Amarige by Dominic Ropion for Givenchy 1991

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Post by Anne-Marie

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For some time I have wanted to tackle a review of Givenchy’s 1991 powerhouse fragrance Amarige but in thinking about Amarige, one of the most divisive fragrances on the counter today, I began browsing not just the online reviews, but some perfume books in my collection. I don’t have an extensive library on perfume but I have a few works, and very interesting they can be, especially the older ones.

So today I thought I would bring you a taste of these diverse published opinions on a fragrance upon which no-one seems to be neutral. Everyone has an opinion on Amarige!

Amarige by Dominic Ropion for Givenchy 1991

A review of reviews

Amarige Givenchy FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, Neroli, Peach, Plum, Rosewood, Violet Heart
Heart: Gardenia, Carnation, Jasmine, Cassia, Mimosa, Orchid, Black locust, Rose, Red berries, Black currant, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Amber, Woody notes, Musk, Sandalwood, Tonka bean, Vanilla, Cedar

Released in 1991, Amarige is a colossal white floral which somehow missed the memo that the 90s would be the era of clean, simple fragrances.

Jan Moran:
Amarige is a romantic floral creation, youthful and fresh, lightened by sparkling notes of mandarin and neroli, followed by rich white flowers embedded in a sensual musk, wood and vanilla base. A delicately feminine fragrance.
Jan Moran, Fabulous Fragrances: how to select your perfume wardrobe (Crescent House Publishing, 1994)
Fresh? Delicate? Ye Gods and Little Fishes Jan! I know your book came out in 1994 and that the 1980sa were not far behind you, but really! Even then you must have known that Amarige is about as delicate as the water tumbling over the Hoover Dam. Sheesh!

John Oakes:
Sultry is probably the word to describe this strong, elaborate and passionate perfume … Its unconventionality and breeding place it well above the usual shriek and clamour of reckless ‘moderns’. A woman will either fall immediately in love with it or avoid its uncompromising demands. It is a lusciously exotic perfume – mesmerising and sophisticated. It is Givenchy’s most daring adventure.
John Oakes, The New Book of Perfumes (Prion Books, 2000)
Considering that Oakes’ declared favourite perfume is Balmain’s Vent Vert (‘green wind’), which is stratospherically different from Amarige, his review is a masterpiece of diplomacy. I wonder what were the ‘reckless “moderns” ‘ he was thinking of in 2000?

Luca Turin:
This is the review that put Amarige on the map for innocents like me who had until encountering his book had never tried it. Many of us probably recite this one by heart, can’t we? Here we go:
We nearly gave it four stars: the soapy-green tobacco tuberose accord Dominique Ropion designed for Amarige is unmissable, unmistakable, and unforgettable. However, it is also truly loathsome, perceptible even at parts-per-billion levels, and at all times incompatible with others’ enjoyment of food, music, sex and travel. If you are reading this because it’s your darling fragrance, please wear it at home exclusively, and tape the windows shut. LT
Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, Perfumes: the guide (Penguin, 2008)
Equal parts amusing and insulting, like so many Turin-Sanchez reviews. Only one star was actually awarded, meaning I suppose that while he and TS find Amarige technically accomplished, LT personally loathes it. Fair enough.

Barbara Herman:
With a jumble of synthetic-smelling fruit notes that smell as jarring as spandex shorts with headbands and fanny packs now look, Amarige’s predictable progression in a tuberose-sweet floral heart and vanilla/amber woody base makes it hard to separate from its sisters (Cabotine, Giorgio, Animale, etc). … Amarige’s sandalwood and cedar base at least helps redeem it by providing depth and texture to the chemical stew that bubbles at its heart. … It’s hard to imagine this style of sweetness will ever come back into perfume, even ironically.
Barbara Herman, Scent & Subversion: decoding a century of provocative perfume (Lyon Press, 2013)

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

FragranceNet has $28/30ml
My Perfume Samples starts at $2/ml

So, what in 1994 was ‘fresh’ and ‘delicate’ is now a ‘chemical stew’ which should only be worn in privacy among consenting adults. What a difference 20 years makes!

