In the case of Miel de Bois, many people talk about the beautiful honeyed scent that appears after they’ve endured hours of harsh woods and cat pee. For me, though, the woods are the best part. The honeyed “afterglow” is pretty, but it’s not as exciting as the opening. I guess that tells you what sort of relationship I have with Miel de Bois: It’s all about the beginning. I find myself reapplying it just to smell those woods!
But if you want honey, I say, why not just go straight for honey? Why put yourself through all the agony? It’s like trying to turn a jerk into a nice guy. Really, it’s just easier to date the nice guy in the first place.
And to go straight for a beautiful honey scent, all you have to do is reach for Orchidée Blanche. A blend of magnolia, iris powder, and honey, Orchidée Blanche is floral, understated, elegant, and sexy. It’s the finest down comforter and silk sheets, luxurious and soft.
I find this scent both comforting and alluring. At first sniff I was afraid I might not like it (which would have been a real shame because I bought a bottle unsniffed, as I kept hearing they probably won’t make it much longer). Some florals become bitter and soapy against my skin, with a sweetness that’s slightly cloying. I had sprayed this on the back of my hand (mistake number one) after sniffing a few other samples I’d received (mistake number two), and immediately decided that I could just eBay it if worse came to worse. But yesterday we had a birthday brunch to attend, and I wanted a light floral that wasn’t tuberose/gardenia/jasmine (so not a traditional white floral). I thought about grabbing my sample of Ecume de Rose when I saw Orchidée Blanche, still in its box, sitting atop my dresser.
I thought, why not? And so I took it out of the box and sprayed with abandon, and I’m glad I did! This scent it quite light, and on my skin simply produced the most lovely honeyed iris. As the day went on, the scent got warmer and even prettier. In late summer the sunsets have a tendency to last forever, and as thunderstorms pop up in the distance, colors trade places in the sky—salmon becomes lavender, turquoise becomes shell, steel gray moves to navy—and the sun burns rosy pink (thanks global warming!) as it drops below the horizon, until you’re left with soft dark evening sky displaying sweet stars. That’s Orchidée Blanche: sweet, soft, comforting, reflective.
