Scentzilla!

Four Scents by Compagnia Delle Indie:

Compagina Delle Indie is an Italian company which amongst other things, also offers its own fragrance line. I have tried four of them.

Of the four I’ve smelled, my favorite is their I Ragazzi Della Compagnia Delle Indie Donna, or just “Donna” for short. Guessing at the meaning of the name, I’d say it’s colloquially approximate to us saying “the gang,” or “boys club,” in English. It literally means in Italian “The Boys of the India Company,” referring presumably to the to Venice’s past industry of ship building, merchant, and sailor employment for the British West India Company. Please, if you are well versed in Italian, do point out where I may be perceiving this incorrectly (or correctly, too - I’d love to know that I might have guessed it okay!)

Donna’s notes seem delicate, nearly freshly crushed. There’s a marine note which isn’t strongly “marine” at all, and in fact quite light and even just a bit soapy - smells exactly like the John Freida Kelp Help conditioner I adore. At the heart of this is a floral-woody aroma. The floral bouquet is not one I can personallly tear apart by notes - it’s just a flowery bundle that seems composed of many different flowers. They are soft, slightly sweet, like flowers justthisclose to wilting, but not over the top. This has little-to-no throw, but I have gotten more compliments and questions about what I’m wearing from men and women alike after a goodbye hug. This fragrance provides a particularly fantastic summer scent for me. It’s feminine, romantic, and completely refreshes and soothes me while being perfect for day wear, yet pretty enough to spray on at night. I’d particularly recommend Donna for social occasions where you want to wear something special, but nothing that would conceivably offend others around you. (This layers fantastically with the Benefit Touch Me… cream, by the way.) The bottle is nice, shaped like a flag fluttering in the wind turned vertical. It’s a nice complimentary match to the company name. I love it, and I feel a little self-conscious in proclaiming that, because I know of no one else who shares the unadulterated adoration for it that I possess, but… well, I happen to love it, and there’s nothing to be done for it. I racked my brain for an image it reminds me of, but all I can come up with instead is Betchadupa’s song Life Will Be the Same. The slow careful tread of it creeps up on my brain, and when I listen, I only dimly realize that I’ve slowed down my thinking in order to absorb it. The quietness it belies sounds deceptively suble, but melodic and undeniably beautiful (click below to listen to a clip):

Another scent is their Sandalo. GAWD is it AWFUL. Really. You know the guy at the bar, who seems nice enough at first glance, but then you realize after you’ve said hello back to him and entirely too late that he is REALLY CREEPY, and you can’t get rid of him? And how you can say you are married/have a boyfriend and it doesn’t mattter to him, because “Hey, where are you going? Come talk to me!” GAH! Sandalo is the fragrance THAT GUY wears. You know the type. We all know the type. (There is an exact female equivalent, she just smells different.) No one should wear this. Ever. Unless you are THAT GUY, in which case, please continue wearing it, because it makes it easier to spot you in a crowd. It’s a totally cheap and inconsequential sandalwood-ish scent, which while not terrible, smells mostly of a pronounced “ugh, grease-coiffed weirdo-loser” character.

Then there is their Colonia, which I feel is not bad for the price, but nothing I’d go out of my way to buy. My friend Marlen had the occasion to remark it seemed “chalky” to him once, and now I can’t get that word out of my head when I want to describe it. If it makes any difference, I kind of like its chalkiness, but he did not seem so keen on it at the time. A soft mix of citrus draws over the chalk, with only the teensy-weensiest bit of musk at the base. It’s quite light, and I think I’m going to keep it in the refrigerator as a refresher scent when the hot waves of July and August come rolling in this summer.

Finally, there is Patchouly. I think for a while I really underestimated it. While I still feel that it’s nothing major, I have come to appreciate it. Obviously patchouli is the predominate note, but it’s done in a very light, almost golden manner, with soft traces of citrus, lavender, and an earthy chord at the base that reminds me, of all things, Cumming. There’s something rather peat-like and slightly leathery upon the dry down on my skin that I can’t even deny I don’t like. Not a bad scent, and in all honesty, kind of a bargain for the price if you shop for it at the discount etailers.

Contest:

So, speaking of Patchouly, I somehow have acquired an extra bottle. I do not know how this happened. Frankly, it’s embarassing that I have a big enough collection that any repeats would escape my attention. Yet there it is, uselessly staring at me. I don’t need two bottles of it for crying out loud! I don’t! And so… a contest. This contest is open to anyone in the United States (so sorry to my non-American readers, I want to keep shipping cost down!) who leaves a comment under this post only, by 3 PM Pacific Standard Time on Sunday. Winners will be announced and notified by Monday 6 PM Pacific Standard Time. Basically, leave a comment for this post, and you will be entered in the contest, but… please let me know you would like to be eligible for the drawing by either typing or copying and pasting the following text:

“I would like to enter the drawing - please contact me via the email address I have provided when making this post if I have won.”

Sorry to be so anal, but I feel super weird contacting anybody with those email addys I make you fill out (it’s to avoid spam comments, and really I am sorry about that, too) without your explicit permission! Those who do not copy and paste the text above will not be disqualified, but I sure would appeciate it. Either way, just let me know if you want to try to win it.

I *think* I can make quick 15 second movies with my craptastic digital camera, so I will try to “film” me drawing the winning comment poster’s email out a fishbowl if I can. I gotta go play with the thing first and make sure though.

Books You Ought to Read:

The Chemistry of Fragrances, compiled by David Pybus and Charles Sell ought to be considered manditory reading for any perfume enthusiast. While I cannot pretend to understand the more technical aspects of the book that delve into specific molecules and scientific explanations, there is much for anyone novice or trained to take away from reading it. For example, after reading this, I finally feel like I have a decent handle on what headspace technology really involves. The brief essay on the history of perfumery is invaluable knowledge. I… you know? There is just so much in this 250+ page book that I can’t really list it all. If you buy any one book on perfumery, even if you are not scientifically minded, this is the best one I’ve encountered on the subject. Period. I can’t think of a single one I’ve found that’s as easily readable and informative. The price is a little shocking to a certain extent - fifty bucks for a paperback. Worth it. I promise. ISBN# 0854045287

Another excellent book that found its way to me is Kodo: The Way of Incense with Other, also by David Pybus. While the descriptions and history of the incense tradition were excellent, and deeply fascinating, I have to admit I most appreciated the section towards the end listing excellent, truly excellent, descriptions of the various raw and natural materials used for incense the most. Kodo is a most concise and well written book, and it can currently be had for a virtual steal at Powell’s Books. ISBN# 0804832862

One More Thing:

Lastly, while not perfume related, in my dreamhouse I want THIS for my perfume collection. (Link via 50Books.)

*The song “Life Will Be the Same” is off Betchadupa’s album Alphabetchadupa, which is currently available in the States as an import only, and can be ordered via Tower Records or Amazon. You can also listen to more by Betchadupa by going directly to their site, or by dropping in on their MySpace account.