Planning for this Virgo’s Christmas season begins in the summer, when Skip and I were last in Boston for our annual BroSox adventure. It was at that time that I made us stop at Neiman Marcus to try out a scent that I had in mind for the holidays. It was in the Frederic Malle line, and conjured by one of my favorites Dominique Ropion – who was at the helm of such gorgeous creations as ‘Carnal Flower‘, ‘Geranium Pour Monsieur‘ and the exquisite ‘Portrait of a Lady‘.
Named simply ‘Promise’, this fragrance is part of their Desert Gems series, most of which carry a pungent and potent punch grounded in oud. ‘Promise’ starts with a fruity opening, something that I’ve fought for years but have learned to acknowledge as my starting point, all dirty puns intended. Pink pepper lends it some early spice, while rosemary and apple begin the journey in refreshing fashion. This gives way to the glorious midsection of Bulgarian rose oil, Turkish rose absolute, and a dash of cloves to keep the line of spice going. Finishing and resonating with patchouli, ambroxam, labdanum and Cypriol heart, the whole journey is a wild and worthy one – one that, upon my wafting a scented card in Skip’s direction, was described as simply “a lot” – a description that absolutely sealed the deal for me. When I asked him months later for a more in-depth take, he confirmed it as my holiday frag: “It didn’t announce when you entered the room, it declared it!”
A gift of my Mom for my birthday, it arrived in August, when I tried it on during a birthday dinner. It filled the room – perhaps the house – solidifying its status as ‘a lot’ – and there is no more perfect harbinger of the holidays than something that gets such notice. Sometimes you don’t have to yell to be the loudest presence in any given room.
That’s the secret to any powerful perfume – it declares who you are without having to say a word, and the world simply knows. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to sniff me before the year is out.
