Ambrosia from Perfume by Nature looks like a perfectly lovely, kind and charming lady… But I suspect she’s just a wee bit evil. Her perfume is called Craving. It should be renamed Gluttony, in the fullest, Nigella Lawson, chops-and-finger-licking meaning of the term. And gluttony, you know, is one of the seven deadly sins… Unlike many of the natural perfumes I’ve been sampling, Craving doesn’t fall apart on the blotter. In fact, it might inspire you to chew up that blotter – so imagine the effect on skin. It was all I could do not to sprinkle the contents of the vial on anything soft and creamy that could actually be devoured without running foul of the law, or not to rush out to the corner patisserie, which is unhelpfully open on Sundays. Ambrosia, think of my hips!
With its roasted nut accents and sandalwood adding a milky-smoky touch, Craving is too much of a gourmand to actually rate as a musk in my book, but Ambrosia has well understood the profoundly animalic nature of its core material, cocoa absolute. Some musks actually do have chocolate facets, and castoreum definitely carries more than a whiff of dark chocolate. She’s also sussed out the common facets between dark chocolate and vetiver (also expressed in Lalique Encre Noire), and has used the latter to tug the formula out of purely foody territory, adding another layer of darkness to the chocolate and caramelized nuts.
The actual animal note in Craving is hyraceum, the stuff I though was driving my Siamese girl wild. It isn’t, since she didn’t turn into a wanton minx when she took a sniff of Craving. I can’t say as much for her mama, though my libido was distinctly more attuned to getting a sugar high than mauling the friend who was with me (thank God: I doubt our friendship would’ve survived it). Whether you find that the Craving in question veers more towards sex or chocolate (good substitute, never have to worry whether it’ll still respect you in the morning, and call you back the next day) is a matter of personal settings.
Meanwhile, Ambrosia, if that bikini makes me look like a muffin, I’ll take it up with you.
Other blogs participating in The Mystery of Musk:
Basenotes
You can also follow the Mystery of Musk operation on Anya McCoy's blogroll.
The draw for Graines de Paradis by Sharini is now closed. The winner will be announced on Monday.
Illustration: Jennifer Jason Leigh styled by Alber Elbaz.
I never would have thought to combine a hefty gourmand w/ a musk. Brave!
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Chocolate and musk. That sounds interesting. I'm not a "gourmand girl" but sometimes I feel that I need something like this. Maybe I have momentary drops in blood sugar :P
RépondreSupprimerIsa, don't we all? I haven't been able to find out on her site whether Ambrosia's putting some up for sale, though. I think she will, she writes on her blog that it's the best thing she's done.
RépondreSupprimerWow!!! I want to try this one!
RépondreSupprimerHmmm...I don't see Craving on the Perfume by Nature website...is it a new scent?
RépondreSupprimerI haven't been able to contact my webdesign person to add Craving to the official www.perfumebynature.com.au site yet...so I've added a paypal order link from my blog:
RépondreSupprimerhttp://perfumebynature.blogspot.com
Thank you for your lovely review! It made me laugh so much it brightend up this cold wet grey winter day (in Oz) hugely!
Interesting that your cat didnt react to this one....(obviously doesnt have a taste for small furry hyraceum producing creatures)
Wonder what it is in Adam's scent that she loves so much?
I'm fascinated reading the reviews how different notes seem to dominate for different people...on some, the chocolate disapears in minutes, and the musk is by far the dominant note...on others, it's just chocolate all the way...others talk about coffee...
The percentage of cocoa abs. in the blend is actually minute...strong stuff....
Karin, you've got your answer!
RépondreSupprimerAmbrosia, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz suggests it might have been the spikenard in Adam's scent, which is related to valerian, otherwise known as crack for cats.
RépondreSupprimerAnd, yes, on me (but also on the blotter) it was the cocoa that was reinforced by all the other materials.
Oh, and Ambrosia: glad I made you laugh! It's a feel-good perfume anyway, isn't it? Very well made too.
RépondreSupprimerThank you! Coming from you in particular I take that as a huge compliment!
RépondreSupprimerAnd it's the Spikenard cats like eh?
I suspect hyraceum must be more of a dog's kinda scent.....I left some blotters with various versions of "Craving" lying on the coffee table a while back...and came home to find them chewed to pieces with my dog lying in a corner sucking on one of them. (He's normally not a chocolate thief, so I'm pretty sure it was the hyraceum!)
I kind of envy the critters those natural, legal highs. Although I somehow can't envision myself rolling around ecstatically on the floor chewing blotters!
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RépondreSupprimerI have suppressed the above comment because it linked to a commercial site. My apologies to the person who left it if it was written from the point of view of a perfume lover. But this is a type of comment I systematically delete.
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