M1 Narcissus
The scent of narcissus, clean running water over mossy stones, the wind gently blowing through green leaves
The Story
The narcissus is not a simple flower. What does it mean?
A legend of a beautiful man destroyed by vanity. Is this true? What lies beneath? Realities dim as the world grows old, convention is laid over truth but the truth remains.
The ancients believed that the eye was the window to the soul. Looking into anothers eye was to know that person truly a dangerous pursuit. The narcissus flower was thought to represent the eye. Where is the link from man to flower to eye?
What then was this beautiful man really searching for gazing into the rippling waters of that clear brook? What really did he find there bending lower, lower, lower still? Gazing into his own eyes until the water engulfed him and he was lost. Vanity is too simple an answer.
What then really destroyed him? What is the secret hidden in this transformation? Man to flower, flower to eye What do we find when we look into this blazing eye that gazes out at the world each spring?
The narcissus is one of the first spring flowers there is no mistaking this significance in myth. Spring is a time of transformation. The time of contemplation is over and the world changes. Something is lost this is inevitable but something greater is gained. We are changed and are the wiser for it.
This is the secret hidden in the heart of the narcissus and this is the true power of spring
Tea/Rose
M1 Narcissus
The scent of narcissus, clean running water over mossy stones, the wind gently blowing through green leaves
The Story
The narcissus is not a simple flower. What does it mean?
A legend of a beautiful man destroyed by vanity. Is this true? What lies beneath? Realities dim as the world grows old, convention is laid over truth but the truth remains.
The ancients believed that the eye was the window to the soul. Looking into anothers eye was to know that person truly a dangerous pursuit. The narcissus flower was thought to represent the eye. Where is the link from man to flower to eye?
What then was this beautiful man really searching for gazing into the rippling waters of that clear brook? What really did he find there bending lower, lower, lower still? Gazing into his own eyes until the water engulfed him and he was lost. Vanity is too simple an answer.
What then really destroyed him? What is the secret hidden in this transformation? Man to flower, flower to eye What do we find when we look into this blazing eye that gazes out at the world each spring?
The narcissus is one of the first spring flowers there is no mistaking this significance in myth. Spring is a time of transformation. The time of contemplation is over and the world changes. Something is lost this is inevitable but something greater is gained. We are changed and are the wiser for it.
This is the secret hidden in the heart of the narcissus and this is the true power of spring
A legend of a beautiful man destroyed by vanity. Is this true? What lies beneath? Realities dim as the world grows old, convention is laid over truth but the truth remains.
The ancients believed that the eye was the window to the soul. Looking into anothers eye was to know that person truly a dangerous pursuit. The narcissus flower was thought to represent the eye. Where is the link from man to flower to eye?
What then was this beautiful man really searching for gazing into the rippling waters of that clear brook? What really did he find there bending lower, lower, lower still? Gazing into his own eyes until the water engulfed him and he was lost. Vanity is too simple an answer.
What then really destroyed him? What is the secret hidden in this transformation? Man to flower, flower to eye What do we find when we look into this blazing eye that gazes out at the world each spring?
The narcissus is one of the first spring flowers there is no mistaking this significance in myth. Spring is a time of transformation. The time of contemplation is over and the world changes. Something is lost this is inevitable but something greater is gained. We are changed and are the wiser for it.
This is the secret hidden in the heart of the narcissus and this is the true power of spring
M5 Where We Are There Is No Here
WHERE WE ARE THERE IS NO HERE is carefully worked from ISO E Super, Hedione, Moroccan, Indian and Egyptian Jasmine Absolutes, Amber Absolute, Australian and Mysore Sandalwoods, and a special “invisible musk” accord designed specifically for this perfume.
405 is a paradox – the antithesis of perfume. It is completely intangible and almost undetectable. Yet it has great presence and allure. Like the ghost of a flower, it touches the subconscious of those who wear it – and those who encounter it. Inspired by the last of Cocteau’s films, WHERE WE ARE THERE IS NO HERE is made to create a special place in the inner world. The world of poetry. The world of the imagination. The world of the surreal.
White Flowers/Cradle of Light
The Scent
Cradle of Light is a glorious blend of pure white flower absolutes: Moroccan, Indian, Egyptian and Tunisian Jasmine Grandiflorum, Indian Night Blooming Jasmine, Jonquil, Narcissus, Tuberose and White Lotus. The bouquet is set against a green background of Sumac, Tomato and Violet Leaves with a hint of Galbanum and grounded in a base of Sandalwoods and CBMUSK.
The scent begins with a fresh green presence; gradually the flowers emerge becoming warmer and richer. Cradle of Light is a supremely elegant perfume with a serene and euphoric effect. Wearing it can be slightly hypnotic...
Cradle of Light Water Perfumes are available by special order. Please email info@cbihateperfume.com for more information.
The scent begins with a fresh green presence; gradually the flowers emerge becoming warmer and richer. Cradle of Light is a supremely elegant perfume with a serene and euphoric effect. Wearing it can be slightly hypnotic...
Cradle of Light Water Perfumes are available by special order. Please email info@cbihateperfume.com for more information.
I have always loved books. I am told this was the case even before I could read for myself. When I was very small, I loved the bedtime story and being read to by my mother. As a child, books provided a fantastic escape from boredom and a rather dreary daily life. As I grew older, I began to read voraciously and spent as much time as possible in the school library. I borrowed books with wild abandon and I read every one.
As an adult in New York, my reading increased further and I began to cover a much wider group of topics - possibly a rather strange group but fascinating to me nonetheless. Now I can say that reading has been perhaps the most important element of my life. So much of who I am, what I've discovered and what I know began with a book. Indeed even becoming a perfumer started in the main reading room of the New York Public Library.
