products with much higher SPF. My favourite is a Japanese product made by Bioré called UV Perfect Face Milk SPF 50+ PA+++.

Image from: http://beautyknot.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/biore-pefect-face-milk-spf50-pa

However, as I can only get hold of this in Japan, I also use Anthelios Extreme Face Fluid SPF 50 by La Roche-Posay but it really pales in comparison to Bioré's product. What I love about is that although the Perfect Face Milk is liquid, it dries onto the skin in a very fresh, powdery finish which doesn't shine. The La Roche-Posay product is unfortunately a little bit sticky and leaves more of a shine which can make the skin look a bit oily.

Image from: here

At night, I use Steamcream which I only started using about a year ago. I feel like this product has really changed my skin. I rarely have breakouts now and people keep on mentioning how much smoother my skin is. Perhaps I'm just eating better and having a healthier life-style and it's got nothing to do with the cream... But because I love the light texture of the moisturiser and it's soothing scent, I continue to use it. It also comes in the most beautiful tins with many different designs. Here are a couple which I currently have:

Image from: http://www.steamcream.co.uk/shop.html

Rainy Dreamy Sunday

Today was one of those lazy days in which the hours just blend into another. One of those days where just lying around listening to music is utter bliss.

Frangipani by Ormonde Jayne

Frangipani. This perfume is the first one I tried out of the Ormonde Jayne line and to this day, is my favourite perfume in the world. I wore it on my wedding day and perhaps that is why I love it so much as the scent is now closely tied in with the memories my wedding day and the exciting run up to it. It reminds me of the wonderful taffeta Pronovias dress I wore, the warm sunny days in Cambridge, the blue hydrangea bouquet I loved so much, the happiness, feeling so in love... It always puts a smile on my face. But happy memories aside, this is undoubtably a stunning perfume.

The scent begins with a tart, lemony-lime burst which is fresh and invigorating. It then settles into a floral composition, which I assume is the smell of frangipani. Unfortunately, I never have had the chance to experience the natural scent of the frangipani flower. The perfume has a creamy, jasmine-like scent but without any of the strong pollen-y edge which I always experience with jasmine. The scent also has a note which reminds me a little of Umeshu (梅酒), a Japanese plum liqueur. I would say the perfume is predominantly floral but with a splash of fresh fruitiness that's almost dewey. I find that on my skin, the scent remains fruity-floral for a long time and later on has the added dimension of a warming vanilla-wood base.

It's a beautiful perfume.

The notes that Ormonde Jayne have published are as follows:
Top Notes: linden blossom, magnolia flower and lime peel
Heart Notes: white frangipani, jasmine, rose and tuberose absolutes, water lilies, plum, and green orchid oil
Base Notes: amber, musk, cedar and French vanilla absolute

Hypnotic Poison by Christian Dior

So I'm done with interviews for this week. I already heard the result of Tuesday's and it turns out that I didn't make it to the second round. Bummer. Well, all the more reason to focus on perfume and lovely things in life.

Today I'm going to talk about Dior's Hypnotic Poison. I never tried any of Dior's perfumes before and it was a lovely surprise when my husband gave me a gift set for Christmas called "Little Luxuries for Women" that contains adorable minatures of J'adore, Hypnotic Poison, Dior Addict 2 and Miss Dior Chérie. Having sniffed all of them when I received the box, I immediately knew that Hypnotic Poison would be one I would go back to.

The juice (or poison would be more fitting) comes enclosed in a red bottle that that makes me think of a dark fruit. It looks very edgy and due to the fact that it's called Poison, it certainly wouldn't be my first choice of perfume just based on image. However, the scent is very different. It's warm, sweet and not at all scary.

The notes that comes to mind are bitter almonds, milk and vanilla. I find that it also has hints of liquorice and a sprinkle of cardamon. The notes really makes the perfume sound like a recipe for a yummy cake and indeed, it is very much a gourmand scent. However, it's so perfectly balanced that it's never too sweet, the bitterness from the almond keeping it in check.

