For the love of water.

A Study in Water by Shelley Waddington of EnVoyage Perfumes

Dear reader:

I love water.

Seriously. And not in the "I'm athletic and water is the drink of life" kind of way. I mean in the "though I'm not into astrology, I am supposed to be a water sign and I do entirely freak out if I live too far from the ocean or go too many days without rain" kind of way. Seriously. My one year of residence in the high deserts of Santa Fe were miserable, and my loathing for Riverside was disproportionate because of the relentless sun. I even preferred Houston over Austin in part because Austin is too far from the ocean and the Lake is not prominent enough in the geography of the town to satisfy my tastes. FN1.

I am one of those people who literally prays for rain, and not because I am a dust bowl farmer or cattleman with a desperate herd. When I was young and they sent me to Girl Scout camp, while the other little girls were making lanyards and God's Eyes out of yarn and popsicle sticks, I sat in the corner, imagining I was a water witch, and trying to summon storms. The last year I went, I simultaneously 'became a woman' (FN2) and managed to bring a huge tropical storm down on us that washed out the road to the camp and closed it down for two weeks. Coincidence? Probably. But try telling that to an eleven-year-old.

So when I was approached to be part of the Primordial Scents Project a while ago, I immediately said yes. What's not to love? Elemental-themed perfumes for the water witch in my heart? Sign me up. While normally I despise aquatics, which is about what passes for 'water' in mainstream perfumery, I was deeply hopeful based on the amazing talents I saw involved in the project. I love a disproportionately large amount of beach/coast scents -- from Annick Goutal Songes to slumberhouse Sana to CB At the Beach 1966 to even a small bottle of Coty Sand & Sable -- but these are 'beach' scents or 'coast' scents, and what I wanted was the smell of water. I wanted the smell of rain, the smell of the ocean, of a lake, a river, a stream. You know those ridiculous face cleanser commercials where women splash water on themselves and half the bathroom as though that ever removed the smallest hint of make-up or soap?

I wanted that, but in a scent. And, as usual, the amazing men and women who traffic in the alchemic magic of perfumery did not disappoint.

First up: A Study in Water by Shelley Waddington of EnVoyage Perfumes

Study in Water was inspired by the element of fresh water. My goal in making this incredibly sheer, wet, and innocent fragrance was to retain the elegance, longevity and sillage of the most excellent of classic perfumes. ~Shelley Waddington

Top notes: muguet, lime, green apple, bergamot, dew
Heart notes: rose water, jasmine, green leaves, neroli, muguet
Base notes: sandalwood, guaiac wood, cabreuva, watery notes, musk

A Study in Water is ahhh-mazing. Do you hear me, reader? Amazing. Like I've almost used my entire sample in less than three weeks and I've already set aside money to buy a bottle before the end of October. That amazing. The first time I put it on, it was that startling slap of instant love for me. I thought, "I should hate this," but while my head said, "Aquatic - bleck!," my heart was like, "Shut it, foo! I WANT MORE!" It's gotten under my skin in the best way.

I'm not going to tell you it smells like a glass of water. In fact, I just sniffed a cup in front of me to make sure. And yet, it does smell like water. Like water dripping from the skin of an apple, from the tip of a flower petal, running down grooves in polished wood. It's water that has taken on the essence of the flowers, fruit and wood listed in the notes, until it seems like an infusion of dew along so those items. Of the five scents in the set, I found A Study in Water to have the highest sillage and duration on my skin.

I really can't say enough good things about this scent. If you like the smell of rain, of the first morning dew, or something that isn't quite, but somehow is the closest I've ever smelled to real water, this is for you. Truly masterful.

You can by A Study in Water for $55.00 for .5 oz, or $80.00 for 1 oz. direct from the perfumer. While I'm on the subject of EnVoyage Perfumes, this is my third or fourth scent of Shelley's, and she never disappoints. If you're newish to perfume or new to indie perfume or merely looking to branch out beyond your local Ulta/Sephora/Nordstrom offerings and into the web based wilds, I encourage you to consider sampling her line. She continues to hit it out of the park for me.

If you'd like to try the entire Primordials Water Set, it's available here for $25.00.

For more reviews of the primordial water scents, try: EauMG; The Perfume Critic; Fragrantica.

The water is wide, I cannot get o'er,
neither have I wings to fly.
Give me a boat that can carry two
and both shall row, my love and I...
~ "The Water is Wide," Traditional Irish Folk Song

____________________
FN1. This is partly why I thought I could handle life in Madison. The city is surrounded by water, it actually rains there, and the great lakes, while a lesser substitute (sorry, Hilary S., but it's true), were at least within a few hours driving distance.

FN2. ...which by the way was the worst, especially since this was a swimming camp, I was eleven, and the camp counselors -- all 16-18 y.o. teenage girls -- did not understand why I was terrified of the tampons they kept shoving in my general direction so I could just get back in the water...

I disappear in your name, but you must wait for me.

