"Perfume is soul. Soul is perfume." — Etienne de Swardt
In One Thousand and One Nights, there is a wondrous expression used when addressing a beloved: "Soul of my soul" — a phrase that speaks to the emptiness of life without love.
I remember the warm voice of Aladdin, crackling from a vinyl record spinning at 45 RPM, speaking to Princess Badroulbadour. He calls her, "My princess, soul of my soul." I was seven then. I asked my mother what a soul was.
She answered: "There is no single definition. It is the invisible presence that binds us to something divine — a little like the trail of vanilla you follow in the air. The soul travels through infinity in space and time. It connects us to that. It is the part that is beautiful and perfect in each of us, that returns us to heaven, and remains on earth when we vanish. Perfumes prolong that presence — and the soul works in the same way."
Years later, as I endlessly read One Thousand and One Nights, I discovered this: To honor the body means nothing without honoring the soul. Though for some, sensuality seems a tempting substitute. But to embrace one another — truly — is to fill each other with a drop of white cosmic soul, that once flowed in the primordial ocean before the world began. We wear perfumes that speak of Persian fire gods, of Hindu deities, of offerings and milk, of Mesopotamia, of ghee given in worship.
To awaken in the air the foaming whiteness of soul that emanates from all things. Here, perfume is soul. Soul is perfume. A creamy explosion — musk melting into iris butter, carrying the strength of vanilla balm, followed by the friction of tonka beans against benzoin.
"I swear by musk — I remain." — Etienne de Swardt
Top
Bergamot Italy Orpur
Incense Essence Somalia Orpur
Pink peppercorn CO2 Orpur
Heart
Iris butter Orpur
Rose Absolute Orpur
Suede Accord
Base
Sandalwood Essence Australia Orpur
Georgy wood Accord
Vanilla Absolute Madagascar Orpur
Ingredients: Alcohol Denat., Parfum (Fragrance), Aqua (Water), Limonene, Linalool, Coumarin, Citronellol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Geraniol, Isoeugenol, Citral, Eugenol, Benzyl Benzoate, Farnesol
