I finally managed to break away, however temporarily, from the spells of Iris Poudre and Vol de Nuit. Today I'm sampling Serge Lutens Arabie, an interesting choice to begin this week of Thanksgiving. The notes in Arabie are cedar and sandalwood resin; candied mandarin peel, dried figs, and dates spiced with nutmeg, cumin and clove; and bayleaf, baslmic resons, and Siamese benzoin. Although the notes read as though this were a gourmand scent, the heart of this fragrance is woods. The top notes are candied and medicinal, reminiscent of cough syrup or herbal cough drops. After the medicinal note disappears, I'm left with the spiced fruit covering the woods. It's all the colors of fall and Thanksgiving--the burnt oranges and browns and bright yellows and deep purples--and the clove, which is quite prominent, lends itself to setting a mood for the season.
I have to be honest, though: Arabie reminds me of a fine home fragrance, moreso than a perfume. Nothing's to say a scent can't do double duty, and I'm enjoying wearing it (after all, it's blustery and gray outside, and this scent warms me). If it had a little leather, it would make an interesting unisex scent (although it could be one now), but the mix as it is makes me think of realtors' tricks to sell model homes: burning candles and putting out crystal bowls of potpourri to make a house seem "homey." This is a "homey" scent--perhaps a bit too much!
Or maybe I'm just bitter and cranky without my IP and VdN.
*photo from Aedes
