Giveaway–Botrytis Perfume
Now that I’ve written so much about Ginestet’s Botrytis, I’d like to share some with you. I have three good-sized samples waiting to be mailed. If you’d like to be entered in the draw just leave a comment telling me about something that provides a little sweetness in your life–edible or otherwise. I’ll leave the post open over the long weekend and announce the winners (chosen by random.org) on Tuesday.
[Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments! The draw is now closed.]
Image: Honeycomb by Su-Lin. Some rights reserved. From Tamarind and Thyme.
08/30/2012 at 5:10 pm
Coffee with cream and sugar in the morning, an Oregon peach or cherries in the afternoon, giving a hug to my husband every day of the week at any time of the day 🙂 and some delightful smellies like DSH Mahjoun or Cardamom and Khyphi or Poeme by Lancome (history of honey).
08/30/2012 at 5:19 pm
Ah! Poeme! I’ll tell you another secret since you admitted it. You know the documentary filmmaker I mention at the end of the first chapter? Her perfume was Poeme.
08/30/2012 at 9:33 pm
Yes, I remember her 🙂 I smiled at her “isn’t it so wrong” 🙂
I take it that Poeme was the perfume she brought from France, right?
And the boozy amber you offered her to smell, the one that became an instant hit — that was something different, right? I will now be looking forward to that one revealed as well!
08/30/2012 at 5:30 pm
Something that provides a little sweetness in my life is my work colleague’s candy jar. 😉
08/30/2012 at 5:35 pm
Ha! Those can be dangerous!
08/30/2012 at 5:31 pm
Right now it is the cheap and cheerful sugar scrub I just bought, which I will now be parted from while I am on my trip… *sniffle* Funny to think that it will be more “season appropriate” when I get back, since it smells like nothing so much as chocolate (though not at all in a food way — which is also why I like honey perfumes, come to think of it…)
08/30/2012 at 5:36 pm
Unfoody chocolate can be such a great smell. The wine part of Botrytis pushes it away from foodiness, too.
08/30/2012 at 5:36 pm
(Though not very far, I have to admit.)
08/30/2012 at 5:42 pm
Tom Douglas’s (Seattle-based chef) Dahlia bakery serves up the most delicious, most decadent coconut cream pie, evah! Once a year my best friend Tanya and I grab one of the outdoor tables and indulge ourselves in a gab-fest powered by coffee and a slice : )
08/30/2012 at 6:00 pm
I have tasted that pie! We just got back from a trip to the Seattle area and stayed right across the street from Dahlia for a night.
08/30/2012 at 7:56 pm
That’s wonderful! Then you understand the special occasion – once-a-year status of this pie ; )
08/30/2012 at 5:43 pm
I would love to try this! I was unable to guess the perfume from the description in the book, and now I know why — I’d never heard of this one. But I do love Sauternes! In fact the occasional flight of dessert wines is one way sweetness gets into my life. But certainly not the only way; I crave a little something sweet every day. Sometimes I play sophisticate and eat dark chocolate with sea salt, but usually I just want something junky like a small handful of Sour Patch Kids…..
08/30/2012 at 6:01 pm
I have still not tried Sauternes, can you believe it? But I’ve located an affordable source. Now just waiting for the temps to dip below 85.
08/30/2012 at 5:49 pm
One glorious little boy. And everyone who sent us food from Zingerman’s this summer.
08/30/2012 at 6:01 pm
Hooray!
08/30/2012 at 5:50 pm
My boyfriend recently introduced me to avocado bubble teas. I had often used avocado as an ingredient in desserts, in a raw-food phase, to mimic the rich fattiness of dairy, but I had never thought of using it, sweetened, for its own flavor. It’s amazing!
Said boyfriend also provides much sweetness, obvs. 🙂
08/30/2012 at 6:02 pm
Several of the bars here in Austin serve avocado margaritas. And I once had a Brazilian friend who was horrified by the very idea of guacamole, because she had always eaten her avocados with powdered sugar.