A little fiction, a birthday reflection, a giveaway, & a review of EnVoyage Perfumes Go Ask Alice

First: The Fiction

"It's tough being an Alice.

Being an Alice is about being something more. People think there's no magic in the naming of things, but those people are wrong. Plainly, dumbly wrong. Alice is more than a name. Being an Alice means something.

Some people call it a curse. Some people call it 'a touch of destiny.' Some think the name chooses you, because the universe can see the spark inside you. Some think it's the name that brings you to it, challenges you to greatness.

Me? I think asking that question is like asking what came first: the chicken or the egg? The darkness or the light? The music or the misery? 


There's no point in it. Am I an Alice because I rose to the occasion of the name, or was I christened Alice because, from the moment eyes fell on me, there was no denying that's what I was?

It doesn't matter. Either way, I am one of them. Another girl in the world, one of the strange motley army of Alices, each of us a destiny, a point of fiery potential energy burning against the bleak emptiness of time and space.

No, for me it's not so much a question being an Alice as much as it is, what kind? 


Even the plainest Alice isn't normal. She isn't average. She can't hide in the shadows or fly under the radar.  She's no wallflower or shrinking violet.  It's all there in the name. I say, you hear: Alice. Then world thinks what it wants of me: saint, sinner, madonna, whore. 


I'll never be just me. I'll always be an Alice, some extreme version of the self. The human imagination is obsessed with us, archetypically speaking. Drink me to be tall. Eat me to be small. Either way, I fall out of proportion, my dimensions at odds with the world around me.

Will I be a naive and inquisitive Alice, chasing rabbits? Will I singing songs with the mothering, mean, menacing flowers and be surprised by my own revolutionary acts? Will the powers of the world call for my seemingly none-too-bright head?

Alternately, there's psycho Alice, a more recently embraced archetype. Will I be blood-thirsty and wield kitchen cutlery like accessories, their blades agleam with the reflection of my wild eyes? Will I try be strong and fight against those that would abuse or harm me and, in turn, be thought of as callous, murderous, a fiend?

And still, there are more choices: 

•  Alice, the innocent, respectable and strangely silent in her woodcuts? She faces the unknown with her hands clasped demurely behind her back, as though she cannot forego the social grace demanded of her station enough to prepare for what might come next? 

• Alice, the increasingly lost sensualist, a strange girl led down a bad road by a confusing drug trip, an escapist lost too soon who is only trying to feed her own head? 

• Alice, the Lolita, too big for her tiny girl clothes and the object of inappropriately-aged lust and affection? The kind that inspires her own mythology more because of the perceived effect she has on a man than who she is as a person?

• Alice, the warrior, her hardness offset by the creature she holds, implying both protection and threat? Is she here to help the rabbit, or help herself to rabbit stew?

When you're an Alice, the world will tell you which roles you get to play. It doesn't matter that the only Alice you want to be is you. The name says everything. 

 So you tell me: who do I get to be today? You kidnapped me, stuck a bag over my head, dragged me here. Now you claim its just for an introduction, but you knew who I was when you came for me. You already knew everything there was to know.

After all,  you knew my name."




~ ~ ~

The Review: EnVoyage Perfumes Go Ask Alice EDP

First, to the perfume. Then to the ranting:

Go Ask Alice is a wonderful scent, particularly for the Spring days growing warmer here. If you like patchouli, I cannot imagine you won't like this scent. If you think you don't like patchouli (I didn't when I first got into perfume), I challenge you to try this one. I'm still a little on the shy side when it comes to the mean green patch, and consequently I sometimes weed out scents that list it as a strong note.  Go Ask Alice is a unusual take on patchouli and one that challenges (me, at least) to reconsider where a focus on patchouli might lead to scent love.  Go Ask Alice was also the first-place winner of the prestigious Martha’s Vineyard Islander’s Choice Award, so you can feel confident it's not just my nose that loves it!

Shelley Waddington, perfumer extraordinaire, describes Go Ask Alice as a "unisex oriental-amber."  Go Ask Alice "con-temporizes the theme of the 1967 Summer of Love, a time when young Americans protested the Vietnam War, sold flowers, smoked pot, and trailed clouds of patchouli, and raises it to the level of a classy, wearable, and versatile perfume.” 

It has top notes of California orange peel, bitter orange Caribe, bergamot from Calabria, Sri Lankan black pepper, and orange flower laced with fresh raspberry and strawberry; heart notes of patchouli leaf tincture, mimosa blossoms, and rose absolue; and base notes of vintage patchouli Sumatra, sandalwood deux, cocoa, vanille, tonka, labdanum Spain, balsam Peru France, and beach-washed ambergris.

What I like most about Go Ask Alice is that, thanks to the patchouli-centered event it was developed for, it isn't an overly sweet or spicy "oriental-amber." It smells of amber, sure, but it also manages to be fresh and green, mildly herbal, pretty and softly sweet. Though it is a unisex and could be worn well by anyone, I find it deeply feminine. Donna at Perfume-Smellin' Things called it "silky smooth" and I agree with that assessment. Moderate sillage, so it was work safe for me and go lasting strength (~6 hours.) You can get .5oz of the EDP for $45.00 or .25oz of the parfum for $65.00 direct from the perfumer.

