Bonkers about Perfume

It is ages since I last wrote a post in the Frantic Antics series - namely this sorry tale about my brush with the arcane postal service in Slovenia, back when swapping and RAOKs were a big part of the international perfume scene.

** Eventually...feel free to scroll on down past the "missing in action" preamble to the review itself...This must be the all-time longest hiatus in the history of Bonkers about Perfume.

More unread books on here!

I have been blitzing my Christmas cards this week, and while writing them I re-read a handful from last year where the sender had included a long message on the card or in a separate letter.

Source: Wikimedia Commons ~ Bekstet (author)Topic advisory: I promise this post is not remotely anti-religious, but it does contain coverage of "dermatological derangement" against a backdrop of ecclesiastical turmoil.Back in 2016 I wrote a post on a coup…

Back in February 2023, I wrote a post about my donation of a 1960s bottle of Madame Rochas to Mike O'Shaughnessy, a senior lecturer in Graphic Design and Illustration at John Moores University, who is also passionate about fragrance.

Linda PilkingtonWhen I first fell down the perfume rabbit hole in 2008, I started sampling designer brands by buying carded samples on eBay, and it wasn't long before I discovered Jo Malone, which acted as a gateway brand - or "back of the wardrobe" brand,

The Blind Girl by John Everett MillaisBack in October, a neighbour kindly tipped me off about an exhibition starting that month at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Edgbaston.

Two of the many tsundokus fighting for my future attentionIn 2009 I read five books all year; in 2024 I read 55!

Fraser Island by David Stanley (Nanaimo, Canada) via Wikimedia Commons It's been over a month since my last post, though there has been the Christmas runaround to contend with, plus it took me several weeks at least to come up with that title.

It's been a long time since I last wrote about a hair care product on Bonkers, but my recent quest to find something to give my fine, limp hair a bit of a lift in the crown may be of interest to any other seekers of volume, oomph, or anything vaguely rese…

Source: weddingfactorydirect.comIf you had told me back in October 2009 that I would still be writing blog posts 15 years on, perfume-themed or otherwise, I would not have believed you.

I have nearly finished reading a book by Hannah Jane Parkinson called "The Joy of Small Things", a collection of her columns of the same name for The Guardian, which were inspired in turn by J B Priestley's "Delight" - a book with which I am not familiar,…

Long term readers (or any Instagram followers) may recall that I am prone to several kinds of dermatitis: mainly the allergic and irritant contact variety, about which I have done a few posts, most notably - and graphically!

It has been a while since my Epona review, which is now on sale for those anxious to try it!

Last week marked the 10th anniversary of Papillon Perfumery, the artisanal brand founded by elegant epicurean earth mother Liz Moores - whose birthday is today in fact!

Ceramic bowl by saskiarigby.comAs any Instagram followers may be aware, my profile blurb there reads: "Perfume blogger and industrial market researcher, prone to occasional bouts of travel writing, mindless knitting, and several kinds of dermatitis."

Longer term readers may recall my account of first getting the keys to my French house in the depths of winter in early 2019.

Photo courtesy of NSorry for the longer than usual gap between posts - I have managed a monthly frequency for a while now, but I have been slightly distracted by another round of health investigations(!).

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.

Today is the 25th anniversary of my mother's death.

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.

1999 was a challenging year for me.

Source: 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.

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

The winsome Post Office!