Have you worn Amarige?
Anne-Marie

 

RandomRec GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

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Post by Portia

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Hey Y’All,

Another great giveaway thanks to Azar!! Superstar.

Don’t forget the….

offer-706850_640

We are offering a special APJ ONLY 20% discount valid through December 31, 2015. To receive the discount and a free packet of randomly chosen perfume samples with your order enter the code – APJ20 – at checkout.

Please hop over to the RandomRec.com site

Happy Holidays!

RandomRec GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

USA: 1 x Lolita Lempicka Elle L’aime 1.4 oz EdP
Elsewhere: Lolita Lempicka Elle L’aime 6.7 oz body milk
P&H Worldwide

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 10th December 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org

WINNERS markmontanoblogsPhoto Stolen markmontanoblogs

RuthF for Elsewhere

FeralJasmine for the USA

CONGRATULATIONS!! The winners will have till Monday 14th December 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Christmas with Uncle Serge Lutens

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Post by Poodle

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When people talk Christmas perfumes, Nuit de Noel always seems to come up. While lovely, I don’t think it smells the least bit like Christmas.

Enter Serge Lutens. He’s got your holiday moments bottled.

Christmas with Uncle Serge Lutens

Baby it’s cold outside. Spritz on L’eau Froide. This smells cold like a winter night. A night so chilly that it makes your nose burn so you pull your scarf up over your face and the smell of cold mixes with your warm breath and skin. Cool notes are balanced with pepper and ginger in this one.

Christmas decorationsPhoto Stolen Torange

On my skin Arabie smells like a traditional holiday candle. Or maybe potpourri. It’s warm with dried fruits and what I think of as mulling spices. I don’t really like wearing this but I do like smelling it if that makes sense. It doesn’t work on my skin but I love it on clothing and other people. If I had more than a sample I’d use it as a posh room spray.

Let’s deck the halls and put up the tree with Fille en Aiguilles. Quite possibly my favorite foresty scent. Pine needles, fir, and incense with a tiny touch of sweetness from the stewed fruits that Uncle Serge does so well. Reminiscent of a Christmas tree but the fruit notes and incense prevents it from smelling like an air freshener.

The tree’s up. Time for a cuppa. Five O’Clock au Gingembre is on the menu. Bergamot, ginger, and honey swirl together to warm you from the inside out. I don’t find this to be a true tea scent but rather more like tea time. Evokes the scent of spicy holiday tea blends that I can’t see to get enough of at this time of year.

Serge Lutens christmas-shaped-gingerbread-cookies FreeStockPhotosPhoto Stolen FreeStockPhotos

Love holiday baking? Break out the Jeux de Peau. Jam filled cookies, toasted yeasty bread with butter, syrupy fruitcakes… It’s like grandmas kitchen on steroids. Jeux de Peau starts buttery sweet but ends on a spicy note. It’s everything but the calories of the holiday dessert table.

We always went to midnight mass on Christmas and that’s what Amber Sultan makes me think of. It’s not really a churchy fragrance. It’s more about amber and spice notes. This reminds me of the swirl of perfumes that I’d smell in church. All the ladies wearing their very best for the holiday. A mix of fur coats, perfumes, and that undercurrent of incense that permeated the walls in every catholic church.

It’s late. The fire’s all but gone out and it’s getting chilly. Time to rest and dream about what Santa might bring you. How can you sleep with the clatter of reindeer on the roof? How about a little Gris Clair? This perfume has the scent of lavender and smokey notes. Not a light bedtime scent really, but with all the excitement and holiday stress you might need a big lavender.

P1060019Photo Stolen Flickr

Surrender To Chance has all the Serge Lutens samples

What perfumes make you think of the holiday season?

