"I've always ? perfumes. Perfumes of yesteryear are oakmoss-heavy. Therefore, I've always ? oakmoss."
Suffice it to say that when an oakmoss comes along and is friendly towards me I am delighted. It is a rare occurrence but one which I welcome. I hold dear the scents that have survived my change in body chemistry and the new scents that fly in the face of my dislike. One of the few survivors is Knowing. Knowing was probably one of the last classical chypres created before giving way to ‘fruitchoulies’, otherwise known as modern chypres. She represents a bygone era but I do not doubt she will be the first to usher in a chypre renaissance, where oakmoss will be as revered as whisky during The Prohibition of the last century. As oakmoss faces mandates and enforcements that will lead to its olfactory extinction Knowing will be smuggled through backdoors and displayed covertly on vanity tables throughout the world.
I don’t know exactly what it is about Knowing that is so alluring, so sensual, so boldly feminine—though not to say this would not work splendidly on a man’s chemistry. I can only describe it as a fragrant equivalent to MAC’s iconic red lipstick, Ruby Woo. I don’t know a woman alive who hasn’t tried it on and not felt like the ultimate femme fatale. Maybe it is the intoxicating mixture of voluptuous roses, mysterious oakmoss, and carnal civet.
Yeah, I can see where a new generation of men and women might feel repulsed. As much as I love my gourmands, none can spell out S-E-X like Knowing (or, really, at all). Knowing is deeply romantic and erotically moving. It’s old fashioned and—not to be crude—it’s the reason a new generation came into existence. There are probably a few readers out there who were born in the 1990s who owe their existence to Knowing (sorry, kids, to go there). It was a perfume for seduction. It wasn’t meant to be pretty or fun. Knowing had a job to do and she did it so very well.
Knowing is also a reminder that once long ago oakmoss and I had a history together. Oakmoss was never more zaftig than it is here in Knowing. She's larger than life and certainly intimidating but you'll find no better joyride companion than her.
