Though I can't put my hands on the research, Rob Brezsny mentions that according to an article in the Max Planck Germany Institute, the Center of the Universe smells like raspberries.That wasn't in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
In Chandler Burr's The Emperor of Scent, Luca Turin's mention of Bois de Lune with its smoky, red berry sillage and souchong notes, set me on a chase.
A sucker for lapsong souchong tea, or the blend of Russian Caravan, its steam instantly transports to the inside ribs of whaling ships, first smelled as a kid at Connecticut's Mystic Seaport - old tar, sturdy, smoked timber.
Serendipity parked me in front of Bois de Lune years later. Driving through crowded, Portland, Oregon rainy downtown streets on the way to an interview. I did not yet know that ...
At the interview the woman said she would never hire me. When pressed, she answered, because you have worked for yourself. And you asked me here, why?
... the reward! Inside the French lingerie boutique I had parked in front of, tucked away on a back, high shelf ...
Bois de Lune by Manuel Canovas. A candle of red cedar, red berries, rosewood, and smoky, haunting souchong.
Reward and closure to one of the many fragrance hunts that continues to move me around the chessboard of this world.
Perfume can be like forensics ... unraveling the mysteries ...
photos:
Raspberry: KoS
Charles W. Morgan Whaling Ship: Mystic Seaport
