I look around me
And feel you are ever so close to me
Each tear that flows from my eye
Brings back memories of you to me 

I Go To Sleep, The Pretenders

In June this year I visited Sicily for the first time. I contact Antonio Alessandria quite out of the blue to see if I could meet him in his Boudoir 36 perfumery in Catania. At that time he was in Paris, so he arranged for his sister Enza to make a sample set for me containing his five perfumes.

On my second day in the bustling city I strolled down Via Santa Filament and entered a true perfume paradise: Boudoir 36. This shop certainly is no ordinary perfumery : The place is full of beautiful bottles, candles and decorations. It’s intimate and feels like being in  a fragrant sanctuary. You can tell that this is the work of someone who really has a passion for perfumes. I introduced myself to Antonio’s sister Enza and to his parents who were seated in front of the counter as if they were guarding all the magic treasures on display in Boudoir 36.

The five fragrances in the sample set were : Noir Obscure, Nuit Rouge, the stunning tuberose beauty Nacre Blanche, Fleurs Et Flammes and his latest release Éperdument. Before coming to the shop I had already made up my mind that I was going to get a bottle of Nacre Blance since I love that perfume so much, but little did I know that things would turn out another way. I tried all five perfumes on my skin  but couldn’t decide, so I told Antonio’s sister that I would return later.

I took a walk and grabbed an espresso and a nice strawberry granite at the Pasticceria Savia. As I was watching all the people walking by , I could not stop sniffing my arms. It was difficult to decide which of the five perfumes was the most appealing to me- they are all so different. But Éperdument really drew me in;  I  think it’s seductive, it has a warm creamy quality to it and yet its fresh and floral. So when I got back to Boudoir 36 I decided to choose Éperdument to be my companion on my trip through Sicily.  I asked Enza and  Antonio’s parents what their favorite perfume by Antonio was and his mum answered that it was  Éperdument . I have two favorites – I guess I will have to come back to get the other one – my beloved Nacre Blanche!

A few days ago I started working on my drawing while wearing Éperdument. Normally I work quite intuitive – the colors, forms and shapes form themselves as I work- but in this case I had quite a clear  image and even colour pallete in mind. In the end the colors changed ( I had a warm dark yellow in mind ) but the overall idea remained.

I wanted to have a circular shape, like a floral wave of memories both sweet and sad. This perfume for me is fresh  and at the same time it has a warm and  lusciously creamy feel to it and I think that this combination  makes the perfume interesting to me. The perfume opens with  green notes and citruses, amongst other notes. In the heart I can smell jasmine, orange blossom and sweet honey-like note. The base is warm,  woody and ambery.  Both nostalgic and a bit tropical, Éperdument evokes images of travel, and a sense of wanting to belong somewhere.  So I wanted to draw ‘emotional movement’ ; A joyful,  floral wave  with touches of tears in an ocean of  fantasy.

Fragrant greetings,

Chester

Oceans Of Fantasy 30×30 cm , gouche, ink and pencil on paper 2017  © Chester Gibs.

Thanks to Antonio and Enza for the generous sample set and thanks to The Scent Company for introducing me to this wonderful brand. For more information on Boudoir 36 and Antonio Alessandria click here.  

You can check out my imaginary for Nacre Blanche here