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Post by Sister Mary Magdelene, Patron Saint of Perfumers
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Again we gather in awe and reverence to give thanks for our inspiration – perfume. Today I am wondering am I more than usually sensitive to being moved in my soul by artistic creation? Because scents preserve us, I have had quite a response to this divine composition. Although in faith, given the path I have trod in life, there is no doubt my spirit is unusually sensitive…
Une Fleur de Cassie by Dominique Ropion for Frederic Malle 2000
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one linew:
Mimosa, jasmine, black locust, rose, carnation, sandalwood, vanilla, cassis
Let us spray!
Like the flight of an albatross, this one. Such heavy molecules to become airborne – and it’s an effort – but after some lumbering along the ground and some ungainly flapping it finds my thermals and flies!
And there it is, aloft. Gliding for what seems an unreasonable time, this beauty is such a resolved whole it seems that evolutionary forces are responsible in bringing about an entity so fit for its purpose.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Its purpose? To soar. That it brings me pleasure through its being seems an irrelevant aside to its joyous existence. Certainly not all its aspects are uncomplicated or simply pleasing, but there is much simple pleasure herein. It rises far above mere prettiness; I would certainly not call it accessible.
That I am by turns and simultaneously aware of the details and the whole is a brilliant work of balance. I am aware of an effortless grace, of a creaminess, of a softness, of an intimate warm animal smell, of a distant elegance. From some angles I see that extraordinary wingspan, if I turn my head I catch the beaked profile or the curve of primary feathers, the tucked webbed feet that indicate this bird can (but doesn’t often) come to ground or water.
Always it appears a live, breathing thing. It distills the abject magnificence of embodiment, seems connected to earth and heavens but independent of both.
Photo Stolen Wikipedia
Une Fleur de Cassie is a creation that brings me to tears with its sheer magnificence. Not brought quite undone like weeping Margery Kempe, mystic of the Middle Ages, yet I am moved by such visions and associations. Obviously *I* must take care where I wear this one as I am rendered (spiritually) raw skinned, but practically speaking this is a great one for hot weather, perhaps a little intimate for some of your workplaces, but a lovely combination of gentle, radiant and long-lasting.
Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Smelly Thoughts
MECCA Australia has $209/50ml
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $7/ml
Am I alone, or are there any perfumes that transport you?
In raptures,
Sister Mary Magdelene, Patron Saint of Perfumers.