Niche perfumes and traveling

When I travel, one of my favorite activities is searching for niche perfumeries and indie brands. These hidden gems can offer a unique olfactory experience, where artistry and craftsmanship come together to create captivating scents. From bustling cities to smaller towns, I love to embark on a sensory adventure, seeking out perfumeries that are both on high end streets and off the beaten path. Each boutique unveils a world of aromas, blending rare and exquisite ingredients to create perfumes that tell stories and evoke emotions.

The process of finding these niche perfumeries has become a cherished ritual, allowing me to discover the essence of a place through its fragrances. Whether it's stumbling upon a small family-run establishment or visiting a renowned perfumer's atelier, these encounters are enriching, connecting me to the local culture and leaving an indelible imprint on my travel memories. And so I’d like to start a new series of interviews/stories here on the blog, to share some of these experiences, specifically about niche perfumeries, ateliers and their owners.

First stop: Embassy Niche Perfumery in Lisbon! Full interview with owner Ricardo coming very soon.

We want to democratize niche perfumery and showcase the best of the best.

– Ricardo Claudino, Embassy Niche Perfumery

PS. Would you like to see your boutique on the blog? Write me an email and let’s talk!

Interview with Matiere Premiere at Skinlife

A little while ago I had the honor of attending a Q&A at Skinlife in Lisbon, with Aurelien Guichard and Cédric Meiffret, two of the three founders of the perfume brand Matiere Premiere. 

If you’re not already familiar with the brand, they are quite popular lately and currently have 11 fragrances, one being a Harrods exclusive. My own favorites from the line are Encens Suave, Falcon Leather and Parisian Musc. And to my own surprise, I am not totally opposed to their immensely popular rose scent, Radical Rose. A couple of these will be touched upon in the interview below, so please keep reading to find out more about this special fragrance house. 

“If someone stops you in the street and asks what perfume you’re wearing, then I’ve done a good job.”

Matiere Premiere was founded in 2019. Previously, Aurelien had worked many years for Narciso Rodriguez, who as most people know, is obsessed with musks. So when Aurelien would later create Matiere’s own musk, he wanted to make something different. He went looking for woody notes, ended up using cedar wood oil, and then topped it off with a green leaf note to amplify the vegetal parts of the fragrance. He made a green, woody and sweet musk. The outcome is the classy and elegant Parisian Musc as we know it today.

One of the many things I enjoy with Matiere is the names of the fragrances. They’re not extremely extravagant, but they’re still playful and catchy. 

How do you come up with the fragrance names? 
It’s all about intuition to be honest. It also has to fit the fragrance of course. For example Crystal Saffron is a very clear saffron, not golden at all. We also wanted it to sound cool! In the end I often spend a lot of time on the name. I want them to sound open minded and international, not just French.

The line feels almost complete already, so how many fragrances will the final collection have?
Yes, we actually feel the same. There’s a sense of totality here, but I think there is still more to explore! I don’t like when you smell several scents from a brand and they all smell more or less the same. So I want the fragrances from Matiere to be unique and different from each other. We also don’t want too many fragrances, perhaps we’ll release one per year, and then we’ll see how long we’ll manage to stay alive. We have no reason to discontinue any fragrances at the moment, they’re all selling quite well. 

How long does it take you to create a fragrance, and when do you know that a fragrance is ready for release?
Radical Rose and French Flower took between 1000 and 2000 tries before I finally reached a result I was happy with. That’s about 1-2 years in total, because I can often do 5-10 tries in one day. Crystal Saffron on the other hand took only 10 tries, or 2 days. 

We don’t listen to too many opinions, we launch what we want and when we want. Usually we ask some people to wear the fragrance and see how the reactions are, in the street and at home. 

Are you considering releasing other product lines in the future?
We don’t want to put lots of products on the shelves, we want to launch bestsellers. And only when we are ready. If we have nothing we’re happy with, we won’t launch anything. In 2022 we launched 2 fragrances because the tuberose was finally ready. And like I said before, Crystal Saffron was faster to create than the others. 

“Radical Rose took almost two years to complete.”

However, we are launching a body product range this year. We’ll be extending into body lotion and so on. When you have different types of products from the same scent line, it makes the brand look richer. This also goes hand in hand with having our own boutiques.

What do you think about fragrance taste in different cultures and parts of the world?
It seems taste is changing all over the world right now. What we used to think people like in for example Japan is not true anymore, and what French people like to wear has changed a lot too. Having said that, I try to create fragrances that don’t feel too French, or too fashion. 

What ingredients do you prefer to work with?
I love rose petals. Radical Rose has the highest rose concentration in the world, something I set out to do from the start, because I wanted to see what it would be like. That’s why it’s so deep and rich. We own our own production and fields, of rose, tuberose and lavender. Thanks to this, we can control the whole process from seed to finished product. This is something that’s quite unheard of within the fragrance industry. 

Unfortunately, not all our ingredients are organic. Either because it is not available or because they don’t smell that great. But we are always trying to encourage producers of other ingredients to be more organic and eco-friendly. 