A Merry and Fragrant Christmas to you all!
Poodle

Cookie Queen in Vienna: December 2015: Photo Essay

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Post by Val the Cookie Queen

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I have just returned from three days in one of my favourite cities. Time spent with my daughter and friends. Sniffing, shopping, eating delicious food.

Cookie Queen in Vienna: Photo Essay

December 2015

Vienna is a beautiful city, now uneasy and troubled. There is no way of ignoring the refugee crisis. Make no mistake, it is very uncomfortable.
Guerlain exchanged my broken bottle of Shalimar Extrait and I gave a man and his dog who found themselves having to beg, a little money. Perplexing.

Start with the Vienna Christmas Lights

Val Christmas lights #1

Val Christmas lights #2

Val Christmas lights #3

Val Christmas lights #4

Val Christmas lights #5

Val Christmas lights #6

Val Christmas lights #7

The Flower Shop in Stephanplatz

Flower shop Stephansplatz #1

Flower shop Stephansplatz #2

Flower shop Stephansplatz #3

Hannah: Blondes Wunder

Val  Hannah cunningly disguised as a student

 

Kiki: Vero ProfumoVal Kiki Vero Profumo

 

Neela Vermeire CreationsVal Neela Vermeire creations

 

DIOR HandbagVal DIOR HandbagInto the Vienna cobbled alleys

Val Vienna Alley

 

and churchVal Christmas Vienna

 

and refugeeVal Vienna Refudees

Good will to all
CQ

Resurrecting RandomRec

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Post by Azar

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Season’s Greetings APJ!

Last year, about this time, a dear friend and I decided that we needed to clean up our lives. Our stuff was running us out of our homes and taking over every bit of storage space we could find.

Resurrecting RandomRec

We decided to put selected items, new and gently used, up for sale on a website we called RandomRec, signifying random acts of re-circulation and redistribution. To make a short story even shorter, we didn’t get far with RandomRec because all we did was stash a small fraction of our stuff in virtual storage and then promptly forgot about it, the same thing we were doing with it in real time and space! Running a garage sale online takes hours of effort and neither of us seemed to have any of that to spare in 2015. As the treasures continued to languish in our closets and drawers we resolved, for 2016, to resurrect RandomRec, rotate and add new inventory, offer sales and specials and try to create some sort of visibility for the site.

imagesThat being said we’ve decided to do a give-away to help jump-start the new, improved RandomRec and here it is: There will be two prizes, one for US residents and one for those living anywhere else on the planet. The name drawn in the US category will receive one brand new, in the box, Lolita Lempicka Elle L’aime 1.4 oz EdP. See the review here on APJ Elle l’Aime review.  The winner in the “anywhere else” category will receive one brand new, in the box, Lolita Lempicka Elle L’aime 6.7 oz body milk.

offer-706850_640

We are offering a special APJ ONLY 20% discount valid through December 31, 2015. To receive the discount and a free packet of randomly chosen perfume samples with your order enter the code – APJ20 – at checkout.

Happy Holidays!

Azar xx

AllSteele giveaway 1Photo Stolen AllSteele

RandomRec GIVEAWAY!

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

USA: 1 x Lolita Lempicka Elle L’aime 1.4 oz EdP
Elsewhere: Lolita Lempicka Elle L’aime 6.7 oz body milk
P&H Worldwide

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged. Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

USA or Elsewhere

and

Please hop over to the RandomRec.com site, check the perfume category, name one fragrance and tell us why you think you might love or hate it.

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 10th December 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winner will have till Monday 14th December 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Hair Removal – I suffer the pain, so you don’t have to

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Post by AF Beauty

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So before I start, I’ll have to give away that this post will probably contain more TMI moments than any of the others before, but have faith that I’ll not take it too far ☺

Hair Removal

I suffer the pain, so you don’t have to. (Unless you want to!)

I have a very light hair removal/tidy routine, half legs, underarms, eyebrows (tidying, not removal).
I am not very daring or extravagant, I can tolerate pain, but rarely when others inflict it, so these are a couple of hair removal techniques I’ve tried – along with varying levels of success and pain scales.

