Knot Eau Absolue Bottega Veneta 2018

That was my first thought when I took the bottle out of its packaging. A beautiful, balsamic-looking, dark amber-colored liquid resides within it and promises me good things, as many of my fragrances tend to be medium to dark waters in color. Greenish to white scents are somewhat less common for me, as they are often Chypre or white floral fragrances.
Indeed, the original Amber Room was also rather golden and medium to dark in appearance with relatively few light spots. And the reconstruction shines in these tones. And fittingly, in the room, as if by coincidence for my fragrance story, there is a mosaic called "Feel and Smell".

So I imagine that I am led, after a time travel to the room filled with amber in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, to the middle of it. Gradually, and in a courtly reverse manner, the servants leave the venerable space and leave me to the unfolding events. I am now allowed to immerse myself in history for an hour, enjoying the shapes and colors of the creations and letting my imagination run free. In my thoughts, I am the niece who is visiting and has constantly expressed the wish to see the unique room to the family until that day. I have heard the stories of those who were enchanted by it far too often.
I simply must see it!

And here I stand now. In a dazzling light that almost hurts the eyes. Silence enters the room after the doors have been closed by the departing servants, and the sounds fade away. I can only hear my breath, my pounding heart. And my steps as I curiously set off and walk in the glow of the numerous, multi-armed wall sconces over the highly polished floor covered with huge inlays to the first wall. Almost gently, I place one foot after the other, very careful not to leave any traces on the valuable surface with my shoes.
The inlays and mosaics in their warm light brown to dark color shades resemble thousands of polished pieces of sugar. Like the finest honey candies, caramels, or dark vanilla drops, they are lined up and merge into various flower-like shapes, flat ornaments, or like pebbles scattered in the wall. Everything shines just like flowing honey or syrup. If the unique scent of the room, emanating from the resin stones and the furniture, were not present, one could easily deceive one's senses into thinking they were in a fairy-tale candy shop where almost everything is made of aromatic sugar. Inevitably, a scent rises to my nose. I follow it and arrive at a mosaic named "Feel and Smell". Could it be that the scent is emanating from it?

I close my eyes and approach the image. With my fingers, I trace the frame and the carved flowers and shapes around it, trying to mentally assign forms to their outlines, like a blind person who is feeling a face and recognizing it. And yes, my imagination sends me fine scent notes to my face.
Warm, sweet, noble, woody, resinous. I perceive a subtle hint of orange in the artistic scent weave. A bit of jasmine. Everything just so that it fits perfectly together and creates a harmonious fragrance. Everything seems to be mixed in equal parts. While I stand before the mosaic, my eyes still blissfully closed, a slightly animalic note from opoponax reveals itself to me, but it is measured in such a way that it does not disturb but carries the scent, just like the other preceding notes. Only nuanced, woody to herbal, the note shows itself further and even here at no time is it too much. Resinous and syrupy, the perception remains like this even now. Warm, balsamic, and sweetish, while only minimally smoky and a bit more honey-like, this is how the sensual fragrance tapestry presents itself, holding me captive before the image. Lavender contributes a micro-fine and simultaneously cool soapy quality that also integrates into the other molecules and, despite its almost opposite scent character, adds a skillful splash of color that gently fades into the amber tone without completely disappearing. A hint of it will ultimately remain lightly present in the scent as it transitions into the base until its exhalation. At all times, "Knot Eau Absolue" is simply warm, very dense, and almost ethereal-oily, and above all, very sensual.
I almost forget space and time and how long I have been standing here. I must hurry if I want to admire everything in this room within the allotted hour. Yet, as much as the other mosaics and artistically arranged images also captivate me, my memory keeps rewinding back to the fragrant frame. After all, it is the image that remains in my memory of the entire room and very present from now on.

Whoever asks about the value of the room and receives the answer "Priceless" knows by now what they are dealing with.

That this significance can also apply to fragrances, I realize more and more over time. It is the moments when one is one with them, absorbing their notes and enjoying the hours. Those who have not yet been caught by the fragrance fever and the passion for perfumes may dismiss this value as exaggerated. But for those who find themselves in this world and let themselves be carried away by it, it is an enrichment in life.

Even though I have never actually visited the Amber Room, I can still travel there in spirit at any time with "Knot Eau Absolue" and relive my little story anew again and again.

It is the magic of a room in connection with the magic of a scent.

And one of my personal magic moments in my little, perfect (fragrance) world.