Teaser # 43 (solved)

Been missing them? Me too! :-)

Riddle # 35.

Ruffled leafy greens backlit in gold,
Raisins, prunes, apricots plumped in rum,
Let the sweet cornucopia unfold,
Smell its music and even succumb
To the luminous, whimsical rose,
To the feisty and insency clove,
Let that sandal keep you on your toes,
Let that beeswax smooth up this bold trove.
This scent inspires ahhs and oohs,
Gives refuge and, instead,
Elates with rich and heavy hues...
It all started with a thread!

Good luck and please stay in good spirits!

Quarry and Socalwoman,

You are both thinking in the right direction. I have never thought of it before, but this is the fragrance you get when you try to blend Botrytis and Ysatis together. :-) A boozy chypre! :-)

Need another clue? No problemo!
No leaves on the simple purple cap.
And its name brings good luck. A dilemma?
Walter Scott had one too, old chap. ;D

Nothing is impossible for you, guys! Bravo! The winner is Audrey, congratulations, and the fragrance in question is Balenciaga Talisman (1994). Special mention goes to Quarry who deduced the formula for Botritys (a fairly new fragrance, but having its fans already) without realizing it herself: Botritys=Talisman minus Ysatis.

Other clues would be:
-- No problemo (Spanish);
-- Sir Walter Scott's "The Talisman" (less known novel about Richard the Lion Heart), also Alexander Pushkin "Talisman"(s) -- the two different poems about the semi-precious stone in his ring, also Stephen King's in collaboration with another author whose name I can't remember "The Talisman" due as a movie in 2007;
-- "gives refuge", "brings good luck" -- all talisman's properties, together with "safeguards" and "repels evil".

The nose behind the fragrance is Dominique Pierre Preyssas.

Thanks for your attention and please stay tuned for more.

Thank you if you are still reading this! Here comes an easy one,
Riddle # 36.

When light is dim and courage fails
Start making notice of details.
Smell nutty flowers of hope
Reminding of a milk-based soap.

The ones that bloom in early spring
With weather changes in full swing,
Whose fruit is last one to get ripe
And found in Christmas piggies' hype.

Another road to success:
Clean, sunlit, pure, no mess,
Complete and truthful. Got my hint?
Identify it with your thumbprint!

Good luck and please stay in good spirits!

"When light is dim and courage fails,
When heart against adversity rails...." comes from Conquests of Camelot.

You got it, Musse! ;D

Christmas piggies are traditionally made of marzipan, the main ingredient in them is _______, the fruit of the _______ tree. Not a very juicy fruit, though.

"Another Road to Success" has to do with this designer too.

Magnifiscent is the closest so far: one of the Poisons has the same fruit, but done totally different than this one.

Vinterdroppe got it, congratulations!

Yes, it is Gabriele Strehle Strenesse (2001), the almond scent that I adore, although I am not much of a fan of almond in perfumery. Hypnotic Poison does remind me of almond cookies, too. Peter Schmidt designed the transparent cylindrical bottle with the frosted cap echoing the color of the contents -- milky white opalescent liquid -- and put the ultimate seal of authenticity, designer's thumbprint, on it. The nose behind the scent is Maurice Roucel of Dragoco (Magnifiscent should know him FM Musk Ravageur ), the ad campaign is done by Craig McDean, photographer and Amy Wesson, model.

The designer, born Gabriele Hecke, with the motto "completion within incompleteness", is famous for her pure, clean designs, mainly business suits in darker colors paired with demure pastels. She wanted to follow the same concept in her scent: a tough business lady can have a very soft and sweet core, just like an almond nut, therefore white flowers, including almond blossom, jasmine, heliotrope, lily of the valley, hints of white peach are juxtaposed with dark vanilla and rough tree bark in Strenesse.

She wrote a book about her life "Ob ich das schaffe (Der andere Weg zum Erfolg)" -- whose title I took liberty translating into English as "Another Road to Success".

Thanks for participating again, I have just returned from our Marshall's with a handful of impressions, and a new love: Tommy Bahama for men, but the next Riddle will not be about this!

April is coming, with the best holiday of them all --- April Fool's Day!

;D Riddle # 37. ;D

A Lettre

Mon cher monsieur! I tried worldwide
To find a sample of this scent
To no avail, let me confide.
And, please, read on this lame lament.

I bought the coveted bottle, cheap,
At Marshall's store, by chance, last night.
It wouldn't spray, I wouldn't sleep,
Instructions gave me the biggest fright!

I dreamt of grapefruit, pink and green,
Red berries spiced with pepper coats,
Osmanthus -- all to ease my spleen,
Its floral heart, its woody notes.

