Although bitterly freezing it was a gloriously beautiful day, the coldest yet of the young year 2012 at -15 degrees Celsius, and it happened to hold unforeseen perfume adventure, as for a short moment in time on this winter's day in February, Copenhagen caught a whiff of New York, London and Milan. Completely unsuspecting, I had walked into one of the only shops to carry non department store perfume, to find on this very day, the Icelandic artist and fragrance designer Andrea Maack, fresh from London Galleries and Elements in NY, visiting Copenhagen to promote her fragrances, with the 2 new additions; Silk and Dark.
Andrea, whom I found to have a big personality in a petite figure, ought to have been exhausted from her recent journeys, but she looked vigorous and happy to talk about her fragrances- which she was clearly thrilled about- as well as her overseas experiences.
She told me that the way the fragrances are created is with her drawings and sketches providing the atmosphere and mood, for the perfumer to interpret into a fragrance. Also she told me that the encounter and the passing on of ideas to let the perfumer play with, for her, is part of the artistic process to create perfume art.
Dark starts out very bright! Yes, I know that sounds weird, but it’s true; the opening sparkles like citrus fruits and champagne bubbles, the exact opposite of what one might expect. It’s a rounded warm citrus with a tiny foreboding of the orange blossom to come, and which is reminiscent of a day full of sun shine and light. But then the fragrance slightly changes, first I get a little whiff of metal, and then a little more, a metallic rose appears. Apparently the roses with the most thorns are those which are the most fragrant- I would not know- having neither a garden nor a green thumb- but here I like to imagine that the metal is like the thorns saying ‘do not pick me, or I’ll sting’. At least the metal feels green, like the metallic green scent of a granny smith apple, and indeed the apple is among the notes mentioned, but what I get is more this association rather than a fruity-floral themed perfume. While I wonder where Dark will take me next, I think of names:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."- William Shakespeare
When the rose has lingered around for a long while, the orange blossom re-enters the stage, it’s a soft, melodic orange blossom, and yet with a petitgrain tinge, so that the fragrance although feminine is not overly so. As time goes by, I sense the tiniest bit of withering and perhaps a touch of animal somewhere; is this Dark? Anyone expecting the orange blossom spicy darkness from the aromatic Souk of M. Lutens’ Fleurs d’Oranger would be on the wrong scent, but Andrea and her perfumer Julien Rasquinet creates their own shade of Dark, ‘Dark am I, yet lovely’.
Silk is the second new addition to Andrea Maack’s line. And this is the scenery described “Drawing inspiration from original hand-drawn prints, it is a scent of timeless luxury, paying tribute to French fashion houses with a heritage of silk scarves. […] its …aura makes you imagine a silky smoothness caressing your neck. “
Silk opens with the notes of green freesia and violets of a cool and light character. It releases a slight chill that has a sense of a sheer white silk chemise sliding over the naked body, rather than a multi-coloured scarf around the neck. Andrea’s first fragrance SMART (a contraction of smell art) is also a violet leaf based fragrance – but if her first scent is a mellow and embracing one, then Silk is the cool, assertive Hitchcock blonde. The classy and sheer veil of the opening reminds me of snow crystals; deceptively soft yet icy to touch, or is that the winter speaking?
Then there is a scent of clean linen which I find gives swiftly way to a feel of the leafy green below, and here I do see the association to Andrea’s prints with the winding intricate prints on thick white paper. Far, far into the life of the fragrance, is my favourite bit of Silk, as it dries down to a slightly dry and dignified ambery vanilla base, which stays close to the skin as suede glove, making sure it is in keeping with the fragrance’ stylish image.
I expect both Silk and Dark to wear beautifully in spring and while waiting for Spring to arrive.
–Jasia Julia Neilson, Contributor
Editor's Note: Read Managing Editor Mark Behnke's reviews of Smart, Craft, and Sharp by Andrea Maack here
We thank Andrea Maack for this draw of one 1.7 ml sample each of Dark and Silk. To be eligible, leave a comment indicating which scent sounds like a breath of spring to you.
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