überlin

[EDIT: this competition is now closed. Click here to see if we’re running any open competitions] 

Smells like Valentine’s Day! For this annual celebration of all things sexay, we’ve teamed up with Frau Tonis Parfum to give one lucky reader a sniff of true love. The Berlin boutique has given us a gift box of three individual scents which, when combined, make up the überlin Eau de Perfume we created last year. The beautiful set contains Tulip, Larissa (“warm, oriental, intense”) and Seigneur, a spring scent comprised of nutmeg, violet, vanilla and leather. Worn separately, or together as a light unisex fragrance, they pretty much guarantee you’re going to get some this V-Day!

To make sure you’re really ready for lurve, we want to check you have your best chat-up lines handy. Just write your favourite pick-up line in the comments below, and if it makes us think twice about going home with you, we’ll give you a perfume gift set worth €33. To get you started, here’s our Sexpat Lucy’s favourite line:

Do you work at Subway? Because you’re giving me a footlong.

HOW TO WIN A FRAU TONIS PARFUM GIFT BOX:

Just leave a comment below, with your favourite chat-up/pick-up line.

You have until 6pm on Wednesday 13th February, to enter. Good luck!

The Boring Bit (yawn, RULES):

1. You must be 18 years or older to enter.
2. Friends and family of überlin are welcome to enter. We aren’t biased – just like in real life, the person with the best line wins!
3. We will announced the winner via our Facebook page on Valentine’s Day, Thursday 14th February.

We’re happy to present überlin Eau de Perfume, now available from Frau Tonis Parfum!

We were a little intimidated when the luxury perfumery invited us into their Berlin boutique to create a unique scent of our own. After all, we had never done anything like this before, and our idea to capture the fragrance of this fair Stadt evaporated when we found out what you think Berlin smells like! But even though I had to be asked to get rid of my cherry Hubba Bubba (so common!), we were soon having fun and learning a surprising amount.

Following the instructions of our friendly, expert host Jenny, we started picking out perfumes that could be combined to form our scent. We sampled each of the forty or so essences in turn, working up from subtle citrus or floral fragrances towards stronger spicy and woody aromas, resetting our noses’ “palettes” every so often by sniffing (mmm) coffee beans. When we had a shortlist of six, Jenny presented us with combinations that might appeal to our now finely-tuned sense of smell.

We’re really pleased with the end result: a light unisex fragrance that we both can wear. We used tulip (which Italians apparently consider a masculine scent) as the opener for a base combination of Larissa (“warm, oriental, intense”) and Seigneur, a new spring scent comprised of nutmeg, violet, vanilla and leather. If you like the sound of that, you can buy überlin from Frau Tonis Parfum – just ask for it by name when you speak to them.

And if you want to create a fragrance of your own, we totally recommend the experience. The beautiful Frau Tonis boutique is just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie, which makes it the perfect diversion for anyone who’s had enough of Berlin’s tourist spots and wants to take away a unique, luxurious souvenir.

Smell you later!