Did you know that I can't remember my dreams? And yet they assail me in the darkness, settling like black mists over my thoughts at night. They cannot be controlled, cannot be controlled and although I know that they will disappear as soon as the racing of my heart subsides, I am not naive enough to deny them.
Even now, my heart wants to roll over and yet I place my trembling fingers on the lid of the jar that they will later, much later, in their helplessness, call a box. If I were to turn around, I could see your eyes widen.
They will find a thousand reasons to belittle what I do. They will call me "ignorant" with an apologetic shake of the head and focus on how helpless and weak I was, misguided out of the determination of my creation.
You must have seen my jaw tighten, could even guess how the rage of conviction slowed my breathing. My hand has gone completely still as I break the flower-shaped seal of the vessel. It would be easy to smash everything to pieces, and yet I will only open the lid. Calm and strength pulsate through my veins as, with almost infinite effort and deepest conviction, I release the inevitable green glow from its cage, sacrificing my own safety, comfort and prosperity and becoming the first of all to taste the pain of doing the right thing.
Of the evils I have unleashed, they will speak for millennia to come. Of my disobedience, my weakness and my curiosity. The flash of hope and knowledge at the moment I opened the box, on the other hand, they will pass over in their arrogance, just like the strength with which I bore all this.
But you understand the courage it takes to look so deeply into the mirror on the other side of the jar. For nothing else was bound within it but ourselves.
From now on, I will remember my dreams.
**
Blind-tested, I would certainly have classified St. Clair's Pandora as a dark floral galbanum chypre from the 1970s and I have to admit that the little vial, which I have been sniffing repeatedly for over a year and have now been wearing sparingly for days, has left me puzzled: Usually fragrances start with lighter, brighter, fresher top notes, slowly warming up more and more and tending to get darker towards the base. Pandora, on the other hand, greets me with a dark base note and a slightly smoky, bitter green note that I would have identified as galbanum without even a second's doubt, and not normal galbanum, but slightly tilted like in my vintage Chanel No 19 bottle, which has a strange pull on me that does not occur in the intact versions of the fragrance.
Galbanum is not listed here, however, and when I helplessly follow the pyramid, I come to the conclusion that it must be a mixture of tomato leaf, vetiver and what is listed here as apple, which I perceive as galbanum. This tart green and unusually dark top note is soon joined by abstract indolic flowers, which I can't for the life of me pick out individually, before a buttery rather than powdery iris with tonka lanterns brightens up the fragrance.
The initially chypre-typical base with rather tart, leathery labdanum and rich oakmoss also holds surprises in store, as I suddenly notice the dark green galbanum glow from the top note again.
Pandora is not the only fragrance from the house to excite and amaze me, and once again I can hardly believe that Diane St. Clair is a self-taught perfumer. This surprising fragrance progression is truly unique and does not shake the impression of having a well-proportioned classic under my nose. Quite the opposite, in fact. This blend of indie daring and classic backbone is unfortunately all too rare.
Pandora was released in the Audacious Innocence collection together with its sister fragrance
Eve, which I am unfortunately not familiar with: "The stories of Pandora and Eve, who reached for the forbidden apple, have much in common. Both came to symbolize women who were punished for disobeying orders and acting on their impulses towards curiosity. We believe that women who challenge the rules and follow their curiosity are striving towards creativity, innovation and independence." It says on the homepage. Hallelujah! In and of itself, I don't have much to add to this thought, and yet I have to disagree a little in relation to St. Clair's Pandora: There is nothing at all impulsive and innocent about Pandora in my perception. What I smell here suits a seasoned woman who knows exactly what she is doing and who is not afraid to become uncomfortable in full awareness when necessary.
Dear Gandix, you have made me very happy with this precious sample. Thank you!
Top Notes 
Apple
Bergamot
Red mandarin orange
Citron
Tomato leaf
Heart Notes 
Lilac
Ylang-ylang
Bulgarian rose absolute
Orris butter
Turkish rose absolute
Jasmine sambac
Carrot seed
Base Notes 
Musk
Labdanum
Oakmoss
Opoponax absolute
Tonka bean
Vetiver
Woods
