tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40263591689824683732024-03-14T19:13:05.587+00:00Bonkers about PerfumeVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.comBlogger761125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-1648081198608987482024-02-27T18:49:00.012+00:002024-02-29T22:34:19.086+00:00Jeff & Co (Jeff Banks) women's perfume dupes at Home Bargains, and how I couldn't resist Temptation...I am a regular shopper in the discount chain Home Bargains, much as I am in B & M, which is a similar cheap and cheerful purveyor of just about anything short of a full food shop. Home Bargains is my go-to destination for cheap firewood, Poppets, rhubarb yoghurt, cat soup, and kitchen towel (which regular readers know is of the utmost importance to me). On any given visit where I am typicallyVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-1839293567828761352024-01-26T22:00:00.004+00:002024-01-27T15:19:10.422+00:00From "Dead man in garage" to "Rather odd boyfriend": tantalising snippets from my mother's book bookToday is the 25th anniversary of my mother's death. This isn't going to be a tribute post as such - I have already written one of those, on the occasion of the 11th anniversary. It is true, however, that an item belonging to my mother has inspired this post...to wit, her book log / book diary? / book book?!. This is a small hardbacked notebook in which she used to write down every title she had Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-73144517323144427592023-12-29T16:36:00.002+00:002023-12-30T11:10:34.264+00:00Burning the end at both candles: Boujee Bougies Gilt and Elemis Regency Library - a "cold throw" mini-review, and coming up for air This Christmas was a marked improvement on last year, when the months of trapped nerve pain in my neck managed to segue seamlessly into Covid. This year (apart from an alleged shadow on the lung, of which more anon) I was in much better shape, and de-stressed the big day by opting for a high welfare chicken rather than a turkey, not even one in a conveniently legless and bacon-draped format. I Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-70183858950448940262023-11-26T15:14:00.003+00:002023-11-26T19:31:27.466+00:00"The nearest grande dame of literary fiction may be behind you!" Meeting Madame Antonia, aka the late A S Byatt1999 was a challenging year for me. Have you noticed how "challenging" has come to mean everything from "bloody awful" to "damn near impossible", as well as its primary meanings of "inviting competition" and "testing one's abilities"? The word has become the go-to euphemism (especially in government circles) for "much harder than we care to say". In 1999 of course the world was bracing itself forVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-84168117394178335242023-10-25T20:45:00.000+01:002023-10-25T20:45:13.922+01:00Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule for a Minuscule price! - sampling the sample sites as Bonkers turns 14Source: mama66.netWell, that's unusual...I am writing this post on my actual blog anniversary as opposed to a few days or weeks later, or not at all. I shan't make a big deal of it, as it doesn't seem warranted now I am only posting once a month or so, and I am sure I have lost some of my regular readers and commenters because of this sparse frequency. But people I will never know are still Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-19293115563573314032023-10-02T13:12:00.008+01:002023-10-02T17:25:38.473+01:00My interview on Olfactoria's Travels revisited, ten years on...2013 meAnother month has passed - I am taking the notion of slow blogging to the most leisurely extremes, I know, but I do feel I should only post when the muse moves me, and it seems to be on a bit of a go-slow these days, for the reasons I mentioned last time, topped off with another round of health investigations. Though as I can testify, a degree of slowing down is probably normal for most Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-19295652151864682092023-08-28T18:16:00.007+01:002023-08-28T22:59:06.304+01:00Concrete, consumptives, and Coco in a conventThe winsome Post Office!Two months have gone by since my last post! You may be forgiven for thinking I really had thrown in the blogging towel, but not so, or not yet. I was merely dormant, fielding various issues on both houses. For as with the kitchen renovations, being the only person involved in maintenance / repairs does take up that bit more time on top of the usual everyday chores. Why, I Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-73448158559581290542023-06-21T16:20:00.032+01:002023-06-24T11:40:14.329+01:00Back to brick: hardcore lessons from a kitchen makeover, and how I now identify as a tapThis too will pass..!Goodness, well over a month has gone by since my last post...I have not had a relapse of my trapped nerves, as you might be forgiven for thinking, but rather have been consumed by a major domestic project, namely the renovation of my 30+ year old kitchen. Charitable observers have described it as "tired" - or, when feeling more generous, "vintage", or "quite atmospheric in Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-52866254546983725252023-05-07T17:52:00.010+01:002023-05-08T11:45:08.441+01:00More cats than people: an Easter "holiday" in FranceWell, I don't know how two months have managed to go by without a post...it is probably due to a mix of recurring trapped nerve bother and time-consuming house projects - both at home and in France indeed. Although it is a while ago now, I thought I would write up a few of the more noteworthy incidents from that trip. It went pretty well overall, not least because my neck behaved throughout, Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-29152045874289915182023-03-06T09:27:00.019+00:002023-03-06T23:04:40.937+00:00"Here comes success": Katie Puckrik's Lust for Life Tour 2023 at The Cavern Club, LiverpoolHow many strings are there to Katie Puckrik's professional bow? How many fingers does she have in artistic pies, and irons in media fires? I have frankly lost count, but she certainly pops up in more cultural guises than you can shake Clem Burke's drumstick at, of which more anon. I knew her "on the telly" as a presenter on The Word back in the '90s, and since then she has become a focal figure Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-68333702715615464052023-02-27T17:43:00.003+00:002023-02-28T15:28:31.587+00:00 L'Erbolario Meharees, a three-date perfume date, and a quick health updateSt Mary's, Stafford ~ Source: WikimapiaThat's a rather date-heavy title, but the reason will become clear presently...!I will have to keep this post fairly short, as unfortunately my trapped nerve pain is back, I hope only temporarily. I had to stop my nerve blocking medication recently, as one of its key side effects would have muddied the symptoms of another condition for which I was being Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-89600276202557346542023-02-14T15:53:00.008+00:002023-02-14T16:06:16.526+00:00Valentine's, Schmalentine's: aka tolling the bell for the rose with no smell?Yesterday I paid a visit to a luxury hotel on the outskirts of town, which is well known locally as a venue for conferences and weddings. A friend had been at a work event there recently, and was singing the praises of the hotel's promotional pen that she had used on the day. It wrote so smoothly, apparently, and was lovely to hold. Although she had taken it away with her, it had since run out, Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-65506218895923207192023-02-04T09:00:00.003+00:002023-02-05T17:32:13.016+00:00Madame Rochas does time...travelling, as the Perfume Stories workshops go "inside"HMP Liverpool - Source: Wikimedia Commons ~ RodhullandemuBack in December 2019, in that innocent twilight period just before the pandemic, I attended a workshop in the "Perfume Stories" series at The Tate gallery in Liverpool. This was the brainchild of Michael O'Shaughnessy, a senior lecturer in Graphic Design and Illustration at the Liverpool School of Art & Design at John Moores UniversityVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-86233871001070961502023-01-21T19:12:00.003+00:002023-01-21T19:17:44.777+00:00On the lash: UKLash Eyelash Serum - a six and nine month updateMy by now rather battered tube and box!Back in July I wrote a "before" and "after" post about my results with UKlash Eyelash Serum, one of the many brands of such products on the market in this ever growing sector about which I was completely ignorant till I started dabbling in it myself at the beginning of May. Here's a reminder of my stubby apologies at the outset:May 1st, 2022The last Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-82122035415718585302023-01-10T15:12:00.016+00:002023-01-11T14:02:56.255+00:00Perfumes in purdah: Les Néréides Impérial Opoponax (the sequel), Prada Candy, and Guerlain Shalimar Millésime TonkaSniffing Truffle's headI'm back! A belated Happy New Year to everyone.Nearly two months to the day since my last post - possibly the longest hiatus in the 13 year history of Bonkers about Perfume (or one of them) - and I am now attempting to type a full draft in the normal way for the first time, and see how that feels. The conservative approach I was recommended to take by the osteopath of Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-80795838768858673102022-11-12T15:49:00.011+00:002022-12-05T22:13:15.473+00:00Bonkers' neck is on the line, and the importance of keeping your chin upSource: pinterest.frThis post was brought to you very, very slowly by voice recognition and mostly lefthanded editing...I have been gone awhile. I should be in France this week and instead I am grounded for the foreseeable future.For my blogging hiatus has nothing to do with a lack of mojo or being adrift in the creative doldrums - a mental state that afflicts bloggers or writers of any kind Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-31966421756391124472022-10-16T14:03:00.007+01:002022-10-16T21:32:36.987+01:00Bonkers got (partially) cancelled! And uncancelled again, but not without collateral hiccupsSource: Wikimedia Commons (GXXF)I thought I should write a line or two to explain why a post from 2011 briefly appeared just now as my most recent post - that's for any