When I started working on this blog, I initially thought about creating very simple and plain visuals. Just a few colour blocks or stripes in a Pantone colour swatch sort of way, filtering everything down to one or two colours per scent. I liked the simplicity and felt that there was conceptual strength in keeping everything clear and uncluttered. The very first blog posts still show images that had been designed with that idea in mind. But a very strong concept can have the down side of being restricting (for the creator) and ultra boring (for the reader). Limiting myself to a couple of coloured squares to describe complex olfactory creations just didn't work in the long(er) run. Yes, this blog is about colour and perfume, and I always start working with a palette, but creating the visual means thinking about shapes, composition, light and depth, structure, and, of course: texture.
I am glad that I gave up on all that probably very German desire for conceptual purity, because from time to me I discover a scent that just screams AMAZING TEXTURE, and how frustrating would it be not to use that as a base for the design. Let's have a look at Odin New York's 2015 creation Lacha:
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| Odin 12 Lacha |
Wood notes always add some solidity to a scent, a wonderful illusion of substance, either polished or raw. In this fragrance though, the wood is anything but solid. This wood is actually liquid. When I first smelled it I had two immediate associations: wood grain and the soft ripples of silk draped languidly over it. No surprise then that I tried to merge them into my visualisation. Lacha also carries a lot of spices, namely saffron, nutmeg and pepper and on different wearings their prominence varied quite a lot, but the mix always seemed very well balanced. According to the note list it has a strong suede leather base, but for me silk and wood describe it much better. A well rounded, softly spicy perfume that nonetheless packs a bit of a punch and comforts with a twist and a wonderful example of interesting texture in a scent.
How and where to wear:
Fallen in love with a clarinet player? Here's the scent for you.
I love your extremely niche wearing suggestion, Sabine. This sounds interesting enough to seek out a single clarinet player :)
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of silk rippling over wood. I have a terrible record with woody scents but the liquid feel of this might make it wearable for me.
I don't have great success with woody scents myself, but this one is very wearable, I find. I got the sample at the PLL xmas event, and I'm happy to bring it to the next one for you to try. The clarinet player you have to find yourself though...)
DeleteI like woody scents a lot, as long as they don't have that 'trapped in a tea chest' / pencil shaving vibe. The silky aspect sold it to me too! Great visual to capture those facets.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vanessa. I love the smell of wood in all it forms I think. From damp forrest to sawdust and polish, but just not as a perfume. Or to be more precise, not on me. This one did work thanks to its silkyness.
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