How’s your Christmas shopping going?
Here in Manchester, the city is awash with
it’s usual gaggle of frantic shoppers, many of whom have taken advantage of big
discounts in department stores. I myself was almost seduced by the reduced as
Selfridges dropped it’s prices on Amouage and Robert Piguet. A whopping great
car insurance bill enabled me to be sensibly frugal though. This Christmas I
shall be driving along (safely insured) in my existing scent wardrobe, with the
last few drops of the seasonally pine scented Fille en Aiguilles reserved for the big day.
Frugality has inspired this post.
At £15 a
bottle, The Library of Fragrance (Demeter in the USA), sell a set of Christmas
themed eau de colognes that would make for a quirkily stuffed stocking. Feature here are Mistletoe,
Frankincense and Christmas in New York.
The Library of Fragrance's scents are
minimal. In a similar style to Jo Malone or Shay and Blue, they are
(predominantly) single note scents designed for layering. They don’t have a
pyramid of notes, they simply are what they say on the bottle.
Frankincense however, doesn’t smell exactly like frankincense, which annoyingly
disproves my last point! Natural frankincense (Boswellia Carterii) is a sharp and penetrating whiff reminiscent
of church incense. It’s oddly smokey and sparkly concurrently, a most peculiar
sensation, which tends to initiate a gargantuan headache if I burn the
essential oil in my apartment.
Frankincense resin
In The Library of Fragrance’s Frankincense, the
aggressive nature of the natural essence has been toned down with evidence of
it’s namesake being most apparent in the vibrant first squirt of the opening.
Instead, a sensation of amber oozes throughout, a soft vanillary custard with
just a hint of smokey labdanum to darken the desert. This is essentially a
‘gourmand frankincense’, ideal for those who desire an exotic oriental with an
indie vibe. It’s rather lovely.
Christmas in New York
replicates the gourmand theme. It smells of cinnamon, vanilla and apples. I
accidently wiped some onto my top lip a few seconds ago, an action I deeply
regret as I do not like the bluergh-esque whiff of cinnamon, vanilla and
apples. Those of you who adore densely sweet and lush gourmands will swoon at
this scent. I’m off to the bathroom to try and get it off with Clinique’s
Clarifying Lotion (otherwise known as scent destroyer).
Distinctly ‘more me’ is
Mistletoe, which is basically just a bottle of green vegetal sap. At this time
of year, I crave vegetal green sap. Regular readers will be aware of my
seasonal slump and know that my morale sinks fathoms when darkness falls so
early in the afternoon. I’m not a winter person, I’m a spring baby who needs to
be shone upon in order to sustain functional mental health. Mistletoe hints at
regeneration, sticky new buds and the joy of a late winter sun warming your
face as you take your first long country walk of the new year. It’s immensely joyful. An antedote to darkness.
It’s no wonder that it’s reputed to be lucky to kiss underneath this prettily
parasitic plant (and woeful if you refuse).
A Victorian lurker
Mistletoe’s ‘green’ scent
shares similarities with lily of the valley. Indeed the scent is slightly
reminiscent of the drydown of Caron’s historic 1st of May
celebratory fragrance – Muguet de Bonheur, particularly in it’s astringent and
anisic qualities. Add to this a general watery green quality with notions of
cucumber, broken plant stems or savory celery and you have an idea of this eau
de cologne’s effect.
Further info on the scents can
be found at: http://thelibraryoffragrance.com.
You might also like to take a peep at a previous seasonal post on scents that smell like Christmas trees.
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