tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post2467357500499600622..comments2024-03-21T00:17:37.281-07:00Comments on sherapop's salon de parfum: Lessons Learned:The Serge Lutens Wax Sample Haiku ProjectUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-84679001948491316612013-08-06T17:23:13.787-07:002013-08-06T17:23:13.787-07:00Hello, again, Ursula! I've been thinking about...Hello, again, Ursula! I've been thinking about your question about whether we seek out skin scents and the like. It seems quite possible to me, though a Freudian might be able to provide more insight on this question. ;-)sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-45310606362475583362013-08-06T17:20:43.426-07:002013-08-06T17:20:43.426-07:00Greetings, Perfumed Dandy! I am honored that you h...Greetings, Perfumed Dandy! I am honored that you have spent a bit of your staycation here at the salon! ;-)<br /><br />I felt that blind testing was the only way to go for this little exercise, to see which images were directly elicited not by the name or the reputation or anything but the scent, so I selected each night's sample without reading the name. This was easy to do, as I am very nearsighted, so by removing my glasses before pulling a folio from the envelope, there was no way for my eyes to read the name before the test. It may be difficult to believe, but I really am that blind! ;-)<br /><br />I realize that it stretches credulity that the final sample was Muscs Koublai Khan, the very perfume which I was dreading to encounter throughout the entire duration of this trial, but it really happened that way! sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-79642917902852910492013-08-06T17:02:23.715-07:002013-08-06T17:02:23.715-07:00You are most welcome, Deb, and I am delighted that...You are most welcome, Deb, and I am delighted that you found this adventure worthwhile! sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-52534083574321091632013-08-06T16:17:57.913-07:002013-08-06T16:17:57.913-07:00Dearest Sherapop
What a lucid and apposite summary...Dearest Sherapop<br />What a lucid and apposite summary of this major undertaking.<br />Having re-read the poems, I'm amazed that they were written in relation to a blind sampling of the scents for so many of the images are so acutely suited.<br />I'm not sure if I might be a sixth reader (lapsed and now returned, but please do keep news of your endeavours coming.<br />Yours ever <br />The Perfumed Dandytheperfumeddandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332749508886416069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-26967463924168095482013-08-06T09:19:14.246-07:002013-08-06T09:19:14.246-07:00Thank you for the wonderfully thought-provoking ha...Thank you for the wonderfully thought-provoking haikus. Since I'm one of many people, like you, who find SL strange and unappealing, I feel not only vindicated in some odd way, but after reading the above exchange between you and Christos, I also feel enlightened. Deborah Lane McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16100767593384868244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-92123753074712163292013-08-06T06:41:19.487-07:002013-08-06T06:41:19.487-07:00Okay, I'm back. I had to go read my review of ...Okay, I'm back. I had to go read my review of Sycomore, because I reviewed it so long ago (in 2010). I recalled liking it, but the details were murky. Here's the link:<br /><br />http://sherapop.blogspot.com/2012/03/the-embers-of-campfire-on-cold-morning.html?q=sycomore<br /><br />Looks like it's on my wish list, too, but got lost in the testing shuffle. I should probably retest before purchasing, just in case of infelicitous reformulation...sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-58196552238206208262013-08-06T06:33:36.216-07:002013-08-06T06:33:36.216-07:00Christos: No! I had no idea. That is truly fascina...Christos: No! I had no idea. That is truly fascinating! Now, of course, I'm compelled. ;-)sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-48660381341269443762013-08-06T06:32:44.051-07:002013-08-06T06:32:44.051-07:00Undina: thanks so much for the enablement (ahem..)...Undina: thanks so much for the enablement (ahem..)--you are truly connected, which makes sense since you're so good at connecting the dots! ;-)<br /><br />sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-67479827228722509502013-08-06T04:42:35.303-07:002013-08-06T04:42:35.303-07:00You do realise that this is the only Serge Lutens ...You do realise that this is the only Serge Lutens that was not created by Sheldrake. I wonder what is your opinion on Sycomore, a Sheldrake creation for ChanelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-76949553197049809682013-08-05T19:23:48.943-07:002013-08-05T19:23:48.943-07:00No, it's not discontinued! But it's in the...No, it's not discontinued! But it's in the exclusive range so it's either super-expensive (~$300 + tax) from Lutens US site and Barney's or dealing with scent mules from France/EU where it's EUR140. If you decide to go for it, I know (not personally but from buying from her) a "mule" who brings it to the U.S. for $225. You can find the contact information here: http://www.shopfranceinc.com/suzan_shop.htm (disregard those 10% - with SL's perfumes she has a special price because of the limitation on how many bottles she can bring in).Undinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05292100499371921334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-60503225464152296552013-08-05T08:36:54.070-07:002013-08-05T08:36:54.070-07:00Thank you, Undina! I have to admit that near the e...Thank you, Undina! I have to admit that near the end it was starting to feel like a homework assignment. A couple of times I was about to take a bath and then I realized that I had not yet done my haiku for the day! ;-)<br /><br />Of these thirty-two perfumes, the one which made it to my wish list, based solely on the wax sample test, was Iris Silver MIst. I own a bottle of Bois de Violette, and a couple of others were on