Dreaming of Oriens

                 

I almost fainted when Stacy showed me her Van Cleef Arpels Oriens Perfume bottle. I was intrigued by the beautiful bottle designed by designer Joel Desgripps who modeled Orien's flacon after a Van Cleef Arpel's ring with the surlyn cap mimicking the pink orange green spectrum of the tourmaline gem set within the ring from the series "Tree of Dreams". The Van Cleefs Ring is an enormous tourmaline set in white gold and diamond studded leaves. The bottle was made by Luigi Bormioli. Bernard Elena is the nose that made this creation in 2010.  The top notes are raspberry, black currant, and mandarine. The mid notes are jasmine and lily flowers and the base notes are blond wood, sandalwood, vanilla, and amber and prailine.   Thumbs up for this whole package.

Coco Mademoiselle

Today I tried a sample of Coco Mademoiselle roll on perfume. It was beautiful. It was the creative idea of Jacques Polge. The top notes are orange, bergamot, and grapefruit. The mid notes are litchi, rose, and Italian jasmine. The base notes are patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, and white musk. It is a beautiful fragrance that has been available since 2001.

Lys Mediterranee

                  


Today I decided to wear Lys Mediterranee. Edouard Flechier is the nose behind the fragrance. It is pure floral. It was launched in 2000 and it has sea water, ginger, angelica, orange blossom, lotus, lily, vanilla and musk. It is unisex. The minute I sprayed it I was overwhelmed with the floral scent. As I endure the am wear of this perfume, I hesitate to take it off. The am floral is pleasant and proper.

Why I Love Portra Film

Kodak Portra 400 S film is the bomb. I love it. My friend Shawn turned me on to this film. Love the fine grain, contrast, and saturation. I am a lifelong fan.

Jacqueline Perfumery

My husband is in deep in perfumes. It is his new hobby and he is full throttle into the whole process of perfumery. He did some research on places to buy perfume in the downtown SF area and located Jacqueline Perfumery on Geary St. I highly recommend the adventure. The owner is very knowledgeable. He knows so much about perfumes. It is worth your one hour to spare in the city. I had fun shooting images with my Hassey.  The large perfume bottles are amazing. 

The Shrine

Walk several blocks down Dragon's Gate, the entrance to Chinatown, and you will feel as if you are in the heart of Chinatown. My friend Lisa used to take her kids when they were small and stroll through this great place. I could understand why she made this an outing for her children. The place has a feeling of connection. The locals come to town to buy their produce and visit and chat about their lives. The place is alive.

Fill In

This graffiti is called a throw up or "fill in." The throw up  has an outline of color with a fill in.  These art vehicles were in Chinatown and I could not pass up the chance to photograph them.

The Writer's Signature

Tags are interesting. Tagging is a type of graffiti consisting of the writer's signature done with marker or paint. The letters of graffiti have a connection to the past. There is mystery in the tags. I like the lettering and the improvisation of the tags.