Starting at the top – Eyebrows.
I used this Nad’s Natural Hair Removal Facial Wand Eyebrow Shaper. It’s odd – it’s very little like wax. It has the texture of a thick glue. The pen has a nib of sorts through which the wax comes through like a globby ink. It has a squareish end that is useful for smoothing out the wax across the right spot of the eyebrow. It comes with cotton strips, cut with pinking shears to minimise fray. You simply apply the wax, smooth the cotton over the wax, then strip (in the direction opposite to hair growth – for eyes that’s usually toward the middle of your face).

nads-natural-hair-removal-facial-wand-eyebrow-shaper-3dNads

The wax washes off the cotton strips, super easily and they dry quickly to be re-used. I find this pretty easy to use. The wax comes out a bit uncontrolled with the way you need to turn the twiddle at the end to get it to come out – I always end up with a bit more than I’d ideally need. But it’s easy enough to apply once out. I’ve been using this for about a year, and so far I’ve not ripped off an entire brow! ☺
Success rating – 9/10 depending on skill of wax application.
Pain scale – 7/10

Down at the bottom – Legs.
I either shave – because it’s quick – or use an epilator, if I have time and want to be hair free for longer. I use this epilator but looking at the website, there are a load of new versions, which look very exciting!

ph-silk-epil-7-7681-sticker-global-x-cdn-en-1Braun

The epilator is a unique beast. Basically it has rotating wheels which create tweezers that pull out each of your hairs, one by painful one. If you’re reading this and you’ve involuntarily crossed your legs and winced, then you’ve correctly determined the appropriate level of pain. The epilator *is* effective – if you can tolerate the pain. No question there are times when pain is more tolerable than others, choose that time to use the epilator, choose other times to shave. One other thing to note, use the epilator in the brightest light you can find, preferably natural light. Take this as a free lesson to not walk away “finished” only to discover that patch of hair you missed just as you walk down the street on your night out or at work when you look down during an important meeting!
Success rating – 8/10 depending on diligence to cover all areas
Pain scale – 200/10

Obviously the easiest option for hair removal is shaving, but depending on your skin type and hair type it can be uncomfortable or cause ingrown hairs. What do you do to control hair?

What do you do with your excess hair?
AF Beauty

Centrepiece by Sarah McCartney for 4160Tuesdays 2015

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Post by Robert Herrmann

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Hi APJ,

It was a Monday to remember. Late getting up and having to rush to a Doctor’s appt. Rushing out the door, but stop to grab my decant (thank you Lillian Betts Holloway!) of the new Centrepiece edp by perfumer Sarah McCartney.

Centrepiece by 4160Tuesdays 2015

Centrepiece by Sarah McCartney

Centrepiece 4160 Tuesdays FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accordsin one line:
Honey, green tea, frangipani, musk, cedar, vanilla, sorbet, chocolate

OK. I get it. I was rushing so of course I tragically spill the the WHOLE decant all over my arm and clothes!

SOTD: Centrepiece by 4160Tuesdays. LOTS of it…..(read on…)

Well shit! No time to wash, so out the door I go and I smell FREAKING amazing!!! Holy cow, this is some GREAT stuff!

Now usually I don’t wear any scent for a medical appt. of any kind. Clinics get fussy if you do. So I thought “well…it is what it is.” So off I go.

I stop at my Cafe to check in and all I hear is “Oh my god is that YOU? You smell incredible!!” Ok. This is good.

I walk into the clinic and it’s the same thing. From every single receptionist, nurse, blood draw technician, and finally my beloved doctor, and he has a COLD for god’s sake!

Centrepiece 4160 Tuesdays  Doctor TNS Sofres FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

From LuckyScent: Originally created from a chance selection of ingredients and accords that inspired relaxed, peaceful feelings, Centrepiece is that most fundamental of 4160 Tuesdays-style creations- lighthearted, inspired, devoid of typical haute perfume pretension, and downright lovely. Focused around the sweet, tropical floral note of frangipani, Centrepiece further adds to the indulgent (but never cloying) bouquet with sweet honey and creamy vanilla, balancing it all against green tea and rich but gentle cedar. The results are entrancing, an everyday-suitable, gently powerful white floral that soothes, seduces and relaxes in equal measure. Simply beautiful.

