Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Giveaway: Aftelier Ancient Resins Body Oil & Hair Elixir


Today was my birthday and one lucky reader is getting a fabulous gift!

First, thank you for all the wonderful messages and well-wishes here, on Facebook, and by email. I took a much-needed day off and thoroughly enjoyed myself. There was great food, perfume, shopping, and cuddling with kittens. As a last act of celebrating perfumer Mandy Aftel and I are holding a prize draw for one of the most luxurious body products on the market: Aftelier Ancient Resins Body Oil & Hair Elixir.

Ancient Resins was originally created for Leonard Cohen, a fact that by itself thrills me to no end. Leonard Cohen is such an important part of my cultural and emotional makeup-- the music, lyrics, and memories.



To be entered you need to be a US resident, 18 years of age or older and leave a comment here and tell us  about a fragrance that  is linked in your mind to a song, a musical piece or a musician. Or if you can't think of any, just tell us which Leonard Cohen song is your favorite.

Winner will be announced either Sunday night or Monday morning.

Artwork by Leonard Cohen, courtesy of Mandy Aftel

62 comments:

  1. Wow, what a draw. Firstly, happy birthday -and many more! Favorite Cohen song? Too many to choose just one: Tower of Song, Ten New Songs - all of them, Hallelujah, of course. If I had to link a perfume to his music, I'd say Tauer's Orris. Thank you for this special draw! Rachel H.

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  2. happy birthday to a fellow scorpio and cat lover. Bob is beautiful and yes, orange cats are special (i know, i have six--four boys and two girls. they are all fabulous!). i'm sure he'll be a rewarding addition to your family. and bob is a great name--a word (both verb and noun!) and a palindrome. very special!!

    i'm new to perfume stuff, and to leonard cohen. can't say which of his songs is my favorite, but if i have to choose one, i will choose everybody knows. very topical.

    catlady

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  3. Famous blue raincoat!
    Thanks for the draw!

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  4. I'm going to be completely unoriginal and say Hallelujah, because that's the only song of his I really like. I admire his creativity, but his songs are mostly not to my taste.

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  5. Happy Birthday! My favorite Leonard Cohen song is "Suzanne." My parents were huge Judy Collins fans, and I heard her version a lot as a child. Something about it has always captured my imagination, although I suppose I could say that about many Leonard Cohen songs. Thank you both for the giveaway.

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  6. I'm going to have to go with Dance Me to the End of Love. Happy birthday!

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  7. Happy B-day, Gaia! And thanks to you and Mandy for the draw.

    That's an interesting concept...tying perfume to music. I don't have a scents that connect me to music but I'll have to think about that now. My favorite Leonard Cohen song would have to be "Suzanne".

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  8. Anahita says:
    Every since I was a child, I would go to India during the winter holidays and I always remember the Mullahs calling all of the Muslims to prayer and the air would be redolent with incense and spices. The closest fragrance that reminds me of that scent is Guerlain's Desert Rose. Everytime, I take a sniff I am transported back to my childhood and those vacations. I loved the fact that my family was all together.
    [email protected]

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  9. Hard to choose a favorite Leonard Cohen song. There are so many I love. Right now, however, the one that really gets to me is Dance Me to the End of Time.

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  10. Many, MANY years ago, I attended a concert with my Aunt- who introduced me to Chanel No5. My Aunt presented me with my own small bottle of parfume as this was a FRANK SINATRA performance, and you absolutely had to go see Frank dressed to the nines! I recall all the ladies in fur and long dresses. I recall wearing my lonnnnng red Maxi coat and feeling so grown up! I still to this day wear No5, along with just a few other scents. But my love of Chanel is forever rooted in that message of wearing perfume for your "Man".

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  11. Favorite Leonard Cohen song is "hallelujah" because it was my initial introduction to his music. I sat and wracked my brain about songs I associate with music and was surprised that there weren't any. I associate fragrance with colors and moods and fabrics but not music. Thank you for this wonderful draw!

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  12. I associate Avignon with both the music of mass and the musician Morrissey.

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  13. Happy birthday to you! Of course I have to say Hallelujah -- it's absolutely beautiful.