The bottle's brand new, yet no cap,
And I'm a huge risk-taker here,
And through the clear plastic wrap
I saw your address. Wow, shoemaker? Where?

Mon cher monsieur! Give me some time,
I'll find you wherever you are!
We'll paint 'em walls, sort mess, clean grime,
In Paris, France, at Metro FDR.

Good luck and please stay in good spirits!

Thank you for your effort, Vinterdroppe! Yes, it is about the designer's boutique located at Metro Roosevelt. A different designer, though! "Shoemaker" should be of help.

I hope you guys smiled while reading this one, because, to tell you the truth, I was able to figure out how to make it spray, after three sets of instructions inside! :-) And what surprised me, was the drydown: woody -- a little, but mostly musky vanillic. And powdery!!!

It was an April Fool's joke, I would never write a letter to the designer, especially like that one... :-[

And good news is that we have a winner!

Goddess Dreams already congratulated herself, now please, join me in congratulating her too! ;D Applause, Goddess Dreams!

With the same concept in its name as Bill Blass Nude and YSL Nu, Desnuda is as hard to get as some non-export lines. Anymore. That's it.

Notes:
Top: Grapefruit, tangerine, white peach, red berries, cayenne pepper, cardamom;
Heart: freesia, jasmine, iris, China rose, mimosa;
Base: sandalwood, cinnamon, osmanthus, vanilla, musk.

I could not get a sample, so I HAD to buy a full 40 ml bottle for $9.99. I looked at the box, and the address puzzled me: Salvatore Ferragamo Parfums (shoemaker reference). Next step was to go onto Emanuel Ungaro's website: a gaudy girl scantly clad in garish colors, a picture taken somewhere in a grimy cellar greeted me there (desire to clean up, paint in the riddle), and I clicked on Fragrances. Nothing there. A bright watermelon pink square with the mourning black border. Sob.... Boutique's address is ave. Montaigne, Metro FDRoosevelt (used in the riddle).

No cap. The sprayer is long and skinny, the same width as the handle of the brush that is attached to the front and seen through the round window on the box. I did not mention the brush, because it would be too easy. So, the fragrance can be dabbed, sprayed or painted and there are three sets of instructions on how to do each. Nice concept, I agree. Yes, Cinderella, you will go the ball, but before... It comes locked, oh, horror! "It wouldn't spray, I wouldn't sleep"...

The fragrance itself is fresh oriental (oxymoron again!): starts sharp, green and peppery, but not heavy or rich. Cinnamon and cardamom are there, but those are not huge containers, rather they are just a dash rubbed between the fingers. It warms up gradually and becomes gummy bears, you know what I mean? Not as sweet as Cashmere Mist or Hot Couture, though. I feel osmanthus -- again I wish I paid more attention to Botany while at school! -- early, and I do not find any mimosa there. Sandalwood is murky, vanilla is quiet and musk makes it very skin-like. No sillage or entrance making with Desnuda (unlike Diva). It is a keeper! If anyone wants to try it, please pm me.

Thank you for reading the boring part! :

If you thought that all the previous riddles were hard, read on, please. This coming one is going to be different in honor of April 1 and Helg joining the fun. All names in this riddle are products of author's imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual fragrances or notes, is entirely coincidental. ;D

Riddle # 38.

With the new creative director Thor Fond, a well-known company S.T. Louder is planning to boost sales by re-launching their existing fragrances. There would be some significant modifications made in the notes, color of juice, and a novelty gift with the purchase will be offered to assure their appeal to the younger, hipper audience. From the clues below, please, can you work out each fragrance's name, new added note, its color and a gift with the purchase? And which fragrance will be colored Mauve ravageur?

1. Booty Fool's juice is burnt orange now, and it is not the one with the fresh ozonic note of WD-40 that comes together with a guppy fish. Wet Linen, however, will not be buttermilk white.

2. No Owing will have a sweet mesmerising shoe-polish note added. The color of the perfume with the uplifting celery cup-cake accord will be light green.

3. The deep purple colored fragrance will be promoted with a thick cloud of smoke as a gift.

4. With every purchase of Dazzling Mold, a packet of vetiver seeds will be enclosed.

5. The laser lash-curler is not planned to be included if you are buying the fragrance with the intoxicating frozen vodka note, and the name of the latter is not Ali Aged.

6. A bottle of dehydrated water is the gift with the purchase of the fragrance that appears in the alphabetical list immediately ahead of the one with the added tangy ketchup note.

