Penhaligon's Gardenia - My New Favourite Perfume

I don't know where to begin with this post. I feel like I have SO much to say about Penhaligon & their amazing Gardenia perfume, but I'll try not to ramble on ^.^

From the first time I saw a Penhaligon's store, I was captivated by just about everything in the store; from its beautiful displays, its traditional perfumes, the originality... I was entranced.

Founded in 1870 in Mayfair, Penhaligon still sells original compositions from that date. It has other compositions on future dates such as 1872, 1902, 1927, 1930, 1949 all the way to (currently) 2009 !
I like the fact that the interior of the store and the design of its bottles stayed old fashioned, as they were. Preserved through time.

I knew that one day I definitely will be getting a Penhaligon perfume. I smelt so many of their perfumes. Most of them are mature, some are very strong and all of them are completely unique in their own way.
But when I tried Gardenia, it was like magic created - like a genie appearing from a lamp; almost like I was transported to a mystical surreal garden.
It caught me by that big of a surprise that the first time I sprayed it on two years ago, I kept bugging a friend of mine to smell it continuously and couldn't stop talking about how wonderful and unique it smells.
It's absolutely spell-bounding...
With a price tag of £98, this was way out of my range. As much as I wanted it, I couldn't allow myself to spend that much!

So I was so excited when I got this as a present. I immediately pushed all my collection of perfumes further back on my shelf and put Gardenia right at the front in its box.

It has become my favourite perfume.
The more I smell it, the more I discover something about it and I like it more and more.

Gardenia was launched in 1976. This is one perfume that I have a hard time describing (I tried to think about exactly how to describe it before this post, but couldn't come up with suitable descriptions), so I have taken most of its descriptions from Penhaligon's site. It's very unique, complex...truly one of a kind.

Its composition is the following:

Head Notes
Violet, Rhubarb, Bergamot, Hyacinth, Magnolia, Green Leaves

Heart Notes
Gardenia, Rose, Ylang, Orange Blossom, Tuberose, Jasmine, Clove, Cinnamon, Lily of the Valley

Base Notes
Benzoin, Sandalwood, Musk, Vanilla

One of the most striking and amazing thing is that you can make out each and every one of these notes when you smell Gardenia. They're all distinguisable, something that, I think, is very rare. I also like the high composition of Jasmine in it.

Penhaligon notes:

Our fine fragrances are made in England using the finest rare ingredients; from hand-squeezed bergamot, to jasmine at twice the price of gold. Our signature Penhaligon’s fragrance bottle is to William Penhaligon's original design: clear glass with a distinctive ribbon-wrapped top.

Inside Penhaligon. I captured these pictures to show you how one of their stores look like. I admire the timeless designs and bottles of perfumes...

Even their wrapping paper is amazing (yes. I kept it haha!)

Washington Hotel - Mayfair

The Washington Hotel at Mayfair was a cosy, wonderful place to feel at home in...

The room was well lit, the decorations were minimal and neutral. I'm liking the balance of how the room was set up.

See it for yourself in this mini room tour ^.^! Luckily, I happened to stay there during my weekend...

The cosy double bed was neatly arranged.

The wallpapers were pretty! The patterned design blended in so well with the neutral light brown colour and the plainest paintings were hung on the wall so as to keep the room's scene balanced.

Above the headboard was a simple circle art. I like having circle shaped items in the room because it reminds me of a rounded balanced feeling - like some kind of unity (know what I mean? =P I guess almost like a marriage ring being round, a 'perfect' circle.... harmony).

The mini balcony overlooked the gym on the opposite road.

Afternoon tea at the side table.

Offering some teas & coffees ...

The bathroom was very clean, shiny & just magnificent!

Absolutely like the presentation of these....!

My clutch bag bearing the Burj Khalifa symbol. I got this from Dubai =P and it's my favourite clutch. The colour doesn't show too well - it's grey.

The scene outside the balcony at night...

' Let it Snow....Let it Snow.... ,

Snow fell expectedly this week, creating a white blanket all over the country. What I like about snow is, it almost makes everything look equal. It makes me think of how, for this one instance, almost everything is dressed in the same white canvas, as if reminding us, we're all in the same home under one roof. It creates a sense of togetherness and wonder.

Did you know : Snow is made up of many many fragile tiny symmetrical snowflakes. Almost each one of them is perfectly symmetrical - which makes it even more beautiful knowing this...

Read more about the chemistry of snowflake here - you'll learn a few intriguing things =P.

Surrey was greeted with heavy snow on Tuesday this week.

The day after it was reported 4-7 inches of snow fell in that region! Unfortunately, I couldn't make my way there to capture more pictures.

I can't stop feeling anything but mesmerised watching trees gracefully carrying snow on their branches.

This came out blurry but I had to put this here because it's one of my favourite pictures taken.

Festive trees!

The best picture I was able to capture.

London welcomed heavy snowfall the next day....!

A children's playground.

A festive hut by the riverside.

One of the Xmas huts by the riverside selling knits. Looking cosy..... I can imagine working there sipping a hot chocolate...

Choosing some Ear muffs =P - I got 2 ear muffs from here.

Ear muffs are a must have accessory this winter! Very cold ears can hurt... so unless you have a hoody, a thick scarf or a snood, invest in some fluffy ear muffs for this winter and future ones to come by.
3 of my ear muffs are featured below.

More festive huts aligned alongside the river Thames.

These apples were delicious but costly... so as a one-off treat =P I say... go for it!

Picnic in the snow? ^.^

Or maybe some coffee overlooking the riverside?

Glimpse of a park covered in snow.

Covent Garden was greeted with snow...

And that's all about it! Hope you enjoyed browsing through those pictures!