Tuesday 31 March 2015

Liquid Night

I love it when a fragrance house offers the choice of small bottles. My last purchase was a 10 ml travel spray of Musc Ravageur, bought on the spot after wearing it for only a few minutes. I dismiss the pea counters (German for nit pickers)  who keep on telling me that the price per ml is such a bad bargain. I'm not buying a sack of potatoes to feed an army here, I just want to own a piece of something beautiful, and if it's a small piece, so be it. If I love it enough to empty the travel sized one I'm very probably going to buy a bigger amount as a result, and I wish more companies would see the benefit of  'small is beautiful'. Another one that does, albeit  with a very limited distribution, is US based A Lab on Fire, which also adopted a similar editorial style concept to FM. (But who doesn't, these days?)

Liquid Night wasn't an instant love; I had come to the achingly hip Paris department store 
Colette to try A Lab on Fire's "What we do in Paris is secret", but that was sadly out of stock. I liked LN though, and 20 something Euros for a 15 ml bottle was a good enough offer to buy it. I thought. And then it sat on the shelf for months, unloved and collecting dust. I still liked it, in theory, but never got round to wear it. And then suddenly a few weeks ago, I just didn't know what to try...and gave it a go.

Liquid Night, my visualisation

Surprise, surprise: this time I love it. It immediately grabs me with an effortlessly chic aesthetic that is totally wearable but unique enough not to be boring. A creamy saffron note binds dry hinoki woods to aromatics and abstract floral accords and everything dries down to a subtle vanilla. Despite the name, it's actually a rather clear cut fragrance, not sharp, but not floating either. When I created its image I started with very fluid and organic shapes, but after hours working on it and not getting it right I realised what it needed was a very simple geometric structure to emphasise on the contemporary elegance. I took inspiration from neon lights glistening and sparkling on wet asphalt. My colours are very muted, but in principal it's a cold green/warm pink perfume. I find it incredibly suited for this in-between-two-seasons-weather we're having, where spring is on the cards and a few daffs are out, but the wind is still icy and biting enough to wear a big comfy scarf. 

Some reviews complain about the synthetic nature of Liquid Night. I personally couldn't care less. As long as they don't charge me Roja Dove prices for a bottle of ISOE super, I can live with a bit of chemical wizardry in my fragrances. 


How and where to wear:
Not so much a how or where, but with what this time.... my newest fashion find and love is German brand Oska and Liquid Night is a perfect match. A bit of a Japanese influence, urban and edgy, but incredibly comfortable.

6 comments:

  1. Sabine, I used to get suckered into that price per ml thing but it's madness when you have so much already. You're right - we're not talking a sack of spuds here!

    Simple and elegant is what I'm after these days and this seems to fit that description. Love the graphic and the way you see this perfume as cold green and warm pink.

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    1. Hi Tara, I would happily buy nothing but 15- 30 ml bottles. Happy to make you a decant of Liquid Night so that you can try it.

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  2. I have seen your Musc Ravageur travel spray and fully endorse your purchase! I just remembered I was going to send you some Meharees to try - sorry, might have to be after my trip now. Anyway, this Liquid Night - from a house about which I know nothing at all - sounds just perfect for the betwixt and between weather as you say. Creamy saffron and vanilla? Contemporary elegance? I'm in. I am not mad on excessive ISOE Super (nearly wrote 'spud'!), but not as sensitive as certain people, hehe.

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    1. HI Vanessa, I think you might like this one. Want me to make you a decant? Have lots of fun in D.

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  3. For the last 4 years of blogging (and commenting on other people's blogs) I keep repeating that companies should offer smaller sizes! I do not care if a $/ml is twice higher for a beautiful 10-15ml brand's bottle (compared to their XLL size): in many cases I'd rather have that than a plain decant bottle.

    For me it's very important not to have a feeling that a perfume smells cheaply artificial (regardless of the price). If I enjoy the way it smells, I do not analyze too deeply how many petals went into its making.

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    1. I couldn't agree more, Undina. I am not a big fan of plain decants, but a small original bottle is a beautiful thing. I like your petals comment.

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