“Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of
words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot
be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up,
imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.” – Patrick Suskind
Anyone who knows me rather well knows my obsession for perfumes.
So, when I came across an article today in Town & Country magazine titled In the Mood for Oud regarding this mysterious fragrance ingredient called oud, I
was fully intrigued and wanted to get on the first flight to Abu Dhabi to “find
me some oud!” The article was beautifully written by Lawrence Osborne exposing
the secrets of oud. You can read it HERE.
I did do a little research and found that there are a few
nonwestern oud perfumes that are worth tracking down...
For those of you who like to read, there is a very special
book out there called Perfume that is
not for the weak hearted. It’s one of my favorite books in the world. Here’s a
brief description:
"Patrick Suskind's classic novel
provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in
his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.In the slums of
eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one
sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the
odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him
the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is
such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with
capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood.
Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an
ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent
of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume
is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity."-Amazon
What are your favorite perfumes/fragrances? Let me know…
Hopefully they don’t have the name Britney Spears or Elizabeth Taylor in the
label.
A tout á l’heure!
I looooved that novel and gave the movie a nod too. Do you know - not for lack of trying - I still haven't found "my" perfume. I think that I am so overwhelmingly complex that I simply can't be captured in a bottle. Yep, that must be it. ;) Like you, I am not usually a floral girl unless it is a dirty rose - for example I really like but cannot afford to actually buy Tom Ford's Café Rose - or Jicky.
ReplyDeleteA little interesting tidbit. Redheads often have trouble with contemporary edt's as our skin is highly acidic and "burns" off the synthetics or makes them morph. So...only the good stuff for me!