Mystery of Musk: Tallulah B2 - Jane Cate of Wing & A Prayer Perfumers

[Guest guest]

I have a feeling that Tallulah Bankhead herself would have really

loved Jane Cate's perfume Tallulah B2.

Cate herself describes this perfume herself as soft and floral, and

that it is, but there is a musk to it all, and that musk is named

Tallulah.

It really is soft and floral, and opens that way with a lovely sweet

note of citruses veiled in bois de rose...which, as the citruses fade

away - as all top noted do - leads us quite lyrically into the very

bower of the heart note, where we are presented with quiet, sensuous

chord comprising real rose and mimosa that invites one to approach

closer. The base note underpins it all with delicately powdery

vanilla tone, with botanical musk purring stealthily under the whole

composition.

But there is more.

I let a dear friend smell this marvellous perfume, and she brightened

immediately as she said " Do you know what this smells like? Oh - I

have to show you the plant - I have one outside on the deck- " We ran

to the deck - night was fallen out there and she showed me a plant,

just still visible, with small white flowers. " This is called 'Night

Phlox'. or 'Midnight Candy Flower' (Zaluzianskya capensis), and it is

native to South Africa, " she told me. I leaned forward to get a whiff

of those flowers and then I smelled it too: Jane Cate's marvellous

Tallulah B2 perfume smells like the elegant blooms of the Midnight

Candy Flower.

Somehow, I think Tallulah would be quite pleased about being

associated with something called Midnight Candy...

Alfred