Thomas Mann and Anita Diamant: Scent and Perception + Lentheric Tweed Draw

 

 

What I love most about perfume is that all of us perceive it very differently, and it is not a given that two people, even the close perfumista friends, will smell the same fragrance and have the same response to it.  Here comes a story of a difference in perception.

 

 

 When I had laid my hands on a small decant of a vintage Lentheric Tweed from 1930s or 1940s, it was (deliberately) not labeled, so I had no name, no brand, or no story to influence my perception.  (The identity of the fragrance was, again, deliberately, revealed to me later).  However, as soon as I sprayed it on, I was dealing with the familiar: a sensation, almost a kinesthetic experience of a perfume.  Some perfumes envelop you in a cashmere shawl, some flow like a transparent blouse, and there is a couple of perfumes in this world which touch my skin with a hot rock from a desert. Those rocks had been laying there forever, taking in the Sun that bakes the earth around them, an occasional touch of an animal’s body, a plant which becomes its own dried hot essence.

 

 

 

When I have read Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brothers, I was surprised by how slow the storytelling seemed and at the same time how dense, packed and intense it really was.   Most chapters are jam-packed of events, and the sensuality of the events is hidden by a deceptively simple narration, but it is definitely there, as long as you take your nose away from the book and start imagining the scenes in your eyes, following the author’s descriptions which are stunning.

 

 

 

 photo courtesy of aafke art

 

 

When he describes Dinah through the eyes of Shechem, the imagery is sensual and the unfortunate youth is being stuck in “date honey”.  Date honey this perfume is not, but it does make me think of Dinah and many other Hebrew women (who were given more voice and description in Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent which deals with the same topic).  Hot bodies of women who cook for a crowd and who lived their entire lives in the desert.

 

 

 

You may ask me, what does it have to do with Tweed? I have to admit, nothing.

 

 

 

However, after I have already discovered the perfume’s identity, my husband smelled the same perfume, coming out from the same source, and said, “Well, of course. Tweed, it smells green, and there’s a hunt, and the hunters riding, and the dogs running, it all makes sense with the name.” Indeed it does. But how is it possible that one person gets an image of a hunt in the woods, another – a deceptive stillness of the desert, others still discover the floral aspects of this fragrance… it is a true shapeshifter, and I would love to share what I have left of it with someone else who will, undoubtedly, have a completely different image and experience.

 

Olga Rowe, Contributor

Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief and Art Director

 

Editor's Note Lentheric Tweed  is a floral chypre by definition , but much more

Top: bergamot, cinnamon and geranium.
Heart: ylang-ylang, jasmine, lavender and orange flower.
Base: oakmoss, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin, vanilla and vetiver

 

For our draw Olga will be sharing 1ml of this precious elixir with one lucky commentor. Please leave a comment on a fragrance or a book that  has changed your perception. or is multi faceted. Draw closes January 9, 2011 3pm  EST

 

We announce the winners only on site, our new www.cafleurebon.com page and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and www. cafleurebon.com use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume

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13 comments

  • Trash by Dorothy Allison. A collection of stories about feminism and class consciousness. It shifted how I saw myself and made my life and my perception of my life part of literature.
    “The only magic we have is what we make in ourselves, the muscles we build up on the inside, the sense of belief we create from nothing.”
    ― Dorothy Allison, Trash

  • This elixir does sound precious!
    I’m having a hard time choosing one book. I first thought of Po Bronson’s Nurture Shock because it has taught me elightening new perspectives on parenting. Very cool book. But then I thought of poetry, which I adore, and one of my favorite poets is an Arab-American Poet and Storyteller names Mohja Kahf. Talk about multi-faceted! She brings issues of feminism, family, religion, racism, veils and head scarfs, and more into her poems. She also has a wonderful poem in which she brings Matisse paintings alive as the women in the paintings escape the canvas, have a party, and complain about Matisse. She has ample examples of every day prejudice, quite fairly from all sides. And if you ever have a chance to see her perform in person, she is extremely animated and captivating. A delight.

  • Perfumes talk to us all the time. They tell stories and leave memories in our hearts! And if we’re lucky……and if it does it’s job…it leaves memories and stories to those who are captivated by us and our scent!

    – Gloria LaRoche, Naples

  • I would love to win this as I favor classic chypres, and florientals over anything current .
    What changed my perspective is the exhilaration I feel when I wear a classic fragrance laden with oakmoss such asd Miss Dior or even the Giorgio of the 1980’s .
    Thank you for this walk down memory lane .

  • such an interesting article- I would love to have the oportunity of trying this, I am so keen on understanding the artistic link to T. Mann’s book wich I really love
    as a matter of fact Thomas Mann is the most influential writer of my younger years and I consider his ” Doctor Faustus” as my pillow book ( again,art syncretism)
    many thanks for the generous sharring

  • I really enjoyed reading this post Olga. I have yet to read the Joseph novels, I put it down to only owning 2-4, and missing no. 1 😉 I think in general the wonderful thing about perfumes is that they tell a different story to anyone who listens/ sniffs, much like the best literature.