How about Oud Seven, will it ever be available outside of Harrods?
We get almost 2000 messages per day about Oud Seven. It’s an exclusive for Harrods, simply because it’s Harrods. At first we had Falcon Leather as a Harrods exclusive, and our brand was very, very small. This was fantastic for such a small brand, to have an exclusive release for Harrods! But then we wanted to do a wider release of the leather fragrance, because we like it so much and it was so popular. When we decided to do that, Harrods asked us to make a new exclusive. 

We are not planning on selling it outside of Harrods, and we don’t want to start making more exclusives for other stores or locations because then we might get stuck doing that instead of what we truly want to do. 

Do you work for other brands still? 
I work on scents for big mainstream designers, but not for any other niche brands. 

“Perhaps we’ll release one fragrance per year and see how long we manage to stay alive.”

What fragrances do you like to wear yourself?
On a normal day I will wear whatever I’m working on, to see how it feels. 

What’s the next fragrance to be released from Matiere Premiere?
I’m currently working on a vanilla, and the challenge is to create a vanilla that isn’t sweet. I did finish it once, a long time ago, but in the end I wasn’t happy with the result and now I’m reworking it from scratch. The plan is to release it in the fall this year (2023).

So, what do you guys think about the brand? Which fragrance is your favorite? I for one can’t wait to try this mysterious vanilla, so let’s hope it gets finished on time! Thanks to Skinlife for this wonderful opportunity to meet Aurelien and all the best of luck to Matiere Premiere with their future releases and endeavors. 

Cédric Meiffret and Aurelien Guichard from Matiere Premiere, at Skinlife in Lisbon.

Esxence 2023: Highlights and a recap!

Finally I made my return to the huge annual perfume event that is Esxence in Milan, Italy. It’s been a whole 6 years since I was there last. The event is bigger now, and the niche industry has evolved a lot since. Sales have increased enormously, and we suddenly have fragrance influencers on most social media platforms, something that was more or less limited to Youtube and blogs just a few years ago. 

Of course the event is way too big for one person to sniff all the creations and meet all the brands in just a few days, but I did my best. I spent two full days at the fair, and then I used all of Saturday to see the perfume boutiques in the city. I used the map and brand list to my advantage, and took only a couple of appointments throughout. This time I wanted to be free to walk around without too many hours booked in my agenda. Next time I might try to book more slots, let’s see, because meeting brands on your own with full attention is quite nice too. In the end, there were just a few brands I didn’t get the chance to try, but I’m sure I can smell them somewhere else pretty soon. 

A few observations…
There seems to be a cacao/chocolate gourmand trend going around, as many brands have recently introduced their own take on this delicious fruit/sweet. Rosendo Mateu is one of them, launching 1970, a delicious chocolate scent. The one that stood out to me the most however, was Cacao Porcelana from Atelier Materi (it might not be a novelty, but it was the best in this trending category for me). 

I also heard the phrase “this is a rose that isn’t your typical rose” a few times too many. Personally I’m not a big fan of rose in perfume, but I actually found one or two of these “not-your-typical-rose” scents to be quite wearable! So the phrase might have been true a couple of times, but come on, if you’re gonna market your new rose scent, maybe find a more intriguing and unique way of doing it, or hire a better marketing director/copywriter (like me, hint hint)… 

Another scent trend seems to be delicate skin scents and explorations of musks. We have Sogni from Meo Fusciuni (inspired by Japanese culture), Raku from Les Bains Guerbois (inspired by Japanese pottery) and Musc Pallas from Jovoy (inspired by space) to name just a few. Japan seems to be the inspiration for a lot of things these days, and you definitely won’t see me complain about this!

The bad parts…
Unfortunately, some brands were quite rude (Laboratorio Olfattivo, wow, it’s been a long time since I met someone so arrogant). Seriously, some people need to work on their people skills, or just not be at these events at all (Musicology, I’m looking at you and your staff/owners, who seemed to want to be anywhere but Esxence).

On the last day, I was physically assaulted by the brand owner of De Gabor, who wanted to spray my whole arm with his new perfume. As I was passing by, he waved at me to get my attention. I approached him and he immediately grabbed my arm. He said “You have to experience this on skin” and was just about to spray my whole arm. I was quick to politely decline, saying I prefer to try on a blotter first. He grabbed my arm so hard it actually hurt, and wouldn’t let go! He didn’t even seem surprised or embarrassed that I was clearly uncomfortable, but then he finally let go of me. He sprayed the perfume on a blotter, handed it to me without looking at me, and said “Have a nice day” in the most sarcastic way possible. He turned his back to me and I left, surprised, a bit shaken and not really able to process what had just happened. I didn’t smell the blotter, and now I’ll never ever try his perfumes. What a horrible experience, truly… But enough about that, let’s get back to the positive!

The best part of this whole trip was finally getting to meet several of my Instagram friends. I also met many old friends from Sweden, Portugal and several other places I’ve lived or visited. Some brand owners/perfumers even remembered me from 6 years ago, that was really nice (shoutout to Francesca Bianchi, you’re amazing!). I also ran into the wonderful Victor Wong from my favorite brand, Zoologist. Just like 6 years ago, he was kind enough to show me some upcoming releases (I already know I’ll get at least two of them as soon as they’re released!). And now, let’s talk about the best brands and scents I encountered at the fair this year.