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  14. Happy Birthday Gaia; I hope you enjoy a wonderful day and many happy returns. Leonard Cohen has always been a favourite of mine, I could not tell you which is my favoured song; he is so talented. I recently saw a concert with him and I would love to have had a copy of the whole thing. Wonderful post today!

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  15. I think of Frank Sinatra when I smell or wear Youth Dew. When I was a child in the late fifties/early sixties, I remember going into our small-town department store and loving the scent one of the beautiful ladies who worked there wore. I asked and found out that it was Youth Dew. The soft background music that always played in that store included many by Mr. Sinatra, hence the association. Had meant to write earlier to comiserate about your beloved cat. My husband and I used to have as many as ten, but now only have our precious three, all of which are getting up in years. Hope your Bob is helping you heal, and that your recent cold is much better.

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  16. Happy Birthday!! What a generous thing to do to give on "YOUR" day! My favorite Leonard Cohen song hands down is Hallelujah. Its a classic & an emotional piece of music to me. Great Song! I actually dont associate fragrance to a song but reference it to places, thing or person. Hope your day is fabulous you deserve it!

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  17. I recent was introduced to the Dance Me to the End of TIme video. It's perfection.

    I once had a musician boyfriend and he word Habit Rouge. I smell that scent and hear the strum of a guitar.

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  18. I'd read on MA's website that the Ancient Resins Oil was created for Leonard Cohen and like you I was thrilled! :) I've been wanting to try it since. My favorite LC song is Famous Blue Raincoat.

    Happy birthday, by the way! I hope it was a lovely one.

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  19. Happy Birthday! I'll forever associate Amouage Lyric Man with Brian Eno's Emerald and Lime.I listened to the song over and over on a long car ride as I was exploring my Lyric sample.Also the bitter greenness of the perfume and the song title match exactly.Also my favorite Leonard Cohen song is Everybody Knows.Thanks for the draw!

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  20. My all-time favorite Leonard Cohen song is "Everybody Knows" or, as I call it, the cynics anthem. Wonderful lyrics and perfect for when you are feeling grumpy with the world. I adore Leonard Cohen!

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  21. My favorite Leonard's song is definitely "Suzanne". And Happy birthday! :)

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  22. Belated happy birthday! Aftelier products get so much praise on the blogs that I'd love to try this. The only fragrance I relate to music is Revlon's Jontue - thinking about it, I can still see the romantic commercial and the piano theme associated with it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQCqJg1BZn8). I also loved the diaphonous dress and the horses!

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  23. Happy Birthday indeed! My first comment, but, any opportunity to write "Leonard Cohen"... My favorite is The Stranger Song, followed closely by Bird on a Wire, which is sort of the anthem for my life. I've seen him live numerous times over the last 30 years or so, and he's always amazing. I don't read many beauty blogs, but always enjoy yours... plus, I enjoy the Northern NJ connection, since I live there as well. The only scent that holds particular memory for me is the original YSL Opium, because it fixes in my mind a particular time of my life. Thanks for the posts, and Happy Birthday!

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  24. Time for smaltz! Coty had a group of `country` scents in jug-style bottles; I have !STILL! the Lilac one - and John Denver`s ``Take Me Home, Country Roads`` always pops into my mind! :-) Glad you had a restful birthday - MANY more to come!! :-) :-)

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  25. Happy Birthday!
    I associate the song 'Christmastime Is Here' from the Peanuts Christmas Special with Chanel No 5 eau de toilette. It marked the first time I received a gift from a boy and the holidays. I have a very soft spot in my heart for No 5 as a result.

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  26. Happy birthday!
    It's funny, I have a lot of memories I associate with music (mostly before I started wearing perfume regularly), but I can't come up with a perfume that I associate with music. So I'm going with the Leonard Cohen song "Everybody Knows."

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  27. "Everybody Knows" is my favorite, although there are many that come close :) I actually have a scent - one with lots of neroli and orange blossom absolute that I created myself to keep my spirits sunny during a long Montreal winter, and totally evocative of that time - so that scent is indirectly connected to Leonard Cohen through place....
    Happy Birthday!

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  28. That print Leonard Cohen hand-lettered for Mandy Aftel is gorgeous. What a treasure! I think my favorite Leonard Cohen song would have to be 'I'm Your Man'.