my wish list already (based on tests of liquid perfume), but Iris Silver Mist was brand new to me and really leapt out to my nose as worthy not only phenomenologically but also as a perfume to seek out... Knowing my luck, it's probably discontinued. ;-)sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-15314822525606804232013-08-05T01:41:44.086-07:002013-08-05T01:41:44.086-07:00I think your dream analogy is excellent. This is i...I think your dream analogy is excellent. This is indeed how smell perception works and although I implied it I didn't realise it until you worded it. And it is perfect not only because it maps the way experience is used to interpet smell but also because it can demonstrate the difference between objective and subjective reviews: the former is like trying to explain a dream based on a book, the latter is like explaining a dream through analysis. Obviously both ways have their fans but I, subscribing to phenomnology, believe that what one says trying to explain a perfume says a lot more about themselves than about the perfume itself and I like this approach. <br /><br />I read your review of Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Fleur d'Iris and although I get a doughy iris throughout its development, that is usually confined in the top notes in most other perfumes that feature this note, you get a rose perfume. Obviously we look at this stack of cushions from a different angle. For some reason rose makes a stronger impression on you. For me citrus notes and lavender are notes that I often miss. They are obviously there but for some reason they do not register with me unless I make a deliberate effort to locate them. After this they are experienced like an asterisk popping up mentally but still they are never the notes I can focus on.<br /><br />Your reviews, even the ones in your blog dedicated to reviews, are never trying to showcase a perfume as it comes out of the bottle. They are always infused with your views so some tows are expected to be stepped on. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-37112018575055516122013-08-04T22:37:14.308-07:002013-08-04T22:37:14.308-07:00I'm amazed by the volume of work you undertook...I'm amazed by the volume of work you undertook. I missed the initial post (until now) so, while reading your haiku, I had no idea those were blind impressions. Now I'm amazed even more.<br /><br />Out of these 32, which (or at least how many) did you like as perfumes, not just scents?Undinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05292100499371921334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-45915579736118735342013-08-04T08:14:34.131-07:002013-08-04T08:14:34.131-07:00Thank you so much, Christos, for your kind words a...Thank you so much, Christos, for your kind words and this splendid account of your childhood experience, among other insights! <br /><br />Needless to say, I fully share your perspective on the inchoate experience of objects which present themselves to our minds as things in reality. I've been thinking about your amorphous object example and now I'm realizing that it is very similar to dream experience, except that there is no object in reality in the case of dreaming. Well, except that there is: again, all of our accumulated memories!<br /><br />You are right that we attempt to devise a little theory of sorts every time that we perceive something--or believe ourselves to perceive something--and that is precisely the point of phenomenology: the subjective experience is true to us in the moment, just as it is impossible to be wrong, phenomenologically speaking, about whether or not one is in pain, If you think that you are in pain, then you are. Whether there is an objective cause for that pain outside your body is entirely beside the point.<br /><br />Your sketch of reacting to an unknown amorphous shape reminds me a lot of my own experience of seeing a car off in a distance and believing that a person is sitting in it, but then getting closer and realizing that I am mistaking the car seat for a human body. I have lots of other examples of this sort of mistake as well. You are right that the emotions created by the rush to interpret in the moment are just as real as they would be were there an actual source corresponding veridically to the perception.<br /><br />I also agree with you about perfume reviews, and I occasionally vow to myself to abandon the orthodox review format and only to tell stories when I review a perfume (as in my personal essays here at the salon, about Blonde, Oscar, Arpège, Mitsouko...). In the end, I invariably wind up talking about whatever I happen to feel like talking about, which may or may not include a story. ;-) <br /><br />Judging by the balloon-popping behavior over at Fragrantica, some people appear to find annoying when I launch into social criticism in the middle of a perfume review, when in reality that is my authentic voice--I am a skeptic, after all! I am not a shill, and I don't do press releases, and while I like to find something positive, it does not always happen. <br /><br />The world of perfume reviewing is quite chaotic, it seems to me, because many people appear to labor under the misconception that there are objective truths about perfume (the 100 greatest perfumes of all time, and other nonsense along those lines, ahem), and they are looking primarily for confirmation or disconfirmation of marketing texts, along with shopping advice. But why should anyone heed the advice of a complete stranger, whose tastes may or may not bear any resemblance to their own? As for "notes": to me they are metaphors and marketing ploys, no more and no less.<br /><br />Your final phrase is simply beautiful, in addition to being profound, and I thank you again, Christos, for sharing your insights:<br /><br />"The truth is in the eyes of the child waking up in the dimly lit room."<br /><br />sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-33242135396646389502013-08-04T07:20:39.904-07:002013-08-04T07:20:39.904-07:00Vielen Dank, Ursula/Pipette!
