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Beneath a Phrygian sky
I belong to those people who really enjoy all the Christmas festivities BEFORE Christmas (I quite like having cinnamon stars and 'Feliz Navidad' at the end of September), but immediately after - that is, on December 27 - I no longer want to see, hear, or smell stollen, stars, and all other Christmas cheer. Then everything gets packed away, and no more Christmas music is played. At that point, I only want pure, quiet, untouched winter. (The only exception is the annual Noel candle from Annick Goutal, which may remain if it hasn't burned out yet, as I perceive it more as wintery than Christmasy, despite its name.)
Products that are clearly wintry but also clearly not Christmasy are not so easy to find. I find this particularly difficult with music. An album I enjoy listening to in winter is Loreena McKennitt's 'An Ancient Muse', on which she weaves traditional themes from the Near and Central Asian regions into a dense yet weightless sound tapestry, which is wonderful to listen to on a quiet winter evening. My favorite piece on it is called 'Beneath a Phrygian sky' - named after the historical region of Phrygia (which the Romans called 'Galatia') in Central Anatolia.
Lutens' or Sheldrake's Sidi Bel-Abbès - a city and a province north of the Algerian part of the Atlas Mountains - embodies the same rare (though certainly not so difficult to identify in perfumes) qualities: density and a weightless playfulness. The Oriental. And the wintry, quiet, reduced essence. Its character - slightly cool and smoky without any church associations - commands distance but is not unapproachable. Waxen solemnity and a bit of rough leather, embedded in soft spices without lasting sweetness. Like a solitary rider galloping through the Phrygian steppe on a starry winter night.
Conclusion: a quiet smoky-spice scent beyond an 'expected', let alone 'ordinary' Oriental. Perfect for lying next to the heater by the window on a gray icy morning at the end of December and watching the snow fall.
Products that are clearly wintry but also clearly not Christmasy are not so easy to find. I find this particularly difficult with music. An album I enjoy listening to in winter is Loreena McKennitt's 'An Ancient Muse', on which she weaves traditional themes from the Near and Central Asian regions into a dense yet weightless sound tapestry, which is wonderful to listen to on a quiet winter evening. My favorite piece on it is called 'Beneath a Phrygian sky' - named after the historical region of Phrygia (which the Romans called 'Galatia') in Central Anatolia.
Lutens' or Sheldrake's Sidi Bel-Abbès - a city and a province north of the Algerian part of the Atlas Mountains - embodies the same rare (though certainly not so difficult to identify in perfumes) qualities: density and a weightless playfulness. The Oriental. And the wintry, quiet, reduced essence. Its character - slightly cool and smoky without any church associations - commands distance but is not unapproachable. Waxen solemnity and a bit of rough leather, embedded in soft spices without lasting sweetness. Like a solitary rider galloping through the Phrygian steppe on a starry winter night.
Conclusion: a quiet smoky-spice scent beyond an 'expected', let alone 'ordinary' Oriental. Perfect for lying next to the heater by the window on a gray icy morning at the end of December and watching the snow fall.
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