The mood of the scent is intended to be one of "joyous adventure," and I can certainly say that Go Ask Alice makes me feel pretty damned happy when I smell it. And that's good, because it's been a tough, sad few weeks here at Camp Wienergard. FN1. Which brings me to Part 3 of this post....

~ ~ ~

The Ranting

Sometimes life has a way of kicking you in the teeth when you least expect it. Some days are great. The sun shines, the birds caw, you sit in the warmth, feel the soft grass and warm sand under your bare feet and you think, "Things are going to be okay."

Other days are not like that. Other days you recognize, with a chilling clarity, that there is a good chance this is all there may ever be, just varying degrees of this, sun up to sun down, until there isn't another day.

If you're lucky, that is. If you're not, then someone may slut shame you in the national press for talking about birth control as hormone therapy. Because in case you've been living under a rock in the last two weeks, then the word you are most likely to associate with Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke is "slut." Rush Limbaugh led the charge against Ms. Fluke, calling her a slut and a prostitute as he stated plainly that she merely wanted "you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex." Then he suggested Ms. Fluke could repay the debt by posting pornographic videos online.

Despite this intense harassment and shaming, Ms. Fluke says she'd do it again. She'd stand alone, the only woman allowed to testify before Congress on the issue of whether religious charities and schools should be required to provide insurance coverage for birth control pills along side things like Viagra, if only so a woman's voice could be heard in the tizzying din that is the discussion of our bodies.

“It can be overwhelming at times,” Ms. Fluke told TIME from Los Angeles, “but what I am trying to focus on is my main goal in the situation, and that is continuing to advocate on behalf of women affected by the contraception regulation and making sure that policy is implemented in a strong way.”

Sandra Fluke makes me feel proud to be a feminist, an activist, and a fellow law school survivor.  I fronted a statewide choice campaign while I was a 1L to beat back a parental notification bill here in Oregon (we won), and the reactions I received to my own abortion story being (literally) front page news pales wildly in comparison to the horrible crap being slung at Ms. Fluke.  She has my deepest respect and admiration.  She is, in my view, a kind of superhero.

How does this relate to Shelley's amazing perfume or the fictional monologue I started with?

I've been trying Go Ask Alice scent over and over in the last few weeks, and it is impossible to try the scent without thinking about the pop culture calls to its name.  There's the Jefferson Airplane song, "White Rabbit."  There's also the popular work of fiction (though initially presented as a real diary) Go Ask Alice.  Both are inspired by Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland, which has inspired other songs as well as film adaptations and video games.


As I was trying the scent, I kept trying to decide which of many representations of Alice it most reminded me. While I was wandering around, ruminating on the various and sundry Alices, people vying to be the leaders of my country were seriously debating whether or not women's contraception should be legal.  And, because I'm me, this all became intensely intertwined in my feminist brain.

When I think about the Alices, it is hard not to draw parallels between their fictional variations and the archetypes the world is most comfortable with for women.  The most recent Alice in Wonderland remake by Tim Burton tries very hard to create an Alice whom, by her nature, means to confound expectations.  She is wildly different from the original Alice of celluloid, whom Disney made a revolutionary by virtue of accident, not intent.  My personal favorite is American McGee's Alice from the incredibly dark video game, a girl so twisted by the dark things that have happened in her life she makes it all the way through a return to Wonderland only to find the evil she seeks to destroy is the darkness in herself.

Awesome and brave
reproductive rights protester
at the Virginia State capitol.

But despite all these Alices to choose from, I never really found one I could relate to the scent.  When I asked myself why, I realized it was because I loved Go Ask Alice enough that I wanted to wear it myself. And I am not a two-dimensional character. I am a real woman, flesh and blood. I'm not a protagonist.  I'm no heroine. I didn't want to associate the scent with one of the Fabled Alices because I feel the scent is some  wearable part of me, and that isn't a cultural archetype.  It's a real person.

And as a real person, lately I've just been overwhelmingly preoccupied by how you have to pretty much be a G-D superhero to be a woman in the world at all, even if you don't feel like one.  Just to take it - the threats, the smears, the snears, the violence that is both dangerously outright and insidiously implicit - and still feel any sense of self-worth or pride? It is a miracle.  Every day.

To be slut shamed for talking about reproductive rights and insurance coverage for BCP as though it is an important part of healthcare for over fifty-one percent of the world's population, and probably ought to be covered accordingly. To accept that your elected officials want doctors to be able to lie to you about birth defects in the fetus growing inside you.  That if you get pregnant when someone rapes you, you should just "make the best of a bad situation," and no, that doesn't mean terminating the pregnancy.

