A happy new year and welcome to 2020.
Much has been written about the reinvigorating properties of eye creams and new decades. I too have the “the roaring twenties” virus and have set myself several unrealistic targets for the next year. I guess, watch this space.
Along with a bunch of mad Indians (or family) I usually spend new year in India and between over-eating, overtly chatty opticians and the freezing cold, I found time to do some shopping.
I am delighted to share with you what I bought for January.
The Perfume Library
I have too many parfums and sometimes it looks like an addiction. However, I didn’t think that there would a perfume that I so desperately needed to own as This Space in Between You and Me.
The top notes are basil, grass, grapefruit and iris. I smell just a hint of the iris, but its the grapefruit and grass that steal the show. Together they give the perfume an unexpected freshness that I associate with citrus fragrances, but minus the biting and bitter edge.
This poem accompanies the bottle. I hope you’ll agree that it demonstrates a talented individual’s passion in creating their art.
“A letter sprouts from
the soul
Saying I will always be with you
despite
This space in between you & me”
The other Perfume Library scent that took my fancy was Aphtoori Absolue, whose top note is Jasmine. Its a lighter, fresher jasmine fragrance compared to Serge Lutens’ La Nuit.
How does it compare to Forest Essential’s Intense Jasmine perfume?
Aphtoori Absolue is a pleasure to wear and completely lacks the overwhelming sickly smell of the FE equivalent.
Do I have something against this particular FE perfume, I hear you ask?
Honestly, I don’t know. Tomorrow I could die a smelly death on a treadmill or I could die of the nauseatingly sick and bone crushingly intense jasmine smell of FE’s fragrance. It’s difficult to address concerns of bias as in both scenarios – an Act of God or a parfum – could spell my end.
The Perfume Library is available instore at the Good Earth in Khan Market. Prices start at INR 9, 600 and yes, ouch.
The filmi coasters
The Good Earth store had filmi dialogues on excellent quality glass coasters and cost Rs 2,800. I baulked at such stratospheric prices and on the rebound, I bought these coasters, which were cheaper than two Starbucks’ lattes.
I’ll admit, alcohol jokes may have had their day. My heart truly lies in this out of print poster…
…but where art though Bagwati? Why has no one made coasters out of you?
The books
It inconceivable that I’d start 2020 without (repeatedly) overspending at Bahri sons bookshop in New Delhi’s Khan Market.
If you are visiting Delhi and are in the market for great reads, then I would encourage you to add this shop to your itinerary. Be warned that the browsing experience is equivalent to trying to breathe on the London metro in rush hour. However, the super helpful assistants, like magicians are able to pluck out of the chaos, absolutely any title I have ever thrown at them.
The first book I bought was Becoming by Michelle Obama. Please don’t judge me for not having read this book. My second choice is one that I can no longer avoid in this or any other decade.
Contact details
More regular blogs will start imminently. I am looking forward to 2020 because I love what I do. Drop me a line at EMAIL ME if you have any queries.