08/30/2012 at 6:01 pm
I live in the wilds of New England so of course maple syrup is my sweetener of choice. A warm spring meant an early end to the sap flow, so every drop of syrup is especially precious this year. Still, I had some on my blueberry pancakes this morning and am looking forward to a maple pecan pie come Thanksgiving. I disagree, btw, that immortelle adds a maple syrup note to perfumes. It’s more like the imitation stuff in the supermarkets, not the real thing.
08/30/2012 at 6:05 pm
I agree with you about immortelle, but then I’m not a fan of that note. And I want your recipe for maple pecan pie, please.
08/30/2012 at 10:26 pm
Well, sure. You know the old saying: Easy as pie.
Basically, all you have to do is substitute maple syrup for all or part of the corn syrup in your favorite pecan pie recipe. Mine is the Best Ever Pecan Pie recipe in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
From there you can change it up according to your taste and what you have on hand. The darker the maple syrup, the deeper the taste. Using some dark corn syrup improves the texture but lessens the flavor. You can add a few tablespoons of dark rum or bourbon and/or melted chocolate. You can use different nuts or a combination of nuts and/or add some ground nuts to the crust. Sea salt is better than regular, brown sugar more yummy than white, and demerara better than either. There are lots of ways you can tweak it.
08/31/2012 at 11:37 am
Fantastic tips, K, thanks so much!
08/30/2012 at 6:08 pm
Coffee on the couch with my husband – best part of my day.
Getting head butted by our cat.
Whole Foods Bakery’s gluten free chocolate cupcakes.
08/30/2012 at 6:34 pm
Completely on board with the cat bop!
08/30/2012 at 6:26 pm
I’m loving your blog and website Alyssa!..and I really need to get my hands on your book!
Today the little something that provided a little sweetness (literally) was some Chuao Panko chocolate (Dark chocolate, toasted panko breadcrumbs and sea salt).Coincidentally I also had their honeycomb chocolate today just before reading your posts(dark chocolate and caramelized honeycomb), which unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations (the chocolate not your post..:))
08/30/2012 at 6:35 pm
Yes, that Chuao is a bit on the subtle side, isn’t it? More about texture than honey flavor. Have you tried their Firecracker bar, the one with the pop rocks? It made me laugh out loud while I was eating it, and yet it made complete culinary sense. I ended up sending it to lots of friends.
08/30/2012 at 6:53 pm
Poodle kisses! Those always sweeten my day.
Good dark chocolate does the trick too.
08/31/2012 at 11:38 am
But of course!
08/30/2012 at 8:11 pm
Naturally after reading your big reveal, I decided that I must try this perfume (which I’m not familiar with). Now I have a chance! I have a new addiction that sweetens my every morning: organic cantaloupe. Today I was out, so I had to run over to the Health Food Store to get another one, just to make it through the day.
08/31/2012 at 11:38 am
A truly ripe cantaloupe is a rare and wonderful thing. So fragrant!
08/30/2012 at 9:33 pm
Sweetness in my life? Let’s see…hiking in the mountains with pure crisp air with no one around but my husband, sharing perfume samples with my best friend (who lent me your book to read & compare notes on afterwards) (btw Fracas is one of my long time favorites….), cooking for friends and family and then sitting on our screened in porch on a summer’s evening enjoying said food and drinking wine as the crickets chirp and the sun inevitably descends behind the trees. All of these are simple, pure and better for it. (Ok, except for possibly the Fracas.) I’m attracted these days to gourmand scents and looking forward to trying one more – Botrytis! Keep up the fun, frank, and fascinating writing.
08/31/2012 at 11:42 am
I love the way Fracas keeps popping up as the exception in your list. We all need at least one over the top thing in our lives, don’t you think?
08/30/2012 at 9:51 pm
Alyssa, loved your book!
Anything scented with orange blossom sweetens my world. I was in Italy this spring and couldn’t get enough of sniffing the blooming orange trees which seemed to be everywhere. I also love Kneipp Orange Blossom and Linden Herbal Bath, and especially my treasured bottle of L’Artisan Fleur d’Oranger 2005.
08/31/2012 at 11:43 am
Thank you! I adore orange blossom, too, especially the L’Artisan rendering and the actual blossoms on the tree. I’ve never smelled the 2005, but my 2007 decant is a staple. I will miss it when it’s gone.