    The line "hyssop in your perfume" in My Curse by the Afghan Whigs (off Gentlemen 1993) always left me curious to experience a perfume prominently featuring hyssop, but it doesn't seem to be a very commonly used note? (I guess if anyone could point me in the right direction, it'd be you, Gaia!)

    (have a listen if you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v6g9N_qChw )

    I would be head over heels to win this giveaway, because I've desperately coveted Ancient Resins ever since hearing about the Leonard Cohen connection, and reviews/research have only deepened my need to have it in my life.

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    Replies
    1. Your question made me curious about hyssop. Wikipedia indicates that the Biblical hyssop is not the same as the plant referred to as hyssop in English (a medicinal herb from around the Caspian Sea), but rather ezov, which was probably either the wild oregano/thyme types of herbs used in za'atar, or possibly the caper plant. I wonder if Leonard Cohen was really thinking of an actual perfume or liked the idea of the word based on Biblical references to its use in purification. I'd love to know! nozknoz

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  29. Suzanne, she feeds you tea and oranges
    That come all the way from China

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  30. Happy Birthday! Perfume & Kittens!!! Yeah!
    Dance me to the end of time is a favorite and now I'm going to be thinking about scent & music the vocabulary that the two disciplines share - notes, accords, etc is as close as I've gotten to pairing the two I think.

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  31. Happy Birthday Gaia! A million years ago when I lived on the Left Bank and listened to Leonard Cohen on repeat, Opium and Miss Dior scented my garden. Loved Suzanne and Bird on a Wire, in those youthful moments.

    Sweet Pea, has joined Leopold and Leslie, on my sofa. She is a darling tortoise shell cat who came out of the woods asking for a home.

    Thank you for the lovely opportunity.

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  32. happy birthday, gaia! may you have many lovely, healthy returns of the year. (mine is tomorrow, yey!) you got to take the day off, but my boss wouldn't let me take mine off, grrrrrrr.... at least one of us scorpios/libras in-the-vedic-chart got to enjoy their freedom! sounds like you had a lovely day.

    i will forever link femme de rochas with classical piano music being played in the cloister of les jacobins in toulouse, france. don't know what the pieces were, but they were just beautiful on a misty autumn day, and were being broadcast on radio.

    leonard cohen songs? tower of song with u2 and in my secret life.

    cheers,
    minette

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  33. Happy Birthday! I associate CDG Avignon with Gregorian chants, does that count? Other than that, Most Precious, which I wore to the skating rink as a teen, makes me think of the Tennessee Waltz, which they played for "couples' skate". Thanks for the draw.

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  34. Happy B.D.! Had my big 50 on the 9th. Not what I thought it would be. I lost my husband the end of March and B day's will never be the same. He always took me to Seattle to get a bottle of perfume. But I have many lovely bottles and 32 years of memories. White Shoulders and Here comes the Bride, what I wore on my wedding day. :) Congrats on Bob! ~ Sylvia

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  35. For some unknown reason, the Barbra Striesand song " People" reminds me of Serge Lutens de Profundis. Such a hauntingly beautiful song AND scent. Thanks for the draw!!

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  36. Happy Birthday, Gaia. I have all kinds of favorite Leonard Cohen songs..."Sisters of Mercy"..."Bird on the Wire." Mostly, though, I associate "perfume and music" with the commercial jingles of my youth...such as, "I can't seem to forget her...Her Windsong stays on my mind."

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  37. Happy Birthday! Thanks for the great gift draw! For me, the first sniff of Josef Statkus transports me immediately to Christmas Eve midnight mass at the church on my college campus, and all the music - Joy to the World would always be the last song.

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  38. Hallelujah for sure! What a great draw, I have eyes this product many times and would love to try it out. Happy Happy Birthday and thanks for the generous draw!
    Ramona :)

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  39. Happiest of birthdays to you! A musical scent memory that I've always loved, though not linked to a specific musician, is the beautiful wood and resin smell of the old violin that I grew up playing. And as for a favorite song of Leonard's, there are so many, but Suzanne and Famous Blue Raincoat are two that stand out for me.

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  40. Happy Birthday. I would love to try the Ancient Resins oil. I've been lurking around on the Aftelier website for a while. I'm thinking of purchasing the saffron essence for my father for Christmas... but so many fun things to be had! So let's see... songs and fumes not linking for me today... but my favorite LC song is probably Bird on a Wire... but gosh, so many are in my DNA... Suzanne, Hallelujah....

