Floris of London ~ US Website

Noteworthy Fragrances announces the US website for Floris of London

"The new American site has been modified to meet the needs of US customers, with the UK site still carrying much of the extensive historical background about Floris." Debra Courtright brings us this good news about developing their presence and profile in the United States. To celebrate, Floris-US is having a clearance sale party you don't want to miss.

Order a Floris Catalog

Order a Floris Sample Box

Immersed in the infinite old-world beauty of London, my afternoon had been perfect, and still savoring the elegant High Tea I had just taken in the Rose room at the St. James Hotel in London, I set out to discover the boutique shops on Jermyn street. Red double-decker buses packed with tourists darted through the streets, while taxi's honked and gestured their way through traffic. I was grateful I did not take public transportation and was free to window shop with abandonment. My husband had left earlier with the rest of our tour to watch the changing of the Palace Guard and 'see the Queen'. I was setting out on Jermyn Street to shop like one!

I found a Royal Dalton china cup and saucer that I just had to have for my collection, tins of familiar teas, jams and lemon curd would also be going home as gifts. Lovely stationary, little vintage pop-up cards and calligraphy pens joined the shopping bags on my arms. I had to reward myself for finding such great selections so I purchased three dark chocolate truffles to be enjoyed with immediate gratification. What a way to experience London.

Being the ever curious person I am, I kept walking on Jermyn Street just to make sure I hadn't missed anything and found my 'heaven on earth'. Floris of London, located at 89 Jermyn Street, is a voyage into the past! Imagine the essence of beautifully crafted fragrances greeting you as you open the door. Imagine the immaculately spotless, gleaming Spanish mahogany counters, the glowing chandeliers and the very proper sales staff nodding politely, not aggressively, but letting you have your personal space just to appreciate the beauty surrounding you. With only a few minutes left before I'd have to return to the hotel lobby to meet our touring group, I was frantic to decide what to sample first and purchase. So when in doubt, I immediately tried the Rose scents of this historical floral perfumer.

Floris of London is one of the world's most traditional perfume makers, established in 1730 by Juan Famenias Floris. After securing premises in London`s St.James, Juan initially set up business as a barber and comb-maker, however, he soon missed the aromas and sensations of his Mediterranean youth. In an attempt to put form to these memories he began blending oils, essences and fixatives, transported from Europe, into the first Floris fragrances. His timeless creations, nine generations later have made Floris of London the ongoing official perfumer of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the supplier of toiletries to the Prince of Wales.

This perfumer is so steeped in history that staff continue to practice vintage/old world charm practices without a second thought. One of the most endearing of these goes back to the late 19th century when Floris began to accept cash as well as account customers. It was then considered rude to give customers dirty or crumpled change, so all coins were scrubbed clean and paper notes were ironed flat. Because my purchase was made with Visa, (never visit London with out it!) I didn't enjoy the time honored tradition of having 'scrubbed coins' returned in my change. Next time for sure!

Floris China Rose, is a warm, romantic and sophisticated scent. A complex bouquet of exotic roses, very sweetly oriental, it is a fragrance of seduction. Though originally created to appeal to women who love strong fragrances, I didn't find it overbearing in the least. "The China Rose woman adores romance, it suits her voluble nature and like the fragrance, she is complex, often mysterious, but always sophisticated and self-assured." Reminds me of "Scent of a Woman," where Al Pacino's character said he could pick out a woman wearing a Floris fragrance.

Floris Rose Geranium, a classic, was first introduced by Floris in 1890 when Pink Geranium was added to an existing Geranium. Floris Rose Geranium are inseparable - an almost holistic fragrance with warn hints of rose, this is a very calming scent. The Bath Oil leaves my skin cocooned in delicate petals and luxuriously soft.

The entire catalog of Floris of London products is vast and includes Tuberose, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Malmaison, and Gardenia fragrances just to name several. These are available in the 50ml and 100ml Eau de Toilette Atomizer, as well as Ead de Parfum, Bath and Body luxury products, Shampoo, Shaving, Linen Sprays and so much more. Free samples are always shipped when you order the catalog!!