Interestingly, this perfume reminds me in a vague way of Bvlgari's Jasmin Noir (not the newer Mon Jasmin Noir which smells entirely different) and I think it's due to the milky-liquorice like scent. Both also have notes of jasmin, although I don't always smell the jasmin in Hypnotic Poison.

Overall, I think the perfume is perfect for the winter months as it's warm, gourmand scent is very comforting. It makes me think of ladies in beautiful cashmere sweaters and silk scarves. Comfortable, luxurious and effortlessly elegant.

Off topic...

I haven't had the time to post anything as I'm busy preparing for interviews... But I saw this YouTube video and it made me laugh. The story of my life 2006-2011:

Cupcakes again

I was a bit lazy last week and abandoned this blog... It was my birthday so I think I have a good excuse ;) My lovely husband treated me to the wonderful Ta'if and since then, I've been smelling of roses, oriental spices and sweetmeats. Mmm.

My day has been frustrating so I decided to do some baking this afternoon. Today I made vanilla cupcakes. The first batch turned out just right and I was really happy but while making the second batch, I realised that there wasn't enough milk left. Oh no. Hence improvisation kicked in. Last night I had glutinous rice with coconut milk mixed in as a night-time snack (I know, I have weird cravings) and had loads of coconut milk left. So it made sense to replace the milk in the recipe with coconut milk. Then, instead of adding the vanilla essence, I added a dash of rose water.

The 20 minute wait while it baked in the oven felt really long! I was worried that it would turn out horrible and would be a waste of my lovely ingredients. (I know it's just the standard store cupboard stuff but I always feel bad when I have to throw out food).

***

And so, the verdict: pretty good really!! They turned out a bit softer than expected and maybe a tad too sweet but tasty all in all. In fact, having just eaten another, I think they are rather good! The coconut milk has given them a creamy taste and the rose flavour is just perceptible. I quite like that it's not overly rose flavoured as I think it's nice for the coconut to really take centre stage. Overall, it's quite a subtle cupcake which most people would enjoy and is a nice change from vanilla.

Recipe:

40g butter

120g sugar (perhaps use 80-100g for a less sweet version)

140g self raising flour

120ml of coconut milk

a dash of rose water (Maybe about 1/2 teaspoon or so)

1 egg

Mix the butter and sugar until the butter has turned into a creamy paste. Add flour and mix until the consistency is sandy. Briskly whisk the coconut milk, rose water and a whole egg in a separate bowl and slowly add to the sugar-butter-flour mixture until smooth. Pour into paper cupcake cases in a cupcake tin and put in a pre-heated oven at 170°C. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Easy!

Rose cupcakes

This time it's an edible rose post!

I love baking and one of the things I love to create are cupcakes because they can be made to look so pretty really easily.

Photos from the fruits (sweets?) of my labour: rose, chocolate orange and lime coconut cupcakes

The recipe I normally use is from the Cupcakes book by the Primrose Bakery so I probably shouldn't post it here (copyright restrictions and all...) but what I can say is that you can easily recreate it by adding a teaspoon or so of good quality rosewater (it depends on how strong the particular batch of rosewater is and also how strong or subtle you like the flavour to be) into a standard plain cupcake recipe. The icing is just as easy, add the rosewater and a little drop of food colouring to the usual butter and icing sugar mixture!

So I think that now completes the journey into rose scented and flavoured things in my life that I enjoy. I'm sure I'll come across new things in the future though! And if anyone ever has something to recommend, I'm all ears!

Amandopondo by Lush

So today's post is about one of my favourite Lush products: Amandopondo.

