Christmas curiosities

Perfumes have been around for as long as humans and it's thought that smell is the oldest sense in living organisms. According to the American Society of Perfumers, the word ‘perfume’ derives from the Latin ‘per-fumum’ meaning ‘through smoke’, alluding to the early practice of releasing pleasant odours from fragrant materials such as the wood of trees through heat or burning. Ancients believed that, as the smoke rose skywards, they were making a path for the gods. In ancient Egypt scents were used by everyone, even on their horses, saddles, and in food and drink. In those days perfumes were handled by priests, sorcerers and alchemists.


Today, most perfumes are mass produced from an eclectic mix of synthetic chemicals and additives. That's why many of us recoil in shock when blasted with an unsolicited spray of the latest designer duty free offering. Of course, there are beautiful smells too - many of which are the keys to memories of cherished relatives, lovers or poignant experiences. I was fortunate enough to attend a dinner where Professeur de Parfums, Roja Dove, was speaking. He brought along some of a rare perfume called kypi - known as the scent of antiquity, which it is also said was the scent of the Pharaohs. To me, this had an indescribable sugary sweet spicy fragrance of time immemorial - not a smell I remember, just one I somehow know... I also rubbed some raw white frankincense into my hands - that reminded me of the woody smell of the resin I used on my violin bow as a child.


Did you know that we smell not with our noses, but via our olfactory nerve, which is acutally a part of the brain? If you have style with brains and absolutely adore naturally beautiful smells, as well as sophisticated and stylish perfumes, you'll love the heavenly scented curiosity candles, available from ShopCurious.




Made by Mad et Len, these beautifully presented luxury coffrets, each containing two bougies de curiosite, are made in rural France exclusively for ShopCurious. Mad et Len produce everything by hand so that each piece is unique - even the packaging is made and folded by hand. The blends of soy wax, jojoba oil and beeswax, together with perfume essences are left to mature, providing for a rich and unforgettable aroma.





When the curiosity candles are burned together, they create a divinely unique scent, marrying contrasting and complementary tones of original distilled perfume from flore, wood or aromate. The six exquisite and unusual combinations on offer at ShopCurious include vibrant, primitive black pepper with sensual, deep fruity ylang-ylang; exotic and mysterious oriental patchouli with aromatic floral gardenia and hot spicy nutmeg (muscade) with fresh citrus based verveine. The cotton toile lined boxes are individually made and really pretty too - the curiosity candle coffret would make an original and very special Christmas gift.





Mad et Len's workshop (above) is located in the Haute-Provence village of Saint Julien du Verdon, where Alexandre and Sandra, a husband and wife team, create personalised and limited edition perfumes for the bath, body and home in the tradition of old style apothecaries. The name Mad et Len is based on a quirky reference to Proust's remembrance of things past (madeleine). Quoting from Du Cote de Chez Swann: "The smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection".

Do you?

Purple rain

Well, we have been experiencing some very curious weather. I haven't seen any purple rain yet, but these stunningly beautiful alpines seem to flower in London for at least six months of the year - if not more.







Here are a few photos (taken on my terrace by Kurtay) of some of the unusual and amazing jewellery by Aris Geldis that's available at ShopCurious. What I love about these pieces is the use of totally natural materials, the fact that they're handcrafted, very individual and yet also completely wearable. This unique necklace looks like something inspired by art deco and the 1920s. It's handpainted and has the most extraordinarily clever design - I'm truly smitten!

These pieces of iridescent painted carved crystal have to be one of the iconic jewellery designs of the year. The fabulously original necklaces are artisitic and quirky, yet also highly collectable designer curiosities. A unique accessory like this would work equally as well with a dress for the Oscars as it would with a t-shirt and jeans. Simple, classic, timeless, naturally beautiful and inspirational are some of the words I would use to describe this very special pendant.


