Tuesday, December 21, 2010

We Three Kings - Gold and the Number Three


Welcome to our joint blogging project, We Three Kings. 

In addition to the significance of the three Magi, the number three itself has personal meaning:

I was born on September 3rd.
My sisters and I make three.
B-man, JD and me.

To honor the magic of  #3, I will offer three thoughts for each perfume I review to represent gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

Who am I kidding?  

I don't actually 'review' perfume, but rather, I 'interpret' perfume according to the experience of my nose as it relates to the images and memories of my mind. 

Gold - White Aoud by Montale

White Aoud is the white gold of perfumes.  Its elegance is understated and challenging to pin down. White Aoud's invisible charm compels one to ask what, exactly, has changed the mood of the room?  Is it that holiday prankster vetiver?  Or did someone sneak a smoke in the bathroom?  

A chameleon, White Aoud adjusts to its environment, just as white gold morphs according to the light or accompanying jewels...or the time of day.  After shocking the crowd with a whiff of Bandaid, sandalwood and vanilla emerge to say 'just kidding' and offer their friendship.  White Aoud will stay for the entire party to claim its space without pushing anyone out of the way.

Like an exercise in deep breathing, White Aoud communicates that all is well through its calming sillage.  Saffron and oud remain partners throughout the journey while rose dances between them like a delighted child discovering her gifts on Christmas morning.  White Aoud is the gold fit for a king...or three.

Coming up next: Frankincense.

Other participating blogs:


Three Kings Icon ©2010 Megan Ruisch

10 comments:

  1. Love the comparison of WA to white gold - so true.

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  2. I have a small decant of WA and I keep skirting around it, not sure aoud will behave when I put it on.
    But after your review, I want to provoke my surroundings a bit. ;)

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  3. I've never really loved the oud, but saffron, and vanilla and sandalwood could get me hooked. It sounds like looking at a peaceful snowy day from inside.

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  4. I have never tried an oud fragrance (or a Montale!), but might try White Aoud knowing it has a saffron note. It's "calming sillage" is something I should be breathing in these days.

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  5. I have tried Golden Aoud by Montale, which I quite liked to my surprise, after the initial Bandaid moment you mention, which seems to be the nature of Aoud-ade.. : - )

    From your delicate description of White Aoud it sounds as though I would like this one even more. "The white gold of perfumes" sounds very appealing!

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  6. A novel and thoughtful meditation on Gold, in your choice of its white variant as an expression of adaptability and subtlety. Loved this.

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  7. WA is like white gold! Perfect interpretation.

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  8. My father was born on 3 - 03 - 1933. He had three daughters, all born in the ninth month, september. We arrived, respectively, on: 16-09-1963, 25-09-1965, 22-09-1966. The magic was thinning out a bit, but still... (and no sons btw)

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  9. Thank you all for your comments - what an interesting project! Happy Holidays to all!

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  10. Ooh? Well, this sounds interesting. I've been looking for something to reconcile me to oud, and this one sounds interesting and much less oppressive than the ones that I've tried so far.

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