tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post3121056654203962021..comments2024-03-29T09:11:58.393+01:00Comments on Grain de musc: The Big White Green Bubblecarmencanada /Grain de Muschttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-6958409565765494262008-10-23T16:51:00.000+02:002008-10-23T16:51:00.000+02:00Jarvis, I think you're right, it's something Roudn...Jarvis, I think you're right, it's something Roudnitska worked on, and that melon note can be part of it, though I think that Diorissimo contains the matrix of that effect.<BR/><BR/>For the violet-metallic sheen, I've been noticing it a lot too, but I haven't sussed out its function yet exactly. What particular fragrances were you thinking of?carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-31273668529892705232008-10-23T14:20:00.000+02:002008-10-23T14:20:00.000+02:00oh, now I think I get it. Perhaps it was Roudnitsk...oh, now I think I get it. Perhaps it was Roudnitska who started blowing the bubble a little bigger, putting a little more space into his compositions while reducing the complexity (just like, if you want to blow big soap bubbles you have to have just the right mix of soap and water -- too much soap in the solution, and the bubbles don't form). Does the famous Roudnitska melon note qualify as a big white green bubble? (described by Octavian here: http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/2007/09/melon-note-of-roudnitska.html). Or Roudnitska's skillful use of jasmine or parts of jasmine, like methyl dihydrojasmonate?)<BR/><BR/>For that matter, I've also been noticing a sort of silvery sheen or silvery-violet sheen (less of a bubble and more like a dusting of metallic powder) that is used to give a sense of airiness and space via iris and violet components. Similarly, more about an effect of spaciousness than for a particular identifiable "note." (The space between notes, rather than the notes themselves?)Jarvishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08320628861633769796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-26156809380429985482008-10-23T07:41:00.000+02:002008-10-23T07:41:00.000+02:00Lunarose, you'll see quite a few of us bloggers at...Lunarose, you'll see quite a few of us bloggers attempting to tackle the matter of structure -- the language needs to be worked on, as we're all pretty much self-taught.<BR/>You should go over to 1000fragrances: Octavian has training in architecture and perfumery, and he's writing fascinating posts on perfumery schools (as we would say artistic schools) these days.carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-57700477709453572342008-10-23T02:34:00.000+02:002008-10-23T02:34:00.000+02:00hi it's lunarose again. thanks for the information...hi it's lunarose again. thanks for the information on the cassis notes. i've been percolating over the way you went about describing fragrance in this post and how much i prefer that type of description to the usual 'lists of notes' which is standard in marketing info.<BR/><BR/>to begin, lots of times the notes themselves aren't specific - what part of the plant, natural or synthetic, which synthetic, and so on. to me that's like describing a painting by listing the colors! can you imagine 'well, they used cadmium red medium and alizarin crimson...' and you don't even know if it's a landscape, a portrait or abstract, much less if it's of a particular style - really that type of description lacks what we would consider the most grossly basic information about a painting.<BR/><BR/>i'm guessing a lot of this has to do with fragrance not being thought of as an 'art' or worthy of that type of discussion. but it seems to me that type of discussion could even help from the marketing viewpoint, just as wine appreciation courses help the wine industry up in napa....<BR/><BR/>to me so much of the art of a scent comes down to the overall composition of the fragrance and how the notes play off of or support one another - how the scent is structured. so i appreciate seeing other people address this aspect of scent and hope to see more of it! thank you! lunaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-74009662870478841872008-10-21T12:55:00.000+02:002008-10-21T12:55:00.000+02:00Aimée, if you sniff closely, you'll still find the...Aimée, if you sniff closely, you'll still find the "bubble" in the heart notes (often in the form of muguet or a hyacinth + rose combo), but it's smaller: vintage scents are denser.<BR/><BR/>The "bubble" in modern scents can be either a shortcut, a signifier of freshness and airiness, or an actual structural necessity: everything depends on what you put around the bubble. <BR/><BR/>There is definitely more space opened in contemporary fragrances, to suit current tastes (for "light", non-perfume-y scents) but also modern aesthetics (to give more resonance and legibility to notes and accords).<BR/><BR/>As for vintage perfumes, I fell into the rabbit hole quite a while ago and now I find that I very seldom actually crave wearing them: they require much more attention.<BR/><BR/>I agree many contemporary compositions are short on flesh, usually for financial reasons. Still, there are enough around to find interesting balances between synthetics and naturals.carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-11713226553753780612008-10-21T05:18:00.000+02:002008-10-21T05:18:00.000+02:00Yeah, I think I know what you mean. It's that all-...Yeah, I think I know what you mean. It's that all-too-studied-and-posed airiness that I find to be quite characterless in recent perfumes, especially after going down the rabbit-hole into the vintage stuff. <BR/><BR/>Even the good stuff, like Parfums de Nicolai's Le Temps d'Une Fete, has that posed airiness.<BR/><BR/>To go off on a rant: now that I've tried a lot of vintage perfumes, contemporary perfumes so often reek of impoverished, lab-created, lone molecules rather than rich, living things of beauty, like a wine is a living thing, and like a perfume should be. OK, rant over!Aimée L'Ondéehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-16800437586943922582008-10-20T19:07:00.000+02:002008-10-20T19:07:00.000+02:00Silvia, exactly! Life-savers is what they're calle...Silvia, exactly! Life-savers is what they're called in America! I'm glad somebody else sees the BWGB...carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-81058842235787111472008-10-20T14:24:00.000+02:002008-10-20T14:24:00.000+02:00I understand exactly what you are describing, alth...I understand exactly what you are describing, although I would have never been able to verbalize it so clearly. Like the Polo sweets, it's the hole with the mint around it !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-17861220451089430402008-10-20T09:37:00.000+02:002008-10-20T09:37:00.000+02:00Hi Lunarose. I think the effect can be achieved wi...Hi Lunarose. I think the effect can be achieved with several different types of materials: one has been used since before WWI to give off a "muguet" note (hydroxycitronellal), but there are lots more.<BR/>Pure Distance has cassis (blackcurrant), a fruity note; Sublime Balkiss has "bourgeon de cassis" (blackcurrant bud), a green note that smells "pissy" when undiluted.<BR/><BR/>As for recognizing the Big White Green, you might now... I think? Or else I've been thinking too much about perfume lately and nice men in white are going to come and fetch me while I babble about bubbles... ;-)carmencanada /Grain de Muschttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046101625425953248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-69078641227492680792008-10-20T02:32:00.000+02:002008-10-20T02:32:00.000+02:00p.s. that was lunarose just now - darn computers!p.s. that was lunarose just now - darn computers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4922907157797061660.post-10964974424778715672008-10-20T02:31:00.000+02:002008-10-20T02:31:00.000+02:00hello! what an interesting idea. i'm quite new to...hello! what an interesting idea. i'm quite new to perfume, so i don't recognize that i've smelled what you're talking about yet. but to me that is a lot of the fun - when you've read about some intriguing concept and your nose finally picks it up and it all comes together....or, conversely, you've noticed something and can't quite put your finger on it, and then you run across the perfect description. it's the interplay between the conversation between the ideas, the experiences, and the descriptions.<BR/><BR/>i was reading Patty's review of pure distance (even the name of that perfume seems to echo your idea) on your recommendation and she mentions cassis as one of the notes. seeing as you mention it in sublime balkiss, maybe that is part of the way they achieve this sense of a particular structure?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com