One of the most fun aspects of sniffing different perfumes is finding out how a perfumer “sees” something and is able to interpret it into smells. One of the most special of these experiences is when a perfumer takes you on a trip somewhere you never have been and yet somehow allows you to feel as if you are standing right where they want you to be.
Ms. Balahoutis has shown this ability to codify place into fragrance before; most notably in her co-production with Colgin Cellars, Essence of IX. In that fragrance she transported me to a vineyard at harvest. That is a smell I know well having been around for a harvest or two in my life. I have never been to the South Pacific and yet after wearing Tahitian Honey I somehow feel as if I have. Vacances takes me to a different island milieu in the Caribbean. Both are truly spectacular compositions.
Tahitian Honey is one of those deceptively simple combinations that somehow blossom more expansively on my skin that I expect. It also is one of those fragrances that sniffing on a strip does not display its charms effectively. The opening of Tahitian Honey is sun drenched honey and orange. Then the heart is all of the sweet tropical chord that plumeria adds. It drapes itself like a garland around the honey. Finally a raw ginger root adds the final bit. Ginger like this has the ability to add a frisson to fragrance and it does the same here. The end is as it began as a final drop of honey evaporates off my skin. Tahitian Honey is a rich, sensual fragrance that delighted my sense of smell and adventure.
Growing up in South Florida I spent more than my share of time visiting many of the neighboring islands in the Caribbean and Vacances is like a homage to the West Indies. Wild berries in the form of currant along with a much less intense honey note open the proceedings. This has a much different vibe than the opening of Tahitian Honey and shows what a perfumer can accomplish just by altering things slightly in ingredients which can make a big change in synergy. This pairing of currant and honey feels less decadent and more lively.
The heart is a mix of redolent hemp and resinous black copal. This combination is something to breathe in deeply and revel in these two lightly used notes creating the sense of being deep in the rain forest, sort of vegetal and sticky, it is memorable. Cedar comes around to tidy things up and leave Vacances on a clean note. Vacances has a more sophisticated well-traveled feel to its island hopping but somewhere in your trip you will find yourself deep in the rain forest and that is almost primeval.
Tahitian Honey and Vacances both have average longevity and below average sillage befitting an eau de parfum. These are personal vacations for the wearer and not for everyone around you.
Ms. Balahoutis, a member of the Natural Perfumers Guild has once again taken me places without having to do anything but breathe deep and allow my senses to take me where she wills. She is better than any travel agent I have ever had.
Thanks to Strange Invisible Perfumes we have a sample set of both Tahitian Honey and Vacances to giveaway to one commenter. Leave a comment naming your favorite Strange Invisible perfume (not listed ) or one you would like to try and a dream island vacation. The draw will close on July 22, 2011.
–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor
Art Direction: Michelyn Camen EIC (these are limited summer editions)