Helg of the Perfume Shrine had a really good post yesterday on Perfume appreciation and objective beauty (mostly concerning perfume). It is really interesting and quite educating but most importantly it discusses if and how to objectively assess perfumes, i.e. their beauty using several criteria. I think she has some valid points but that is not what is on my mind now.
For a while now I've been thinking that not only am I a lousy critic, I don't really think I could every successfully be one. Everything criticism can be applied to is a work of effort on someone's part. How could I ever be able to say that it isn't just good enough, beautifil enough or anything of the sort when I keep thinking in the back of my mind - I would never be able to create something of the sort, he/she really did his/her best and gave it wholehearted effort?
I know that even when people do their best and pour their souls into their work, the result might not really be good, or even remotely good. But still I cannot find it in me to criticize and say, OK, you should have done this in such a manner and if you did it like this, it would have turned out better. Maybe I'm missing the whole criticism point (wouldn't ne the first time I'm in the dark regarding a topic).
Anyway, Helg's post came at exactly the right time because yesterday morning I tested Bond No. 9 Madison Soiree. What I got from it straight away was it was exactly the perfume someone who wants to look chic, expensive and unattainable would want to smell like. By that I mean a woman. After a while, she would also remain fresh/clean smelling while still being all those initial things. Anyway, I think that the perfume is really a great creation, and I also think that it is made exactly for the right type of target audience:
"A direct hit of authentic ladies-who-lunch fragrance. Ultra-feminine elegance and unmistakable posh meet unabashed sultriness in this day-into-late-night-blooming floral bouquet."
By Bond no. 9 site.
Notes are: gardenia, jasmine, oakmoss.
I won't go into the 3 notes I didn't distinguish. :) From the beginning it was obvious this wasn't the perfume for me, in the way it is publicised, in the way it smells and in the end, obviously not meant to be taken apart by me. I still think it is beautifully done though. Just not my kind of beautiful.
Picture by: http://www.bondno9.com/
Ok, this is one that I have to consider. I just read another blog this am about perfumes but this one sounds great as well.
ReplyDeleteI have women in my life that love perfume so I am going to think about this one too.
Best regards
Tom Bailey
Here is my take, I love the bottle and gardenia and jasmine are my top two scent so I'm half sold. Though beauty counts a great deal for me it's not the whole for scent is link to memory so I never really know until I smell it if I'll like it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post,
All the very best.
Tom, thank you for stopping by and considering my blog great. I cannot help but be amazed at the questions you keep posing in your posts - they always make me think. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteSimone, like I said, I'm never going to be able to objectively appreciate anything. Lately, I've come to realize I seem to realize something is well done but I don't like it and I think that will be as far as I can go toward being objective. :)
ReplyDeleteI wish you a lovely weekend!
I, too, found Elena's posting very thought-provoking. Can you designate a perfume as objectively good, but not like it yourself?
ReplyDeleteI think you can-- I'm thinking about when I order food in a restaurant: I might like the sound of the ingredients on the menu, but just not appreciate how it tastes when it gets to the table. I have a rule: If it is clear that the food is well-prepared and reflects the menu accurately, I don't send it back, even if I don't like it.
However, if it isn't made right (too hot, too cold, too salty, not the way I ordered it,) then I send it back. (Can't do that with perfume samples, sadly.)
It's an interesting question that I think many of us will continue to chew on...
Rita, you are right but then again, I am no culinary or perfume expert so I doubt. I may think something is superbly done but my experience is quite limited as opposed to Elena's for example, and even though I can tell my nose is getting better, I keep thinking there are so many things I still don't know and that is what makes me doubt if I'm considering something correctly as great or not.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, there are times when something might be too salty for everyone else, but is exactly what I want and need at the time. :) Ok, that wouldn't classify as objectively good, but I couldn't criticize it either.
sometimes I think I overthink things. ;)
Oooooh, Ines...
ReplyDeleteThis is not B#9 related, but I have to tell you that Washington Tremlett "Clove Absolute" may just about become my favorite thing ever!!!
I'm so glad to hear that. After discovering it, I feel the need of sharing it with the world. :)
ReplyDelete