Amor & Psyche = Love & Sanity

[Guest guest]

This morning I made two perfumes. The first, called Eyes to Dream in,

is for a lady I met with gorgeous eyes. The perfume is what I think

of as a " burly floral, " like lavender in a way, though there's no

lavender in it.

The second is based on the vague outline given in Perfume of one

Pelissier's Amor & Psyche, which is the first perfume Grenouille made

for Baldini, a knock off. In the book, only 7 essences are named, 5

heart notes, 1 base, and one top. I fleshed it out some; I was

determined to make something complex, meaning at least 18 essences.

Mine's called Love & Sanity, though certainly the inspiration and

outline aren't mine. Going for 60 drops in 15ml grape alcohol, here's

what I came up with; all got three drops except where noted:

Base: Storax, ambrette, ambergris 1, benzoin 5, labdanum 5, amyris

Heart: Rose otto 4, jasmine sambac 4, clove, orange blossom,

rosemary, fenugreek

Top: Bergamot 5, mandarin, blood orange 4, neroli, fir, tagettes 2

I'm really impressed. It's the first perfume I've made that I myself

would be happy to wear; not too sure if a woman would want to wear

it. My first reaction was: oh, this is a natural variation on Cartier

Declaration. The rosemary/fir accord is quite prominent, though the

complexity underneath is apparent. Excellent tenacity. Starts out a

little sharp, bright, then sweetens up slowly. I consider this a real

success.