As Libba Bray succinctly put it today: "Seriously, ladies, we better get our shit together and mobilize. The war on women is not just a catch phrase." Or to quote the lovely and talented Beth Revis: "I am continuously boggled by how what I often perceive to be equal rights is labeled as radical feminism."

A War on Women is happening right now, and all I could think about was how we, like the Alices, are an army.  We won't be stopped.  We won't be silenced.  And we are going to take and maintain control of our bodies, ourselves, whether you like it or not.

The Drawing

So who wants to try some Go Ask Alice? In honor of my birthday, which is today, I'm giving a sample away because I had two and I'm ordering some, as well as a few other samples.  Winners will also receive: a couple of mixed CDs of music that helps me feel strong, an issue of Bitch Magazine, of which I am a proud member of the Board of Directors, maybe a feminist button, general feminist-y whatnot.


To enter:  post here by 12:01 AM PST, Friday March 16, 2012. Say anything you like.  Open to everyone, both domestic and international.

________________
FN1. When my husband and I were planning to get married, Wienergard was the joint name highly recommended joint last name meld suggestion from my students at my old job. They even threatened to crash my reception wearing t-shirts that said, "Reconsider Wienergard." These would have been the follow-up to the first round of shirts that said, "I Heart My Wiener" with a photo of me on them. I still have one.

Love is not love until love's vulnerable.

Love.

It is the worst good thing that ever happens to a body. You don't have to take my word for it. Literature is riff with examples. Shakespeare said it best: "For never was a story of more woe than this..." Or, to put it in a more modern way: "To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be destroyed." Thanks Cassandra Clare.

Then there's poetry. T.S. Eliot: "I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me." Or Auden: "I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong." Or John Donne: "My rags of heart can like, wish, and adore, but after one such love, can love no more."

Oh! I forgot the movies... Lloyd Dobler said it beautifully: "Maybe I want to get hurt!"

And then there's the music. I could go on and on about the music, but you get the point. Being in love means being vulnerable. It means being to willing to get hurt. And even when it goes well, trust me when I tell you it still sometimes hurts.

What makes me say these things in this holy sanctified Hallmark season of Love? Well for one, I finished reading Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's third book in the caster chronicles series, Beautiful Chaos, where upon I bawled my eyes out.

Also, David and I usually don't celebrate Valentine's Day. We usually celebrate Not-Valentine's, picking some other less commerically busy and more personally happy day to say, "I love you." But because lots of people do celebrate Valentine's Day, I thought I'd provide some shopping-related thoughts.

Envoyage Perfumes Carmel Bohême is a lovely Valentine's option. Inspired by the French novelist and poet Henri Murger: “Bohemia is a display of exuberance set against dark, silent edges; a glass house of exotic orchids”, this amber floral has notes of "Sweet Orange, Plum, Muguet, Enfleurages of Gardenia and Tuberose, French Jasmine, Honey, Patchouli, Frankincense, Labdanum, Amber, Sandalwood." It is described as "colorful, unpredictable, original, outrageous, edgy, tumultuous."

Personally, I find Carmel Bohême full of wildly delicious white flowers, a warm, lush, lovely scent. It is a wonderful blend of gardenias and tuberoses and jasmine, sweet and soapy and a little tart. Sure, you could buy your loved one a bouquet of real white florals, but trust me when I tell you this is just as beautiful and will last long after the buds are moldering in the bin. It has great longevity, and after four hours, it turns into a honey/amber/sandalwood sweetness that rides close to the skin. Truly lovely, and worth checking out even if you aren't in the market for a Valentine's scent.

Not super excited about white floral bouquets? No problem. Jo Malone is happy to supply you, not only with a bottle of beautiful Red Roses, but with a whole Red Roses Fragrance Chronicle for V-Day. You get a bottle of Red Roses, plus three accords to layer with it: "Sweet Lemon brings tantalising transparency; Scarlet Velvet Rose adds richness; and Honeycomb, a nectar-like warmth." I like the Jo Malone layering system, which in this case allows me to make seven different roses, plus several other scents that don't include the Red Roses center piece. In addition, there are always bonus gifts when it comes to Jo Malone, so when I ordered my set, I got a free 9ml of Grapefruit, which I don't own, to boot. That's a gift that stays beautiful for much longer than thorny reality of the flowers themselves. The collection is a limited edition offering, so if you like Red Roses, you may have to pretend some Valentine-y love to get it.

Not into flowers? Then go with food!  Ayala Moriel Natural Perfumes makes one of the all time best foodie scents in Immortelle l'Amour. Chocolate, vanilla, liquor, maple syrup, waffles all in one, it is a top grade, incredibly lickable scent that can bring happiness even to a wounded heart. She also makes teas and truffles, so it's a one-stop, deliciously aromatic shop to make all your edible love-themed purchases. Prefer jewelry?  You can get solids in compacts and poison rings, so your gift will be both visually and olfactorially beautiful.

