It's a new year, and it's time to turn over a new leaf. You might have noticed in the past few months that my awareness about animal cruelty in the perfume industry (and also fashion industry) is growing rapidly. I don't like the things I am learning about. I would never want any animal to suffer and die because I want to wear perfume. Luckily I am finding that there are indeed a lot of conscientious perfumers out there who do everything they can to avoid using natual animal musks in their perfumes. These are the brands on which I will begin to focus on more and more. I want to show you that conscientious luxury does exist!

I hope to educate my readers on perfume as well as help people understand what happens to these precious animals and why we don't need it to continue. I will be the first to admit: it's not pretty. It's horrfic. But running from the truth will not help to change it. Raising awareness will. Trust me, we can all smell amazing without hurting anyone else. There are plenty of cruelty-free, vegan and 100% natural perfumes out there, and I hope to introduce you to them if you are not already familiar.

I hope you will stick with me on this journey and keep up with the blog posts. There is A LOT in store for 2017, and I can't wait until the time is right to share more with you. Thanks for reading!

Hail, Perfume!

I hope everyone had pleasant Holidays, and Happy 2017 to all! I just returned from a relaxing 8-day cruise from my hometown of San Francisco to Mexico. I haven't had a real vacation in years, so this was just what I needed. And it was imperative that I chose the right perfumes to bring with me.

I knew that for the sunny weather, jasmine, one of my very favorite flowers in perfumery, would be a necessity. I have several jasmine perfumes, so it was a matter of choosing the right one. I felt I wanted something with a spiritual element to it to match the vibe of Mexico, and I am so glad that Fleur de Seduire by La Fleur by Livvy came to mind. This house is all-natural and cruelty-free, and it smells absolutely amazing. It's a beautiful and unusual combination of jasmine and myrrh that always leaves me with the impression of the scent of sandalwood and jasmine incense sticks mixed together. A departure from my usual fresh jasmines. I questioned whether it might be cloying (sillage and longevity are great, by the way), but I took my chances, and it turned out to be perfect for the warm sands and bright sunshine of Cabo San Lucas. 

Cabo San Lucas, located at the tip of Baja California, is definitely the place to be if you are a beach bum. The weather was perfect. You could lie in the sun without any shade, and it did not feel miserably hot. The sand was so nice. It looked and felt just like brown sugar. I reveled in lying in it and running my arms through it. The water was clear and clean and looked like brilliant shades of aqua and azure blue. The water was a bit chilly though. We spent a couple hours sunning and swimming, and then we enjoyed a nice meal of tacos at a sit-down restaurant before rushing back to our ship to sail away. 

We also visited the port city of Mazatlan, a city with rich history, founded by the Spanish in 1531. It is home to Pacifico Brewery, a beer company that was founded by Germans in 1900. I guess there is a good amount of German influence there, but I was not there long enough to see it or learn about it. Mostly I was attracted to Mazatlan's Old Town, with its colorful buildings and Spanish colonial-style architecture. 

While I was walking the streets of Old Town, I stumbled upon a small tree with beautiful flowers of an uncommon and very tempting shade of dark pink. Tempting meaning that I absolutely had to pluck one to bring with me and savor (sorry, tree!). As soon as I smelled it, I knew it was plumeria, a flower that some know as frangipani. But this plumeria looked smller and more delicate than the ones in Hawaii, so I didn't recognize it until I smelled it. The scent isn't easy to descibe because it is so unique. It's not like jasmine or gardenia, but it smells tropical and sweet. It's a smooth scent, not sharp nor intense, and it doesn't have any type of indolic element to it. By the way, La Fleur de Livvy offers a perfume called Fleur d'Aspiration, one of the best plumeria perfumes I have ever smelled. It smells like the real flower. I deeply regretted that I did not own it, as it would have been perfect for my day in Mazatlan. 

Over and out for now ;)