The candles Floris of London features delight you on two sensory levels, both visual and aromatic. Each candle is carefully blended and contains a high level of pure fragrance to ensure quality aroma throughout the entire room. Before you leave on your next vacation, be sure to check where Floris of London products are available throughout the world. They're closer than you think! www.florislondon.com

Florascent Fragrances

Available at Saffron Rouge Organic Boutique

Captivatingly beautiful and natural, Florascent fragrances are delicate floral waters made by combining pure organic essential oils and absolutes, aromatic waters with organic plant and fruit alcohol to create unique and romantic scent combinations that will have you wanting the entire collection.

Precious, natural raw materials produce unique, standout scents, which are hand-bottled, hand-sealed, and packed in unique handmade paper containers.

Florascent was founded in Germany in the mid 1990's. A lot goes into making each bottle of fragrance. Perfumer Roland Tentunian has combined his technical skills and superior sense of smell to revive the traditional art of 17th century perfumery.

During this time, leather gloves were quite fashionable in the royal courts. Acids used in the tanning process gave the gloves a bitter nose stinging acrid smell. Lest you think that perfuming gloves was a strange thing to do, you may want to read exactly how leather used to be tanned. No wonder glove makers searched for a solution to a stinky problem.

Long before Grasse, France, became the perfume capital of the world, it was widely known for glove making. The odor from curing the leather was so offensive that it had to be covered up. The glove makers started to sell fragrant oils along with the gloves. Each customer was now able to have their gloves scented in a fragrance of their choice.

At the time, King Philippe Auguste granted glove makers the exclusive privilege to "prepare perfumes. creams and unguents." For centuries, tanneries, which were Grasse's principal activity, used myrtle and lentisque powders to give their leather a green color and exceptionally fine quality. It wasn't long before a number of them changed their focus entirely from glove making to perfumes, as their fragrant waters became increasingly popular among ladies and gentlemen of the nobility.

Umami: The fifth taste? It’s usually stated that the human tongue can detect only four basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salty, and that all tastes are combinations of these but in recent years some scientists have added a fifth taste, umami, to the other four. It’s sometimes associated with a feeling of perfect quality in a taste, or of some special emotional circumstance in which a taste is experienced. It is also said to involve all the senses, not just that of taste. There’s more than a suggestion of a spiritual or mystical quality about the word. Explore the embodiment of umami in this delightful fragrance with a strange sounding name.

Umami Notes: Succulent yuzu and delicious vanilla mix with pimento, ginger, osmanthus, tonka bean and sandalwood for a scent that's truly a delicious 'almost culinary' delight. This is a very creamy light scent that just melts into your skin. It is a remarkably long lasting fragrance with just the right amount of vanilla. Definitely not in the gourmand family although the pimento note keeps it slightly elevated on the spicy side.

Umami belongs to the Aqua Composita thematic scent compositions. All fragrances by Florascent are similar in strength to an eau de toilette, but are surprisingly very long lasting. Try Umami for yourself! You truly may have discovered your new 'fifth taste' in a signature fragrance.

A great place to find all of the Florascent fragrances and so much more is a delightful store called Saffron Rouge Organic Boutique located in the Old Quebec Street Shoppes 55 Wyndham Street North, Guelph, Ontario or visit them online. All products purchased from Saffron Rouge Organic Boutique come with a 60 day guarantee that if you don't love it, you can leave it!

Andy Tauer
The Lonestar Memories Maker

Andy Tauer is both a gentleman and a genius when it comes to blending exotic, daring and provocative notes together. His creations include Le Maroc pour Elle, L'Air du Desert Marocan, Reverie au Jardin and Lonestar Memories. Andy Tauer has secured his place in the niche hall of fame with a cult following of admiring fragrance lovers. Humble, unassuming, honest and generous, he exudes an extreme confidence without being haughty. He's witty, playful and a very creative writer as expressed in his own blog.

