I have loved impressionism paintings ever since discovering Claude Monet's water lilies and Vincent Van Gogh's sunflowers in 4th grade primary school.
And this is what I perceive this scent as.
Note bleeds into note, only soft edges.
Luminosity, a play of light, a bright style.
A snapshot of real life, rather than a prepared and staged composition.
An expression of perception rather than a try of exact replication.
Subjective, luminous.
Upon first spray this scent is strong and the synthetic musks are almost overwhelming, they are sappy, sweet and sticky. A heavy dose of vanillics and sweet woods, some soft bitter spices titillating on the edges and the faintest glimmer of something icy and piney.
The scent lives on my skin, getting brighter by the minute and bigger, but it doesn't change in composition. It never collapses, but feels a bit tamer after a while.
The afterglow is intimate, the musks have calmed down, but the picture is still there in its entirety.
Worn outside in fresh air, "en plein air" , the scent kicks into high gear, all facets shimmer even brighter and more luminous, a beautiful, golden, scintillating veil!
Do I usually prefer natural perfumes and notes? Yes, I do. Am I quite sensitive to synthetic musks and woods? Also, yes.
But does that mean I can't wear this scent? No, it doesn't.
In my opinion, this is modern perfumery done right and I effing adore this perfume, but dosing needs a careful hand, so it doesn't overpower you.
I'm still nursing my sample, which is at least 2 years old by now, and the perfume has turned from light gold to a beautiful light purple. The vanilla improves over time and gets fuller and sweeter.
When I run out if this, I will be purchasing at least the travel size, because this is a modern but timeless grown up vanilla that fits in my collection nicely!