I've had quite a funny relationship with Lush. I think I first found out about it when I was shopping in Birmingham back in my undergraduate days and was really put off by the insane smell of the shop. Because Lush is a big believer of reducing waste, many of their products aren't wrapped and stand around in the shop and this creates the most unbelievable odour. It's so strong that I can often smell a Lush shop meters away. Although I was put off on that first visit, I bought a few products but neither of them wowed me. If I remember correctly, I got a lemony soap called Bohemian and Candy Fluff Dusting Powder (which I think has been discontinued). The soap was a bit boring and unfortunately the dusting powder made me sneeze and itch every time I used it. So after that experience, I just wasn't interested in Lush, until a few years later when one of my friends was telling me how amazing Lush is. I wasn't really convinced until she brought along a fresh face mask to a girly sleep over and I was completely converted. I think that was the start of my love affair with Lush. Even though my first encounter wasn't successful, I am now a big fan.

So, Amandopondo. This product is one of Lush's bubble bars. It's a very sweet looking product, a creamy round bar with a dried rose bud on top. It smells lovely, of roses and citrus oils. But it really comes to life in the bath tub. Lush's bubble bars are used by crumbling under running bath water. I normally break up one of these bars and use a quarter per bath (so at £2.65 a bar, we're looking at about 66p per bath - and if your bath tub's on the small side, you might even get five to six baths out of one bar!). I'm always amazed at how much bubbles this product produces. Even by just using a quarter of it, it creates masses of bubbles and I usually sit blissfully under a good 20cm of bubbles. It really feels luxurious and the smell is divine. It is quite a subtle scent, quite sophisticated, smelling gently of roses, oranges and lemon. It is also gentle on the skin and makes for a fantastic relaxing bath before bedtime.

Photo from: https://www.lush.co.uk/product/23/Amandopondo-Bubble-Bar

I think Amandopondo is a fantastic product and one I always end up buying when I visit Lush.

I still can't stand the smell of the shop though.

Postcript - Rose hands and Isfarkand

So, Molton Brown got back to me in less than 24 hours (excellent customer service) with the ingredient list for their rosé granati fine liquid hand wash which I chose to compare with Baylis & Harding's wild rose and raspberry leaf handwash. Interestingly enough, there isn't a huge deal of difference between the two in terms of ingredients that make an impact (i.e. it doesn't seem like one cleans better than the other or is more gentle than the other) but Molton Brown uses much much more fragrance ingredients. They also list pomegranate fruit extract as their fifth ingredient, which, if we are to believe is the fifth most abundant ingredient in the product, must be a fair amount of what I would imagine is a relatively expensive ingredient. So perhaps there is reason to be dishing out the extra cash for Molton Brown products (although I'm not entirely sure what that fruit extract is for, apart from maybe for the fragrance but it certainly does make the product sound nice...). In any case, I think as a special case luxury product I'm already sold, as many of their products smell so lovely!

I'm listing the ingredients below and what I believe is/are the purpose/s of each ingredient in the product. (I can, of course, be wrong as although I have a scientific background, I've never worked in the cosmetics industry)

So the ingredients that are present in 

both Baylis & Harding and Molton Brown handwash are:

• Aqua (Water)
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate - cleansing agent
• Cocamide DEA - foam booster
• Parfum (Fragrance)
• Glycerin - humectant (moisturiser)
• Benzophenone-4 – preservative (I think by preventing UV light from damaging scents and colors in product)
• Methylisothiazolinone - preservative
• Citric Acid – acidity regulator
• CI 17200 (Red 33) - colourant (for its pretty pink colour)
• Sodium Chloride - thickener

Ingredients only found in 

Baylis & Harding handwash:

• Cocamidopropyl Betaine – foam boosting
• Benzyl Alcohol – viscosity decreasing agent
• Magnesium Chloride – viscosity controlling
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone - preservative
• Magnesium Nitrate – preservative?
• Hexyl Cinnamal - fragrance

Ingredients only found in 

Molton Brown handwash:

• Punica granatum fruit extract – extract from pomegranate – for fragrance?
• PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil - surfacant or emulsifying agent
• butylphenyl methylpropional - fragrance
• geraniol – likely for fragrance
• hydroxyisohexl 3-cyclohexane carboxaldehyde - fragrance
• limonene - fragrance
• propylene glycol – humectant and viscosity decreasing agent
• phenoxylethanol - preservative
• PEG-18 glyceryl oleate/cocoate - thickener
• caramel – colourant? Fragrance?