And for la piece de resistance, there's a limited edition super-stylish luxury version for lovers of beautiful things who can afford to look really different. Style with brains is one thing, but sometimes a little money helps too:

Take a closer look at the £20 note. First of all, it's purple. And secondly, it features Adam Smith - whose "insights into human nature, the organisation of society, the division of labour and the advantages of specialisation remain at the heart of economics", thus spake Mervyn King. Interestingly, Smith's major work was entitled An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Sounds like something we could do with today?

The new-style £20 notes, introduced in 2007, are apparently much better from a security point of view than the previous ones, with more ultra-violet features. Just as well - we've had enough rain in the UK, I'm voting for purple sunshine!
Are you?

Fffffascinating feathers

I do find the whole cycle of nature so fffffascinating. I love watching the transformation that occurs to plants through the seasons. It's rather quirky that plants can flower some years and not others - and that they're so affected by the weather and the amount of water they get. And I'm curious to know if plants appreciate our loving care and attention as we tend them over the years - let alone our emotional attachment.






Apparently the idea of talking to plants was first introduced in 1848, when Dr Gustav Theodor Fechner, a German professor, suggested the original idea in his book Nanna (Soul Life of Plants). He believed that plants are capable of emotions, just like humans and that healthy growth can be promoted by showering plants with attentive chatter. Later, a botanist called Luther Burbank, suggested that, although plants may not understand the spoken word, they might telepathically understand the meaning of speech.




In 1970, a New York dentist called George Milstein released a record called Music to Grow Plants By. Various experiments were carried out (straight faces all round, of course), and there did seem to be some evidence that soothing and/or classical music was of benefit to plant growth, as opposed to loud agressive rock-type music.







In reality (ie ignoring scientific models and experimental quackery), we don't really have much in the way of confirmation that plants like to be talked to, or that they appreciate the odd blasting of Mozart's Requiem (although perhaps that's not so soothing). I think it's a lovely idea though, and I do often stroke the leaves of my plants and tell them how sensational they're looking. I just hope that the neighbours aren't watching!





I've also been known to place unique feather fascinators from ShopCurious amongst the plants to photograph them, which might seem equally odd, but it's all in the name of art. These are just so naturally beautiful, they could almost be real. They also look fabulous in your hair, or as a fashion accessory on your clothes, attached to a hat - or just as a rather original decoration for your dressing table perhaps?





By the way, for anyone who's interested to know what happened next to my Triffid - here's how the magnificent flower curiously withered and died. I hope that wasn't a reflection of my negecting to converse regularly enough with it. The flower has since been lopped off and the plant looks somewhat less threatening...

Another yukka type plant has just burst into bloom though. Have you got any plants that have fffffascinatingly started flowering at the very end of the 'summer'? Or have you experienced any other curious natural occurences, possibly linked to the strange weather patterns of late? If so, do let us know.
Will you?

Tropical tresses

A couple of years ago I had a curiously crazy idea to get a few outdoor plants delivered to create my own tropical paradise in central London. Of course I went a bit over the top and eventually had to organize a crane to deliver said pots and palms - but the result is a pleasingly stylish and unique oasis of rustling leaves, twittering birds and buzzing insects (though at this time of the year there are quite a lot of nasty garden spiders too.. )

I thought it might be appropriate to focus on nature for a while, since so many of the new products at ShopCurious are naturally beautiful things - like these rather individual silk and feather hair accessories. Each is lovingly handmade in England by the designer, Gil Fox.






They're great for so many occasions like parties and weddings. They'll also make a perfect addition to your Christmas wardrobe, or even an unusual seasonal gift. These unique accessories are also very versatile and not just for wearing in your hair. Why not attach the clip to a hat to add some ornamentation - or fix to your clothing and turn this into a quirky corsage, or an original piece of jewellery.





They also look very arty in the leaves of my palms. The one in the middle (above) is attached to the rather dangerous looking agave (right), a plant native to Mexico. This agave is now scarily larger than when first delivered,as is the rather fiercely spined plant pictured in the top left of this blog, which I'm stilll trying to identify - I think it's a type of trithrinax. Does anyone know?

Do you?