PinkOrchid

The Roaring Twenties, Les Années folles … an exciting time.
The First World War is over. Economic boom. Cinemas, cafés, theaters, variety shows, and dance palaces open everywhere. Jazz and swing conquer the music world, people dance the Charleston and shimmy. Nightlife in the big cities is exuberant, cheerful, and liberal, the Art Deco style is in its heyday.

Women are emancipating, they can vote and work, drive cars, smoke, and drink strong spirits. The flappers conquer the world, with bobbed hair, knee-length skirts, and long pearl necklaces.
Josephine Baker performs at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, and the Comedian Harmonists sing about their little green cactus.
People want to forget the horrors of war and have fun.
Paris … in the twenties THE metropolis for artists of all kinds - painters, writers, poets, sculptors, photographers.

In this spectacular time lives Jacques Guerlain, a genius artist who - in the third generation and fully in the tradition of his family - creates unique fragrances. Fragrances that conquer the world. Mouchoir de Monsieur, Après L’Ondée, L’Heure Bleue, Mitsouko, Vol de Nuit … just a few of his works.
He lives a reclusive life at 22 Rue Murillo in Paris, avoiding the public and giving no interviews.
And finally, in 1925, he presents his new creation at the Exposition Internationale Des Arts Décoratifs Et Industriels Modernes in Paris. It is the culmination of a four-year creative process.

Shalimar … the purest of all human joys.
The temple of love.
Inspired by the love of the great Mughal Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal and the Shalimar Gardens in Agra.

The bottle made of exquisite Baccarat crystal glass is designed by Raymond Guerlain, a cousin of Monsieur Jacques. Its curved lines evoke the fountains of the Shalimar garden. It is the first bottle with a base and takes the shape of the typical fountains in the gardens of the Mughal Empire.
The blue, fan-shaped glass stopper symbolizes the splendor and elegance of the Far East.
This blue closure was the first made of colored crystal. Rumor has it that it was originally hollow and filled with mercury, which created the blue color. Soon, however, Baccarat discovered a closely guarded method that allowed the stopper to be dyed blue without a hollow space.

~*~*~*~

Many years ago, when I was already passionate about fragrances but still very young, I had an encounter with Shalimar. It must have been the Eau de Toilette and it must have been in the late 70s or early 80s.
Back then, we just didn’t connect. I found the scent simply terrible … old-fashioned and antiquated, yet shrill and intrusive, an anachronism.
A long time later, a few years ago, I made a second attempt - this time with the Eau de Parfum. It was wonderful, an experience. But still not quite right.
Then, in a wonderful way, the Extrait came to me. And I was overwhelmed. That was it. The only true one. The queen. Nothing could surpass it.

Everything has probably already been written about Shalimar, so I certainly don’t need to “dissect” the scent, therefore …

… Shalimar is an “Oriental.” It is so sensual, so soft, so finely powdery, so infinitely deep. Opulent, intoxicating, and exotic, a masterful seductress, an amber-colored exotic, a charming, precious flower.
For me, it is a warm, delicious embrace. Home, love, security.
If I could only keep one fragrance, this would be it. I can’t imagine being without it.
A true Grande Dame, who has lost none of her class, her personality, and beauty over the decades.

I am stingy with my treasure. The fragrance is almost 40 years old and very precious to me. I usually dab it on and enjoy it just for myself, and each time I am terrified that the bottle will slip from my hand and shatter into a thousand pieces.

For those who don’t know it yet - feel free to check out "The Legend of Shalimar," published by Maison Guerlain in 2013. It’s really beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rObi4f87fn8

Recently, by happy circumstances, a sample of Suki Essence
came my way.
Sniffing at the sample vial, I initially thought: well, not bad … uh, wait a minute, there’s plum in there … hmmm  …

Dominant plum and/or rose can be tricky for me (I can’t stand Musc Noir and Atomic Rose, for example), but upon first contact with my skin, all concerns vanished.

Here, the sweet-spicy notes of plum, date, cinnamon, and incense are so finely and elegantly intertwined that it’s simply a joy to catch a whiff of the scent whenever it wafts around me.

Despite the corresponding notes, Suki Essence is unexpectedly not a powerhouse (well, with 10 sprays, maybe it is, lol). On the contrary, it is a charming caresser that conveys warmth and harmony, giving me a true sense of well-being.

Cinnamon-dusted dried fruits - initially underscored by a fine citrus note - beautifully interplay with noble incense and a very delicate ethereal rose.
Dates and plums lend the fragrance a velvety sweetness that never becomes harsh or aggressive or - even worse - unbearably cloying or generic, but remains soft and supple at all times. And, believe it or not, it stays relatively close to the skin. The fine bitterness of the incense truly complements it wonderfully and serves as a convincing counterpoint to the resinous-sweet base note.
After a few hours, the scent gently fades to a vanilla-like warmth, intimacy, and tenderness.
Suki is a sensual fragrance that subtly embraces and caresses its wearer. If I were to assign it a color, I would choose a warm golden orange-yellow.
The yellow bottle looks, at least in photos, exceptionally cheerful and pretty.

With heartfelt thanks to the wonderful @Sternenklar, who made it possible for me to get to know this beautiful scent!
It will soon be mine :-)

Recently, I read the story of the nymph Daphne, whom the Greek god Apollo (Phoebus) fell in love with in an immortal passion.
When Apollo wanted to overpower Daphne, she fled from him. Exhausted from her escape, she finally begged her father Peneios to transform her shape to escape Apollo. He granted her wish and turned her into a laurel tree.
For Apollo, the tree became sacred through this transformation, and since then he has worn a laurel wreath on his head as an expression of his pain over unrequited love.