Here are the new discoveries I enjoyed the most:

Gini Parfum 
This brand was previously known as Homoelegans, one of my favorite brands ever. When I heard it had come back from the dead in a new shape, I had to go talk to Francesco, the brand owner. He’s one of the nicest people around, and Gini is a really lovely brand. A few of the old perfumes are still provided, albeit in a new bottle and with new names. I must say I like the new design more, even though I miss the old names. If you don’t know these scents already, you need to order a discovery kit ASAP!

L’Orchestre
I’d been wanting to try this brand for a long time, having seen it around Instagram. And it honestly surprised me! I tried the whole line, and fell for several of the scents. My favorite one being the novelty – Liqueur BPM – a licorice concoction that I hope to review and explore more in the future. Out of the brands inspired by music, I definitely find this one to be the most interesting and unique. 

Toskovat’ 
One of my favorite finds this year, and the most unique of them all. Toskovat’ is a new Romanian and very artistic brand, with 10 scents in their line. Some of the fragrances feel somewhat unpolished and raw (maybe on purpose), but they’re incredibly interesting and very wearable. This is a discovery kit I’ll return to again and again throughout this year, I’m sure of it. The perfumer David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi has fantastic potential and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future. 

J-Scent
A Japanese brand I’ve been dreaming of trying for a really long time. I smelled all the 25 scents, and several of them are just marvelous! My favorite of course, was Roasted Green Tea, which stood out immediately as a really great tea scent (something I’m sort of missing in my collection).

Pernoire 
I looove their bottle design, it’s so simple and elegant. Minimalism for me is often much better than extravagance, so Pernoire is perfect for me. The people behind the brand were very friendly, and I fell in love with both Tierra and the new gourmand-like release Naki. Looking forward to sniffing their future releases too. 

Pana Dora Sweden 
Another brand I’ve been curious for a long time, since they’re from my country. Most of the fragrances are really well blended. I loved XVI, Swedish Woods and the new white chocolate inspired release Moonlight. Unfortunately I couldn’t talk much to the brand owner, because he was in meetings every time I passed by. 

Electimuss 
The staff of Electimuss provided the best reception out of all the brands I talked to this year. Sue was so nice, I even returned the next day to talk to her again. What a lovely and happy person, I actually told her then and there that I wish all brands would make the same impression as she did. Thank you, really! The best find here was probably the ultra smooth Vici Leather, but I loved several of their fragrances, and need to come back to this house at some point to explore them even more.

Oman Luxury 
One of this year’s biggest brands, perhaps? They seem to be everywhere recently, and for good reason. I absolutely loved the presentation we got of the fragrances, and I already have three bottles in my collection. With Amouage, and now this brand, Oman is quickly becoming a dream destination for me! I’ve even been googling nature pictures from Oman, and man that country looks amazing.

Argentum 
The people behind this brand stayed at my hotel, and it was the first brand I talked to and sniffed this year. I love the design of the brand, the tarot-like cards and the spinning wheel with all the fragrances on top. I got to draw a card blindly, and got Creator, an airy amber scent, which was just divine and fit me perfectly. 

Elixir 
I got a great presentation of the brand and the scents, and immediately fell in love with Elude, a delicious scent inspired by red wine and wine cellars. I also really enjoyed the cannabis fragrance Inversion. The brand has also created bakhoor caviar perfumes, such an interesting and great smelling idea! 

Thank you to all the brands who received me, the friends who stuck around, and the great shop attendants and store managers that I met in several of the perfume boutiques around Milan. I also have upcoming collaborations with a few brands (if you’ve seen my “perfume duel” video with Sarah Colton at a certain brand’s booth, you might have a hint there), more about that in future Instagram and/or blog posts.

And that’s it from my side this time around. If you’ve read all the way here, thank you so much for reading. And hope to see you next year in Milan (unless we meet at Pitti before that, who knows!).

Top 5 sexiest fragrances

perfume can be basically anything. it can be sweet, dry, cold, sharp, make you think of your grandmother, clean laundry or even cat pee or a farm. perfume can also be incredibly sexy. in this post i’m highlighting 5 very different and very sexy perfumes. this is in no way a list of the sexiest fragrances in the world, but they might be the top 5 sexiest fragrances i own!

atractone musk is one of the latest releases from @ramonmonegal. this fragrance is a complex white floral arrangement, with a sweaty cumin and sweet raspberry making the bouquet quite animalic. this dirty and musky nature forms a second skin on my body, not to be confused with a skin scent, because atractone is bigger than that. it’s radiant and alive, and similarly to faïsa, another great scent from the brand, atractone is chameleon-like and ever changing.

the seductive and sensual aspects of atractone hover above me like a halo, with a powerful grip on whoever dares to approach. there’s a retro feel to this scent, and from what i understand that’s the type of musky fragrance that ramon monegal wanted to honor when he created this modern yet classic and old fashioned perfume. in other words, he absolutely succeeded!

