10/26/2019
Duftsucht
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To the narrative chestnut tree - a journey through time
Sprayed on - Zack - time jump: Vienna, 8th district, Josefstadt, anno 2005, inn "Zum narrischen Kastanienbaum", inner courtyard, on the plate "Wiener Wäschemädel" (for non-Viennese: original pastry temptation with apricots -äähhh apricots), above us the narrische Kastanienbaum spreads its old branches. It is in full bloom and the honey-sweet scent with a slight astringency lies like a fragrant blanket over the guest garden.
That's how Azalea starts for me. Not with the azalea, which gives its name to the tea, but with the sweet chestnut blossom, honey and vanilla. Anyone who knows chestnut honey or the wonderful lush scent of chestnut blossom will also notice the characteristic slightly bitter-tart undertone. I love him, he was rejected by my children for a long time - they simply demanded "real" honey. In this phase of the fragrance, "Monte Bianco", which Floramalia describes in her commentary as beautiful as it is appetizing, cannot be dismissed. For me it's actually the nightmare. Much of what I fear and avoid in scents unites here: Honey, vanilla, sweetness and creamy, luxuriant creaminess. That's why I can understand Caligari's statement, which the fragrance obviously didn't really convince me.
That would probably have been it with me and "Azalea", if not there, yes, if not there would be another component added. The flower of the azalea. We lived for some time in the USA and there was the "National Arboretum", a landscape garden, divided by theme, among them a "Holly Park" - made of different types of Ilex, and also the "Azalea Valley". When we visited the Arboretum for the first time, we made fun of the names on the way there, according to the motto: "They're really hitting the drum again, the Americans: park, valley - how big can it really be? Well, several hours later we knew it: gigantically big!
In this azalea garden I experienced for the first time in my life an azalea blossom, which developed a fragrance in the humid and warm climate, which lay like a bell over the valley. I could not get enough of the fine, delicate sweet natural scent and in this and all other years there the arboretum was an absolute must at the flowering time of the azaleas. At the moment I live in a small town, which also has a wonderful old landscape park. When the lime trees are in bloom, I do long rounds alone by bicycle, but when azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom, my three men have to go too - the desire to share this natural spectacle with them and enjoy it together is too great.
In Bottega Venetas "Azalea" the vanilla sweetness of the beginning gradually retreats and makes room for the scent of the azaleas. It becomes more transparent and translucent and develops into a delicately romantic floral fragrance of amazing durability. It floats around me like a web, woven from filaments of azaleas. It stays with me for a long time until it dissolves and vanishes with a last melancholic sigh. All that remains is a hint of flowering, a hint of vanilla.
Among the fragrances I use, there are not many of these. Normally I prefer perfumes with structure and profile, a more exciting development and corners and edges.
The exceptions "La Chasse aux Papillons", my lime blossom wonder and "Azalea" are both fragrances that touch me because they evoke memories that are deeply emotional and personal. Memories of past times, places and people in my life, but at the same time they carry the promise that everything in life has its hour - and that the lime trees, the chestnuts and the azaleas will blossom for us again next year.
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