Serres74

...Her eyes first had to get used to the dim light when she entered the jazz club and the smoky haze made everything appear in an even more diffuse light. Her girlfriend was not there yet, which was typical, because she was always late for appointments. The people around her laughed, flirted and looked deep into each other's eyes...but some of them just sat there and listened to the music. The stage was small and manageable and the lady who stood there and sang had a soft, pleasant voice. Outside it had become quite cold and she needed something to warm up. She grabbed a seat at the bar and looked for the bartender, who with a gesture of his hand told her that he would serve her right away. "What would you like?" he asked politely... "well...I don't know, I'm not that much of an alcoholic now and honestly need something warm because I'm totally frozen"... "Irish Coffee maybe?" he asked... "coffee at this time of day? No way"...the bartender looked at her for a moment, grinned broadly and said... "I think I know what you might like, may I surprise you with it?"...she shrugged... "yes why not? She watched him fiddling around with various things but couldn't quite see what exactly he was putting in her glass. Last but not least he put marhmallows?! on top and flambéed them. "Here you go, a special Lumumba!"... "a what?"... "Lumumba, but in my way, hot chocolate flavoured with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, spiced rum and instead of whipped cream slightly caramelised marshmallows, voilà Lumumba!"... "aha" suspiciously she took the high glass and brought it to her lips...oh...what a delicious scent! The aromatic spices tickled her nose. The fine cocoa smelled already very tipsy like rum and the caramelized marshmallows exuded a delicious vanilla scent. She took a big sip of it...leeecker! She winked at the bartender and smiled broadly, he nodded back and took care of his other guests. Warmed up from the inside and slightly detached, her body moved to the gentle rhythm of the music, singing softly "...no need to ask. He's a smooth operator, smooth operator...

If Tobacco Vanilla would be a drink, then the Lumumba would be...spicy, aromatic, delicious...ok there is no rum listed in the pyramid of scents, but I think it smells like it and no fear, the cocoa is there, but of course not as strong as in the drink. The vanilla is not from this world, really nice and smokey seductive...an absolute dream(winter)scent!

...somehow I got the taste to try men's fragrances now and then. Some were allowed to move on immediately, others were allowed to stay. So after I was so enthusiastic about Jaipur Homme from Boucheron and Rochas Man from...um...Rochas?! it could be this scent, because the pyramid of scents is all mine
Well what can I say...Bull's-eye!!!
When the bergamot and the pepper have warped, the palatable cinnamon comes out...probably the plum makes him so, so...gggrrrrr...animalistic? At least there should be no male being around me who carries this scent...otherwise I can't guarantee anything ;-)
As the wine progresses, almond and heliotrope are added, which gives it a slightly bittersweet note. I have noticed that when heliotrope and almond appear in fragrances, they like to stick to my taste buds...at least I have the feeling of having a coated tongue all day long...in a positive sense, of course
In the drydown I hear a creamy tobacco, not one of those smoky, scratchy, disgusting (sorry) ashtray tobacco scents like Orto Parisi's Terroni (as you can see, I'm still trying to get over this trauma) supported by the cedar, which contributes this spicy, woody note. I don't necessarily perceive leather, patchouli not really either.
The Sillage is ok...the durability too, although I wouldn't have minded if the scent would last longer...for an extréme unfortunately weak, the only thing I have to complain about...otherwise top scent!

...one of you is about to give up smoking... this scent will replace any nicotine patch! You don?t even have to spray it on, it?s enough to sniff the atomizer to get an idea of what it smells like in hell...like an ashtray. I'm shocked that that smell got such good ratings... hello?! What is wrong with you?! Well...tastes differ and my motto has always been live and let live
The scent is very smoky, woody, earthy...at first you think of incense...but I think it is mastic. Many Greek gums contain mastic. But also liqueurs or loukoum are flavoured with it, deliciously tasty...but in this fragrance every therapeutic effect that is said to be caused by mastic is killed.
When the fragrance has calmed down...so after three, four, five hours...the scent becomes balsamic, a little softer and rounder, without losing much of its smoky note. Definitely not a women's fragrance as stated above...and a man should spray the morgnes when he has the date in the evening...