“Help, Father, if you rivers have divine power!
Through transformation, ruin the shape with which I pleased too much!”
Hardly had the plea ended when a heavy numbness seized her limbs.
The soft breasts were enclosed by tender bark,
the hair turned to leaves, the arms grew as branches;
already the nimble foot was held by sluggish roots,
a treetop concealed her face. Only the shine remained.
Phoebus loved her nonetheless. He held his right hand to the trunk
and still felt under the new bark the trembling breast.
The branches, like limbs, entwining with his arms
he kissed the wood, but the wood recoiled from the kisses.

While reading, one of my favorite fragrances came to mind.

Dans Paris is a subtle scent. Sweet, yes, but with a fine, exquisite, honey-like sweetness. It is never flashy or even intrusive.
Just like I imagine a nymph … delicate, ethereal, and of graceful beauty.

I do not perceive it as gourmand at all,
Dans Paris is a wonderfully creamy vanilla scent (oh, vanilla, sigh) … at the beginning a hint of tender green freshness amidst the fine, soft vanilla, which is followed after a little while by a subtle almond aroma, ultimately leading into a cloud-soft musk base.
Bergamot, laurel blossoms, and coriander seeds give it a delicate, aromatic spiciness, a warmth that carries and protects me despite its weightlessness.
It is not radiant, but it makes me shine.

Coriander (seeds) in healing practices represents clarity and purity of feelings. It symbolizes the primal force of the universe and creation, but also provides comfort in emotional wounds. It inspires us to perceive our feelings more clearly and consciously.

True laurel (Laurus nobilis) is grounding and calming, providing inner security, mental agility, and concentration, offering new strength in mental exhaustion and giving fresh momentum.
And its flowers, small fragile yellow-white stars, look enchanting.

Sexiness or eroticism is sought in vain here. Instead, one finds a natural, attractive elegance that caresses the senses like a soft cashmere scarf, shedding stress, irritation, and nervousness while bestowing harmony, security, and relaxation.

The bottle is exactly how I love it - classic and simple, yet very, very elegant.
Heavy glass, a fantastic sprayer, and a magnetic closure that crowns the elegant bottle design.

If I were to have a signature scent, it would probably be this one.
I am, in any case, head over heels in love with this charming, enchanting fragrance :-)

After I became aware of Magnificent Gold some time ago, I got myself a sample. Of course, partly because I am a vanilla lover, and then because the white oud intrigued me.
I have no idea about and no experience with oud, only that it sometimes appears in a rather unpleasant guise, that seems certain. But white oud, and then also in combination with vanilla, sounded bright and harmless and worth testing.

Magnificent Gold smells incredibly noble and expensive and extraordinarily beautiful,
This elegant vanilla, which is not a gourmand vanilla, combined with the white oud (which I don’t recognize, but it must be the oud, otherwise there’s nothing in it) gives the fragrance this wonderful spiciness with a hint of powderiness, completely without dust, and the exquisite bouquet. A distinctive, striking, extraordinary, exquisite scent. I was immediately thrilled.
I still am, time and again.

And yet ... I have ambivalent feelings.

Magnificent Gold is, in my perception, extremely powerful. After I spritzed my usual two sprays on my wrists during the first test, I was increasingly surrounded by something like an invisible aura. As if the fragrance were spreading from the wrist by itself, multiplying, until the whole body is enveloped. With every movement, another wave of scent hits me. For hours. As if it were expanding, nourishing and renewing itself.
Remarkable. And for me, with each new attempt, it always becomes too much at some point (too much of a good thing, but still too much).
It is a linear scent without further development. What you smell when you spray it is what you still smell after five hours, just less powerful.

“Magnificent Gold” - the name fits it well, I think. No talcum, no glittery cheap trinkets, but pure radiant gold.
And exactly this radiance is what I mean. Even on the wrist with just one spray distributed on both sides, I’ve had test days where I washed it off after two hours. Sprayed on the décolletage, I probably couldn’t handle the magnificent gold at all, lol.

Well, a bottle probably won’t be joining my collection.
It’s a shame really, this beauty would certainly look enchanting in my collection :-))

She awoke with a jolt, just like almost every night.
She hated the nights. The darkness, the silence, the loneliness. And the dreams that haunted her with regularity.
This time, however, it was different.
For the first time, she was not afraid. For the first time, she did not hear the dying scream that usually brought her to wakefulness.
Through the open terrace doors, diffuse light of an unusual color poured in. A gentle breeze fanned the delicate curtains and brushed her face. Her nostrils flared.
This scent, so clear and sharp and fresh, so cool and aloof, struck a chord within her.
Slowly, she rose and stepped outside. Her eyes widened and her heart raced. Before her lay a magical landscape like she had never seen.
On gently sloping green hills, lushly blooming wild roses and the white stars of jasmine with their intoxicating fragrance flourished.
Tall firs with shimmering tips swayed in the gentle, lemon-scented wind. Juniper bushes, with berries like blue diamonds, wafted their sharp aroma from afar.
The soft, sweetly fragrant ground beneath her feet still breathed a little of the day's warmth.

She bathed in the silvery shimmering lavender moonlight, inhaled the unique bouquet deeply, and felt an unprecedented peace.
_______________________

Floral, and especially rosy, is basically not my direction, but there are exceptions.
This scent here is one of them. I bought it some time ago because the reviews and statements had impressed me so much that I ultimately could not resist.
So, I’m not usually into rose in fragrances, but here the roses, along with the jasmine, are so finely woven with the citrus freshness and the wonderful sharpness of juniper and fir as a counterpoint, that a truly unique, elegant (and fortunately completely non-soapy on my skin) scent has emerged, which I really like very much.