"Seven Veils", what memories do I have of that and thus expectations. When I think about it, this fragrance is like how the imagined veil dance probably originated: as an acrobatic dance play with fabric strips that were by no means delicate and translucent.
When I read the name to choose a fragrance for testing, I immediately thought of back then, about 30 years ago. When we were still unaware of everything that was to come, starting with the disappearance of the "Iron Curtain". When we were still innocent regarding the oriental cultures and full of curiosity.
One summer evening, I was invited to a women's party: "Arabian Dance" in the neighboring town: A skirt or loose pants with an elastic waistband and a large scarf were to be brought. An Egyptian woman was the host, Mariam. I went there out of curiosity; until then, I knew nothing about it, except for a few short film sequences on television, which I found fascinating.
And then I danced along. There were solo and group performances, sketches that were hilariously funny, even if still a bit incomprehensible to me. Mariam danced the veil dance, she danced the stick dance, she danced the candle dance. Amazing! And again and again, she and her group encouraged us guests to dance; we just had to "copy" them. It was essential to wear the skirts, the waistband pulled down a bit, and the scarf tightly wrapped around the hips. "Tight, otherwise you won't feel your hips!" commanded Mariam. When the catchy Egyptian dance music played for the last time and I eagerly joined in, Mariam pointed at me and said: "You there, you are gifted and flexible like a ball joint in your belly, you are tall and slim, you can immediately join my private group if you want; we practice every Wednesday for 2 hours.
At least once in my life, I was "discovered" after all.
Training was done in simple skirts, large scarves wrapped around the hips, without any frills; when several people dance with them, it gets really annoying in smaller rooms. And only barefoot or with ballet slippers. It was strict: "What are you doing, pull the skirt higher, that looks obscene, don't wiggle your breasts so much, that's vulgar! What are those big convulsive movements, what are you doing with the men when you dance like that? Where do you hold your hands, what does that mean?...
From time to time, workshops were organized on weekends. Men always came as teachers, Arab ballet dancers from European stages.
And so there were also intensive courses in veil dancing. The first time we looked a bit bewildered. A man, maybe around 50, tall, a well-groomed nice belly, nothing like a washboard, otherwise slim, gray hair, and a "knee baldness". And then he came out of the gym's dressing room in a brown gym suit, barefoot, with a large semi-transparent veil changing from brown to sunny yellow, adorned with softly jingling thin coins. Mariam looked at us sternly so that we wouldn't giggle; the man understood no fun, even if the instructions were always kindly given: "Habibi" here and "Habibi" there.
The dance veils must be individually adjusted for each body size, arm span length plus about 30 cm, and the height reaching to the waist.
Of course, made of fine fabric that doesn't move too easily but resonates. This was all determined beforehand with Mariam.
It's quite a large piece of fabric when you whirl around with it, and if you're clumsy, you step on it and - uh - come a bit awkwardly off balance. If you don't get nailed to the spot because the veil pulls you back when you stand on it with your heel. Or when it tangles around your head and arms, and you have to free yourself from it looking like a plucked chicken.
So, the whole weekend went up and down the large gymnasium with big leg swings. Taking up so much space that you could turn around with outstretched arms without touching the others. And always practicing how to make this fabric strip float and whirl around you acrobatically to the music and the appropriate body movements and the prescribed steps. How to let it elegantly float to the side at the right moment so that you can continue dancing without interruption. How to approach the audience at the beginning, promisingly elegant, wrapped in the veil, dancing, and then always unfolding the veil while in motion.
But this man and dancer first demonstrated the dance with the veil to us. We no longer noticed the gym suit, the little belly, or the gray hair once he started dancing. He danced so perfectly, moving the veil so inimitably elegantly and powerfully around him that I can't even describe it here. As soon as he and the music started, you wanted to dance along like magically. But first, he drove us to complete exhaustion.
So, I lost at least a kilo over such a weekend. Unforgettable for me, and I feel sad when I sometimes see photos in newspapers of these wannabe belly dancers, how they awkwardly and incorrectly hold the veil in their hands, "indecently" exposing themselves publicly; then I think of Mariam, the workshops, the intoxication one feels during "Shimmy" (very quick fine shaking of individual body regions) and also during veil dancing.
And now "Seven Veils" as a fragrance: A dry, strong, and spicy scent, woody. And fruity; it must be the sultanas in the tajine, in which a dish is currently cooking. Veil dance completely burlesque with a colorful, striped coarse cloth.
And I imagine how we would have invented a little choreography with tajine together with Mariam. We, with tajine, to the sensual movements of the dance with fiery music, would pantomime the cooking utensil as a teaching piece, for example, how to cook with it. The audience would have had fun with it, and so would we.
Seriously, "Seven Veils" is a strong fragrance; now, after several hours, sandalwood and vanilla have fought their way through, the scent becomes softer, a hint of sweetness. In the meantime, I also smelled it slightly metallic. I couldn't perceive any flowers like wisteria, whose scent I know exactly, unfortunately. I don't know what oleander smells like. "Seven Veils" also reminded me at intervals of certain "Demeter Fragrance Library" scents, like "Humidor". However, it has been a year since I tested the latter.
What I find beautiful about "Seven Veils" is that, as clumsy as it may be, it has brought back vivid memories for me.
Top Notes 
Pimento
Carrot
Heart Notes 
Wisteria
Oleander
Base Notes 
Sandalwood
Vanilla
Ostara
Calendula
Gandix
MrWhite
Turandot
AnneSuse
Shahar
MadameCoco
Libella
FvSpee
