A Resounding Yes for Yosh

The BFF (Katie) and I recently decided to attend Sniffapalooza in NYC. What is Sniffapalooza, you ask? Only the most intense fragrance event I have ever attended. We went to the fragrance counters at Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman, Takashimaya and bluemercury to sniff, smell and otherwise destroy our olfactory senses with more fragrances than I've ever smelled at one time in my life. And of everything we experienced that day, one of our favorite perfumers was Yosh Han.

This absolutely fantastic perfumer has been making perfumes since 1994, and her early years (her mother is a trained Ikebana master -- which is the art of Japanese flower arranging -- and she was raised using Oriental medicine) influenced her love for flowers and herbs. But what I find most intriguing about Yosh is the fact that she believes in "fragrance as feeling" ... that the overall experience of smelling fragrances should fascinate the mind and enchant the soul.

To that end, Yosh has created the Luxury Elements Collection, a full wardrobe of six perfumes that are all alcohol-free and combine the art of perfumery with aromachology (the therapeutic properties of essential oils). In addition, the fragrances have numerical footnotes. The first number refers to the fragrance family (flora, fruity, citrus, green, woody, herbaceous, spicy, resinous, ethereal), while the second number relates to chakras and the third number has been derived using numerology. Each is deliciously seductive and sultry, and I totally loved how they were presented during Sniffapalooza -- Yosh had each fragrance in its own wineglass, which provided such an optimal and original sniffing experience. This fabulous collection includes the following fragrances:

Sottile 1.61: Notes of tea rose and lily of the valley create a subtle-yet-sweet, sentimental, beautifully simple fragrance. Quite fitting, as "sottile" is the Italian word for subtle!

White Flowers 1.41: A gorgeous bouquet of white flowers abounds within this fragrance -- jasmin sambac, night blooming jasmin, violet, sweet pea, freesia, tea rose, rose maroc, gardenia soft, lily of the valley, soft lilac, Egyptian tuberose, Siberian fir, narcissus and pettitgrain swish together to create a feeling of eternal love and delicate sophistication.

U4EAHH! 2.43: An air of soothing, blissful euphoria wafts from this bottle, which combines notes of pomegranate, aloe vera, cucumber, pear and waterlily.

Ginger Ciao 2.27: Yosh describes this fragrance as "the bewitching heroine of a modern novella: charismatic, daring and scintillating." Notes of black coconut, night queen, tiger lily, neroli, ylang ylang, ginger and basil are so delectably seductive.

Stargazer 7.71: This is my absolute favorite of the bunch. This fragrance is fresh and green, with notes of Kenya lily and white ginger that evoke the feeling of watching shooting stars during the summer.

Omniscient 0.96: A truly versatile scent, this fragrance includes notes of gardenia, Egyptian tuberose, fig, lilac, violet, kush, Tunisian opium, sandalwood, vanilla, basil, clove and geranium. A splash of pink pepper creates a light, ethereal feeling.

Sweet Suite: If you simply can't choose which fragrance is for you, why not indulge in this concoction -- a sampling of all six fragrances awaits!

For more information on these fragrances and where to buy, visit Yosh's website. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!