Can't stand anything too edibly sweet? Well, here's a scent that you can love even when love itself turns sour. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's (The Maglignant Dreams of) Cthulhu in Love is "an amorphous mixture of incense, sea weed, sea salt, sticky dark ocean plants and chocolate." Dry chocolate and sweet dry herbs, it is a surprisingly love and high quality scent for the BPAL price point. It was a random-no-special-occasion-just-because-he-loved-me gift from David, and appears, now that I write this, to be sadly discontinued. Just like slumberhouse Ore which I also have a tiny, precious vial of. Chocolate scents are lovely, but apparently not all that long for this scented world...much like real chocolate is in my house. If you can find Cthulhu in Love, give is a whirl. It's delightful.


Speaking slumberhouse, I'll add Grev  to the mix, though I am probably the only person who will ever put this on a Valentine's list. But then, I'm not like anyone else in most other respects, so here it is. Grev is made of "copaiba, fir balsams, clove, birch, orris, and cedar" and is meant to be a marketed as a masculine, but I think it is a warm, sexy scent for a woman. It's unique, it's unusual, and it is decidedly unexpected. If you're the sort of person who gets married in a dress with blood red corset back and trim at a historic poor farm turned local brewery, then this might be your idea of sexy, too. It reminds me of waking up next with someone you love on one side and on the other, open windows of streaming sunshine and the wet, green smell of fir trees. It's a smell I associate with falling in love.

Which brings me around to my last thematic recommendation: take the ultra-realistic approach. If your love is associated with the smell of new fallen snow, try CB I Hate Perfume Walking in the Air. Working together in a garden? How about CB I Hate Perfume In the Summer Kitchen or Memory of Kindness? Find you love in a library? CB I Hate Perfume In the Library.

Alternately, you could go the Demeter Fragrance Library route, and buy a handful of large minis to create a unique perfume bouquet that hits the high notes of your romance: Vanilla Cake Batter for the birthday cake he made you, White Russian for the drink you shared on your first date, Beeswax for the homemade honey you bought on your first weekend away or the smell of the wax seal on the back of a handwritten love letter, Mistletoe for your first drunken kiss at the company Christmas party. Whatever your memory is, one of these companies probably has a scent that could represent it and give you a way to show that you remember, in a visceral way, the moment you knew you were in love.

And if all else fails, you could always go with the classic, old school approach: say it with love. S-Perfumes 100% Love or Creed Love in Black or Creed Love in White, or any of the By Kilian l'amour-themed scents (Love, Beyond Love, Taste of Heaven, Straight to Heaven, or for those of a more cynical, Amy Winehouse-bent, Back to Black and Love and Tears) are all beautiful scents, and nothing says love like L-O-V-E.

Yes, it's also a CD case!

What about you, dear reader?  Have I told you lately that I love you? Well, if you feel I haven't, then let me make it up to you with this awesome V-Day drawing. Included for one lucky winner will be the fabulously tacky fuzzy pink CD holder with a couple differently themed, love-related mix CDs made and decorated by your truly, PLUS some candy and some lovely samples that will include, but are not limited to S-Perfumes 100% Love, By Kilian Straight to Heaven, Cthulhu in Love, slumberhouse Grev and some other things not listed above.  But yes! At least five samples! Plus music! Candy! A giant pink fuzzy heart CD case! (Don't lie, you know you want its garish wonderfulness.)


POST A COMMENT BELOW talking about perfume!, love, romance, the death thereof, music, movies, perfume!, poetry, books, perfume!, whathaveyou on or before 11:59pm PST on Monday, February 13, 2012.  Will ship internationally. Winner to be announced on V-day.

So come on then: who wants to be my Valentine?

Like a wet log, I sang within a flame.
In that last while, eternity's confine,
I came to love, I came into my own.
~Theodore Roethke, from The Dream

And the winner of the EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge drawing is...

Congratulations Candice!

You win sample of  EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge and a mini spray flacon of L’Eau de Emblem Rouge, the accompanying hydrosol spray, as well as a special CD made by me.

Please email feminine(dot)things @ gmail.com with your address!

Thanks to all who entered. Stay tuned: at least THREE more drawings coming in the next two weeks. ZOMG!

Timestamp: 2011-09-28 04:30:44 UTC

Today I weigh less than a shadow on the wall, just one more whisper of a voice unheard.

Scent Spotlight on EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge and Giveaway

Shelley Waddington, perfumer of the EnVoyage Perfumes lines, reached out to me recently with an intriguing new offering. Like any good 'fumie, I jumped at the chance to review it.

EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge is part of the Rubicon Collection. This 100% natural scent is a "Deep, Lightly Spiced Rose Soliflor" and is described as follows:

The many meanings that cluster around rose – friendship, passion, love – are fulfilled in L’Emblem Rouge. It incorporates the full scentual and spiritual significance of the rose. Sensual rose set in soft woods, balsam and amber. A modern classic with a timely message. 

