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Posted by Dain, Wednesday, January 09, 2008 1:57 AM (Eastern)
A truly magnificent floral is a rare and expensive thing, but it is surprisingly easy to execute a passable one; flowers by nature are pretty, therefore as long as one does not meddle overmuch with nature's gifts, at worst the result is unremarkable. It is far more difficult, in my humble opinion, to manage spices with such easy panache. Orientals more often provide the harmony to the melodic quality of florals, which is why florientals are the largest family of all in perfumery. On their own, they attract a sprinkling of seasoned noses, but rarely pull in the masses to make them worthwhile or profitable—heavens! what if the menfolk think us aggressive!? Nay, nay, we must be as innocuous in our presentation as possible, lest our enfeebled emancipation frighten them from commitment. We must be as babes in the wood. Nibble, nibble, little mouse. I know I am not the only one who has grown tired of smelling like a sugar binge, though, as Wendy as pointed out to me, gourmand is a sort of rite of passage for perfume lovers, and I couldn't agree more.
There is one sweet, however, that still strikes me as singularly special, and that is the Turkish-delight perfume, the oriental gourmand, known also as Rahät Loukoum. Syrupy cherries and sugared almonds, just a hint of rose. It is very sweet and not at all subtle about it, and yet there is nothing childish about Rahät Loukoum, it is very sensuous. Not simply in terms of carnality, though there is a little of that, but I find myself imagining all sorts of sensations—a cloud of tobacco smoke, dim light, strong and bitter coffee, the liquid tones of seduction, luxurious silks, the feeling of affected ease. There is something slightly wary and very sophisticated about Rahät Loukoum; it comes on, perhaps, a little too strong, a little too self-aware.
Here is Gustave Klimt's Danae, impregnating Zeus a golden sparkle between her sleeping thighs, which I hope captures the same sort of textural decadence that typifies Rahät Loukoum. Decadence is a good word for both, a word without innocence.
I wonder, however, if POTL isn't better.
Labels: perfume reviews, serge lutens
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