Wednesday 4 February 2015

An old couple on holiday: Pomegranate Noir and me


I am just back from 2 weeks in Thailand and the cold weather is really biting. Post holidays blues - here we come... But I won't bother you with Cry me a river tears about feeling the lack of light, warmth and sand, don't worry. Instead, I'm trying to concentrate on the good things about being back in London, and those are: the cats, good friends, and perfume. Not that I didn't bring decants and samples to keep me entertained, far from it, but wearing perfume when it's hot and humid didn't come very high on my daily routine list. While we stayed in the northern city of Chiang Mai with temperatures in the high 20's, pleasant enough and even cooler in the evenings, I did manage to apply perfume and even a bit make up, but over the course of 2 weeks and a location change to the island of Koh Phangan, standards did slip very quickly. When you shower 3 or 4 times a day perfume really isn't all that practical, and in the evening strong DEED overpowered any other scents.

But there is a scent that I have worn on and off during all our trips to Thailand so far and a bottle of it will never be amiss in the suitcase: Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir. First sniffed and bought before boarding a plane to Bangkok at Heathrow airport, then worn in Chiang Mai (yes, we like the city a bit and go there almost every year) it has become my go to perfume for Thailand. There isn't anything in it that justifies that. No lemongrass, lime, hot tarmac, sticky rice, ylang ylang, fish sauce, sea salt, coconut, orchid, ginger or chili notes. PN has spice and freshness, but they're firmly rooted in the Northern hemisphere. Objectively, that is. For me, it's the fragrance of Thailand simply by association and conditioning and a spritz can transport me back there in an instant. I have never bothered to read up the notes for it, and now I couldn't possibly tell you what it smells of, which is, I suppose,  a bit weird on a blog  about perfume. 
As for the colours: They have to be taken from a holiday snap, of course. 

Thai squid boats representing Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone

How and where to wear:
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6 comments:

  1. I wondered if you were home yet and am glad you had a lovely time - the weather sounded perfect. Am not surprised you are finding the cold snap a bit challenging, but as you say, perfume and the company of the cats are some compensation...;) I enjoyed your story of Pomegranate Noir being associated with your holidays, even if the notes are more suggestive of winter in Europe than beach holidays and aromatic food. I associate a lot of perfumes with good travel memories, and routinely take scents away with me with the express intention of 'imprinting' them with the anticipated happy time to come.

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    1. Hi Vanessa.I thought about something quite similar: Wearing, and therefore conditioning myself to associate a scent with an occasion. Self Pawloving, in a way....

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  2. I'm glad you had a wonderful time, even if it hard to adjust now you're back home. How great that PN can transport you back to Thailand in an instant. The magical power of perfume.

    I would never have associated it as a colourful Thai squid boats so it was fun to view it from your perspective.

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    1. HI Tara, PN is one of the perfumes that I will never be able to "judge" objectively, and it's also one that I will defend with my bare teeth, so to speak. It doesn't always get the best press but I couldn't care less.

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  3. Welcome back, Sabine! Since we got our cat, coming back from a vacation got a lot easier.

    Today I suddenly decided to wear Pomegranate Noir - before I read your post. I used to love it and wore a lot. My bottle is almost empty (maybe 5 ml is still there). I did not touch it for three years and today thought that I should give it another try while it's still winter (well, our version of it) because for me it's a winter perfume. But if for you it's a sand beach - why not? :)

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    1. Hi Undina, sorry I didn't see your comment earlier...The funny thing is that PN is a winter perfume for me too, I never wear it in summer. It's just that my prefered winter destination is somewhere in the tropics :)

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