Top Notes: Cassie, Mace, Cinnamon, Bitter Orange, Juicy Grapefruit, Green Pepper, Iranian galbanum, Violet, and Cistus Heart Notes: Organic Iranian Rose Otto, Ylang-Ylang, Heliotrope, French Jasmine sambac, Violet, and Honey Base Notes: Guaiacwood, Sandalwood, Copaiba, Vetiver, Cedarwood Virginia, Tolu Balsam, Benzoin Siam, Tonka, Vanilla and Ambergris.

Did anyone call for a spicy rose? Because here it is with emphasis on the woods and spices. I get a lot of wood in the opening, which is a new aspect of roses for me, and I've got a lot of roses. Tonka and cedarwood provide a strong, gently sweet base that comes immediately upon application and feels almost like a dry chocolate powder dusted over rose petals. After a few minutes I also get some bitter orange and grapefruit, which was a unique twist on spicy rose. Over time, L’Emblem Rouge becomes a gently sweet, slightly edible, spice mix with what feels like a rose base.  Despite being a soliflor, the rose here seems less the focus but more the lead partner in an intricate dance.

I tried it next to Teo Cabanel Oha, Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance, DSH Perfumes Dirty Rose, DSH Perfumes Beach Roses, and DSH Perfumes American Beauty, and it was nothing like those . However, as I dug back through my bag of perfumey tricks, I did find a scent it reminded me of, and I think provides an interesting contrast - Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chyree.

Une Rose Chypree, on me, is a hot sticky (but lovely) mess of cinnamon, labdanum, and patchouli. L’Emblem Rouge has more sweet foodie citrus and wood. "Lightly spiced" is a good description because the spice aspect is gentle and less aggressive than Une Rose Chypree. Now while I love and admire Une Rose Chypree as I do most Tauer Scents, the truth is the gentleness of L’Emblem Rouge makes it infinitely more wearable by the average person. It's a strong, bold, and yet surprisingly accessible scent. Given my choice between a bottle of the each, I would have a difficult time choosing, but think I'd probably go for L’Emblem Rouge.

For any one who has ever thought all naturals were weak and fleeting, lacking both the oomph and staying power of synthetics and mixed ingredient scents, I offer EnVoyage Perfumes L’Emblem Rouge as counter-exhibit A. Beautiful blooming on the skin, moderate to high sillage, and long lasting, L’Emblem Rouge is proof positive that all natural scents can have long lives; a dose from a wand sample lasted on me in excess of six hours, though it stayed relatively close to the skin after about three and a half. Still, in a sprayer? Probably a scent I'd still be catching hints of after a long day at work.

On the whole, I find L’Emblem Rouge artfully composed, and well worth a try. It can be found here.

A beautiful scent alone is a wonderful thing, but L’Emblem Rouge is particularly special because of the generosity of the fine folks at EnVoyage Perfumes. A lifetime gift of five percent of all L’Emblem Rouge proceeds are donated to Broadway Cares, a leading nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization.

I am old enough to remember HIV/AIDS at the height of its prominence in terrorizing the American psyche. I came of age in the late 80s/early 90s, and I have crystal clear memories of the incredible effort put into educating my generation about safer sex practices. I am not HIV+, but I have known and cared greatly for people who were, a few of whom lost their lives to AIDS or AIDS-related complications.

Because of this personal connection, I am incredibly touched by Shelley's efforts. Any time I am having a bad day, it heartens me to be able to look around and think of all the kindnesses we do for one another that aren't necessarily required of us, kindnesses given freely to strangers who will never know us, who will perhaps never meet us, but whose lives are improved by the goodness inherent in our deeds. It is proof that human beings are probably capable of ending most of the strife and pain in the world if we can gather our collective will and marry it to our compassion and ingenuity. In this respect, we are truly and profoundly miraculous.

I can think of a lot of issues that need this kind of collective miracle, but the HIV crisis in Africa would be high on my list of problems that could be solved if we wanted. Yes, there are practical problems: trying to devise distribution chains for medication in remote locations; teaching people all across a continent from a panoply of cultures that are not slaves to time or regiment how to deal with a drug cocktail that requires a consistent routine; overcoming cultural barriers to learning preventative care and safer sex practices; even the basic difficulty of maintaining peace in order to make delivery of materials. These are just a few of the challenges.

Just looking at the meager list I have propounded, I acknowledge: it's a logistical nightmare of epic proportions. But so is the crisis. Too many people -- young and old, men, women, and children -- are dying every day from a disease that the western world has engineered out of terminal status and into a condition treated more as a chronic illness.

Those of us on top have this strange self-delusion that we will always be here. That unearned and unrealistic certainty has been called a lot of things in human history: manifest destiny, American exceptionalism, to name a couple. A good student of history realizes that the circumstances that make up the differences, though, could be reversed on us. Eventually, even Rome fell.  A significant earthquake along the West Coast, a biological agent released widely, or hell, a complete and extended lack of confidence in the market, could cripple an already limping country, and the hysteria and fear that followed could reduce our once great nation, frankly, to so much anarchic dust. In that circumstance, would we really want those with the ability to provide us aid and assistance in our darkest hour to decide that reaching out would be too logistically difficult to bother?