08/30/2012 at 11:12 pm
I am new to this blog and so far I am enjoying it a lot. The sweetness for me is kissing the chubby cheeks of my baby boy..I swear they have a very sweet natural scent!
08/31/2012 at 11:44 am
Oh I believe you! And such a nice kissable texture, too, I’m sure…
08/31/2012 at 1:22 am
Being a beekeeper and a perfumer I’d so LOVE to sample this!! Lately I’m quite enamored with the 100,000+ feral honey bees in the two hives here. The golden amber nectar they produce sweetens my tea every single morning reminding me that to make one pound of honey, the bees must visit 2 million flowers!
08/31/2012 at 11:44 am
I’m sure it can’t compare with the actual hive, Roxana, but you are in the draw anyway! 🙂
08/31/2012 at 3:52 am
Well, as colder days are approaching, I would love a chance to smell a new warm and sweet perfume.
What provides a little sweetness in my life is usually perfume, especially now colder days are coming (one reason why I love winter, I can wear all my ambers, gourmands and vanillas and feel wonderful), but if it’s a case of sugar cravings, some Nutella always tastes great. 🙂
08/31/2012 at 11:45 am
The cafe I go to serves nutella in a huge jar alongside of raspberry jam and marmalade if you order the standard bread with your breakfast. Dangerous.
08/31/2012 at 4:32 am
Sweetness in my life? Lots of dark chocolate (including the sea salt and/or caramel varieties)and Biscoff cookies are my latest favorites.
08/31/2012 at 11:41 am
I like that salt/sweet combo, too.
08/31/2012 at 8:54 am
Of the non-edible variety, I’m looking forward to spending a few days with my daughter, who is arriving today. I haven’t seen her since Christmas, so the next few days will be sweet indeed. Now, don’t laugh, but my current favorite sweet treat is half a cupcake. Just about any flavor. Why half? Well, I’m trying to watch my calorie intake, but I don’t want to completely deprive myself, so my husband and I cut a cupcake in half after dinner and share one. Actually, it’s quite satisfying – just the right amount of something sugary. My current favorite flavor is coconut. Also, I want to mention how much I loved your book and that Botrytis was the one fragrance I was certain you were describing in your book. It is the first niche perfume I ever tested from my very first LuckyScent sample pack that I put together a few years ago. It has been on my full bottle wish list ever since, but haven’t purchased yet. I really should do something about that!
08/31/2012 at 11:40 am
I like your half cupcake solution. I’m always wishing for tastes of everything. I want everything edible in my life to come in sample sizes. And how great that Botrytis was in your first LuckyScent pack!
08/31/2012 at 11:28 am
I woke up this morning to see my youngest daughter asleep in the guest bedroom. She is 22 and visiting us for the weekend. No children have lived in our home for over three years, so this is a very sweet sight indeed.
08/31/2012 at 11:39 am
That is lovely.
08/31/2012 at 5:41 pm
I’d love to try the Botrytis. I once had a dupe that I bought on ebay but have no idea if that was the way Botrytis is supposed to smell! Thanks for offering the freebie, Alyssa!
08/31/2012 at 6:22 pm
What brings a little sweetness to my life is a cool glass of wine and a warm puppy on an autumn night. Minus the warm puppy on a hot sticky August one but I still love him. 😉
08/31/2012 at 8:04 pm
As a scent novice, I think edible first for sweet and that would be chocolate. I don’t think I want to smell like Cadbury’s though.
09/02/2012 at 9:29 pm
Sweetness comes in a moment of reprieve: a child’s smile after a long illness; a loved one returning home after an extended absence; the stillness in the resolution of a disagreement; the first day of work after being unemployed. A moment in which we can breathe deeply and slowly and let go for the first time in a long time. Lately, interludes like this have become precious to me….
09/03/2012 at 12:08 pm
I was one who did not guess this was your honey fragrance – I’ve never smelled it. For me at the moment, life is sweetened by some wonderful hazelnut dark chocolate that I’m nibbling at while reading blogs this morning. Thanks for the draw!