In my time, I've acquired an enormous number of books. When I was very young, my parents subscribed me to a book club and they came every month in the mail. I got books regularly as birthday presents and Christmas gifts. When I was about thirteen and earning a bit of money of my own, I began to buy them for myself. One of the first was a collection of James Thurber stories, which I have to this day. I have spent countless hours of my life in bookshops large and small perusing titles carefully and hunting for the interesting. I have bought books like groceries and for much the same purpose - except instead of food for the body, books are nourishment for the spirit.
Now collecting books is one of my greatest passions. Many years ago I began hunting first editions of my favorite authors. I have learned that these can be found in the oddest places and I find few things more thrilling that stumbling across an unexpected treasure. I cannot pass a second hand bookshop and rarely come away without at least one additional volume. I now have quite a collection...
Whenever I read, the start of the journey is always opening the book and breathing deeply. There are few things more wonderful than the smell of a much-loved book. Newly printed books certainly smell very different from older ones. Their ink is so crisp though the odor of their paper is so faint. Older books smell riper and often sweeter. Illustrated books have a very different odor from those with straight text and this smell often speaks of their quality. I've also noticed that books from different countries and different periods have very individual scents too. These speak not only of their origin, but of their history to this moment. I can distinguish books that were well cared for from those that were neglected. I can often tell books that lived in libraries where pipes or cigars were regularly smoked. Occasionally I run across one that I am certain belonged to an older woman fond of powdery scent. Books from California smell very different from those I buy in New York, London or Paris. I can tell books that have come from humid places - these have a musty richness in the scent of their pages.
And then of course there are the scents of different bindings: the glues, the leathers, the cloths and boards, even the paperbacks all have very unique characteristics and, to my mind, add an extra dash of personality to an otherwise mundane object. And yes, sometimes if a book has had the misfortune of being very poorly kept, I can detect a faint whiff of mildew. This doesn't bother me in the least. It means this book has survived.
To many of course, these various bookish odors mean nothing. But to an avid reader and collector like myself, these smells are as magical as the bouquet of a great wine is to a connoisseur - a sort of literary terroir. These scents mean Excitement, Adventure, Discovery, Enlightenment and Knowledge. Of course my deep love of reading is exactly what lead me in the first place to begin capturing the scent of books and of the libraries where they live. That's what this perfume is all about.
Now, whenever I have the chance, I read aloud to my nieces and nephews. I am delighted they so enjoy this and are so eager to listen. I love sharing with them some of my own childhood favorites. There have been some very interesting discussions afterward about some of these...
But before I begin to read to the children, I always take a moment to open the book and encourage them to take a whiff. I hope for them, as it has been for me, this smell will mark the beginning of a long and wondrous journey.
As an adult in New York, my reading increased further and I began to cover a much wider group of topics - possibly a rather strange group but fascinating to me nonetheless. Now I can say that reading has been perhaps the most important element of my life. So much of who I am, what I've discovered and what I know began with a book. Indeed even becoming a perfumer started in the main reading room of the New York Public Library.
In my time, I've acquired an enormous number of books. When I was very young, my parents subscribed me to a book club and they came every month in the mail. I got books regularly as birthday presents and Christmas gifts. When I was about thirteen and earning a bit of money of my own, I began to buy them for myself. One of the first was a collection of James Thurber stories, which I have to this day. I have spent countless hours of my life in bookshops large and small perusing titles carefully and hunting for the interesting. I have bought books like groceries and for much the same purpose - except instead of food for the body, books are nourishment for the spirit.
Now collecting books is one of my greatest passions. Many years ago I began hunting first editions of my favorite authors. I have learned that these can be found in the oddest places and I find few things more thrilling that stumbling across an unexpected treasure. I cannot pass a second hand bookshop and rarely come away without at least one additional volume. I now have quite a collection...
Whenever I read, the start of the journey is always opening the book and breathing deeply. There are few things more wonderful than the smell of a much-loved book. Newly printed books certainly smell very different from older ones. Their ink is so crisp though the odor of their paper is so faint. Older books smell riper and often sweeter. Illustrated books have a very different odor from those with straight text and this smell often speaks of their quality. I've also noticed that books from different countries and different periods have very individual scents too. These speak not only of their origin, but of their history to this moment. I can distinguish books that were well cared for from those that were neglected. I can often tell books that lived in libraries where pipes or cigars were regularly smoked. Occasionally I run across one that I am certain belonged to an older woman fond of powdery scent. Books from California smell very different from those I buy in New York, London or Paris. I can tell books that have come from humid places - these have a musty richness in the scent of their pages.
And then of course there are the scents of different bindings: the glues, the leathers, the cloths and boards, even the paperbacks all have very unique characteristics and, to my mind, add an extra dash of personality to an otherwise mundane object. And yes, sometimes if a book has had the misfortune of being very poorly kept, I can detect a faint whiff of mildew. This doesn't bother me in the least. It means this book has survived.
To many of course, these various bookish odors mean nothing. But to an avid reader and collector like myself, these smells are as magical as the bouquet of a great wine is to a connoisseur - a sort of literary terroir. These scents mean Excitement, Adventure, Discovery, Enlightenment and Knowledge. Of course my deep love of reading is exactly what lead me in the first place to begin capturing the scent of books and of the libraries where they live. That's what this perfume is all about.
Now, whenever I have the chance, I read aloud to my nieces and nephews. I am delighted they so enjoy this and are so eager to listen. I love sharing with them some of my own childhood favorites. There have been some very interesting discussions afterward about some of these...
But before I begin to read to the children, I always take a moment to open the book and encourage them to take a whiff. I hope for them, as it has been for me, this smell will mark the beginning of a long and wondrous journey.
Thanks for all your hard work on this site, I really enjoy reading it. human pheromones
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