The concept of the veil of ignorance is a simple one: wherever souls come from, the part of you that is your consciousness was born into a particular time and place. That makes some of us inherently safer, healthier, and better off from the moment of inception by sheer dumb luck. That privilege isn't something that was earned, and it could have easily been someone else far less fortunate in your shoes and you in theirs. So imagine, for one moment, that just before your personal die was cast, you had the opportunity to distribute wealth and access and resources and education. Maybe you wouldn't make it exactly equal everywhere, but you'd probably at least ensure that the minimal needs of every person next to be born were met because you could not know which of those people would be you.

Americans are hard-working, but we are also lucky. We have innovated a lot of technology, particularly pharmaceutical advances. We owe it to those born into crippling poverty and resource inequality to meet the challenges that stand between them and basic necessities like food, clean water, shelter, safety, and health care. Not just in this country, but anywhere there are people in the world willing to accept it. I'm not saying we must force other cultures to conform to modernity or western thought to accomplish this; I'm not into naked paternalism or cultural colonization. I am saying, though, that we have a moral obligation to offer some of what we have and to assist those who need and want our help. And that we carry the burnt of that logistical weight, for surely their burden is already more than enough.

But enough politics and philosophy; back to the perfume.

Shelley Waddington has generously provided me a 1ml sample of  L’Emblem Rouge and a mini spray flacon of L’Eau de Emblem Rouge, the hydrosol distilled from the parfum reviewed above, to give away to one lucky winner. I'm adding a CD to the mix to entice you; and this won't be a one of the monthly mixes, but a specially made CD reflecting on the theme of the value and beauty of life and good health we so often take for granted.

Open to all readers anywhere. To enter please post below by: 12:01AM, Friday, September 23, 2011 Pacific Standard Time.

"Tomorrow leave the windows open
As fear grows please hold me in your arms
Won't you help me if you can to shake this anger
I need your gentle hands to keep me calm...
I can't believe you love me
I never thought you'd come
I guess I misjudged love
Between a father and his son.
- "The Last Song," Elton John

Ribbon image courtesy of freizeit.  Chart from the United Nations World Health Organization. Other images from creative commons.

The sun in your eyes made some of your lies worth believing.

Sometimes a girl just wants to rest!

Perfume Challenge Week 22: Monday, 6/13/11, to Friday, 6/17/11

First off, congrats to Elisa who won the May drawing and with it a mix CD and beautiful sampler set from INeKE Perfumes. Bonus: the cost of the sampler set goes toward a bottle purchase! That's right, people. The prizes just keep getting sweeter here at Feminine Things.

This weekend is busy like woah. I had a wedding last night, The Mountain Goats show tonight, and tomorrow, more things! And every weekend has been like this lately.

Also, I want to give a shout out to Samantha, one of my readers who introduced me to a some new perfumes and gave *me* a couple mix CDs. Who knew I could love a carrot perfume? But I do. It's awesome. Also, I am rocking those CDs, so thanks for that. It makes me want to see if we can get a little local perfumista shindig together. If you're greater PDX local and interested, send me an email.

Monday: Soivohle Perfumes Vanillaville - Notes: A rustic eathery vanilla with overtones of pipe tobacco, notes include, sweet fennel, pink pepper, coffee absolute, cinnamon cepes, rectified birch tar, sandalwood, amyris, floral accord benzoin, almonds. This a bitter, dry chocolatey, rubbery leather scent. I imagine this is what chocolate scented leather would smell like, or like drinking a bone dry mexican chocolate latte while perched atop a mountain of brand new leather pants. I get no vanilla at the top, just a noseful of vetiver and chocolate. If you were looking for a chocolate scent for someone who wanted a muscular and lean expression and less full-bodied and foodie, this might make a good one. You better love the leather, though. I haven't smelled this much leather since the last time I was in a bondage boutique. My only complaint is that on me it faded to a slightly sweet but otherwise almost undetectable scent on my skin after about four hours. 4.5 of 5 nods for scent originality, 3 of 5 nods for longevity.

Tuesday: As part of The Midsummer Night's Dream event, I reviewed Bellatrix Perfumes Titania.

Wednesday: By Kilian Prelude to Love (Invitation) - Notes: Seville orange, bergamot, Amalfi lemon, ginger, pepper, orange blossom, Florence iris. The notes on this one really precede it with accuracy in my opinion. I don't get a lot of orange, but I do gt a nose full of bergamot, ginger, and lemon heavy-citrus up front, like being slapped with the citrus stick. I personally get very little of the iris, which appears in the middle, before the drydown turns into a citrus-tinged orange blossom. A nice fragrance, but a strange and unexpected sharpness to a romantic prelude, so as a meditation on the theme, a little off for me. 3 of 5 nods.