akaba by @antonioviscontiparfume is an opulent tobacco fragrance, heavy on the tonka and woody notes. it also has a surprising note of licorice, which makes the scent absolutely fantastic. akaba is composed in such a beautiful way. every note compliments the next, and nothing is unnecessary or out of place. even though honey isn't listed as a note, this is definitely honey-centered and sweet, but never sickly or cloying. i think this might be my favorite tobacco perfume ever.

akaba is a heavily concentrated and strong perfume, with almost syrupy qualities even though it's a sprayer and not an oil or attar. i consider it one of my top fragrances, that's how good i think it is!

quality of flesh by @homoelegansperfumes is a heady, beastly and incredibly sexy perfume. this is animalic, erotic, and naughty leather at its absolute best. the castoreum, civet and styrax makes it sultry and skanky, some might even say fecal at times. the notes of juniper berries and pepper give the fragrance a spicy and pungent feel, and i envision having a strong drink in a seedy and dark gay bar for some reason. this can be a demanding perfume, and it's certainly not for everyone. i've also noticed it behaves very differently on different people, which is even more intriguing to me.

i once wore a lot of this perfume to a sold out @feverray concert and let me tell you, it was an experience. the venue was quite small, full of people, and it was in the middle of winter, meaning people weren't exactly wearing shorts and t-shirts. needless to say, it got pretty sweaty in there (as it should at a fever ray concert!) and i got quite a few looks...

people who enjoy patchouli 24 from le labo or cuir from mona di orio should like this one, as they share that smoky, spicy and kind of meaty sensation.

civet by @zoologistperfumes is on the very top shelf for me. whenever someone asks me about my favorite perfumes, civet is always one that comes to mind. this is what i reach for when i want to feel truly extra. and do i get compliments wearing this? every! damn! time!

what a masterpiece of a fragrance, created by perfumer shelley waddington (also behind zoologist bestseller hummingbird).

an intriguing adventure, an old world safari on the savannah, a special evening in the sun. civet is fruity, spicy, musky, ambery, musty, animalic and resinous all at once, and it shows no signs of slowing down. this lasts for 24 hours, sometimes even longer. it definitely works better in colder weather, but no one could stop me from wearing it in the hottest summer either! and it is sooo sooo sexy.

you can read my review of mystic sugar from @coreterno in my previous post about vanilla perfumes.

what are your sexiest fragrances? let me know in the comments on by sending me a message on instagram!

The big Vanilla post!

Vanilla fragrances can be polemic. Are they too sweet, creamy, gourmand-like? Some vanillas are dry, some feel like they’re dripping with sugar. They can also be woody, salty, fruity, ambery, or even paired with tobacco, coconut, musk, incense and pastries. The fragrances below are almost all the vanilla prominent scents in my collection (a couple more have been added since I took these pics).

I’ve collected several of my vanilla reviews into this big post (all photos are mine). Let me know in the comments which vanilla fragrances are your favorites!

@rojaparfums enigma pour homme
this is my first roja bottle, and also the first roja that i truly get to know and get cozy with. and in full honesty, it has taken me this long because i have always felt a little bit intimidated to even just sniff roja’s creations. not because of the price point, mind you, but for some reason i thought i wasn’t worthy…

now on to the actual fragrance! i’m trying to find the right words to describe this stunning and sparkly piece of art. enigma pour homme is a slightly woody and creamy vanilla, and generally just a really boozy sexy juice. it is such a well-rounded and well crafted fragrance, i’m literally in awe.

i’ve been spraying it constantly and i can’t seem to get enough of it! i never ever thought i would find a signature scent (not that i’ve been looking for one), but this might just be as close as it gets. it has also made me very curious to try more of roja’s creations in the future.

@the7virtues vanilla woods (+ santal vanille, not reviewed)
this scent is simple and classic, yet beautiful and therefore also extremely wearable. a woodsy vanilla that at first seems somewhat basic and gentle. there’s some smoke in here, but it’s subtle. overall, this is a comforting and intimate scent, it won’t blow anyone’s mind but it will work really well in the office or at a dinner.

if you’re into layering perfumes, i’m quite certain this is a perfect contender to layer with sooo many scents. i have yet to try layering it myself, but i’m quite looking forward to testing it out with some of my favorites.

when i first heard about @the7virtues i was quite impressed. not only are the fragrances hypoallergenic, cruelty free and vegan, but they’re also sustainably sourced from nations rebuilding after war. i wish more brands would try to work on these things, there are so many angles you can work on too, not just the ingredients for your perfumes. and in the words of founder Barb Stegemann: “destruction is boring. rebuilding is exciting!”

@officialbyredo seven veils
a very comforting, warm and silky smooth fragrance. it's a red velvety, creamy, slightly peppery carrot cake. with touches of sandalwood, cinnamon and vanilla. it's delicious and delirious, almost ambery and gourmand-like but not quite.

the scent is based on the dance of the seven veils, whose name actually comes from oscar wilde's play "salome", where the dance was a sort of westernized version of imagined middle eastern dancing. a bit of cultural appropriation i guess, like most things back in the day.

usually i'm not a fan of powdery fragrances at all, but this is a magic blend and it never gets overpowdered (see what i did there?). shame its discontinued since long, because this is one of the absolute best from a brand of many bland and weak perfumes.

