My son and daughter only live half the time with me, and sadly, for Mother’s Day, they were with their father. But they came over to my place, bearing presents and home-made card and the materials for breakfast.
My 12-year-old son cooked breakfast: french toast (bread dipped in an eggy mixture and fried) and bacon. It was more his ideal breakfast than mine, but it was beautifully and lovingly cooked, and delicious. (After the kids had gone I ate an apple to restore some … umm … inner balance.)
My presents consisted of the DVD of Series 2 of the BBC’s Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure (hugely entertaining, I love it), and some Crabtree & Evelyn Lavender bath and shower gel. Lovely!
I used to encourage my family to get me lavender scented body products as presents because they are inexpensive and easy to find, and you can’t really go wrong with lavender (although cheap lavender can be a bit nasty). Then I started to get a bit bored with it, and steered them towards fine tea. Just recently I have been pondering lavender again, so the kids picked the right moment to get me some more.
I doubt C&T ever stuffs anything up, and this is a good lavender. It is smoother and more rounded than than dry, pot-pourri lavenders, and it is not as bracing as masculine lavender colognes. I once tried the the liquid perfume it seemed very slightly on the fruity side, which I liked. C&T’s lavender comes in a range of products so I think we have hit a reliable range of ‘presents-for-Mum-who is-picky-about-perfume’. (Picky about perfume? Me?)
Later in the year as summer returns I may dabble a bit with lavender as a note within a perfume blend. Already I have a sample of Tauer’s Zeta on the way (excited!) as part of a sample set (double excited!), and I hear that lavender is a note in Zeta. I’m supposing that lavender doesn’t have to be grandmotherly, or (at the other extreme) bracing and manly.
Any other suggestions for lavender blends? What other scent-note explorations are on on at the moment?
beauty on the outside 
One lavender scent I’ve fallen in love with is Vero Profumo’s Kiki- both the EDP and the extrait are amazing. There’s a delightful passion fruit note that really amps up the sophistication level.
Passion fruit? That would be a frirst for me, as a perfume note! Thanks.
Caron Yatagan is a revalation (so beautiful), and of course, Tauer’s Reverie au Jardin, which is to date the most stunning treatment of lavender I’ve ever encountered!
I really like lavender: I’ve got some growing in my beds, and I want to plant some more—it makes me happy! I love to grab it in my hand and crush a little in my palm; it’s intoxicating 🙂
Yatagan. It was mentoined on BOTO a few weeks ago, and now again today. I think this is a sign that I should try it. And – yay! – Tauer’s Reverie is another of the samples on its way to me.
I don’t have any lavender, but I do trail my fingers in it if I pass some in someone’s front garden. Would serve me right if I got bitten by a bee.
I’m a late-comer to the Caron party, but they’ve been giving me cause to swoon lately! And those prices?! Unbeatable.
🙂
Have you tried Parfums DelRae’s Eau Illuminee? A very nice, if pricey, herby lavender–great for spring.
Thanks, I haven’t tried any DelRaes, but they have been on my must try list for a while. Yes, they are pricey. Lovely bottles.
I also would have suggested Reverie au Jardin, but thankfully that is on the way to you already!
A simple, but really lovely lavender fragrance is “For Them” by Technique Indiscrete, not at all harsh, not at all grandmotherly. And 100% of the profits go to Japanese aid projects.
I am currently pursuing a very rare note – davana sensualis, to die for gorgeous. 🙂
Davana sensualis sounds like a mystery ingredient!
I noticed you mentioned the Technique Indiscrete lavender project on you blog a while back. I’ll have a proper look at work tomorrow.
The following link, is the best lavender I have experienced so far, and it’s the essential lavender line from Arran aromatics!
http://www.arranaromatics.com/listrangesandproducts.asp?rangeCode=ELAV
I also love the lavender diffusers and the lavender and sweet basil room spray from Laura Ashley!
Ooh thanks! I’ll swing by my local Laura Ashley soon. That Essential Lavender bath oil looks yummy.
Is that the fantastic Mr.Slow/James May of Top Gear I see? Despite my crush on the “Hamster”, I adore James May. His cool demeanour is just a delight.
Two fragrances with lavender notes I really enjoy are Province Perfume’s Tabac Citron and Guerlain’s Mouchoir de Monsieur.
I love lavender, so I love all these suggestions…many a scent here I haven’t tried!
Thanks for the lavender suggestions. How fun this is!
Yep, James May. That’s the guy. He plays up a sort of English yobbishness on the wine program but it is quite clear that he is supremely intelligent and has very cultivated taste. I doubt it would stretch to perfume, but you never know.