Today, I share two news with you. One most lovely and interesting review of the Carillon pour un ange, and news on the Carillon pour un ange related e-book project that I consider a failure and stop by now.

I can feel how we are starting to look forward to spring. My planning looks forward  into spring and sun and warm temperature again. And flowers around me.  Thus, the review of Carillon pour un ange on the Non Blonde-Blog (click here) fits perfectly. It is lovely and beyond the fact that it is utterly positive, it reveals an aspect that I miss so often in discussions on perfumes: A note or an ingredient can be interpreted in different ways. Even if you do not love a particular component as a line or note in perfumes, not every perfume with this note will be a no-go perfume and not work for you. A rose can be done in a thousand different ways. You might fall deeply in love with version 999. I stumble over it so often: perfume lovers will not try fragrances because they see a note in the description that they do not like. Beyond the fact that a note is not always congruent with an ingredient: Not every note xyz is done the same way by every perfumer. And the more niche you go, the more you can expect notes and shades in perfumes done from scratch and not by reaching for the pre-mix bottle in the shelf.

I invite folks to challenge their likes and dislikes on a regular basis. Otherwise, you might deprive yourself of wonderful experiences.

Related to the Carillon pour un ange, I invited perfume lovers to share: I wanted to collect stories, pictures, poem, memories on Lily of the valley, collect them, layout them as e-book, and use this e-book for charity, channeling some of the media attention I will get in the next months away from the perfume to the e-book project. I imagined that we can motivate some 50 or so perfume lovers and bloggers alike to write a little piece of a few lines or a page, and take a moment to create and be part of a larger fabric. I thought so because I see all those bloggers and writers around me writing about all new launches and beyond. I announced the project in the major blogs, repetitively mentioned it, but only the misunderstanding that it is a draw gave me some contributions.

Thus, I was wrong.

My lesson learned: The community does not collaborate on such a project. I did not get enough contributions. We got most contributions because perfume lovers thought they can win in a draw.

My consequence: I stop this and I will do the charity for myself.

Please do not send any contributions anymore.

a week in reflectionToday is Sunday. Time to have a look into the Sunday newspaper (5 min) and shake your head. We have undoubtedly entered the slack season and the holidays here in Europe started with the traffic jam on the Gotthard road south, like every year with the Gotthard tunnel being the rate limiting factor in the private transport chain from north to south through the alps….

We will hit south, too. But the plan is to use the bike, from Geneva to the Mediterranean. I figured this is easy. Overall, it will only go downhill.

But back to the Sunday: I look back to an exciting week. The new website is working fine. The first 300 flacons of the “UNE ROSE VERMEILLE” are filled. I counted my stock (ufff!) and my bookkeeper will use the numbers and do his magic. And I feel like Alice in book keeping wonderland. I 100% unconditionally totally admire my book keeper (the W.-factor) who understands the numbers forth and back. I used to only have a simple excel file: What comes in and what goes out. Now we have this double entry bookkeeping and I am simply amazed how you can look at numbers from all different perspectives.

Anyhow: This week featured a nice start of the “A MOMENT WITH LILY OF THE VALLEY ” community book writing project. There was one little misunderstanding:

THIS E-BOOK PROJECT CONTINUES UNTIL EARLY 2011! And I need more contributions and hope that I can motivate many more…

I will continue collecting the contributions from the community and will start working on the publication of the e-book by early 2011. Then, by spring 2011, I will use the media and press that I get in spring to push this e-book and make sure that it sells, because all profit goes to charity. Thus, there is time to contribute and no hurry.

I wish you a great Sunday.

Today’s picture: a mountain carnation, seen on Wednesday.

Yesterday was air du désert bottle pouring and crimping and labeling day. And today we engage in UNE ROSE VERMEILLE bottle pouring and crimping and labeling day. Oups. No. Wrong. We are still waiting for the labels, but do the bottle thing.
Over the week end we plan to do more bottle pouring fun, in preparation for the PITTI FRAGRANCE exhibition September, and for expected sales early autumn.

Thus, normal production routine towards the end of this week.

Let me introduce and seduce you in between: Please visit FRAGRANTICA and make sure you participate on their draw for a Carillon pour un ange, co-organized by Luckyscent. The draw is over this Friday!  There, you will find a little text by myself: This is my contribution to the e-book project “A MOMENT WITH LILY OF THE VALLEY”,  a charity project that will end up in an e-book, jointly organized by Tauer and luckyscent.com . (what kind of charity: Will be decided by poll on this blog later)

Here is one reason why I wanted to do this e-book: I realized that with every launch I get more interest in what I do, interest by the press and other media. And one day, I figured that this attention might be used to create awareness to xyz. xyz was something in the field of charity, and fun, and community oriented. The hope that I have with this e-book project: That by spring 2011, when launching the Carillon pour un ange in its final packaging and getting the press for it, we can use part of the press to push sales of the e-book. And that we continue collection stories and end up with a large e-book on lov(e).

Thus, I look forward to receiving many contributions. If you consider sharing your MOMENT WITH LILY OF THE VALLEY: please send it to us by e-mail or snail mail and do not publish it here (or there) ONLY: For copyright issues we need your official agreement for publication by e-mail or snail mail. Details you find in here: MOMENT WITH LILY OF THE VALLEY (pdf file, 200 kb).