...was a woman... no... a grande dame, to be exact, and a friend of my mother's. Kira is Greek for "woman". Kira Maria... so this woman Maria was several years older than my mother and became a widow at an early age. Despite the difference in age, both women had a common hobby, namely sewing. They often exchanged patterns, went to buy fabrics, helped each other with tricky things and had a lot of fun together. I loved this woman, because for me she embodied the image of an independent, educated, wise woman who had to learn to get along without a man at an early age and relied only on her own strength. I admired her style. She was always smartly dressed, her costumes fitted perfectly and she always, but really always, had matching shoes and bag. Sometimes she saw some shoes she liked, bought them and sewed a matching costume. Her fingernails were always discreetly painted, her hairstyle was right and she smelled soooo lovely like samsara. I liked to go along when my mother visited her, although I was a teenager at the time and preferred to hang out with my friends.
I loved listening to her talk about times and experiences long gone. She never made me feel like an ignorant, stupid teenager but always asked me for my opinion and encouraged me to follow news, read books, always stay curious and question everything...in short, to use my brain ;-)
And when I think of kira Maria, I always think of powder...because samsara does just that...it has this powdery note that some people think is old-fashioned, but I find wonderfully elegant.
The prelude of samsara reminds me of Nivea suntan lotion...yes really...but only very short...very short. After that a mixture of bergamot and lemon is added, accompanied by amber and lots of clove. This might kill one or the other, especially when all the flowers are still mixed in but people, what comes out is an iris of the finest, which brings along this elegant powdery one...carried by sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla, needless to mention that in the drydown this initially flowery spicy turns into something creamy sweet and just smells delicious...

...a beautiful woman. Even though her alabaster-coloured skin had lost some of its youthful freshness, one could not get enough of her aristocratic features. Apart from her perfectly curved lips and sweet little nose, it was her eyes that captivated us. There were days when they seemed more blue...on other days more grey...and then there were days when he could have sworn they were purple...as purple as the heliotrope that blooms in the garden.
While she poured Earl Grey into his cup she looked at him with those purple eyes framed by long black eyelashes. God how much he loved that woman. She drove him crazy. He knew that she didn't love him anymore...and that it was his fault that this love had gone out over the years. But he couldn't help but control her all the time...and yes...it was also hard for him to keep his jealousy in check. Whatever she had to tease him... "is that an almond cake?" he asked her while she served him a piece on a dessert plate. "No, what makes you think so?"... "it smells like almonds and lemons here"... It must be my new scent, do you like it?" she sat down opposite him and poured herself tea as well. "Ah, that's your third new scent in a very short time. I wonder if collecting scents has become your new hobby or if you are more interested in the young man who is now working for Madame Julie in the perfumery". She paused briefly in her movement and put the jug down on the table ... "You mean Raoul? A very interesting young man. He studies pharmacy and earns a little money on the side with Madame Julie..."... "so you call each other by your first name"... he felt anger boil up in him and he clenched his hands into fists... "I beg you, why do you always have to overreact like that? Have I ever given you a reason to be jealous? I have always been faithful to you!!!". She grabbed her cigarette case and went to the window. She lit a cigarette with trembling fingers. "Madeleine! Please forgive me, you know I don't mean that and no, you've always been faithful to me. How foolish of me to think that such a young man could be interested in you. After all, you're not that young anymore. Come my darling, don't be angry with me, the tea is getting cold and I can't wait to try this delicious cake". She turned to him again and while she was pulling on her cigarette she watched her husband eating from the cake. At last she would soon be free. Free of him and his morbid jealousy, his need to control and the constant humiliation. Free for Raoul, who did everything for her, even getting the cyanide for her...

I can understand why Madeleine is called poisonous, as there are two components that are poisonous...bitter almond and heliotrope. On me you can smell the almond from the beginning to the end and the heliotrope makes it wonderfully vanilla, soft. I find the bergamot in it interesting, which is not dominant at all, but still present and makes the whole thing look a bit fresher. I don't know if it's the musk or if I'm imagining it...but I have the feeling that after a while the scent really gets on my taste buds, as unusual as it may sound...and I feel a bitter taste in my mouth. Nevertheless a fantastic scent which makes the wearer appear attractive and distant at the same time...

By the way, I was inspired for this little story by Can's comment, who kindly sent me a bottle of this perfume, thank you very much ;-)