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05/05/2020
SebastianM
27 Reviews
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SebastianM
Very helpful Review
12
Introverted complexity
The eponymous sonnet for this fragrance is one of the sonnets of love by Chilean Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973), which he wrote for his wife Matilde Urrutia. This inspiration is not just marketing gibberish: I think it's admirable how this perfume takes in the poem, how knowing it enriches the perception of the fragrance. To quote (from the good translation of maluca on lyricstranslate.com) the following beautiful lines in particular:
i love you as one loves certain dark things in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you like the plant that doesn't bloom and in itself,
hidden, carrying the light of these flowers,
and thanks to your love lives dark in my body
the pressed scent rising from the earth.
Sonnet XVII is the result of a collaboration between Michelyn Camen (editor of the blog CaFleurebon) and the perfumer Ellen Covey, owner of Orchid Scents. As Ellen Covey tells it, Michelyn accidentally dropped Neruda's book off the shelf, opened on the page with the sonnet, and the idea was born.
But what is the scent now? If you wanted to classify it, it would be best described as a green-animal vintage chypre. The predominance of the green impression is no coincidence, but rather a tribute to Neruda, for whom the color green was the color of desire, and who wrote his poems with green ink. The perfume lifts dark, shady and moist, with champaka (a kind of magnolia), lemon, resin and a little spice. The moist note has something mysterious about it, or maybe like from a cave. The lemon is ghostly, the floral shadowy ("the plant that does not flower"). This is a fascinating, intense opening, but still introverted in mood. Perhaps this is what Ellen Covey means when she writes that this is a fragrance "that breathes in as it breathes out". There is a distinct animal note that reminds me of horses. I also find it erotic ("dark in my body the pressed scent"). For sure she is not shy, and contributes to a vintage impression in the overall impression.
After about half an hour, the scent becomes more leathery. We find a nice handling of osmanthus, which brings out tea-like aspects besides the leathery and apricot-like ones. The earthy and leathery notes combine with the animalistic and always remotely hinted at honeyed white flowers, and remain throughout the whole process. Actually very classic, one could be reminded of Chanel 31 Rue Cambon. It is this moist, earthy quality that allows Sonnet XVII to be classified as chypre, although it naturally no longer contains oakmoss.
A few hours later, the darkness gives way to more traditional, light, warm and woody notes. (Neruda called his love poems "wooden sonnets") The green-woody base notes are soft and shiny like the evening sun, with a hint of sweetness. (Another line of poetry: "I love you straight ahead, without problems or pride") Finally, everything ends with still slightly sweet-earthy balsamic notes.
The quality of the ingredients is noticeable. Despite a high percentage of natural ingredients, the shelf life is above average (8+ hours on my skin). The sillage is moderate. The fragrance is unisex, but tends a bit to the stereotypically feminine side. You can wear it all year round.
An exciting, complex and poetic fragrance that reveals its secrets to those who approach it with empathy, information and an open mind.
i love you as one loves certain dark things in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you like the plant that doesn't bloom and in itself,
hidden, carrying the light of these flowers,
and thanks to your love lives dark in my body
the pressed scent rising from the earth.
Sonnet XVII is the result of a collaboration between Michelyn Camen (editor of the blog CaFleurebon) and the perfumer Ellen Covey, owner of Orchid Scents. As Ellen Covey tells it, Michelyn accidentally dropped Neruda's book off the shelf, opened on the page with the sonnet, and the idea was born.
But what is the scent now? If you wanted to classify it, it would be best described as a green-animal vintage chypre. The predominance of the green impression is no coincidence, but rather a tribute to Neruda, for whom the color green was the color of desire, and who wrote his poems with green ink. The perfume lifts dark, shady and moist, with champaka (a kind of magnolia), lemon, resin and a little spice. The moist note has something mysterious about it, or maybe like from a cave. The lemon is ghostly, the floral shadowy ("the plant that does not flower"). This is a fascinating, intense opening, but still introverted in mood. Perhaps this is what Ellen Covey means when she writes that this is a fragrance "that breathes in as it breathes out". There is a distinct animal note that reminds me of horses. I also find it erotic ("dark in my body the pressed scent"). For sure she is not shy, and contributes to a vintage impression in the overall impression.
After about half an hour, the scent becomes more leathery. We find a nice handling of osmanthus, which brings out tea-like aspects besides the leathery and apricot-like ones. The earthy and leathery notes combine with the animalistic and always remotely hinted at honeyed white flowers, and remain throughout the whole process. Actually very classic, one could be reminded of Chanel 31 Rue Cambon. It is this moist, earthy quality that allows Sonnet XVII to be classified as chypre, although it naturally no longer contains oakmoss.
A few hours later, the darkness gives way to more traditional, light, warm and woody notes. (Neruda called his love poems "wooden sonnets") The green-woody base notes are soft and shiny like the evening sun, with a hint of sweetness. (Another line of poetry: "I love you straight ahead, without problems or pride") Finally, everything ends with still slightly sweet-earthy balsamic notes.
The quality of the ingredients is noticeable. Despite a high percentage of natural ingredients, the shelf life is above average (8+ hours on my skin). The sillage is moderate. The fragrance is unisex, but tends a bit to the stereotypically feminine side. You can wear it all year round.
An exciting, complex and poetic fragrance that reveals its secrets to those who approach it with empathy, information and an open mind.
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