Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Intimacy


dreaming of you, originally uploaded by Amsterdamned!.

In Dans tes Bras, Maurice Roucel brings up the unspeakable topic of intimacy. Intimacy is something that is difficult to describe, but easily felt. It's a subtle emotion and a state of mind that occurs when we somehow connect to another person on the deepest level through closeness or proximity. It's one of those strange connections between spirit and matter: looking into someone's eyes and having a glimpse into their soul; being so close you can hear their heartbeat and sense their breath on your skin and breathing in the invisible scent of their skin.

Seemingly, there is nothing unusual about Dans tes Bras. It is very perfumey at first: violet accord that is both powdery like orris and wet and woody like cassie underlined by noticeable dosage of heliotropin - that vanillic molecule that makes heliotrope smells so sweet, almondy and plasticky all at once.

It is not until a few hours in that the intimate aspects of Dans tes Bras reveal themselves. At which point, technically speaking the woody base notes (most notably patchouli) are exposed, along with foreign molecules which I’ve never smelled separately and which create the sensation of minerals and salt on hot skin. From a more sentimental point of view, this is the point where Dans tes Bras begins to smell like perfumed skin that has been immaturely washed away in a warm salty ocean, but not completely. Whatever is left on the skin is going to dry out in the hot sand and sun and become only a vague memory of that violet perfume but an even stronger memory of that sunny afternoon on the beach. But if you wait till the morning, you will wake up to remnants of Nag Champa incense smoke that has stuck to your clothes, sheets and everything you've ever possessed.

Top notes: bergamot, clove

Heart notes: violet, jasmine, cassie, orris

Base notes: sandalwood, patchouli, incense, cashmeran, heliotrope, white musk

Labels: , , , , , , ,

3 Comments:

At January 13, 2009 6:04 PM, Blogger Scent Hive said...

Lovely review Ayala. I have a sample that is awaiting me, I just have not reached for it as I have been too busy with yours :-)

I did finally try Apres La Mousson. Don't understand all the negative reviews. I found it quite interesting and intriguing. Not one I would wear daily, but I appreciate its dry spicy quality and think it might speak to me more in the summer.

 
At January 13, 2009 6:21 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

Pikake,
Thank you for reading - and commenting!
I'm very happy to hear you are enjoying my samples :)
I'm thinking - perhaps the most accurate way to describe Dans tes Bras would be Un Fleur de Cassie meets patchouli on the skin and than goes for a swim on the ocean. It's the clean and modern kind of patchouli - like what you'd find in Midnight Poison, Black Orchid, etc.

I think like the other Jardins from Hermes their popularity grows only a while after release. They are a little sophisticated but very fresh and from my understanding end up being quite popular as I see them sold in many other places besides the Hermes boutiques.

 
At January 14, 2009 4:36 PM, Blogger Scent Hive said...

Ayala, I think you are right about the delayed popularity effect with the recent Hermes JCE releases. I think this might be happening with Kelley Caleche as well.

~Trish

 

Post a Comment

<< Home