@milanofragranze panettone
this delicious fragrance from @milanofragranze and perfumer @mathilde.bijaoui.perfumer feels like it was made just for me. i can’t stop sniffing myself when i wear it.

it starts off with dried sugary orange, ginger and some vanilla. it smells quite similar to a real panettone, something i also can’t get enough of whenever i have it. there’s also rum and immortelle, two other notes i almost always love! in the dry down it calms down a lot, and becomes so smooth and lovely. and in the end it gets quite similar to another favorite of mine that you’ll find a review of further down in this post – el born from @carnerbarcelona

@coreterno mystic sugar
everything i didn't know i wanted, and more! i normally don't focus too much on the various notes in my reviews. but here i feel i have to mention most of them for you to get the sumptuously mouth-watering sensation of this spicy ambery vanilla that perfumer @lucamaffei has created.

orange and pineapple make the opening juicy and slightly tart, but the sweet and sugary notes of tonka, vanilla and cacao take over quite quickly. they are perfectly balanced by the spicy addition of ginger and cardamom, a blend which is then transformed into a deliciously smooth gourmand with a creamy and sensual sandalwood. trust me, it’s incredible! you’ll have a hard time wearing anything else once you’ve smelled this.

@kayali vanilla 28
i have to be completely honest, i was very skeptical about @kayali when i first learned about the brand. i just didn’t feel like a part of the target audience at all (and that’s fine!). to further this image, you can only find them at sephora, a shop with a target audience that’s far from mine. but because so many people on instagram kept raving about the fragrances, i had to at least smell them!

now that i’ve finally tried the whole line, let me stand corrected. well at least somewhat. i find that most of the brand’s fragrances are not for me, so i was partly right in my suspicions. even the universally praised amber invite only is unfortunately rather weak on me. it could work well for layering, but as mention above, i rarely go into that territory.

this vanilla on the other hand, is something else. i love it! and it reminds me of a couple other vanillas, maybe vanilla silk from gallagher most of all. although it gives me a warmer sensation, and it lingers for a really long time, sometimes 24 hours or more.

@matierepremiereparfums encens suave
a huge hype has been building around this brand for quite some time now, and the hype shows no signs of slowing down. sometimes a hype is nothing more than a hype, but in this case it feels more than justified and deserved. because the fragrance (and the brand overall) is magnificent!

encens suave reminds me a lot of casbah – one of perfumer @aurelienguichard’s earlier creations for robert piguet. both are incense fragrances, but where the less wearable and spicy casbah is more of a resinous and woody story, encens suave instead veers into a sweeter more crowd pleasing territory. it’s not difficult to understand why people have been raving about this for so long.

@antonioviscontiparfume coeur de vanille
one of my absolute favorites. this is one of those perfumes i don't think i could ever live without (i even got a backup bottle). and what a fantastic scent it is! soft and creamy vanilla ice cream blended perfectly with fresh sawdust from a lumber mill. pink pepper, nutmeg and clove are mixed in there to make it slightly spicy, more complex. the hazelnut in the dry down also gives the vanilla a nutty touch.

i would place this somewhere in between gourmand vanilla and woody, but it's certainly not super sweet or cloying in any way. it is perhaps closer to a skin scent than what i am used to wearing, but i get whiffs of it all the time, and it lasts the whole day. i adore this perfume, and the bottle too! i wear this whenever i feel like a pick-me-up, but it's also perfect for those colder autumn or winter days when you just wanna stay indoors and watch a movie, or maybe go for a walk and watch the leaves fall.

@carnerbarcelona el born
a sweet but beastly juice. there's licorice, vanilla and honey making it warm, soft, and creamy. the reviews on fragrantica took me by surprise, because many seem to dislike the scent. someone says it's the balsamicness of it, while someone else hates licorice (being a cliché of a swede, i obviously love licorice).

i would have thought this fragrance a crowd pleaser! it's so cozy and comfy, it makes me want to sit in front of an open fire with some good wine, eat lots of chocolate and talk to my friends for hours and hours late into the night all the way til morning...

however sweet and almost candy-like, i don't consider this perfume a gourmand. there’s a touch of cold air in it to balance out the taste of sugar. i also don't feel it being as close to skin as several reviewers seem to think. to me, el born is a rather sneaky beast, grounded by beautiful florals. patiently it waits in its cage. will it burn you? maybe. will it enchant you? definitely.

and finally, the ones that i haven’t written proper reviews for… (yet!)
@maisonfranciskurkdjian grand soir
@maya.njie.perfumes vanilj
@imaginaryauthors a whiff of waffle cone
@diorbeauty feve delicieuse
@nishane.official ani
@tomfordbeauty tobacco vanille

Let me know your thoughts on these, or any other vanilla fragrances, in the comment section below, or head over to my Instagram and share your thoughts there.

If you work for a perfume brand and would like me to review your new fragrance (including photos), please write me an email or DM me on Instagram. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

When I think about woody fragrances…

…I think about so many different things. This topic came to me recently, when I asked a few friends what type of fragrances they like. The most frequent answer was “oh woody stuff!” (citrus came close second). So I thought I’d explore three very different woody fragrances I have in my collection, and share some thoughts on each.