I actually realized...Vielen Dank, Ursula/Pipette! <br /><br />I actually realized my mistake in the German text while bathing last night, but I had already turned off my computer for the day (fyi: this happens to me in German a lot, since there are about a hundred ways to screw up any sentence!!!!). I'm very happy that you reminded me, because I might have forgotten to fix it! ;-) <br /><br />More to follow on your other comments, but let me rectify my crime against German grammar gerade jetzt!...Jetzt gerade? MAINTENANT! ;-)sherapophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14116821928196122529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-18354222013860720332013-08-04T06:38:27.607-07:002013-08-04T06:38:27.607-07:00Thank you for the long and elaborate description o...Thank you for the long and elaborate description of your learning experience. Putting perfumes or wax samples to a test ought to be nothing new to you, Sherapop, as you have written countless reviews. I had to look up words in the internet wikipedia, like phenomenology and it was explained that it is the very personal (me, me, I, I) approach to experiencing anything. You then put the results into Haiku structure, and I giggled a few times, over the past days, and thought that you, Shera, from a very elaborate writer put the result into very bold and short words, just the bare facts, so to speak. <br />Thinking about the "I, I, me, me" approach of experiencing the perfumes surrounding us, do you think that there is some value in saying that we want to smell skin smells ... from the nursing baby on forward? We abhor dangerous smells like something burnt. We reject throw-up or fecal smells, as they are smells of excretion, something that the body gets rid off.<br />I love the way how you stretch my knowledge because I tend to be impatient and try to just "sum things up" for the sake of expediency and convenience. Thank you.<br />One last small grammatical correction on your German headline would be to fix it this way:<br />"Was ich gelernt habe." <br />Because you surely are a perfectionist, please don't misunderstand this grammatical correction from another perfectionist ... <br />Have a nice morning (as we continue sniffing).<br />Sincerely, <br />Ursula / Pipette Ursulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11951304751087409488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2106815346229702986.post-75030410985664811382013-08-04T01:34:38.808-07:002013-08-04T01:34:38.808-07:00The other four readers and I were delighted to rea...The other four readers and I were delighted to read your haiuku series. Not only because I have a special connection with the house of Serge Lutens - those scents can easily be translated into stories in my mind - but also because in a way I could follow you around your daily life, picking a sample, applying it, analysing it and eventually bathing it off. I know this sounds a bit scary but we have to accept that what makes blogs interesting is this "look through the keywhole" aspect, the fragments of life. Your month long obsession with the wax samples created a trail which we, five readers, have been happy to follow.<br /><br />I could not agree with you more on your remarks and lessons learned. My model for scent perception comes from a childhood memory: waking up in the middle of the night in a room lit only by a night-light and, with my mind half-awake, catching the outline of a stack of cushions. What I saw during the first few minutes was never a stack of cushions, after all I had a very vivid imagination. Sometimes it was an elephant, others it was a stranger sitting in my room. Sometimes I was buffled, others I was scared. It took a lot of time to actually separate what my retinas captured from what my brain was seeing but the emotion was real.<br /><br />This is how I believe we all perceive perfume. The angle at which we look the stack of cushions/ amalgamation of notes is defined by our emotional state at the time and the attention we can offer (your points 12 and 13). The outline that we capture is largely defined by this aspect. But what that outline translates into has more to do what is in our minds at the time. The human brain can never "see" something for the very first time unless it is given time to acknowledge all its aspects and the fact that this is something seen for the very first time. In all other instances, be it a dimly lit room or a smell never before experienced, a new experience will always be translated into something that already exists in our vault of memories. The more complex the outline, the more difficult it is to capture its shape and the more necessary to correlate it with something we already know, no matter how absurd this could be, like an elephant taking its time in the room were I slept. Somehow a simple irrational memory is more believale than a complex, perfectly rational first impression.<br /><br />One can spend hours analyzing whether a leather scent contains this or that aromachemical, giving it an aspect of raw hide or expensive leather bag. The truth is that this is irrelevant for most of us. What is relevant is the attention we pay to each scent and what memories this triggers. This is why most "objective" reviews end up reading like a press releases and any attempt to report perfume objectively finally negates the reason of existance of both perfume and review. After all in our day and age the vast majority of fragrances are available in samples and decants, either officially or through the network of perfumistas. The truth is in the eyes of the child waking up in the dimly lit room.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com