If you are interested in what all those ingredients do in your cosmetic products, I'd thoroughly recommend: EWG's Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep

*******

Linda Pilkington did not lie, as she says in her video, Isfarkand lingers divinely on clothes. I picked up my clothes from yesterday this morning and the wonderful scent of citrusy pepper greeted me. I can see why it can get addictive!
Video and Ormonde Jayne Website on Isfarkand

Rose hands

There is a rose product that I use everyday and it is Baylis & Harding's Wild Rose and Raspberry Leaf Hand Wash. Unfortunately, having done a Google search the other day, it seems as though Baylis & Harding has a bit of a bad reputation which I wasn't aware of until my search. "Cheap copy of another more high end product" (in a derogative tone) seems to be the words I come across often. Well, I don't quite agree. It's true that it's cheap but only in an affordable way and yes, it's true that the packaging looks uncannily similar to Molton Brown's packaging, right down to the silver neck and shape of the pattern on the bottle. That is perhaps one thing that annoys me a bit about Baylis & Harding, as I don't like products that try to fool the customer. I'm sure a few people that aren't too switched on would mistaken Baylis & Harding as the "posh liquid soap", while thinking of Molton Brown. That's not very honest. But other than that, I have nothing against Baylis & Harding. In my opinion, the products they make are actually very good.

It's clear that the Molton Brown products seem more luxurious but Baylis & Harding doesn't fare too badly either. Okay, it's not going to be at the same level as Molton Brown (but how can you expect it to be at £2 for 500ml for Baylis & Harding as opposed to £15 for 300ml for Molton Brown - that makes the Molton Brown 12.5 times more expensive!) especially in terms of exciting fragrance combinations, such as  pomegranate with essential oils of ginger, black pepper and cardamom (pictured below) but Baylis & Harding's is also very good quality, especially when considering the price.

• Molton Brown
• luxury product
• exciting fragrances that contain essential oils (however, remember that these essential oils make up only a tiny part of the whole product)
• £5 per 100ml

• Baylis & Harding
• affordable product
• great fragrance
  [I am currently waiting for an ingredient list from Molton Brown customer services so that I can compare it with that of Baylis & Harding and see what the difference is. EDIT: this is now on my new post ] 
• 40p per 100ml

The Wild Rose and Raspberry Leaf hand wash is actually really lovely. The rose scent is very well done, being fresh and fruity enough not to smell tacky and well... "cheap". I'm not entirely sure where the rasberry leaf is in the fragrance but perhaps it refers to the slightly green feel to the smell, which I feel is part of making the rose smell like good quality rose water. I think fragrances don't need to be made out of essential oils to smell wonderful. Many perfumers make use of synthetic fragrances and will fantastic resutls. As for the soap, it doesn't lather up as much as some of the other soaps that I have used in the past but I believe that is one of the reasons why it is very gentle on my skin. As I tend to over wash my hands, it's a good thing. The scent lingers on for just long enough to be pleasant but not in an obtrusive way. (I hate it for example when I can smell soapy smells when I'm trying to enjoy my food).

So all in all, this hand wash does exceptionally well and I love it because it's so affordable. As much as I love luxury products like Molton Brown, I really can't afford to use something so pricey on a daily basis. And it's certainly much better than all this antibacterial nonsense I keep on coming across in supermarkets and pharmacies. Since when do we need antibacterial handwash when simple soaps and handwash will do? These antibacterial handwashes tend to stress out my skin and unless you're working in the laboratory or in a hospital, it's really overkill.

Oh and one more thing, the packaging in pretty and looks lovely in my bathroom :)

Isfarkand by Ormonde Jayne

I just heard from Ormonde Jayne on Twitter that they are now collaborating with Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park London to offer their Isfarkand fragrance. According to Mandarin Oriental the Isfarkand fragrance will be available as shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion and soap in all rooms and suites. How fantastic, if there ever was a good reason to choose a hotel over another... Hmm, perhaps I'm getting a bit carried away but attention to detail and dedication to excellent quality of this scale is very attractive! Isfarkand, as most of Ormonde Jayne's fragrances, is fantastic.