🪵 Gucci Guilty Absolute for men (2017) by @guccibeauty is a very, and I mean veeery, dry woody fragrance. I see before me a person in a leather jacket, getting off their Harley Davidson, only to enter a forest that hasn’t seen rain for years… There’s leather, cypress, patchouli and vetiver, to make it as woody as possible. These notes also make the fragrance dark, a little dirty, slightly medicinal, and most of all – dry as fuck. And even though I don’t wear it that often, I have to say I love this scent. And basically each time I've sprayed it I’ve gotten compliments. But I really don’t like the shape of the bottle (I have the 150ml bottle and I’m always scared it will fall over and break). I am also firmly against “masculine” / “feminine” classifications of perfume. A scent is a scent, it does not have a gender and is always going to be unisex for me. Having said that, the price is great for this level of quality. What do you think of Gucci Guilty Absolute? I understand it’s quite a polarizing fragrance!

🪵 Gheorghe by @strangers.parfumerie is what I like to call a rustic wood fragrance, with elements of peat, hay, whiskey, tobacco and a certain sweetness you’d only find in the countryside. The tobacco makes it slightly medicinal somehow, but not in a cold way. It’s earthy without becoming humid or bitter. Perfumer @prinlomros took inspiration from the beautiful film “God’s Own Country” when creating this scent, making it part of the brand’s interesting “LGBTQI” series. In my opinion he did a wonderful job in matching the perfume with the film. This was a blind buy for me back in 2019 and before I had watched the film. I can only say it was a great decision! If you haven’t smelled it, try to find it somewhere, and do watch the film as well!

🪵 Gaiac 10 by @lelabofragrances is one of those scents that I personally couldn’t relate to at all when I first tried it. I couldn’t even smell it in the beginning. to be honest! I’ve had it in my collection for several years, but it’s just recently that I’m starting to understand the true power and beauty of it. I think this is mainly because of the musky feel that it has. I’m generally not a musk lover, and I rarely use scents that are categorized as close to skin. Apparently this is the top seller out of the Le Labo City Exclusives (this one belongs to Tokyo), and that makes sense, since it’s a very safe and crowd pleasing fragrance. In general I’m that type of perfume person who likes weird and crazy scents, so it’s natural that Gaiac 10 has never been a favorite of mine. but like I said, I’m starting to reconsider…

Have you tried any of these three? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comment section below, or head over to my Instagram and share your thoughts there.

If you work for a perfume brand and would like me to review your new fragrance (including photos), please write me an email. Looking forward to hearing from you soon :)

The wonders of hydrogen peroxide

In this post I’d like to talk about something that many seem scared or skeptical to include in their plant care routine – hydrogen peroxide. 

If you like this content and would like to support me, please follow me on Instagram for more plant photos and discussions!

Spraying (diluted) hydrogen peroxide on your plants is super beneficial and can remove several nasty things from your poor fragile plants. It can also be great for roots and many other things. Let’s dig into it shall we? 

Hydrogen peroxide in Portuguese is Água oxigenada. So if you’re in Brazil like I am, that’s what you need to get from your local pharmacy! Be sure it’s 10 volumes / 3% and nothing else.

Hydrogen peroxide sounds like something chemical and dangerous to many. But in fact it’s basically just water, with extra oxygen. And if diluted correctly, it’s uses are endless! Now, be sure to buy the right type of hydrogen peroxide (because there are a couple of different ones). You need the 3% one for most plant related things, so go for that one.

Here’s a quick breakdown of some benefits of using hydrogen peroxide, and what it can do for you:

• Kill fungi, powdery mildew and mold. The hydrogen peroxide simply burns that stuff off the plant, while keeping the plant in mint condition! This works on both the plant and the soil. Spray where needed, or just all over.

• Get rid of spider mites, thrips, slugs, the larvae of fungus gnats and other common nasty pests that eat your plant.

• Restores oxygen levels in the soil, keeping roots healthy and happy. This improves root health and your plants will grow new roots faster. Especially great for those plants that have few and slow-growing roots.

• Disinfect gardening tools!

• Treat root rot. If you’re having a bad case of rotting roots, you need to water your plant with this solution, and then let it dry out almost completely before watering it again. This delivers much needed oxygen to the suffocating roots.

• Works very well for new cuttings.

• It’s non-toxic and better for the environment than any chemical spray out there.

If you’re getting rid of pests on the plant itself, make sure you spray both sides of the leaves, as many nasty things can hide on the back/underside of your plant. If you’re spraying or watering the soil for fungus, eggs or larvae, be certain you really soak the soil. 

If you have any of these problems, you can use hydrogen peroxide on your plants once a week. If you’re having problems with pests, adding neem oil to your care routine might be helpful in delivering the killing blow. When you have no problems, you can still use it, but try to keep it to once or twice a month. You don’t want to kill of the beneficil things in the soil by overusing hydrogen peroxide! 

• To dilute, simply add 2-4 teaspoons per litre of water, or 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. 

• For root rot, use 3-4 tablespoons per litre of water, or 1 tablespoon per cup of water. 

