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Woody notes04/27/2025
loewenherz
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loewenherz
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10
No trace of Viðareiði
If you suggest a perfume for a new entry in the database, I think you might as well write the first review to go with it. So let's go now, here we go!
Let's start where Hela comes from. On the Faroe Islands, 'Føroyar' in Faroese - eighteen islands in the middle of the North Atlantic, halfway between Scotland and Iceland, and that's exactly what it looks like there. Barren, treeless landscapes in gray-green, thrown down under wild skies. Rugged cliffs full of screaming seabirds and quiet fjords with tiny villages at their edge. Meanwhile, tunnels and bridges between most of these islands - an undersea traffic circle in one of these tunnels - a single tiny shopping center in the equally tiny capital of Tórshavn - and now Faroese perfume. 'At last', I didn't think.
Let's continue right there. As just reported, the Faroe Islands are located in the middle of nowhere in the Nordic countries, and despite the dramatic beauty of the Faroese landscape, much of it looks like nowhere. And yet - you can buy mangoes in what is usually the only supermarket in about every third village. Olives from Sicily. Sushi. Not much of everything, of course - but many things on the Faroe Islands are actually not that different from the rest of Europe. In the tiny shopping center there is Burger King and a concept store (!) and in the middle of it all - bang! - faroese perfume. Fenrir's Hela is also sold in the duty free store at Vágar airport - one like everywhere else in the world.
'Hela' (or 'Hel'), the namesake of this perfume, is the goddess of death in the Norse pantheon and sister of the Midgard Serpent and the Fenris Wolf, who will devour the world at Ragnarök, the end of all things. The German word 'Hölle' (hell) derives etymologically from the same root. Younger readers may be reminded of her horned portrayal in the Marvel universe by Australian Cate Blanchett, who played her so wonderfully cool and sardonic. Choosing the name of the goddess of the underworld certainly raises great expectations of an iconic, dark, dramatic scent - whether Faroese or not. It's not, well.
You have to understand this paradox when you approach Hela. A perfume from the end of the world that isn't (anymore), named after the mistress of the underworld - in a concept store diagonally opposite Burger King. Nothing about Hela is austere, rugged or highly dramatic. Nothing here is underworldly or sardonically black. Instead, we find a warm, very sweet, not at all unpleasant (fashion) fragrance that could be found under any name in any bottle in any store anywhere in Europe or elsewhere. Just like Faroese supermarkets look like any supermarket. That's a bit sad. And yet quite nice for the Faroese.
Conclusion: Viðareiði is the name of a remote village on the northern island of Viðoy, where the spectacular Enniberg cliff is located. It doesn't smell of Hela, ambroxan, jasmine or cherry - how could it? Rather at Vágar International Airport, from where you can fly to Copenhagen, Reykjavík and Gran Canaria several times a day, between Guerlain, Bacardi and Moet Chandon - like everywhere else in the world...
Let's start where Hela comes from. On the Faroe Islands, 'Føroyar' in Faroese - eighteen islands in the middle of the North Atlantic, halfway between Scotland and Iceland, and that's exactly what it looks like there. Barren, treeless landscapes in gray-green, thrown down under wild skies. Rugged cliffs full of screaming seabirds and quiet fjords with tiny villages at their edge. Meanwhile, tunnels and bridges between most of these islands - an undersea traffic circle in one of these tunnels - a single tiny shopping center in the equally tiny capital of Tórshavn - and now Faroese perfume. 'At last', I didn't think.
Let's continue right there. As just reported, the Faroe Islands are located in the middle of nowhere in the Nordic countries, and despite the dramatic beauty of the Faroese landscape, much of it looks like nowhere. And yet - you can buy mangoes in what is usually the only supermarket in about every third village. Olives from Sicily. Sushi. Not much of everything, of course - but many things on the Faroe Islands are actually not that different from the rest of Europe. In the tiny shopping center there is Burger King and a concept store (!) and in the middle of it all - bang! - faroese perfume. Fenrir's Hela is also sold in the duty free store at Vágar airport - one like everywhere else in the world.
'Hela' (or 'Hel'), the namesake of this perfume, is the goddess of death in the Norse pantheon and sister of the Midgard Serpent and the Fenris Wolf, who will devour the world at Ragnarök, the end of all things. The German word 'Hölle' (hell) derives etymologically from the same root. Younger readers may be reminded of her horned portrayal in the Marvel universe by Australian Cate Blanchett, who played her so wonderfully cool and sardonic. Choosing the name of the goddess of the underworld certainly raises great expectations of an iconic, dark, dramatic scent - whether Faroese or not. It's not, well.
You have to understand this paradox when you approach Hela. A perfume from the end of the world that isn't (anymore), named after the mistress of the underworld - in a concept store diagonally opposite Burger King. Nothing about Hela is austere, rugged or highly dramatic. Nothing here is underworldly or sardonically black. Instead, we find a warm, very sweet, not at all unpleasant (fashion) fragrance that could be found under any name in any bottle in any store anywhere in Europe or elsewhere. Just like Faroese supermarkets look like any supermarket. That's a bit sad. And yet quite nice for the Faroese.
Conclusion: Viðareiði is the name of a remote village on the northern island of Viðoy, where the spectacular Enniberg cliff is located. It doesn't smell of Hela, ambroxan, jasmine or cherry - how could it? Rather at Vágar International Airport, from where you can fly to Copenhagen, Reykjavík and Gran Canaria several times a day, between Guerlain, Bacardi and Moet Chandon - like everywhere else in the world...
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