Bananenmilch

In a forum post, someone writes about you - a fragrance that is supposed to smell like milk and unicorns. I'm not really taken with this description, and yet my interest is somehow piqued. I call up your Parfumo entry and read through a few statements and reviews. There is always talk of milk, coconuts and unicorns. You're supposed to be magical, but what does magic smell like?

I like milk, but I can't imagine anything with a milk scent.

I am averse to coconut because I associate it with overly sweet bounty and tropicalized, artificial-smelling deodorants and body lotions.

Last but not least, the frequently mentioned symbol of a "unicorn" should actually put me off the most. I can't help but think of the colors pink and silver, glitter in excess, sticky sweetness and little girls playing with their "My Little Pony" plush unicorn and not wanting to take off their fancy dress tutu with the accompanying fairy wings. The unicorn hype of recent years has probably contributed to this kitsch being the first thing that comes to mind (the inevitable mugs, pencil cases, T-shirts... with inscriptions such as "Unicorn Princess", "Always be a unicorn", "Unicorns are real" - you get what I mean).

However, nowhere here have you been described as overly cute or associated with pink princesses. So apparently you're not a cheesy girly scent - but then what are you? Grandma's rice pudding, unicorns under coconut palms...
For the life of me, I can't imagine what you are and decide to see for myself. A few days later, two milliliters of unicorn milk arrive in my letterbox. When I apply you for the first time, I finally begin to understand.

_____

You are creamy to me. As creamy as a dessert, like a creamy, warm rice pudding or a cremé brûlée, even if you don't smell like it. Does that make sense?

You are also sweet, but your sweetness is tempered and at one with your creaminess. You are not sticky or even sugary. "Sweet" is not an attribute that pops into my head as soon as I smell you, but something that I attribute to you when I consciously think about it.

I can understand the often-read coconut association, but I don't think I would have associated you with it myself. The interplay of your notes is somehow reminiscent of coconut, but it's not quite there - very difficult to describe.

For me, you are gentle and at peace with yourself, quiet and mysterious.

For me you are warm and soft, your sillage is a cozy blanket that warms on cold days.

For me, you are a soul comforter that caresses the heart and envelops me in security.

Your name is Blanche Bête, "the white animal".
Of course. You are a unicorn, now I finally understand.
I was just thinking all wrong at first. You're neither pink nor kitschy nor girly - no, you're the real animal creature from the mythical world, shrouded in legend, alive and warm under your fur. I see you in my mind's eye, standing in a forest clearing at night, your white form illuminated by the moonlight.

At this point, I would like to refer back to Harry Potter, because I imagine you exactly as J.K. Rowling describes the unicorn: as the incredibly pure, rare and shy creature with the silvery blood that dark figures seek out because it has healing and life-prolonging powers. You live in dark and enchanted forests, all too rarely showing yourself to humans. Those who do get to see you are said to be indescribably lucky.

I suspect there won't be many people here who have played "Hogwarts Legacy". The game immerses you in the magical world of the Harry Potter universe. In the course of the story, you can rescue various magical creatures from poachers and keep them in different vivariums. Since unicorns are mysterious creatures that live in dark forests despite their bright selves, it makes sense to have them move into the "swamp vivarium", a mystical, dark place where it is always night.

A melancholy, mysterious and at the same time comforting melody can be heard at all times in this vivarium, which I have since inextricably linked with the unicorns that I let move in there. For me, this melody and the whole atmosphere of a shimmering, delicate unicorn in the midst of the moonlit gloom describes this fragrance perfectly.
If you're interested, take a listen and let it work its magic on you:

https://youtu.be/P7ZinqyVSrM?si=_GjBotDUKziUlflt

_____



Thanks to Louise Turner for this beautiful creation. I'm usually more of a statement type, but "Blanche Bête" inspired me to write a longer commentary for once. I couldn't have done justice to this fragrance in a statement: although I find it an absolute fall/winter cozy that warms you from the inside and somehow fills you with happiness, it also has this magical and mysterious touch that makes it extraordinary.