Blu 1901 Atelier N°7 Erika Gualtieri

There is a forest near the sea. Slender, bright, tall eucalyptus trunks. Ethereal light. Soft moss and patchouli earth at the feet of the trees. You breathe in the fresh, medicinal, green, earthy scent of the forest deeply. Behind the trees is the sea.
Tu mi hai chiamata
ed io ti ho sentito …
The sea has called you. You heard the call and followed it. Now you stand barefoot in the sand. Then beneath your feet, the seaweed, still warm from the day's sun, caresses your soles as you walk over it.
Tu mi hai amata
ed io ti ho sì onorato…
Once again, you breathe deeply, the scent of the seaweed, the iodine-rich salty air, your chest expands wide, somewhere behind you is blooming ivy, mixing its salty aura into the sea air. You feel, yes, you are right here, you have always been loved. And within you rises a great love for everything and everyone, almost bursting your heart and chest. You don’t even know where to put this oceanic flow. Ancient pains and fears rise within you like sad resins, they become lighter and lighter, you let them rise and drift away. And you gaze further at the infinite blue of the sea and the sky.
Vasto è il nome Tuo
certo è
l'Amore mio…
In the sky, you now see delicate blossoms blooming and sandalwood starry meteors reflecting in the water, their reflections broken and multiplied by the small waves.
Per Amore, per Amore
solo per un Grande Amore.
All of this, the sea, your breath, the sky, the light, is outside and at the same time within you. Softly, wonderfully soft-sweet-starry-powdery. You are completely enveloped in this quiet and peaceful affirmation of the Great Sea Star Balm. Beyond all pains and fears. Loved.
-----
Blu 1901 takes me on such a meditative journey to the sea and into old feelings. Eucalyptus with its medicinal-ethereal freshness in the opening creates the impression of a bright forest by the sea, together with mossy and earthy patchouli notes. Added to this are seaweed and salty ivy, which together evoke the sea and the vastness of the sea and the sky above. It’s wonderfully executed here - no classic aquatic (which I rarely like). Sandalwood with a very, very fine sharpness and a hint of flowers again create light-like moments before benzoin, spicy powdery vanilla, and a soft powdery amber accord with olibanum form the base.
-----
Does the name “Blu 1901” refer to the beginning of Picasso's Blue Period or simply to the sea? Or to both? I do not know. Erika Gualtieri often references works of painting when it comes to her fragrances. Chagall and his work with colors and blue are likely also involved here. In a Facebook post from July 19, 2023, she quotes Bella Chagall, his first wife, from her memories of her husband: “You dip your brushes. Red, blue, white, black splatter. You pull me into the streams of colors. Suddenly you lift me off the ground, as if you were catching the swing with a foot, as if it were getting too tight for you in this small room. You rise, stretch, fly up to the ceiling. Your head tilts back and you turn mine. You touch my ear and murmur.” From: Bella Chagall, Burning Lights. Here, in Bella Chagall's description, the act of painting transitions into what is depicted in the painting, much like in Chagall's frequent representations of the flying couple. The fragrance here can also do this - what is evoked becomes very real in the imagination and generates pictorial stories of forest, sea, vastness, fears, and peace.

The poem integrated above in sections also comes from a Facebook post by Erika Gualtieri from July 8, 2023.

Can longing have a scent? Oh yes,....it can!
Erika has managed to take you on a journey with Blu 1901 to a quiet place that is deeply hidden in the heart of everyone. What is Blu 1901? Blu 1901 is the damp, blue mist of tears that makes one disappear. Or a waxy mask behind which one can retreat and hide when seeking solitude. Blu 1901 is the hands in the water that gently draw circles and wash away all that is oppressive, not allowing it to return!

Blu 1901
It is late in the evening and you walk dejectedly with your head down along the path to the beach through the dunes. The night is starry and the stars sparkle like crystals in the night sky. A gentle wind blows through the dunes, and it smells of patchouli and eucalyptus herbs and grasses from the forest behind you. You step onto the beach, which shimmers bluish-cool in the moonlight, and you can already see the little rowboat in the moonlight. The sand is still warm from a long-gone day. Carefully, you take it in both hands and sniff it. The scent of warm-soft, waxy benzoin and dried woods that smell delicately smoky of frankincense caresses your nose. You reach the little rowboat, which is already patinated by moss, and gently push it into the water. Into the sea that you love so much! You jump into the boat as the delicate seaweed bursts under your bare feet. The sweet scent of seaweed mingles with the scent of the saltiest sandalwood on your skin. With calm movements, you begin to row. Steady and lost in thought. The sea around you is gentle and peaceful, and you can hear the silence breathing. And then suddenly you can see it. The small rock with the lighthouse whose light never goes out. And you pause with your rowing and with yourself. And as the vanilla-warm light in the tower spins hypnotically around itself, your heart warms while a blue tear slowly slips away from you and runs down your face. Suddenly it smells softly of peonies and delicately sweet figs. And you feel as if you are no longer alone in the boat. Something sits next to you and also looks with you into the sparkling, blue night and at the lighthouse. And this something is called longing. And it holds your hand and gently strokes your dreams!

Conclusion
Blu 1901 is a fragrance that awakens longing and invites you to dream.
It is peaceful and gentle, yet so strong at the same time. It has something very positive and hopeful in its vibration that it sends out like a lighthouse fire in the darkness. Eucalyptus combined with warm, earthy patchouli and moss reflects the freshness of forests. Slightly swampy-sweet seaweed and the saltiest sandalwood make the sea appear, but without being truly aquatic. Melting, creamy-warm benzoin runs through the fragrance along with peaceful, resinous-sour, smoky frankincense. A warm-spicy and creamy vanilla combined with a hint of peony and fig lets the perfume float away in the waves of the night. I had the pleasure of experiencing all three creations by Erika. And they are all enchanting and magical in their own way. But Blu is my favorite. Why is that? Perhaps I still do not have enough longings!

Can

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlbJCpL0FZQ