• For other types of use, google the correct ratio. There are so many uses for this magic liquid, I couldn’t possibly mention all of the ratios here!

Important to note: when using stronger solutions, for roots or other things, be certain not to get it on the actual plant, because it can burn the leaves. 

Good luck, and let me know if you already use hydrogen peroxide, and if not, will you try it? 

PS. Hydrogen peroxide is one of the things on my list “Must-have items for every plant parent”, which you can read if you subscribe to my Patreon.

Fact vs Fiction: Do plants clean the air?

“Plants can purify the air we breathe! They remove harmful toxins!”

How many times have you heard this? Because I seriously hear it (and read it) all the time. You go to shop for plants, you’ll hear it, you talk to (self-proclaimed) plant influencers, you’ll hear it. Hell, books have been written about it. Most, or perhaps all, of this “knowledge” comes from one single study. But has anyone actually read the study that they keep referring to?

If you like this content and would like to support me, please follow me on Instagram for more plant photos and discussions!

So, let’s quickly dig into this study I mentioned above. The study was named the “NASA Clean Air Study” and researched what plants did to the air in a completely closed space (for example a space station). The most important thing to remember from that sentence is “closed space”. Their research and experiments found that some plants can reduce certain toxic particles, such as formaldehyde, in the air. But remember the two important words? Closed space. No ventilation, no windows, no doors. In other words, everything was under strict control. And the scientists also found that to accomplish this in a closed space, you would need at least one plant per 100 square feet (9.3 square meters). That quickly becomes a lot of plants for a space station or rocket! And this study is essentially what everyone has been referring to for years and years.

But in 2019, a new study was carried out by the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. Basically what the results of this study says is that any kind of ventilation will disrupt your so called closed space, hence the results of the NASA study can’t be replicated at home. What’s more, they also found that for you to feel any real effect in a normal home, you would need over 90 plants per square foot… Do the math, that’s literally impossible! Sure, some of us plant lovers do have a LOT of plants at home, even in small rooms and tiny apartments, but most of us also have windows and doors, and some kind of ventilation.

But that NASA study really did a number on a lot of people, including journalists, bloggers, influencers and even plant growers/producers. Sometimes I feel like these people must know that plants don’t clean the air that well, and that they’re just publishing their articles, blog posts and instagram stories for likes, clicks and sales.

Dogs will definitely steal more of your precious night time oxygen than any plant ever could!

There are so many myths and deceptions in the plant world. For example you’ll hear some people say they don’t want plants in their bedroom because the plants will steal your oxygen at night. This is simply not true. Think about it, would you not let your pet or child sleep in your bedroom either, out of the fear that they’ll steal your oxygen?! I don’t think so. And believe me, breathing creatures use up much more oxygen than plants do…

The final answer to this common question then, is both yes and no. It depends on the surroundings (closed and small, open and big, ventilation, etcetera), and even on the type of plants you have. But to think that putting a snake plant in your bedroom will make you immune against that cold that’s been going around or perhaps a peace lily in the living room, to remove the ground-level ozone, that’s just pure nonsense.

Further reading: A Popular Benefit of Houseplants Is a Myth (The Atlantic)

Plant hunting in the tropics

This article previously appeared in Boys with Plants Magazine, Issue #01. A few minor details have been updated/changed in this version. If you like this content and would like to support me, please follow me on Instagram for more plant photos and discussions!

I love tropical plants, the more intricate shapes and patterns the better. I live for Anthuriums, Philodendrons, Monsteras and Alocasias. And I’m in Brazil, a country that is home to many of my favorite plants. It’s funny though, I feel like it was much easier to find most of these plants in cold Scandinavia! Living in Sweden, I used to have almost 100 tropical plants in a very tiny apartment. If I could meet my younger self and tell him about that, he would probably laugh out loud. But it happened. And my love for plants only grew when I moved to the tropics. 

Having grown up in the countryside of Sweden, I have always praised the power of nature to calm me and root me in the place I live. My first real plant, a rather shy Monstera deliciosa, made me company while I hopped around between apartments in the crazy real-estate market that is Stockholm. Life took a spin after I met my husband and we started moving around the world. And the more I moved to a new city or a new country, the more I felt like I needed plants. Throughout the past years, I have had the chance to see a lot of amazing plants while jumping between hot and cold climate countries. 

In places like Brazil and Cambodia, I was impressed to see how easy plants grew. Philodendrons peeking out from the cracks in the asphalt, Alocasias growing in the running sewage water next to the streets and Ficus trees bigger than the buildings. But finding them in shops and growing them in your apartment was harder than you could ever imagine. Whenever we went back to Scandinavia however, I could see a growing trend of indoor tropical plants and they were readily available at every turn. 

In Sweden, just like in most places, the modern trend of having plants all over your house started for real a few years ago. This led to a quick surge in the variety of plants you could find in shops and nurseries around the country. Ficus elastica, Monstera deliciosa and Thaumatophyllum xanadu now grow in each and every clothing store in Stockholm. The same thing happened with the Danish capital. When I lived close to Copenhagen, I got a job at Plant KBH, a conceptual botanical store with eye pleasing visuals. I worked there for almost a year before moving to Panama, and during that time I realized that there really was no stopping the growing plant trend. 

