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Friday, February 11, 2011

Digging the Dirt: Indolice by Providence Perfume Co

By Marina

If mushrooms were flowers, if jasmine shrubs were subterranean, this is how they would smell. If ever roots of a jasmine instead of jasmine petals have inspired a perfume, I imagine that Indolice is such a perfume...In Cepes & Tuberose, mushrooms were edible, and there certainly is a lot of that umami flavor here too, in the beginning of the scent, with herbs, basil and cilantro adding to the savory effect. In Cuir et Champignon, they were elegant, unexpectedly fitting in the composition of a leathery chypre. In Charna Ethier's creation, mushrooms are probably the most as nature intended- earthy.

Interestingly, that earthiness becomes the most prominent in the heart, where the jasmine accord acquires its strength. The jasmine (three different types of night blooming jasmine, according to Providence Perfume Co.) here is breathtakingly indolic. The unapologetic skankiness of the note will take your breath away. If, like me, you belong to the group of skank-seekers (thrill-seekers?) in perfume, if you like your jasmine outrageously dirty, you might have found the holy grail in Indolice. Somehow, the indolic nature of jasmine brings out the earthiness in mushrooms. In return, the raw, fleshy accord highlights further the animalic quality of jasmine. The two bring out the worst in each other. And when I say, worst, I mean it in a very good way.

Let's not forget the oakmoss, and a lot of it, which, of course, also piles up the earth in the composition. Mushrooms and oakmoss are layered in Incolice like puff pastry sheets in some unimaginable Napoleon tart, the layers held together by richly ripe creaminess of jasmine. Why do we enjoy a cheese that smells like body odor?- asks Stacey Slate in an article, Why We Love Stinky Cheese. She maintains that "our attraction to stinky cheeses reflects part of our human nature" and that "for enthusiasts of this type of cheese, its bodily odor activates our 'cheese pheromones.”' Can it be that skanky flowers like jasmine (or tuberose, gardenia and even orange blossom, which can be indolic) are so irresistibly attractive because their aroma is also perceived as human? And thus the dirtier they are, the more "like us" they are and the more impact they have? What say you?

Indolice can be found at Providence Perfume Co., $20.00-$98.00, depending on the size. Samples of this must-try are also available.

Image source, hiltonpond.org.

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18 Comments:

Blogger Ines said...

I keep saying I need to try other creations by Providence Perfume Co after their Outlaw but still haven't managed to.
Now, I'll do my best to hurry. :)

5:24 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, I am a bit worried about my humanity now... I don't relish stinky cheese and I cannot stand indolic flowers. So this perfume is not exactly what you might call "made for me". :)

5:40 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Ines,
which one was the Outlaw?

7:00 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

B,
All humanities are different :))) Some smell more like Vega :), and are no less human for that. :)

7:00 AM EST  
Anonymous Victoria said...

I love indole in all forms. Maybe, because it reminds me of India, where my olfactory memories have to include a big slug of naphthalene/mothballs. They are even left in the sinks to "scent and disinfect the room." Mothballs is exactly how indole smells. Maybe, I am just being nostalgic.... :)

9:14 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

V,
Well, there you go. I love, LOVE the smell of naphthalene/mothballs. Yep :)

9:17 AM EST  
Blogger Ines said...

Gypsy was the Outlaw. :)
I love the way that sounds.

9:48 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

I,
it does sound great :)

9:58 AM EST  
Anonymous Suzanne said...

Marina, I very much agree with your theory. Indolic fragrances strike me as having real living, breathing, bodily warmth to them. I think my own tolerance for them is high because I grew up on a dairy farm, where no matter how clean one tries to keep the environment, earthy and indolic smells are everywhere, from the garden to the barn. I imagine they might be more challenging for urban dwellers -- though maybe not, since cities have their own pockets of dirty smells.

11:06 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Suzanne
I grew up in a city, with a cleanliness and neatness obsessed mom :) Perhaps in my case the search for all that is dirty in perfume is subconscious rebellion? :)
Another thing is that REAL body odor I cannot stand :) Only in perfume form :))

11:09 AM EST  
Blogger Ducks said...

I am fond of a trace of cumin in fragrances for just the same reason -- and that's my guess why people like grapefruit in their fruity perfumes, too. All a little bit human. :)

12:53 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Linda,
That's what makes Roudnitska's creations 'alive' for me.
Good point about grapefruit too!!

3:38 PM EST  
Anonymous Sturdine said...

I can't run there fast enough!

6:54 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

M., I love this Umami series of reviews... as a stinky-cheese lover, and verified skank-fan, I'm looking to trying these---especially since they're all indie perfumes.

6:54 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Sturdon
Please try others too, Osmanthus for sure!

6:55 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

D,
Very decisively adding or emphasizing he presence of JAR Jardenia to the list. Wearing it today and it is MUSHROOMS and so UMAMI.

6:56 PM EST  
Blogger Flora said...

Mushrooms and oakmoss together? Might not work on me by itself but I am envisoning all kinds of layering fun!

12:35 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Donna,
would be great with some innocent white floral blend :) Corruption!

11:05 AM EST  

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