I presented Lonestar Memories to my husband and asked him to tell me what he thought of the fragrance. Before I could advise him to wait the obligatory 2-3 minutes post-spritz, his nose was buried in his forearm and when he came up for air, there was a pained expression on his face. Entreating him not to rush to judgment, I asked him to give it a chance to settle down and warm to his chemistry. Here was my perfect opportunity to try Lonestar Memories myself and make note comparisons. One spritz was perfectly metered out on my arm and of course being a perfumista in training, I did wait the appropriate time and then a deep inhalation announces..."Andy, you have this blended this very complex fragrance to perfection." My chemistry welcomed the smokey/sweet notes of birch tar, jasmine and tonka while my husband reflected the woody notes of cedar, vetiver and sandalwood. It was unanimous, we both loved this! Snuggle time that evening blended them even better. (wink)

My memory was immediately taken back to a summer vacation at Latigo Dude Ranch in Kremmling Colorado. Picture this scene: The evening ride takes you by horseback to a mountain ridge overlooking a stand of aspen to witness a breathtaking sunset. Already the air is heavy with dew, the sweetness of the native grasses and evergreens surround you with deep aromas reminiscent of cathedral incense. As we dismount, our guide has prepared a campfire and our 'cowboy' coffee. The wind picks up a bit and the smoke reaches out with small embers bursting in the air. The air becomes even heavier as night approaches and millions of stars make their debut in the sky. Even after the memory of our vacation has faded, Lonestar Memories is the fragrant microcosm of this experience. Thanks for the memories Andy!

Unafraid to use the unusual; Geranium, Carrot seed, Clary sage, Birch tar, Cistus, Jasmine, Cedar wood, Myrrh, Tonka, Vetiver and Sandalwood bring wave after wave of olfactory emotion in this incredibly long lasting fragrance.

Andy's fragrances are available at: LuiLei, Lucky Scent, First in Fragrance and the charming Eie Flud. Reverie au Jardin be reviewed in the near future.

ILONA ~ A love story born in Hungary

At first mist, WITHIN enchants the senses with a floral effusion. As mysterious as the name implies, WITHIN is waiting to express its inner beauty with floral accords that reincarnate the essence of every blossom and flower.

Ilona Makari created WITHIN to represent a personal beauty within every woman and this complex floral scent makes a stunning debut emerging with notes of soft pink cyclamen, delicate African rose petals, fully bloomed pink peony, with a hint of passion flower and a dash of sweet clementine. This floral bouquet is enlivened with suggestions of English ivy leaf and Italian mandarin nectar. Minutes later, deeper notes take center stage with white orris, high mountain jasmine, blue hyacinth and gardenia petals are anchored with Australian boronia flower, authentic teak wood and a sheer sensual musk. WITHIN is unmistakably feminine, unyielding alluring and undeniably sensuous. Definitely not your 'little girl' fragrance, this should be worn by a very secure woman who's not timid! Limited to three products, WITHIN is available in eau de parfum, perfumed body lotion and scented candles. Ilona keeps it simple and keeps it wonderful!

I've been holding back this review back until I thought I had a better understanding on how this fragrance kept evolving on my skin. Since I've gained more confidence in how designers achieve such complex fragrance blending, my conclusion is: this is a very sophisticated floral perfume that refused to be ignored by me. I was hoping for something just a little more 'sweet' to come forth and finally my patience was rewarded when the gardenia notes were fully bloomed and that juicy tart citrus clementine engaged in a seductive slow dance with peony while the rose petals looking on and blushed. This scent is slow to develop, takes a few detours in the journey, but in the end I was rewarded with a beautiful, mysterious and very long lasting scent.

The founder, Ilona also has an amazing skin care line that was actually developed first. She owns a very prestigious Day Spa in the very upscale Cherry Creek shopping district in Denver, Colorado. Several years ago, while Christmas shopping, I happened to visit her salon. All I can say is, "breathtaking luxury" and had I not been sharing a ride with my best friend, I'd surely have spent the rest of the day and my entire shopping budget enjoying the pampering treatments offered. Founded by a Hungarian immigrant, Ilona Makari, the spa offers authentic European facials using their exclusive products line to its devoted clientele. Miss Ilona herself still can be found behind the counter, examining the work of her experienced team of aestheticians. WITHIN is available online at www.ilona.com