Most of the tropical plants you’ll find in Scandinavia, and in Europe, are grown in labs and greenhouses in The Netherlands. The producers often don’t even know the correct latin names for the plants, and give them names such as ”Monstera monkey-mask”. What happens even more now is that they sell the same plant in different growth stages, and name them different things, so that novice collectors will get interested and buy all the varieties, only to ultimately be tricked into buying the same plant three times. Sometimes they’re hybrids too, and don’t even have scientific names. But that’s a story for another time. Let’s get back on track. The question is: how come there’s such a huge production of tropical plants in colder climates, all the way over in Europe? And why can’t I find shops that sell these plants in the tropics? 

There are dozens of studies on how plants reduce stress, make you happier and more productive. This is obviously very important for people all over the world, but even more so when you live in a cold, harsh and grey climate for most of the year. It’s also no secret that Scandinavians love sleek and minimal interior design. And what combines beautifully with great design? Why, green foliage of course! 

The demand for indoor plants with interesting and big foliage has become so big in Scandinavia, that you can find almost any tropical plant if you just look for it. Everyone wants more and more plants. Some apartments are so full with greenery that there’s almost no space for people. I guess we also love a challenge – growing plants which are not endemic to where we live. I believe Swedish plant lovers are even sort of famous for growing the most difficult of tropical plants in their tiny apartments. And the stranger the foliage, the more interesting it becomes.

Compare this to tropical countries, where as I mentioned earlier, many of these plants basically grow like weeds. Most of the population will become desensitized to their local flora, which makes it less unique and interesting to grow these plants indoors. For example, I’ve heard friends in Panama say “Why would I let plants take over my home, when they’re already all over the city?”. Another case in point is my own husband, who despises Swedish window sills, because they’re usually full of plants, which in turn means you can’t open the windows to let air in. Whereas in the tropics, apartments rarely have window sills at all. 

Philodendron mayoi grows all over the city, sometimes trees are completely covered in them. So I figured taking a little cutting won’t hurt!

However, the design and minimal interior trend is growing around these parts as well. New cool plant spots are popping up in São Paulo all the time. And many of them are much more innovative than the ones in Scandinavia. They make their own plant stands and designed pots and plates in-house, while most Swedish and Danish shops are happy selling other people’s designs. (One can only hope Brasilia too will have some cool shops in the future, if not, I might open one myself!) 

In Brazil, and Panama, you will find really common plants, like Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), Mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria) or regular orchids, all of them often in small kitchen table friendly sizes. In São Paulo, where one of the biggest plant producer markets in the world is located, you can often find bigger sizes. But the plants don’t travel much to other cities. For example, in Brasilia I have hardly ever seen a shop sell a regular Monstera deliciosa. And when they do have them, they’re really yellow and damaged. I’ve only seen a couple of Alocasias, and really tiny Philodendrons. When there’s not much of a demand, producers simply won’t grow them, and shops won’t sell them. Simple as that! You’ll find the really nice foliage plants only from collectors, or very small producers who might sell out before you even find them.

So far, I’ve found some of the plants I like in parks, or growing on trees next to the sidewalk, or in people’s backyards. When the plant is public property, it’s quite easy to get cuttings and when someone owns the plant, you can always offer to buy a piece and you’ll usually get one for free. I basically never leave home without my pruning shears (plant scissors) nowadays. Who knows what plant I’ll encounter on my way to the supermarket! 

And so, I get to leave my Scandi comfort zone of having things readily available. In South America, I have had to completely reinvent myself in terms of my plant love. The process of actively looking for cuttings in nature and getting these plants with my own two hands, that is what makes me feel rooted here.  

PS. I obviously don’t take cuttings if the plant is rare or endangered in any way. Please use common sense. If there’s only one plant of that type, it might not be a good idea to cut off a piece of it. Let it grow!

How to tell if your Alocasia roots are healthy

This is a short companion post to my previous Alocasia posts, “How to grow an Alocasia from a bulb” and “How to grow an Alocasia in water”.

Root rot is extremely common with Alocasias. Either you’ve overwatered your plant, or they came with rot already from the nursery / retailer. Not only will the rot kill your plant (sometimes it’s really damn fast), but the wet substrate will also attract fungus gnats. Those little pests will lay eggs, and their larvae will eat the healthy roots if there are any left. When the larvae eat roots, they also create an entry point into the plant for bacteria, parasites and viruses to enter super easy. Scary! I know…

There are several ways to help your Alocasia dry her wet feet, and you can find one of them in the water-related blog post mentioned above. But before you try any methods, check if your roots are actually rotten. You can do this either when you’re worried something might be wrong, or when you just want to have a little look, and maybe collect some bulbs for propagating later. Remove as much soil as possible without damaging the roots, and check if they’re mushy, wet, soggy. If they’re white and firm, they’re fine! Remove anything that’s mushy and repot it, or put it in water using the method in my previous blog post. Here’s a quick video example of what healthy roots look like:

And before you go, make sure to follow me on Instagram!