I would say that this is a little more masculine of a scent but definitely wearable by both sexes. I find that in general, there are very few scents that women can't wear. How lucky we are!

Anyway, it is quite fitting that I happen to wear this fragrance today. I'm still testing it and haven't worn it outside the home yet. The reason is because it is very different from the perfumes I normally wear, which always has a clear sweet note in it, be it floral or fruity. Although Isfarkand is fruity to begin with, but very citrusy and tart. There isn't much sweetness in it. From the very beginning it sparkles with cool green and yellow notes of lime and lemongrass. Then as it calms down, the warmness of pepper begins to envelop the scent. At this stage, I find the slight sweetness of mandarin is present, with lemongrass.

I love this stage of this fragrance and the scent makes me think of a spa, of relaxation and massages. (In fact, the scent very much reminds me of the shower gel that is in the shower room of our gym / spa in our building. I should enquire as to what it is. I had a feeling its something by Molton Brown but I'm not too sure.) Given the association I have with massages, it evokes quite a sensual image in my mind.

Towards the end of the fragrance landscape, I very much perceive some green woody notes. Perhaps it was present all along but I only really appreciate it once the citrus and the pepper has calmed and cooled down a little. Somehow, I see this fragrance in colours, where at the beginning it is quite cool green and lemon yellow, to warm up into more yellow ochre and a tiny blob of apricot pink then back into the cool green and lemon yellow, although warmed up by woody browns. It's a very beautiful scent and I love experiencing it. However, rather than smelling it on myself, I am so tempted to get my husband interested in trying perfumes out as I would love to snuggle up to a man that smells so sensual.

The Ormonde Jayne describes the notes as the following:

Top: lime, mandarin and bergamot

Heart: pink pepper

Base: cedar, vetiver and moss

Again my lack of knowledge comes out... I haven't a clue what bergamot should smell like, nor vetiver. But hopefully the more perfumes I sample with these notes, I'll begin to understand what they should be.

Anyway, this post was a bit of a tangent from the rose I have been writing about lately but I couldn't resist writing about Isfarkand after hearing the news about Ormonde Jayne and Mandarin Oriental. How I would love to stay at the Madarin Oriental and dose myself in the wonderful fragrance in such a luxurious setting, but at £300 (and over!) per night, I don't think it's going to ever happen. I would much rather buy myself several bottles of perfume!!

My next post will be about a very affordable rose product that I use everyday :)

Ta'if by Ormonde Jayne

My last post was about rose tea, and I've decided that my next posts should be about my favourite rose flavoured or rose scented products. I mentioned in my first post that I'm keen to write about many of the Ormonde Jayne perfumes created by a wonderful perfumer called Linda Pilkington. Ta'if is one of my favourites and is centered around rose. It already has a special place in my heart as I wore it on my graduation day.

Ta'if is named after the Saudi Arabian town famous for its centuries-old cultivation of a species of damask rose. Rising over 2000 meters above the Red Sea, it evokes a romantic image of lush fragrant roses overlooking the Arabian desert. The image is seeped in history and romantic mysticism of another world. This is how I experience this perfume. It is terribly romantic but also has a dark side, possessing some mystery and a touch of the seductress in its composition. I find it sensual and teasing but also sophisticated and regal. Perhaps it sounds like a strange perfume choice for a graduation but I find it fitting for most occasions, even the most serious, as the side that seduces is very subtle and fleeting and is only particularly noticeable very close to my skin.

Image from: here

 

Despite what its name might suggest, Ta'if is not a soliflore (a fragrance replicating the scent of a single flower). It has fruitness and spiciness within it, and the perfume would probably be defined as a floriental. Instead, it is a perfume that in my mind creates a rich, opulent world of the past, an exotic world of abundant spices and fragrant flowers, a world of ladies beautifully clad in gold and in flowing silks. A mysterious world that is so sensual it almost intoxicates.