  • Interesting piece, Olga. The same thing has happened to me. I smell one thing and someone else smells something else. That, to me, is the beauty of perfume…and it’s magic! It speaks to everyone, but often times says different things!

    DO NO ENTER ME IN THE DRAW (please) as I already own a full bottle of vintage TWEED!! *winks*

    There are two books that changed my life-“The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley AND “Ancient Evenings” by Norman Mailer. Both were given to me to read over summer break (after 8th grade) by my Algebra teacher. THESE books made ME want to write, and reignited my keen interest in both ancient cultures and arcane mysteries. One (Mists) is all about Camelot, but told from a “real” pagan point of view. The other “Ancient Evenings” follows one soul through FOUR incarnations in ancient Egypt!

    I really liked this piece , because when I smell, wear and review perfumes myself; I always visualize settings, characters or novels, movies or music! Tweed is a great perfume of a bygone area and I wish everyone good luck and hope that they enjoy it, should they win it.

    NB: VINTAGE Tweed is infinitely better than the one redone by Fine Fragrances & Cosmetics! 🙂

  • I made a perfume based on tuberose and sandalwood recently and was bothered by the way it smelled on me (middle aged) but when a young woman wore it, it was transformed into something completely different. It became surprisingly sweeter. What a surprise.

  • A vintage lover speaks! You are so right that no two people smell tha same in a scent.Identical twins with that I have known can’t agree! I feel that if anyone could, it would be twins , right? I agree with Gypsy, I love to read and smell the charecters. Favorites that come to mind as we have mentioned here before come from The Great Gatsby. I had the pleasure of seeing the home East Egg in Sands Point NY. It really brought the whole story together. It was suggested that Jicky, would be the chosen scent of that story overwhelmingly so.
    I also know Giorgio and mIss Cherie so well as mentioned by Madelyn. Giorgio IS my mom! Even though she would never touch it again its how she is immortalized in my memory.
    I love the fact that Olga, had no idea the details. It is so easy to make an opinion if you know the house from which it came IMHO.
    Im going to guess a scent for the first time soon. Im rather excited to play the game. Mostly, because I have very little confidence in my nose. Im like my greyhounds, I have a big nose but I cant smell the crumbs that fall on the ground because my eyes get in the way! Not litterally of course, figuratively speaking. As for the hounds, they are the worst crumb finders, excellent racers though! They came to mind because of that nice picture you have of the dogs and horse.
    Thanks for the opportunity to get a sniff of history!
    I recently read an article not a book (hope thats OK), about perfumes have been found and ressurected from the Titanic. As the story goes a perfumer was traveling with samples. I tried to imagine what they may smell like. No picture provided. I am going to follow that story it has intrigued me. But I want to see the bottles so much it urks me.
    Thanks Olga and Cafleurebon. My imagination is ALIVE today:)

  • Sujaan, thank you so much! I am adding Mohja Kahf to my to-read list. That’s right up my alley AND a perfect read for the class on International Women I teach for Women’s Studies department.

    On the same note, Cheesegan, YOUR choice of book sounds just right for my class on Systems of Oppression in Women’s Lives.

    Gloria, I agree. I love being able to hear these voices of perfumes and books. They can create quite a polyphony which then I can, given some space, write down and share.

    Madelyn, hand in hand down Memory Lane — anytime, that’s my favorite walk 😉

    Irina, it is wonderful to meet another fellow Thomas Mann lover!

    Asali, I think you will enjoy them. I suggest serving this literary dish in the Summer, on a long stretch of free time. Take breaks often, stretch and imagine the pictures the author’s describing… delectable!

    Gypsy Parfumista, it is especially good to hear from the person who likes to connect perfumes and settings/novels/characters/music AND who knows Tweed well. What kind of images does Tweed invoke for you?

    Barry, yes, GypsyParfumista called it magic and I would agree. I would really love to know if anyone else will get transported into the desert of my perception or on a hunt in the woods experienced by my husband.

  • Feliciag, EXACTLY! Knowing the house, the year, the name of the perfume makes a huge difference in our perception. We smell with our brains, too, we all know. That’s why I love sniffing blind when I have a chance — good luck with sniffing blind for the first time. I’m sure you will enjoy it!

  • I always remember the day my husband (then boyfriend) and I tried Molecule 01 for the first time. I barely could smell a soft velvety scent which made me think of my own skin smell, but my boyfriend said that it smelt like fuel, like lubricating or industrial oil or something like that. And time later we talked with a boy who thought the same about Molecule 01.

    So I think this is a multi-faceted perfume, isn’t it?

  • My mother wore Tweed. When she would come into my room to kiss me good night I smelled the Tweed, and if she was wearing lipstick, the scent Avon used in the late 40s. Whenever I smelled Tweed, I thought of her kissing me in the night before sleep.