Summary
Fragrances: Ali Aged, No Owing, Booty Fool, Wet Linen, Dazzling Mold.
Notes: shoe polish, celery cup-cake, WD-40, frozen vodka, ketchup.
Colors: Deep purple, buttermilk white, mauve ravageur, light green, burnt orange.
Gifts: Laser lash-curler, thick cloud of smoke, vetiver seeds, guppy, dehydrated water.

Good luck and please stay in good spirits!

PS From the same sources we found out that April 1, 2007 releases will include Leisures, In Tuition, Asti, Below Hell and Cellophane.

Well of course, I am a Gemini! Not your typical Gemini, though!

I know.... On the other note, I am a member of a TM Angel club here in the US, and every once in a while I am receiving their promotional items in a mail: a bracelet that can be used as a choker, a sample of their new scent, etc. And every time I am bewildered to open up and read their booklet, to only find how unimaginative their people are!

It is almost tomorrow now. Will you, people, please, stop laughing, roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils, and start solving? ;D Clue: Booty Fool's added note should appear first.

Musse, you are the winner in the ultimate challenge of # 38. I could not believe my eyes first, but you got all of them correctly. Fanfares for Musse!

Please stay connected for more fun.

Thank you for your interest if you are still with us. ;D ;D ;D at Musse, the greenest thumb gardener of all time and people!!!

Guess what? While working on one of the next Teasers, I found out that there is no information about the fragrance and the company on the net whatsoever, so I wrote a letter to Le Comite Francais du Parfum -- Never say "Never!" -- because the designer is listed as a participating member. Let's see what they will answer, or if they bother to answer at all! I will drop it in the mail today.

In the meantime, I will post a new teaser soon, please stay in good spirits!

Ok, the letter has been sent. Now it is 84 cents, used to be 80. I doubt that they will answer it, but one never knows.

This is about a different perfume, though. An easy riddle, for a change. To make you all feel better after Musse's Grand Victory. :-*

Riddle # 39.

You may run away, or hide, or cover
From this scent, or cough, or sneeze.
It's distinct, for sure, it will hover,
It will haunt you, like a bad disease! ;D

With two sets of notes, one right here,
And another on the French osMoz,
My advice is simple: steer clear
Of its magnitude. It's mine! It was! :'(

There is no smoke without fire,
No rose without a thorn, they say.
Heavy orange ornament, refreshing, dire...
Where there's smoke, look for ____________!

Good luck and please stay in good spirits! I will too!

Thanks for your interest again. Tovah, you beat them all to it! Hats off to you! I imagine, soon we all will be so good at it, that it would require me just a few words, and you will know what I am talking about! ;D In # 39 it was a single line describing the packaging and the fragrance itself: "Heavy orange ornament, refreshing, dire..." Congratulations, darling!

According to Basenotes directory, Le Feu D'Issey (1998) comes with
Top: Bulgarian Rose, Coriander;
Heart: Sichuan Pepper, Golden Japanese Lily;
Base: Guaiac wood, Milky Amber;

while osMoz insists that there are notes of:
Top: Bergamot, Coconut, Rosewood, Anise;
Middle: Jasmine, Rose, Milk, Caramel;
Base: Cedar, Sandal, Vanilla, Musk

found in it, as if they are speaking about two different fragrances.

To me it is starting with milky caramel with ambery undertones, then it is oh so soft! rose with green herbs (tarragon, basil, sage, even dill and tomato leaf). The rose stays and becomes intense even hyperbolized to the unhuman proportions, while the herbs are drying and darkening and turning into black pepper, laurel leaf, nutmeg. It is not woody per se, although there is a little woody-citrus theme going on, it is spicy without being hot, unlike Theorema, Black Cashmere or Asja, which is refreshing, IMHO.

The Nose is Jacques Cavallier and the packaging was designed by Gwenael Nicolas. It does look like a Christmas ornament, until you pick it up, because it is heavy glass covered with irredescent plastic of bright orange hues. And to make the sprayer pop up, you have to "help" it a little from the bottom.

"It's mine! It was! :'(" refers to its being discontinued. There is a light version now on the market, but where is the pepper? where is the sharp greens? where is the intrigue? Though Le Feu is hard to come by nowadays, one Basenoter is willing to decant, please check the Directory if you are interested.

Thanks for staying with us and be ready for more. Good day.

Ready for a difficult one?

Ridd Le # 40.

High on the mountain peak
Infinity in all directions.
This solitary moon looks down
Admiring its reflections in the icy pond.

In fragrant mist of clear moonlight
An old cypress stands,
Glistening with raindrops
Of ghostly gorges.

Burning bamboo smoke vanishes...
The swallows gathering herbs remember
Brocade carpet of homeland jasmine
That must be in bloom.

Sunlight bright sighs
About midnight rain.

Good luck and please stay in good spirits!