Nina Nectarina

  There it is, my half empty bottle of Burberry Brit, the Eau de Parfum version. A blend of almonds, sugar and vanilla… and lime. Green, fresh acidic lime. The lime does tone down a little after the initial spray, but what sets this one apart from any other sweet vanilla almond perfume is that green lime.  The perfect fall fragrance. Isn't fresh citrus usually more associated with summer fragrances? Not this one. Imagine a cold day. It's cloudy and gray outside. All you want is to stay cozy and warm, wrapped in a blanket. However, you can't spend all day on the couch. You need to get stuff done. And this is where this perfume can be a secret weapon.  I get the coziness I need from the sweetness of the sugary vanilla almond and that zesty and bright fresh green lime wakes me up and gives me energy to get my mind and my body moving. This will take me off the couch and motivate me to do anything while at the same time keeping me comforted and safe. Beware of the sweet almond...

Unlike the original JPG "La Belle" , I don’t get pear-flavored gummy bears at all with this one. Both the cinnamon and the bitter woodiness, subtle in the background of the original La Belle, play the main role in "La Belle" Le Parfum.  Mysterious, smokey and deep night-time scent. Not a safe blind buy. To me, this is a combination of the 3 following scents, each one stacked over the previous one: #1: Inside an abandoned mansion with very old and dark wood furniture. #2: That furniture was recently polished with a strong smelling industrial grade product. Windows are closed. #3: After being polished, that furniture was violently attacked with a squirt gun charged with cherry cola.  I just can't shake the visual image of my description above out of my head whenever I smell La Belle Le Parfum. And someone really went crazy with that cherry cola squirt gun. On the topic of squirt guns, did you know that the Super Soaker, the famous and powerful squirt gun, was inve...

  Depending on how many of my posts you've read so far, you might have noticed that I don't share the perfume pyramid and all of the notes. Sure, they are helpful in preventing you from wasting time testing perfumes you will despise because you hate patchouli in all of its forms, or you can't stand the smell of licorice. However, many times the notes are misleading. That leads to biased expectations. And if you aren't smelling what you expected to, you may simply hate the perfume because of the cognitive dissonance that comes from what you think this should smell versus what it actually smells like. This brings me to Zara's Cherry Smoothie . Is this a cherry fragrance? Yes. Is this an almond fragrance? Sure. But above all, to my nose, this is a honey fragrance. Honey is not listed in the notes but I find it plays a large role in this perfume. It is the glue, the sticky thick syrupy sweetness, that keeps the other notes blended together.  I've heard many mentioni...

We tend to take our sense of smell for granted. Most of those who have it probably never grasped the idea of losing it. Then, the pandemic hit. And losing your sense of smell became a relatively common symptom of COVID-19 . Some people even  remain anosmic after the acute phase of infection. Imagine, as a perfume lover, as a chef or as a human being in general, who grew up smelling everything and with unique olfactory memories, realizing you've lost your ability to smell. Maybe forever. Scary, isn't it? When I was infected, the fear of becoming anosmic took over me. I looked at science for answers. Maybe I could do something to prevent anosmia. Or, if it struck me, maybe there was something I could do to get it back. I've found several studies on anosmia, including on something called olfactory training.  Olfactory training is a procedure that many rhinologists compare to physical therapy for the nose. Individuals are instructed to sniff a sequence of four essential oils,...

Jean Paul Gaultier's "La Belle" opens with the sweet smell of pear-flavored gummy bears.  As I move, sometimes I get whiffs of pear cobbler with cinnamon. But what "La Belle" irradiates the most is the scent of grown-up sexy gummy bears.  In the background, a bitter woodiness makes the scent less innocent and sweet. This bitterness is subtle and brings in the spice but might not be for everyone. Before you decide whether or not it is worth smelling this perfume, do not think of gummy bears as a childish candy.  The first gummy bear prototype, called Tanzbären (“Dancing Bears”), debuted in Germany in 1922. One century ago. La Belle brings you the smell of sweets with 100 years of history. It combines the playfulness of candy with the naughtiness of spice. Maybe 100 years from now someone else will be writing about an item inspired by Jean Paul Gaultier's "La Belle". It certainly smells timeless.  If you’re curious to know more on the history of gum...