Here in the Northeast… well, baby- it’s cold outside.
And we ain’t gonna get warmer anytime soon.
So we might as well warm ourselves up in aromatic fashion.
A classic antidote is my favorite Creed mélange.
It is profoundly satisfying and disturbing, and I’m happy to share it with you:
One part Private Collection Vintage Tabarôme to one part Private Collection Angelique Encens.
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Sounds simple?
Hardly.
First, you have to find them and buy them.
Vintage Tabarôme has nothing to do with the ginger/ green tea Millesîme version available today.
Last heard, on the official Creed website- approximately one year ago-
Creed announced that they would no longer be able to produce it.
It was too difficult to source the ingredients – so when it was gone, it would be gone for good.
A pity, truly.
Henry Creed created it in 1875, and it was beloved by such icons as Winston Churchill and Humphrey Bogart.
It is a full-bodied, generous sort of Burgundian- blond tobacco blended with bergamot, pepper, fine sandalwood [remember that?], and ambergris in abundance.
Substantial, not a flighty fragrance.
An elegant John Falstaff.
Angelique Encens was released in 1933– a very good year for perfume!
Think Lanvin’s Scandal, Weil’s Secret de Venus, Patou’s Divine Folie, Guerlain’s Sous le Vent and Vol de Nuit.
Bingo!
This, too, is no shrinking violet.
Attributed to Marlene Dietrich, Angelique Encens is a bewitching scent utilizing angelica, tuberose, Indian jasmine, Bulgarian rose, incense, ambergris and vanilla.
Sophisticated in the extreme, it will ‘pull’ different notes on each skin; as I tend to sweeten most scents, it eventually becomes very balsamic on me, with a mere tendril of smokiness.
There exists an exquisite balance between the luxurious florals and the bitter/herbal angelica.
Smoky/floral, sweet/bitter, salty, profound/profane…
Small wonder it was favored by the androgynously seductive gender-bending Dietrich.
It takes one’s breath away.
What happens when these two beauties meet on the skin?
Aromatic enchantment.
Enough to make the fragrance buyer at Neiman’s- a very sedate lady-
Lunge toward me, inhale deeply, and sigh:
“Dear Lord…WHAT are you wearing?”
Sadly, neither scent is listed any longer on Parfums Raffy [where it was always available], or on the official Creed website.
Furthermore, they evolve – as fragrances today do not always do.
It’s a real adventure.
So, here’s what I’ll do:
I’ll happily make up three samples of this combination from my own stash [kept cool, dry, and dark in my frosty closet !] for three commenters…
Enjoy them with my blessing.
MWAH !
Photo Credits:
MGH Bulfinch Lawn in the snow: gonewengland.about.com
Angelique Encens image: style.rbc.ru
Vintage Tabarôme image: basenotes.net
Winnie with cigar: elitechoice.org
Bogey: famous-smokers.tumblr.com
Orson Welles as Falstaff: boozemovies.com
Cukor women: brightlights.film.com
Tophat Marlene: mythicalmonkey.blogspot.com
Smoke: my.opera.com
Blackgama Marlene: michael-rivers.blogspot.com
Smiling me: me.
–Ida Meister, Senior Editor