Centrepiece 4160 Tuesdays Frangipani_flowers WikiMediaPhoto Stolen WikiMedia

Further reading: Ca Fleure Bon
LuckyScent has $110/50ml
4160Tuesdays has £15/9ml

PS……..4160Tuesdays also has an extrait strength for sale on their website, and that’s the one I ultimately. All I can say is…..”Um…..well dip me in honey and color me joyous!”

So the moral of this story? Who the hell knows.

All I know is I do is that this ‘fume indeed smells amazing!!!

What is your 4160Tuesday?
Robert Herrrmann

 

Botanical Postcards from Sydney: Mini Photo Essay

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Post by Suzanne R Banks

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Sometimes photographing the small beauties around me reminds me to be grateful and helps me enjoy my day. Here are some shots taken as I wandered or around my home.

Botanical Postcards from Sydney

If a picture paints a thousand words ……… I can’t wait til we have smellevsion and scentagram!

chamomile-Suzanne R BanksI’ve got these gorgeous chamomile flowers in a teapot next to my bed – sweet dreams!

Chamomile

Keywords: “cool down: less tension more inspiration, de-stress“

back-lane-roses-Suzanne R BanksLittle roses from my back lane

Rose

Keywords: “divine love; self love; self nurturing”

lavender-Suzanne R BanksCaught on camera somewhere in Sydney

Lavender

Keywords: “solidarity; solid foundations; acceptance; regeneration”

jasmine-Suzanne R BanksDivine jasmine!

Jasmine

Keyword: “sensuality”

basil-Suzanne R Banks.Home grown

Basil

Keywords: “clarity; open your mind”

What can you be thankful for? Look around, probably more than you think
Suzanne R Banks

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Like our Facebook page to stay tuned for more info on the inaugural

Australasian Artisan Botanical Perfume Expo in Sydney, 24th April 2016

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Check out my YouTube Channel too, thanks.
Suzanne R Banks xx

Suzanne R Banks Blog
Suzanne R Banks Aromatherapy
Suzanne R Banks FaceBook

copyright suzanne

 

Revelation! My new book out now

Please check out my new book REVELATION! – Reveal Your Destiny with Essential Oils

Amazon USA      Amazon AU      Amazon UK

NEW!: Creed, Juliette Has A Gun and Frapin

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Post by Ainslie Walker

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Nick Smart’s desk at Agence de Parfum’s HQ (Libertine Parfumerie) often holds exciting secrets. Last week he had just returned from a buying trip in Europe…Squeal!! I dashed for the pile of boxes and had a quick sniff. These are my first thoughts and REVEALS:

NEW!: Creed, Juliette Has A Gun and Frapin

 A fleeting whiff! New niche releases

Creed Royal Princess Oud

Creed: Princess Oud is an oriental floral for women launching in Australia in March 2016, also created by in-house nose Oliver Creed. Before sniffing I thought of the words “princess” and “oud” and conjured up an imagined scent being sweet, girlie and dense with oud. I was right. An appealing, possibly heading towards ‘crowd pleasing,’ fragrance which paves a pathway between Middle Eastern and Western perfumes. It’s far too icky-sweet for me, personally. Maybe not so original but it’s done very well, this review is from a card so skin mileage will vary.

Creed: Royal Mayfair, a unisex fragrance launching here in December is a remake of Windsor, the limited edition of 2009, renamed and no longer limited. Whoop! Windsor was originally created in 1936 for King Edward VIII of England. Ingredients take us on a tour of the British Empire he ruled and makes for an interesting olfactive tale, in which Australia features, with the inclusion of “our” eucalyptus. Nose Oliver Creed has combined London gin, Jamaican lime, Scottish Highland pine tree atop of “Duke of Windsor” roses and orange from the Bahamas over Canadian cedar and AUSTRALIAN eucalyptus. I stopped and took notice when I first sniffed and it gets better and more beautiful and distinctive on drydown. My current gin based fragrance is Penhaligon’s Juniper Sling…could this be next?