readers quick enough off the mark to spot it. I have now figured out how to publish to a past date, and the errant piece is back where it belongs in the archives.How the sorry saga came about is as follows...I woke up this morningVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-21473245011137947182022-10-10T20:42:00.020+01:002022-10-11T00:17:11.741+01:00BNNIB (Brand New Not in Box): Sarah Jessica Parker less Lovely than expectedAnother bitesize post - a blogging amuse-gueule if you will - about an unusual discount item spotted in a branch of B & M (formerly B & M Bargains) in Stafford the other day. I popped back this afternoon to take a better photo and can confirm that this item, reduced from £18.99 to £12.60, is - perhaps not surprisingly - still for sale. Reduced in price, and sadly also radically reduced inVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-57939264131224264142022-09-30T23:30:00.003+01:002022-09-30T23:47:42.585+01:00Shooting the messenger: a palate-cleansing post on an Hermès product format failSource: eBayI am interrupting my series of travel posts about the recent French trip because a) something came up in the perfume sphere that I would like to air without delay, and b) I figured people might like a break anyway from the travelogue style of writing, even though the final part will feature perfume in a small way (if and) when I do eventually get to it.What sparked the present post Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-72400923497021758842022-09-11T12:37:00.002+01:002022-09-11T12:50:49.685+01:00Harriet Worth goes to France: a thematic round up of (less stressful!) incidents and oddities - Part 1Hemming staking out my houseI have decided to adopt a thematic rather than a strictly chronological approach to the rest of my account of the French trip. The first two action-packed days certainly lent themselves to a linear account, but for this post (and a further one my material will run to!) I shall pick out the notable motifs of the holiday (I use the term "holiday" very loosely). The Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-39317911227548016392022-08-30T09:15:00.001+01:002022-08-31T00:58:50.348+01:00Harriet Worth goes to France: a tragi-comic mash up of human error and force majeureSource: British Comedy ClubFor any non-UK readers, or any UK readers not of a certain age, say, my adopted - and adapted - moniker in the title of "Harriet Worth" is explained here. So...nine months on from my last (very chilly!) trip to my house in the "not quite the Dordogne", I made it back there this month, albeit not without incident.It started with a horrible journey Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-61759698654172818052022-08-16T22:20:00.005+01:002022-08-17T14:02:08.074+01:00"SCENT and all about it" by H Stanley Redgrove: an olfactory Oxfam find Are you one of those people who enjoys cruising the shelves of charity shops in between bursts of "proper shopping", in the knowledge that a bargain find of a £2 jug or a £3 pair of shoes will be a surefire way to give yourself a little lift? I am that charity shop cruising soldier, and even if nothing else turns up, there are invariably a few paperbacks that come home with me on any given Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-67867254842198124622022-08-02T00:29:00.004+01:002022-08-20T18:24:31.862+01:00"The Liz Declension": meeting perfumer Eliza Douglas in an English country gardenI have been having a lot of bother with my neighbours lately: by which I mean more bother than usual, which is already quite a lot. This week saw them nearly set their kitchen on fire by deliberately leaving butter in a hot oven as a prank, hard on the heels of a toaster fire last week, and a broken kitchen tap caused by a botched dousing attempt. A bottle was later thrown out of an upstairs Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-18904313569410827462022-07-21T19:16:00.013+01:002022-07-22T10:31:00.594+01:00Not A Clockwork Orange or spider's legs effect, but not quite nothing either: Uklash Eyelash Serum review As I have got older, I have become more and more dissatisfied with my appearance. Where to start? The lack of definition round my jawline (aka flapping jowls), the creeping grey that I try in vain to pass off as "elective silver", the nasolabial folds that look more or less gouged depending on factors I have yet to fathom, my sparse eyebrows and lashes, dry eyes, crepey, hooded eyelids, andVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026359168982468373.post-8761215712742476892022-07-08T15:30:00.003+01:002022-07-16T21:37:28.658+01:00Musings on LUSH Lord of Misrule, and a big shout out to Tiny FragrancesEngraving by George Cruikshank via Wikimedia CommonsSorry I have been missing in action for nearly a month...I have been surprisingly busy caring for other people's pets and gardens, the lush vegetation in one of which has inspired me to write another post entirely, but for the moment I would like to talk about the other LUSH, as in the capitalised perfume house formerly known as Gorilla PerfumesVanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847145282522572183noreply@blogger.com8