Give aways and goodies

I am in the book. And a draw

(The draw is closed: Thank you to all of you who participated)!
Many, many years ago, when I was young(er), with little money but a dream to discover the world, I was exploring India.  I still have the same dream to explore the world today, not tremendously more money, but a few more years on my back. Thus, today, I am travelling with suitcases. Back then, we actually travelled to India twice, 23 years ago, with a big back pack, a thin purse, and an Indrail pass that allowed us to take every train in the subcontinent and so we did. We travelled north and west and east and south. We have seen a lot and experienced even more. It was a time when there was no internet on the go, when you had to queue for a telefone, and when India was just about to get ready to make a jump, a big jump forward.

And we had a book (no tripadvisor.com, booking.com or alike): The Lonely Planet guide to India. Feel free to call it the bible. Everything was in there, with hints and no-go’s and does and don’ts.

Towards the end of the first journey, we decided to settle for a few days on the coast of Goa and so we did. Arriving in a town, without a name in my memory, there was a former military guy who ran a hotel. We knew him before getting there, and all about the simple hotel and how nice it was said to be: Thanks to the bible. Getting out of our means of transport to Goa, we got catapulted into a sea of people offering everything from food to rikscha transport to whatever. There he stood. He was tall and like the statue of liberty he raised the India travel bible into the sun. “I am in the book”, he said, and we knew where we would enjoy the Indian ocean for the next few days. That was 23 years ago. I wonder whether he still stands there.

These days, I am in the book.

The book is: LE SNOB. PERFUME. By Dariush Alavi, published in 2012 by Hardie Grant Books. Available right now on Amazon in the UK, a German translation on the German Amazon site, and soon in the US. (ISBN 978-174270468-5).

I am in the book, got a page where I speak a few “words from the wise” (flattering, I know….), and got two reviews for scents originating from my perfumery kitchen. Thus, I won’t discuss the many perfume reviews that you find in the book. They are nice, concise and a perfect starting point to explore the wonders of perfumes these days. In a time where we are offered many, many scents on a daily basis, this book indeed opens the door by offering a selection of fragrances that are worth looking into. Of course, not everything is in there. But it for sure is a great starting point, and the selection is a good read for the connaisseur of fragrances, too. The book fits into your jacket pocket (almost), comes in a cool color, with a neat ribbon, a nice print quality and LOVELY illustrations, mostly of flacons, by Tonwen Jones. I particularly love these flacon illustrations.

I ordered the book (it is quite affordable) and got an extra copy, and wanted to make this draw with my extra copy. But Dariush had a better idea. He, the author of this lovely guide, will actually personally sign an English copy for the winner of this draw. This is quite special and my heartfelt thanks to Dariush Alavi for this.  Thus, the winner gets a signed copy. The book will ship from the UK and I wish you all good luck.

What do you have to do: Leave a comment here on this blog and tell me what is, in your humble opinion, the nicest, coolest, most memorable or just most adorable perfume flacon. (my flacons excluded)

If you do not have a particular flacon you like: Just say hello.

I will pick a happy winner by using random.org. , by November 4, and inform you , the winner of the prize, by email. Thus, make sure that your email is correct. A privacy statement to end this post: I will not collect, use, nor forward your data. You will not be entered in any newsletter or alike. I will only use your email to contact you if you won. By submitting your comment, you allow me using your email for this and only for this purpose.

Good luck and happy reading.

(5. November 2012: The draw is closed. The happy winner will be contacted by email by me. Thank you to all of you who participated).