Flash from the Past: The Charm of Natural Perfumery

I must begin with my apology for dropping the ball on my chronicle of our visit to Strange Invisible Perfumes!  Had I not been alerted to Tom's review of Botanique Musc by Roxana, I probabaly would have lagged even more -- there are those bloggers who cannot stop themselves from posting every little thing they do, and there are those, like me (and Cait ; ) who are mired in their every day experiences (I speak for myself) and simply forget to blog!  I even forget to check my beloved perfume blog Grain de Musc and can miss tons of interesting posts and comments in only a week!  But enough about me and my slothful ways.

As at least 106 (my traffic that day, whoops!) of you read in Tom's review of Musc Botaniqe last week, we had a lovely visit to Strange Invisible Perfumes in Venice (California ; ) a couple of weeks ago.  All of the women who work for this place are delightful and happy to share their beloved naturally based scents, which is the best advertisement I can think of for this jewel box of a shop.  I grew up in the late 60's and early 70's, and I must admit that the lure of the hippie perfume oils was lost on me at the time.  I was already a bit of a snob and also a vintage-clothing-wearer (although I did wear leotards and jeans on occasion) and I was more interested in smelling like Rita Hayworth in Gilda than the girl who sang I Met a Boy Called Frank Mills in HAIR (which I LOVED, check out this video, but it wasn't my aesthetic).  I could be wrong, but I think that this was also the period during which loads of synthetic Musk was hitting the streets in hipppy oils, Patchouli and Rain aside.  I just remember that some of the scents labeled Musk smelled very interesting to me, although I didn't "get" them, and others just smelled wierd, as did lots of the blends one tried in head shops or small boutiques.  This must have been the beginning of my sensitivity, or asnomia, to many synthetics used in perfumery.  

All of this is to say that the charms of Natural Perfumery is not lost on my, I do smile when the scent of Patchouli oil wafts past me at our local Farmer's Market as it did a numbe of times this morning, because I understand and appreciate the signification, and I do like the smell.  But I generally like my scents more expertly blended and mysterious.  The scents at Strange Invisible Perfumes, while harking back to a more innocent time, are, in fact, expertly blended, and in some cases are quite a bit more than a sum of their parts.  Overall, the sensibility is a bit sweet for me, as I like my perfume a bit darker, more bitter, and even trickier it seems, but there are certainly a number of crossover scents at SIP which might even please a diehard vintagelover.  Lyric Rain, for instance, has a full-on vintage quality (thank Tom's nose for this, and only my corroboration), and if I didn't have a dozen of them already, or if I were a diehard Organic fan, I would be very happy with it.  Galatea is also one of the oddest scents there, and I need to go back to try it again.  Black Rosette, as Scentself mentions, is a rather gothic twist on rose, and bears further exploration, as does Magazine Street (with proceeds going to aid Hurrican Kristina victims in New Orleans), and L'Invisible.   The interesting surprise for me was indeed Musc Botanique, which starts out smelling freshly and greenly nothing at all like Musk, but dries down to a lovely "skin scent" that I swear is what other people are loving when they smell Musk -- like in Musc Ravageur, but not as sweet.  Now this scent alone doesn't rock my world, but I am looking forward to trying it as a layering element to help other beloved scents stick to me, as I could detect it's presence on my upper arm a full 12 hours after I had applied it! 
   
Stay tuned for my Chemistry Set Experiment with the formula of A Taste of Heaven, which has actually been enacted -- thank Heaven for long weekends! 

Comments

[ScentScelf]

What do Qwendy and Cait share in common? A quality and interest-sparking level in their blogs that is high enough for me to faithfully pay regular pilgrimages in hopes of a "smackerel." (Remember Winnie-the-Pooh, in search of that little something of a snack to soothe the rumbly in his tumbly?) The smackerel is worth the wait once it appears...

(...but I must admit, I'd be happy for just a smidge more. ;) )

I appreciate your account of the trip through the SIP offerings. I currently rely on mail order for that line, so have no opportunity to have a good sit down/get to know you feast with them. I agree that their best scents are more than the sum of their parts.

Hey, speaking of rocking your world, I just wrote this week about "Black Rosette" and how it rocked my boat...good vibes!

[Qwendy]

Oh please, Scentself, I can't take the flattery! Although it might make me post more! Yes, I saw your ref to Black Rosette in a comment, and it reminded me that it was the first SIP I ever sniffed, a few years ago, too! I'll surely be posting about my Chem Experiment this week, and I have something else up my sleeve, if I could only remember what it is ; ) I fear we've lost all of the others who checked in last week ; ( Roxana had mentioned the idea of a shoe/perfume collaboration, and also an interest in Absinthe, what with the wonderful historical period, it's just ripe for shoes too! We'll see, it's going to be a busy season.........but Absinthe is perfect for spring, right?

[ScentScelf]

***happy to applaud and flatter if that is the tool to successfully goad more writing out of you...***

Whatever you discover up your sleeve, I'm sure it will lead to intriguing and ultimately rewarding experiments. Have fun. :)

Oh, and the Absinthe? Enough of it, and it is perfect for any season. ;)

[perfumeshrine]

It's such a pleasure to discover an alternative blog: I wasn't aware of your little corner and it will be my pleasure to now rummage through your archives and to keep an eye for your newer posts. :-)
And your musings on hippie oils are very interesting: apparently not all people were into them.
(btw, you might find my Absinthe Series interesting: I wasn't privy to A Taste of Heaven then though)

[Qwendy]

Helg, how nice to see you here! I'm about to do a post on Opus Oils, another facet of nouveau hippie oils that interests me, and you too I think. I'll take a peek at your Absinthe post now, and watch this space for a report on my (successful) chemistry experiment with it! Scentself will be happy to read more I think, she's my most loyal reader, thanks so much for your senses turned my way!

[ScentScelf]

(she's right, she is)
;)

[Divina]

Thank you so much for coming to my blog and introducing me to yours! You have been linked! Great to find another fan of this wonderful perfume and I look so much forward to reading about your experiment - how interesting!

Hugs,

Divina

[Anya]

Wendy, nice post on NP, and I'm still waiting for the report on your neroli tincture ;-)