perfume riddle VII

-

800px-La_Granja_de_San_Ildefonso_Sfinx01 

It’s that time of the week again, and lo and behold, what do I hear with my own little ears, but a sphinxlike perfume bottle, galloping up to riddle you this and that. Who will be the great hero today, craking the code and naming the bottle who sings to you its siren song?

A raging volcano covered with snow,

a goddess in white pearls, row after row.

A bright smile, a tender glance,

a gauzy dress, a twirling dance

across a brightly lit studio floor.

This lady danced once—she will dance no more.

A bright crown and a Barbizon cool,

a castle and husband who made ladies drool,

A hint of iris, a bit of leather

and plenty of roses to remind you I’m clever

like my idol—I never whip you too hard,

but ever play my graceful winning card

close to my magnificent chest.

I share part of my name with one of the best

bottles in the stable; you could say the same

of the second half of my nostalgic name.

Who am I?

CREDITS:

La Granja de san ildefonso, Sphynx, Spain, taken by Håkan Svensson (Xauxa).

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 31, 2010 at 9:10 AM

    Kelly Caleche? (I just finished reading The Perfect Scent.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. La Bonne VivanteJuly 31, 2010 at 9:41 AM

    yes indeedy! Fast guessing, my dear K! I like that book a lot, especially the parts about the creative process at Hermes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ScentScelfJuly 31, 2010 at 5:36 PM

    Ah, you two. Ahead of me. I was just going to say how much I like her, the sphinx, and buy some time for thinking.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. La Bonne VivanteJuly 31, 2010 at 9:39 PM

    Glad you like her! I do too; such powerful arms.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

what thinkest thou?

Popular posts from this blog

A Perfume Riddle

-
Image
I am introducing a new feature here on Hortus Conclusus , in which a perfume bottle sings a little riddle, and it’s up to you, dear readers, to guess which bottle of perfume is riddling. To start us out on the best possible foot, My first poem has an easy solution! Which of you will be the first to guess, I wonder: I’m not a pentangle. I live in a square I bubble like golden champagne filled with air, My obscure beginnings are shrouded in mystery But that won’t stop people from telling my history. I fly through the air, I swim with the fishes. Scientists say I reside in all ditches. I go everywhere, and all know my fame therefore I know that you have guessed my name. I will never die; you keep me alive. By now you have guessed, I’m ________! Image of Oedipus and the Sphinx by Gustave Moreau courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  
Read more

book and fragrance giveaway: Rebecca

-
Image
Many authors use pe rfume as a novelistic shorthand for memories awakened in complete recall. A character smells something and it awakens deep memories, or takes him back in time. In Daphne du Maurier’s neo-gothic romance Rebecca , this motif takes a sinister turn. A youung girl marries a widower with an obscure, tragic past and moves to his ancestral estate . She soon discovers that the place is haunted by the presence of the memory of the previous wife, Rebecca.  This ‘haunting’ is mostly expressed through smell and fragrance. Azaleas, overpowering, overfeminine, unnaturally-abundant blooms which choke the manor of Manderley, become a symbol of the dead wife’s overpowering femininity. Rebecca even wore a perfume which smelled of azaleas. The hapless new wife discovers traces of perfume on Rebecca’s clothes, which have turned musty with age, she experiences the oppression of the obscure yet present past in the form  a choking fog that blights the landscape at the mom
Read more

Tauerama!: Tauer perfumes discovery set giveaway

-
Image
  The generous and talented Swiss perfumer Andy Tauer was kind enough to send me samples of all his fragrances to review over the coming week or so—and an adorable sample set to give away to YOU ! Yay!  I am very excited to announce this new giveaway drawing! Tauer got his PhD in chemistry, and went on to start a small perfumery, which has gone on to win many awards and even more praise. For more about Andy, and to get  a real sense of what a cool dude he is, I highly recommend this fragrantica article. Details about my giveaway below : What is it? A very sweet glide-cover metal tin, embossed with the Tauer logo, with 5 1.5. ml samples of Tauer fragrances inside. when will the winner be announced ? There’s no fixed end date; when I have written something about all ten of the fragrances, the winning name will be drawn. how do I enter? post a comment expressing interest below, then keep checking in at Hortus Conclusus ;-) I will post links to all my comm
Read more