Thursday: Parfums de Nicolai Turquoise - Notes: Mango, apricot, lime, osmanthus, spice, Turkish rose, pepper, jasmine, cardamom, cedar, musk, jasmine absolute. Lime, mango, and rose mesh together in the opening to give a surprisingly pleasant fruit coctail experience. I know that sounds bad, but it is meant to be a compliment. It smooths out thanks to the dry spices so you end up with a gently smooth and sweet scent that works surprisingly well in hot weather. Don't really get the name, though.  3 of 5 nods.

Friday: As part of The Midsummer Night's Dream event, I reviewed EnVoyage Perfumes Titania.

Winner of the Week: This is really hard because of the fantastic perfumes made for the Midsummer Night's Dream Event. I think I have to pass; this week I'm the winner for getting to smell all these lovely smells.

"Don't leave false illusions behind.
Don't cry; I ain't changing my mind.
So find another fool like before
'cause I ain't gonna live anymore believing
some of the lies while
all of the signs are deceiving..."
~ "Eye in the Sky," Alan Parsons Project

A Midsummer Night's Dream - EnVoyage Perfumes Titania

En Voyage Perfumes Titania

Edward Robert Hughes's
Midsummer Eve

The second Midsummer scent I received was from Shelley Waddington of EnVoyage Perfumes. She also provided a meditation on the Titania, Queen of Fae, but this took its inspiration from a very different part of Shakespeare’s play.

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk roses and eglantine.
~Oberon, describing Titania’s bower, where she sleeps.

Top Notes: Fir Needles, Spice and Citrus.
Heart Notes: Basil, Mint, Geranium, Lavender Hidcote, Ylang-Ylang, Wild Rose and Heliotrope.
Base Notes: Juniper, Ho-Wood, Aromatic Woods and Nuts, Moss, Fern, Savory Leaves, Iris, Honey.

This is Titania as her vexed but nonetheless doting lover sees her. It is so different from Bellatrix Perfumes Titania, it is almost astonishing. Ankica Milic’s Titania is strong and bold, and the passage Ankica choose includes lines that can be played as vaguely threatening. Shelley Waddington focuses instead on Titania’s softness, and beauty. It gives us a scent that is more a reflection of the Queen, as seen through the eyes of a lover, than that of a mirror. And yet, despite the wildly different trajectory here, I think it is equally beautiful!

Galadriel, the Lady of the Wood

The top is fresh and minty and reminds me of falling asleep on a bed of fresh pine needles in a cool forest. The sweetness is very gentle and natural. It is so elegant, as though a beautiful cape were made from the greenest spring leaves and mosses and a crown made from the tender twisted stems and branches and wrapped around you. It has a kind of majesty to it that remind me of what it might be like to see Cate Blanchett play Titania as though she were much softer version of Galadriel. In my mind, I go immediately to the image of the playful, dreamy Titania after she has been bewitched by Oberon, which apparently was the exact inspiration. But it not only reminds me of Titania as she is lying sleepily in her bower, it also reminds me of the slowly waking lovers near the end of the play, when they arise and cannot recall if they have lived, or merely dreamed, the night’s events.

I really wish I could place the sweet part of this. I keep looking to the notes for guidance, but I just can’t work it out. I think I’m mostly getting geranium, with a decent hit of lavender and honey. Yes, I’m definitely getting lavender, now that I think back to my friend Tiff’s wedding, which was an outdoor June pagan wedding in a wood along a lake, and lavender was the theme flower/scent. She carried lavender; some of the cupcakes were lemon lavender; we threw cups of dried lavender over the couple as they left. It was dark and warmly wet and the smell of lavender was everywhere that afternoon and night; I suspect if you were going to make her a scent in commemoration of the event, which was very midsummer themed (fairy themed touches around the wedding as well), this might be, not the scent she wore, but the actual smell of her union day itself. FN1.

Bridal Veil Lakes,
where my friend was married

Every fairy take his gait;
And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace, with sweet peace;
And the owner of it blest
Ever shall in safety rest.
~ Oberon, giving instructions to the fairies

Which brings me to another tangential, but thematically appropriate, thought. This would make an excellent scent for a summer wedding, in the merry, marry month of June. Shakespeare’s work itself transpires around what becomes a triple wedding, and this seems like an excellent scent for a warm outdoor ceremony, because I can imagine it warming on the skin beautifully without becoming overpowering. How perfectly it all plays together, and how wonderfully Shelley Waddington did with this one. If you close your eyes, you can imagine this smell wafting through the whole of Theseus and Hippolyta’s house at the play’s end as an olfactory experience of having each couple’s love, and all those among them, and all those their love has yet to create, being blessed by nature and by magic.

Wonderful. Magical. A hit for summer, for love, and definitely worth owning if made available for purchase.

To see more visit A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Perfume Event, running June 14-24, 2011.
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1. I’ll tell you, because I know you’d want to know, she wore Coco Mademoiselle.