Perfume Review: MoslBuddJewChristHinDao, A Unifaith Fragrance by Elternhaus

Everything about MoslBuddJewChristHinDao, “A Unifaith Fragrance” by Elternhaus rubs me the wrong way, the cumbersome, awkward name, the affected, precious concept, the price. According to Elternhaus (“a family of unruly children”, which doesn’t make fashion but transports “an attitude to textiles and other carriers of thought via text”), “As an object, the perfume’s effect is multilayered…cosmically, aesthetically and sensually. It’s directed against limited partisan political and religious thinking, which always produces violence. For this reason, the Elternhaus perfume object may be understood politically, but if it had to be categorized, it would be, at the most, cosmopolitan.” The description very carefully omits to point out how exactly Elternhaus means to fight “limited partisan political and religious thinking” with their perfume. Does it make the world a better place just by the very fact of its existence? Should it be made morally obligatory for those at the wheel of power to wear it? Should the airplanes spray MoslBudd on the many war areas of our troubled little planet? If we all shell out $300 and start wearing this, would there finally be peace on Earth? And how about those unable to pay $300 for the honor of wearing this perfume? Is it not rather ironic that such a socially-politically-religiously-conscious scent, a scent so laden with deep, benevolent meaning, has such a hefty price? Is a significant part of the profits going to be devoted to some sort of REAL peacekeeping effort, to some actual anti-violent action, to the building of universal tolerance of all towards all? Because if not, this is no more (and no less) than just another fragrance. And that brings me to perhaps the most important question…what about this particular scent is so special, so miraculously wonderful that it makes it such an effective (non/anti)weapon against the evils of limited thinking? The answer, I am afraid, is…nothing. MoslBuddJewChristHinDao is a pleasant enough, slightly spicy woody-incensey fragrance that adds nothing new to the genre. It starts with rich, peppery incense and an enjoyably salty-savory note reminiscent of dill pickle marinade. The woody accord, rather similar to that in Donna Karan Wenge, grows stronger and is soon joined by an ambery, subtly incense-like, delicately floral note that I believe is labdanum. In fact, if you took Wenge, layered it with Labdanum and added some pickle juice, the result would be your very own ScentThatWillSaveTheWorld. MoslBudd is nice but not nearly nice enough to justify the ambitious premise and the grand price. Perhaps, I am just a slave of my limited thinking. Perhaps I put words into the mouths of Elterhaus “family” and, with their mission statement, they really mean nothing more than the good old Beauty Will Save The World proclamation. A perfume IS after all a piece of beauty, an art object, and as such does make this miserable Universe a little more bearable. But if so, other perfumes have been doing it for ages. A beautiful Guerlain scent, or, to take a more modern example, a gorgeous Lutens one, would have the same “multilayered effect” and be as cosmopolitan. The difference is that a Guerlain creation, even as or more expensive than MoslBudd, professes to be nothing more than a beautiful scent that might put the wearer into a pleasurable sort of reverie and perhaps into a better mood. The Sous le Vents and the Farnesianas and the Fumerie Turques of this world know their limitations. They are not “directed” against anything, they don’t promise to stop violence, to break barriers and to build universal tolerance. But they are beautiful, intriguing and they smell nice. Nothing less and nothing more. MoslBuddJewChristHinDao is available at Luckyscent, $300 for 50ml. The image is from Luckyscent.com.