In the first moments after spraying Ta'if onto myself, I sense a fresh green scent that is peachy and peppery. I notice a sparkling rose peek out delicately at times, almost as if it is playing a seductive hide-and-seek within the perfume. Once the greeness has faded a way a little, the sweetness of dates and oranges greet my nose in a cloud of oriental spices and sweetmeats. It's almost gourmand but not quite, it is so well balanced and is paired beautifully with the rose that seems to bloom and become more bold as it develops.

The Ormonde Jayne website describes the notes in the perfume as:

Top: pink pepper, saffron and dates
Heart: rose oil, freesia, orange flower absolute and jasmine
Base: broom and amber 

Unfortunately I'm too much of an amateur when it comes to perfumes to fully appreciate what broom or amber described as the basenotes is, but what I am able to sense once the wonderful sweet-floral-spicy seduction has calmed down is a warm golden woody scent, perhaps a touch a vanilla and something slightly sensual, a little musky something.

It is a truly wonderful fragrance. One day, I will definitely own a bottle of Ta'if. Hopefully sooner rather than later as I am dangerously coming close to the last drops of it in the small vial I possess. This 2ml vial was from a discovery set that can be bought from Ormonde Jayne. It is a fantastic sample set as it contains all 12 of the perfumes created by this fantastic perfume house. I highly highly recommend it to anyone who loves perfumes. I'll certainly be writing much more about my favourites from the set.

The set can be bought online from the Ormonde Jayne Website or in person in one of the boutiques. I visited the boutique in Mayfair (12 The Royal Arcade, Old Bond Street) when I bought my bottle of Frangipani perfume which I wore on my wedding day.

A Rose Garden

For me, tea is a very comforting drink. It evokes memories of cosy evenings at home with my parents, snuggling up on the sofa with a good book.

The other day, when I was dithering around the tea section of Waitrose to buy Lady Grey tea (my husband's favourite), a pretty box caught my eye. It was in the standard black Twinings package but with a picture of an elegant lady in a pink dress. The tea was named "Rose Garden".

It immediately piqued my interest. I love the scent of rose and enjoy it in perfumes but also very much in food. Turkish delights (although increasingly a bit too sweet for my tastes these days... maybe it's a sign of age...) come to mind and also my pretty pink cupcakes containing rose water extract that I like to bake. So this was a very exciting find, a black tea with a flavour of rose. These teas with a black tea base with added flavouring reminded me of this shop (now sadly closed) called First Class Teas which I used to enjoy going to in Cambridge. There I loved to buy almond black tea. It was a divine tea delicately flavoured with almonds. I really loved it, somehow the combination of black tea and another flavour with a sweet undertone is something I find irresistable.

Anyway, getting back to the rose tea at hand. Once I got home, I immediately put the kettle on and got out my favourite big mug my husband recently bought for me from John Lewis (with an amazing capacity of 500ml!). I tore open the sachet excitedly and sniffed. Wonderful. The scent of black tea was perfectly matched with the floral sweetness of rose. I couldn't wait to brew it. Once the hot water hit the tea bag, the aroma really spread out and I already knew that this would be a tea I would enjoy very much. I had it with a dash of milk and it was divine. The amount of rose was just perfect. It wasn't too strong to be overwhelming but enough to really flavour the dark tea. Every time I took a sip the aroma of rose would fill my senses and then I would taste the tea. Delicious.

A New Year, A New Start

About half a year ago, I started a blog about fragrances.  (The Fragrance Weaver) However, I failed to post more than two entries. The problem is not that I have no ideas - in fact, there are many perfumes I still want to write about, including a big set of Ormonde Jayne perfume samples I bought last fall - but that I am not always in the mood to write about perfumes. The blog was too narrow and too claustrophobic for me to feel inspired. That's why I decided to start a new blog that can include all of my interests: perfume, makeup, music, good food... many things people would call luxuries in life, but which I like to call life's sensual pleasures.