The perfume that took me back to the Sistine Chapel

I’ve recently discovered fragrances.

I mean, going in depth with them, and being curious about the appeal of this newfound world and the momentum that’s been built around ‘em.

So many creators who are talking about perfumes, and still, not enough. There’s a gap in there, especially in certain countries.

But I don’t want to talk about creators or social media today.

We’ve been ordering some perfumes lately, my partner and I, and he’s quite a collector.

I first fell inlove with a dupe after Louis Vuitton’s Imagination, which stuck with me, and it cracked open the curiosity door.

Ever since, I’ve been discovering how my taste changed, and how much so.

But when one afternoon, a magnificent imperial amber hit my nose, I saw the light.

I saw it. I saw it.

Besides amber, there was vanilla bean, cashmere wood, liquor, sugar cane, cedar, tonka bean, rockrose, sandalwood, and musk.

Just take that in. Think about it.

I was suddenly in the Sistine Chapel again, looking up and taking that feeling all in.

It’s overwhelming, really. But you’re there, and your first thought is like looking at the sky. Your mind empties completely, and you’re no longer you.

Your questions vanish.

Your thoughts float away on a whiff of amber, incense, and palo santo.

Your senses are invaded by elemi, rose, citrus, and all things good in this world.

Elemi has a long history in perfumery, dating back to ancient times when it was utilized by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans for incense, cosmetics, and medicine. In development, it is used as a fixative and base note, and is valued for its fresh, lemon-pepper aroma with a slightly balsamic and incense-like undertone

Anyhow, that’s how I felt. Light as a feather.

But going back to the Sistine Chapel, when you’re there, there’s a feeling that takes over you that’s not easily forgettable. Your whole being feels lighter, and all the tiny needles from your sore feet are no longer.

Suddenly, you turn around like a puppet on strings, round and round and round, looking up the whole time. Then you stay put, and you simply watch and try to understand. Some can, some can not.

Some don’t know the stories depicted on those walls.

The beauty is that it doesn’t matter, for as long as you’re there, you also feel the heaviness that it brings to your mind. You can’t fathom how all of this was possible, coming from a human being. To paint this? It’s out of this world.

There’s also a heavy atmosphere lingering as well. There must be so crowded all the visiting hours. All that energy from over 50 people, dissipated in thin air, surrounding you, with all the other scents, until you’re lightheaded.

How much can you stay with your head up anyway?

So you whisk around until a margin, where it’s less crowded, and you watch it all from a more distant corner.

It’s just not the same. It’s like saying goodbye, and you don’t want to go.

You have that urge to stay and watch some more. Smell some more. Feel some more of that beauty, lifting you up from the ground and carrying you in her motherly arms.

You feel like crying instantly, and all the time.

You feel so small, and all of that you see, is perennial. You’ve set foot in a place where Michelangelo was working long hours up there to create what you see, between 1508 and 1512.

That’s huge.

When I smelled French Avenue — Amber Empire, it transported me back there. All I could say was that it smelled of majestic churches. And I can’t say I’m a churchgoer. Never have I been.

But then it felt right in my lap. Italy and its churches.

And those I love.

I could be there for hours. I would go there every day. Just as long as it’s empty.

Once you step inside a church as magnificent as those, the eternal beauty and once-in-a-lifetime smell remain quiet, living rent-free in a corner of your mind and soul.

This is not a sponsored post; I just felt like journaling about this.

Amber Empire quickly climbed to the top. It’s hands down my favourite perfume right now.

And if you’re considering, know that it lasts, you can get whiffs off you up to 8 hours, or more, depending on your skin. Also, the projection is definitely there for about 3 hours (but maybe more), and then it lingers around you, and people can smell it if they get close enough.

As a comparison, it is not so everlasting as Mancera — Red Tobacco (another crush of mine), which quickly disappears from your nose, but others can smell it off you all day long, and on the same clothes, until you wash them.

But to me, with Amber Empire, the projection doesn’t matter so much as long as I smell it.

My belief is strong in a way that a perfume picks you, just as much as you pick it. It’s all about the mix between your skin and the ingredients.

P.S. All the scent references in this article are subjective to what I felt and smelt.

Article originally posted on Medium.