Gone but not forgotten: Fendi Asja

By Tom Marina is responsible for me falling in love with with this fiery,fruity little concoction that's  discontinued, but still available on the interwebs. It opens with an oddly smoky, stewed fruit salad that becomes warmer. spicier and more luxurious as it blooms.  Like Marina, if I'd been presented with this in a blind sniff-test and asked a brand I would say it was a creation of dear Uncle Serge. Except perhaps that there are no rough edges, no overdose of anything designed to shock. It is from beginning to end just soft, plush and luxurious. I wish the rest of my life was as effortlessly elegant as this little bottle. Maybe if we ask pretty, it will come back. Asja is still available on the net; I got mine at a discounter on Broadway in downtown LA (and one for my godchild for her birthday, which I am told she is carrying around with her at college in Vermont). I may get another one as a hedge.