Pia Pedersen

Always in my heart Apart from smelling amazing, this scent is also from the same year as my son was born. I therefore treasure it heavily. I did not meet Accenti before 2003, though, when I went on a vacation to Florence. One of the cities on my ‘to visit’-list at that time. Now on my ‘to visit again’-list. This city is full of historic places, and having just a weekend I had to be pickish with my choices. My first priority was to go to the Uffizi Gallery, but when I arrived, there was a sign stating that the waiting time was two hours for visitors, who had ordered tickets in advance. For others - four hours. I decided not to spend so much precious time of my short vacation on standing in line. Instead I went for a stroll down the narrow, curvy alleys, heading for the Dome, Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore. While walking and knowing that the oldest perfume shop in Europe is located in Florence, I thought that maybe this would be something to do instead of looking at art. Going on a perfume shop hunt. I had an example of ‘The trip goes to Florence’ in my hand - this was before the smartphones - and started my journey looking at the map of the inner city. It was a wonderful walk. And in one of these small streets without cars I found a small ‘Profumo & Pharmaceutica’. I went in and was greeted by the most friendly and service minded person ever. She did not speak more than two words of English and my Italian was limited to ‘Mille Grazie’ but it did not matter. I told her I was looking for a new scent - ‘nova profumo’, I think I said, and we ended up spending two hours trying scents and having a blast. She kept saying ‘good?’ and I kept saying no or yes. Finally I ended up buying Accenti. When I left the shop, I had forgotten all about the Lady of the Flower’s beautiful church. I went there the next day. Accenti has a special place in my memory, my nose and my heart. It has made it to my top 20. For some years it was my signature scent. It is a marvelous perfume, powerful and unique. I love the way it keeps changing, sometimes it is the rose, sometimes the peach, sometimes the jasmine in front. It reminds me of this particular trip to Florence, this pocket of time in which I walked around the beautiful city and felt the breeze of history. Accenti has an Italian feeling to it. Thank you, Dominique Ropion, for making this.

Perfect for a wedding This fragrance is one of the best florals I have ever encountered and it is in my personal top20. I simply find this one of the best scents of all times. Period. Olivier Cresp, who is the nose behind indisputable successes such as Kenzo Amour, D&G Light Blue and Mugler’s Angel, has created this miracle in 2001, and I was so lucky to come by it by accident. I was on a ferry to Germany and had decided to buy another perfume, and on the counter was this scent. I immediately liked the bottle and the clerk encouraged me to try it out. And there I fell in love. I bought it and I have been in love with it ever since. I am half way through my third bottle, 25ml, and it is not for sale anymore. I have two minis as well, but I know that one day I will be looking for it on ebay. The scent is a soft, powdery and floral blend. It does not change a lot during the 7-8 hours it lasts on my skin. But the fact is that I do not want it change, because it is perfect just the way it is from the beginning. Rose and peony are the most dominating notes but frankincense and sandalwood become louder in the last couple of hours. The bottle is smooth in your hand. It has a golden top with a matte surface and a black string detail. I like the minimalistic expression and think it suits the scent so well. The fact that they used the Danish model, Helena Christensen as the face in the ad makes me proud being a Dane. As I mentioned longevity is around 8 hours, and sillage is good. You can wear this scent everywhere and at all times, since this is not a ‘loud’ scent. I get compliments when I wear this. If I were ever to be married, this would be the perfume I would wear.

Longer, slower, deeper The beginning of this is quite different from the EdP. The bergamot is very intense and for the first fifteen to thirty minutes I cannot help wondering if it really is an extrait of the famous Shalimar. Both EdP and EdT are much quicker to get to the heart with the delicate spicy-powdery expression. Shalimar Extrait tends to dwell on the fruity aspect and is in no hurry. Then the other well known notes begins to show, but it is still a different experience. Extrait is deeper, like the dwelling Bergamot in the beginning tunes your nose to station ‘not quite Shalimar’. The music played here is slower, the tracks are longer and the music hits deeper in your heart. Somehow, Extrait seems rounder. More gentle. Perhaps even more balanced. I am very familiar with the EdT and EdP and it is great to experience that the Extrait something completely different with the same notes. Amazing