True origins of perfume, Africa and not just Egypt

In my search for vintage scents, I came across a great article written about the exploration of perfumery starting in African countries other than Egypt.

Is Southern Africa the Cradle of Perfumes

I particularly enjoyed the description of dry perfumes, excerpt below;

Both the Himba and the San makes a dry perfume for personal use. The Tsumkwe (Namibia) San women not only know many different species of aromatic herbs, but are also skilled at creating their own individual perfume powder. Originally, the powder bags were made from tortoise shell, decorated with ostrich eggshell beads, seeds, grasses and roots. A piece of fur was applied to the shell openings for applying the powder. Wildlife authorities have discouraged the use of tortoise shell, and today most bags are made from horn.

This site also has an exotic collection of artisan perfumes, that I am interested in trying.  Check it out.

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Vintage Fragrances have finally arrived!!!

This post is a little late, because I was busy researching my new (old) fragrances.  Today is part one in my six part review of what I bought on Ebay, see Duking it out on Ebay for background.

Fragrance 1

Countess Maritza Silent Night Toilet Water
To start off, this is the toilet water version of the fragrance and has a high alcohol to perfume ratio and thus smells heavily of alcohol.  That being said, overall it has that "grandmother's closet" scent to it.  As a novice, I am straining to pick up any heart notes, and all I smell unfortunately is cheap scent.  I will reserve my judgement on this scent.  Its possible that due to the lack of proper storage and the fact that it is toilet water that the original scent has faded.  To add insult to injury, I am struggling to find background information on the brand and this particular scent.  One bonus is the bottle is really cool.  It has a sun embossed on both sides which is kind of ironic, because the scent is "Silent Night" and on the bottom of the bottle the glass is an embossed signature "Countess Maritza."


All in all, it takes a lot to disappoint me and I am totally pleased with this 1/6 of my purchase.  The one ounce bottle is almost 100% full (it will most likely stay that way), the bottle design is intriguing and the mystery behind who is this Countess Maritza and what does the real Silent Night smell like will keep me interested.  If you have information about this particular perfume, I would love to know more, please comment or email me resurrectedscent@gmail.com.

Coming Soon - Figurine Cologne

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Was Coco Chanel a Nazi Spy? New book explores connections.

"Sleeping with the Enemy, Coco Chanel's Secret War", by Hal Vaughan explores Coco Chanel's connections to a Nazi military intelligence agency as well as a relationship with a dangerous Nazi agent.

The real question for me is this -  I am positive this is not a new revelation. There are many modern day brands that had Nazi connections(VW).  Is it our ability to forgive a person for their personal biases if they make a good enough product or is it the amazing ability of media gatekeepers that keeps this information under-wraps for 60 years so it's totally irrelevant to today's consumers?

Just a few questions to consider. I look forward to reading the book, but not sure how  it will effect my view of an iconic perfumer.

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Perfume Saga - Episode 1 - Duking it out on Ebay

Its Friday night and I decide what perfume goodies, might I find Ebay?  Seeing as I don't have much of a budget, I went to see what low cost gems I could sneak a bid on at the last minute.

First attempt - A vintage bottle of JOY, in its original box with about 1/3 of the perfume left in it.  It had 4 bids and was at $18.50.  I decided to employ my patent pending, sure way of winning an Ebay auction method(Of course I can not share it with you!), but my husband, Mr Pesky Pessimissm, insisted, I was waiting too long and so  I bid to early, and lost out.  It went for $26.25

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Second Attempt - A lot of 6 vintage perfume bottles full of perfume.  The bottles looked a little dusty, but I wondered what bottled gold was held within.  1 bidder $0.99, 16 minutes to go.  Here is what was in the lot;

• Figurine Cologne
• Countess Maritza Silent Night Toilet Water
• 20 Carats Cologne
• Quelques Fleurs
• Chantilly Houbigant
• Cytherea Paris

So with Pesky Pessimism temporarily gone, I waited like a tiger in the jungle for the right moment and then..... wait for it...... POUNCE!  Its mine.  $5.50 plus shipping.  I am now the proud owner of the above vintage scents, and of course I have no idea what I own, so I am itching to get my research on.  And of course I can't wait to smell them, but by looks of them, I hope they have aged well........

So now I wait for my package to arrive.  I let you know if it was worth it.

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Perfume Snob in the Making

I like to research any endeavor that I am going to put my time and energy to which includes this blog and its contents.  Like a good blogger I have checked out the other scentastic(yeah, I just did that) individuals reviewing perfumes, providing discontinued scents and purveyors of vintage memorabilia.  I came to the rude awakening that I am a perfume novice.  There is a whole other world of fragrance and perfume that I have not even begun to explore.  Basically I know nothing.

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So the question is what does a non expert have to offer when there are so many well read and researched blogs on scent?   That will remain to be seen.  I am committed to the adventure of it all.  First things first, I have to get sniffing.  My budget is small, really non existent.  So I am on the hunt for samples and taking my opportunities as they come.  But what I really need to smell is no longer in production,  I want to smell discontinued scents.  Am I making this too hard?  Not at all, I love a challenge.  Good for me I have other interest, like vintage advertisements and perfume bottles and offering perfume oil.  I have to say I was a little bit discouraged, but what is life without adventure.

Coming up: The sniff around; how to sample scents without spending a dime.

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My Personal Collection Part 2 of 2 - Recent and Present adventures in Perfume

Recent Past and Present
Dolce & Gabbana Poure Femme
BCBGirls Star
Coco Mademoiselle
Chance
Cashmere Mist
Lolita Lempicka
Dolce and Gabbana Blue
Narcisso Rodriguez For Her
Hugo Deep Red
Roma Laura Biagiotti Uomo
Infusion D'Iris
Love and Luck
7:15 AM in Bali

Christian Dior, Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Chanel, Versace, Burberry, Coach, Theory, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Chloe, Armani; authentic goods for below wholesale prices!

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Vintage Perfume Bottle Showcase

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