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Blackberry Hotel

I love staying in hotels. Always have, since I was a little kid. Doesn’t matter where it is – I’ve stayed at the uber-fabulous, four-star Gritti Palace in Venice, Italy and the spartan, no-star Camelot Motor Inn in Cape May, NJ – and I get the same sense of excitement when I walk into the lobby for the first time.

Here we were on Fourth of July weekend, at yet another Courtyard by Marriott. I knew what to expect – I could describe the surroundings to you blindfolded. I closed my eyes and visualized the usual pedestrian earth tones of terra cotta, deep Indian red, tangerine and chocolate brown to compliment the faux-adobe stylized lobby. Accents of huge earthenware vases with spindly, sad pussy willows sticking out of them. A fake fireplace with brass kokopelli figurines dancing across the mantel. And an overwhelming aroma of cloyingly sweet citrus-cinnamon potpourri, so strong and pungent that my eyes would begin to tear as soon as we crossed the threshold.

But as the automatic doors flung open and we rolled our luggage in, my nostrils immediately perked up and stood at attention. What a lovely, familiar smell! I stopped, inhaled. Yes… that was blackberry… and musk. My sensory memory kicked in without missing a beat. Our hotel smelled like L’Artisan Parfumeur Mure et Musc, one of my favorite fragrances! Or was it more like Trish McEvoy No. 9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk, in the cool triangular bottle? No, it was definitely the L’Artisan! And I couldn’t be happier… because at least for the weekend, I was living in a perfume bottle.

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Coming Attractions

What’s better than traveling the world and exploring all the sights, sounds and scents that different cultures have to offer? Traveling with Sniffapalooza! In previous years we’ve journeyed to Paris, Florence, London and Grasse with small, intimate groups of fragrance enthusiasts from around the globe. We travel in special Sniffapalooza style, with insider visits not available to the average tourist. We fill our days with behind-the-scenes visits to fragrance factories and laboratories, perfumeries, raw materials houses, flower fields, unique shops and boutiques, all the while receiving an unparalleled education in our favorite subject!

This year, Barcelona is our destination! We’ll be traveling from Saturday, November 5 – Saturday, November 12, 2011, and we’d love to have you join us!

And please be sure to mark your calendar for Sniffapalooza Fall Ball in NYC, which will take place on Saturday, October 22 – Sunday, October 23, 2011. Join our Mailing List for full details!

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Just Showered

Step out of the shower on a sweltering day and even the steamiest bathroom air feels deliciously chilly on damp skin. As the summer days heat up, fragrances that help recreate that just stepped out of the shower feeling are very compelling. Clean scents linger softly during the day.  The hint of delicate soap whispers cooling memories.

Penhaligons Castile is the quintessential classic soap scent, with notes of neroli, petitgrain, bergamot, orange blossom, rose, woods and musk.  CB I Hate Perfume lets you choose from five different varieties of soap – Musky, Pine Tar, White, Tabac, and Plain Old. Philosophy Pure Grace claims to be simple soap & water, while Gendarme Carriere adds jasmine & lilac. And then there’s Bobbi Brown Almost Bare, reminiscent of a certain hair smells terrific shampoo. But that’s a whole other blog post.