GGNase

Bathe carefree with the immaculate Mother of God in the idyllic garden of an abandoned basilica in a pool full of milk, pick basil and thyme, rub them between your fingers and anoint your forehead with the herbs soaked in cypriol, light the finest incense with a pinch of sandalwood in the shade of mighty cedars and let it float in a bowl, a kitten sips with relish from the consecrated bath - here everything is pure, wholesome and worthy, close your eyes, listen to the fresh wind, hear pure gratitude in your heart and breathe in a breeze of pure light.

When you dive into the world of perfume, you usually start with the usual designer scents, Dior, Hugo Boss, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent & Co - these are high-priced fashion brands, and as a layperson, you assume excellent quality. But the name often deceives. The same goes for shoes - truly high-quality, durable luxury shoes are not found at Gucci or Hugo Boss, but at Alden, Santoni, or Dinkelacker, while the lesser-quality well-known brands often sell much better for the same price. Niche fragrances often have much better quality, especially Amouage, where I enjoy the highest level of perfume craftsmanship in all scents and can sniff out the finest ingredients in the most delightful compositions. In fact, I was looking for shoes at Breuninger and thought about how brands, as well as the department store, deceive us with the artificial presentation of goods regarding quality. Normally, I have been testing fragrances at home for a while; I live in a villa in the countryside in an idyllic little town in the middle of nowhere, very connected to nature. Fragrances are not a status symbol for me but a luxury I often enjoy alone - as an artist and art lover, I also appreciate quirky things like "The Book of Wisdom - Elixir Fatal | Adi ale Van," which can truly be called "niche." Most of the sprays come from the small souk refills here from you, which only differ visually by the label or the color of the tape. I am mostly interested in nature-inspired scents, preferably something mystically dark. It can also be a bit more experimental. There are niche, not too mass-appealing options from Amouage as well - Purpose is one, or "Figment Man | Amouage." But you can also find Jubilation XXV Man and "Myths Man | Amouage," my two favorite scents that compose the finest craftsmanship and gourmet-like assembly of the noblest ingredients into a noble olfactory experience. Breuninger has a strange allure for me; here you find expensive designer clothes that often look the part. I don't really want to delve into the current discourse of Old Money & New Money; for me, perfume is not about money but about pure artistic enjoyment. However, what I want to get at is that Enclave fits perfectly into a luxury department store for me, as that is how I envision the ideal of a "designer scent," very pleasing with mainstream-desired DNA, balanced, modern, elegant. It smells like Sauvage Eau de Toilette but better, which truly fits perfectly in Breuninger, in the luxury department store, not in an elegant little artistically nature-connected niche boutique, but where people go to make an impression with good quality and actually get the best quality. Perfect scent for the urban lifestyle. For me, as a nature lover, there are better alternatives. What do you think of Enclave? Does it fit better for you in the city than in the countryside?

Yesterday, I attended a school theater performance of "Gretchen," where 12th-grade girls critically engaged with "Faust" and the portrayal of women within it. Somehow, I thought this was the perfect occasion to finally test the fragrance.
The scent truly smells intellectual, dusty, almost like dried roses in a first edition of a classic. It immediately conjured the precise image of an elegant lady over a hundred years old, wearing rose perfume. The 1920s or even the 19th century; almost mummy-like, as if one had preserved an ancient intellectual lady.
In the school theater, the young girls criticized the glorified depiction of an old man who falls in love with a minor and provided a sharp intellectual counter-narrative, placing not the old Faust, but Gretchen at the center. The fragrance made me honor the beautiful image of an old, intellectual woman - an image that is far too rarely appreciated in art, as well as in society.
The artistic performance of the young girls enchanted me yesterday with their clever literary critique. The scent awakened in me the desire to admire women for their intelligence. "The Book of Wisdom - Elixir Fatal" is a bold statement, truly a work of art that, in my opinion, is still wearable. The described image endures through the first six hours and has something animalistically lightly dark about it - not in a creepy sense, but more a love for the wisdom of an all-knowing woman on the brink of decay, which certainly evokes Gothic associations.
Those who love this work of art, like I do, or bear it out of curiosity, will be greatly rewarded in the drydown. I applied the fragrance over 24 hours ago and can't stop sniffing my wrist. For by now, this precise image on my skin has transformed into a slightly sweet-resinous oud-raspberry-rose elixir of such beauty that one might think it was not the old Faust, but the ancient Gretchen who had taken the rejuvenation potion.