Frapin: The Orchid Man is being compared to Aventus and due in Australia for release in January. Call me an alien but I am no massive fan of Aventus. Obviously I appreciate it, but mostly it’s too macho, and frankly that’s not who I like to nuzzle up too. Add to this all the comments re “panty dropping” I see on fragrance forums and I think its killed it for me (pants definitely up to the point of wedging!) My favourite pineapple note in perfumes is in Frapin’s 1270. So I was intrigued thinking, “could Frapin’s take possibly be a better and more affordable Aventus with 1270’s magical pineapples and woods?” No. It’s missing the pineapple sadly, but it is very similar to Aventus.

Juliette Has A Gun Another oud

Juliette Has a Gun: Another Oud will be released in Australia in Feb 2016 (lets hope this means another visit to Oz from sexy Parisian, Romano Ricci, father of the brand..!) I smell the musks and ambroxan JHAG are famous for with oud floating up eventually from underneath. A dry oud scent. On the skin however Another Oud comes to life and there’s more to it than first expected, including some raspberry fruit and intensifying oud. I’d like to spend more time with this fragrance as it has all the elements to be very sensual.

Libertine Parfumerie has samples and bottles. FREE Australian Delivery over $100
First In Fragrance if you’re in Europe
LuckyScent in the USA
Surrender To Chance is a great way to sample before you buy too

What have you discovered lately that’s new to market or you that has touched you?
Ainslie Walker

Walking Over Harbour Bridge with Baily Nov 2015Photos Donated Ainslie Walker

 

This Works: Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

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Post by Willa Zheng

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Hello APJ,

“To sleep, the perchance to dream”, Shakespeare once wrote. But really often, the stresses of modern living and our habit of being glued to the monitors of electronic devices at night, mean we don’t get good quality, restful, deep sleeps that enable us to wake up in the morning feeling well-rested and refreshed.
Enter, this pillow spray invented by This Works. Comprised of the essentials oils from lavender, patchouli, ho wood, vetivert (better known to us as vetiver) and wild chamomile flower extracts, This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Pray is my stalwart bedside hero-product.

This Works: Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray

The way this pillow spray works is that the scent quietens your mind. Think of inhaling a bowl of chamomile tea, infused with lavender and a dash of earthy patchouli. It’s instantly soothing and calming. Any thoughts and worries about the outside world gently float away. Deep Sleep Pillow Spray does the same thing to my mind as when I step into a clean, quiet, Jivamukti yoga studio.

Deep Sleep Pillow Spray is water based but dries fairly quickly, so there’s no wet pillow issues. The scent lingers on my linen for about 5 minutes – so I spray it just before I hop into my sheets.

This Works has also recently released a stronger, longer lasting, alcohol-based version of this spray, the Deep Sleep Plus+ Pillow Spray. The notes are still the same, but they’re encapsulated in special, slow-release molecules that break and get released as you move and fidget in your sleep at night. How clever!

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray Sleepy Man Gisela Giardino FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

The only downside I can envisage to owning any of the Deep Sleep products is that you might become dependent on these sprays as a sleep aid. To that end, I don’t use it every night. Mainly for those tired, stressful days where every minute of quality sleep counts.

Disclaimer: It rarely takes me more than 5 minutes to fall asleep. If sleeping was an Olympic sport, I’d probably be an elite athlete. But even athletes have down days and are nevertheless always looking for ways to take their performance to the next level.

Of course, individual experiences will differ but it’s not too expensive to try it out yourself. Being able to drift off to sleep faster and at a deeper level is priceless, whether for an insomniac or sleep-athlete.

Mecca has $36/75ml
Willa Zheng