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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Pink and Green Thursday - The Scented Edition, Part II



Last week, I talked about perfume on Thursday and since it's one of my favorite hobbies, I'm doing it again this week. Instead of pink and green perfumes, this week I have pink and green fragrance notes. Notes are the building blocks that make up a scent. Some have only a few and other very complex scents have more than a hundred different notes blended together to make one multilayered perfume! Here are some pink and green notes for you:


I love peonies! They smell so gorgeous, and it seems like there have been tons of peony scents out there. Banana Republic did a pretty one several years back, and Guerlain's Pivoine Magnifica is just beautiful.


The sharp green of vetiver grass spikes many a perfume. This grass is native to India but grown in many tropical regions, and its oil is prized in many different types of perfumes because it has excellent fixative properties and, depending on the quantity used, it can blend well to create a variety of different moods. You can find it in everything from very, fresh and springy scents to dark, mysterious and spicy ones.


In summer, pink grapefruit is so refreshing! I love grapefruity scents this time of year.


I know the blossoms are technically white, but lily of the valley has such a fresh green scent. Fragrances with lily of the valley are often classified as "green" or "green floral" in perfume references, so I figure it counts.


I don't think you can talk pink without pretty pink roses. Does anyone remember a fragrance Elizabeth Arden made called True Love? The perfume itself was a lovely pink, and it smelled so pretty and rosy.


And just like I can't talk pink without pink roses, I can't talk green without galbanum. This resin, which comes from a plant native to Iran, has medicinal properties and also gives many perfumes a hint of something herbal or simply intensely green.

Happy Thursday!

3 comments:

  1. Love all your photos. They cheered me up. My favorite flowers are peonies too!

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  2. Very interesting. I've been asked to do a post on High WASP perfumes. And I know very little about actual perfumes. Maybe I can ask you to provide some expert commentary when the time comes?

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  3. @LPC - I'd be honored. Sounds like fun!

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