    So, while I'm here... my kids enjoyed your Bob blog... my eldest, who lives for stray cats and would take in every last one... has red hair, so is especially drawn to ginger cats... and his name is Toby...

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  41. What an amazing giveaway! Suzanne is a darn near perfect song. Love it.

    XOXO and happy belated dear Gaia!

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  42. Happy belated birthday, Gaia! My very favorite memory of fragrance and music is my dad and his after shave. He loved classical music and every Sunday morning he would come home from Mass, put the Swan Lake album on the stereo and start cooking for dinner. I don't remember what the after shave was but he wore it for years. I miss him every single day. Thank you for the great giveaway, Therese

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  43. Happy Birthday to you! My favorite Leonard Cohen song isn't actually a Leonard Cohen song at all. It's a passage from his novel "Beautiful Losers" that was set to music by the Native Canadian folk singer Buffy Saint Marie. It's called "God is Alive, Magic is Afoot." Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8VOI0xVSV0

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  44. Happy Birthday - I wear Coco by Chanel almost all the time - I am know for my scent and its hard for me to stray away and I would associate that scent with any jazz or dance song of the moment - but Leonard Cohen is always a favorite and its so hard to pick just one

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  45. Happy Birthday! My favorite Leonard Cohen song is Hallelujah!

    volta2173 at sbcglobal dot net

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  46. Hey, That's no Way to Say Goodbye

    Happy birthday!

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  47. I can't think of a specific song, but I love jazz, and I think perfume is olfactory jazz. nozknoz

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  48. Happy birthday! Hands down, my favorite Cohen song is the swoony, romantic Dance Me to the End of Love. I also love Madeline Peyroux's Billie Holiday-esque version as well as the one done by The Civil Wars.

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  49. Portrait of a Lady makes me think at The Piano Soundtrack. I love none of them but I could picture Ada smelling like Portrait of a Lady. Happy birthday!

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  50. My favorite Leonard Cohen song is Lover, Lover, Lover. and happy happy birthday to you Gaia. To many more glamorous years to come!
    Thanks for this generous give away

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  51. Very happy birthday to you. The weather is perfect in NYC to celebrate your bday :)
    My favorite Leonard Cohen song must be Who by fire.
    Thanks for the giveaway

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  52. Epic Man by Amouage makes me think of Tristan and Isolde opera but mostly because of a very "tragic" night. My favorite song by Leonard Cohen is Avalanche.
    thanks and happy birthday!!!

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  53. Happy birthday! I love Leonard Cohen and my favorite song is Stranger song. Thanks to you and to Mandy for this give away

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  54. I'd have to say Who By Fire is a song that would make a great perfume. Thanks for the draw - been wanting to try this Elixir....R_UN

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  55. Happy belated birthday! This is so weird I don't believe I'm adding it, but Habanita always makes me think of "Consul at Sunset" by Jack Bruce. They're both sad, lush and Latin flavored. Favorite Leonard Cohen song? Famous Blue Raincoat.

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  56. My favorite song by Leonard Cohen is The Future. I've been curious about Mandy Aftel's fragrances after discovering that she worked on Clean Well's hand sanitizer.
    Happy birthday!

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  57. Happy Birthday--best wishes for a fragrant year ahead! I spent a summer doing musical theater in New England right out of college. I remember feeling so grown up wearing White Shoulders on stage in our Rodgers and Hart review. Now, whenever I hear My Funny Valentine, I think of that summer and that scent.

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  58. Happy (belated) birthday! My favorite Leonard Cohen song is "Suzanne" with "Sisters of Mercy" a close second. Many thanks for the great draw.

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  59. Happy Birthday and what a lovely gift for your readers! My favorite Leonard Cohen song is Everybody Knows".

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  60. I dont really associate any fragrance with a song, except maybe Calvin Klein's Obsession with that 80s song Obsession, but that is of course, because of the word play there. My favorite Leonard Cohen song would be really hard to chose....Who By Fire, Tower of Song, I'm Your Man, Suzanne, The Future are all contenders. Recenly saw him in concert.. .man is amazing!!! Id love to smell anything close to him

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  61. Happy birthday! I'd say my favorite song is "Dance Me to the End of Love".

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