For the last few days, a mysterious smell has been bugging me in my study. Most of the time, it’s been totally undetectable, but every now and then, as I’ve been sitting at my PC, it’s popped up, flitted around for less than a second and vanished. Essentially, it was floral: gentle, thin and strongly reminiscent of lily of the valley. Each time it wafted under my nose, I sent quiet curses in the direction of Zurich. ‘It must be Carillon Pour Un Ange,’ I thought to myself, ‘I probably sprayed some on my carpet by accident, and now it’s going to haunt me for weeks.’ As has already been written elsewhere, most of Andy Tauer’s perfumes possess the extraordinary ability to last through rain storms, workouts, baths and vigorous encounters with Fairy liquid. I suspect that centuries from now, when we’re all gone and the globe is recovering from an apocalyptic nuclear disaster, a small corner of Switzerland will still be radiating Orange Star. I keep asking Andy how he achieves this tenacity, and he says it’s down to skillful blending, but I reckon he sold his soul to the devil in return for the secret of Eternal Scent. But I digress…
Although I adore Carillon, I don’t want it to invade my space unbidden, so these occasional bursts of lily were starting to become irritating.
Anyway, yesterday, a pencil rolled off my desk and fell onto the floor. I got down on all fours and began hunting for it amongst the maze of electrical cables, folders and stacks of paper. As I ventured deeper into this forest of paraphernalia, the smell reappeared. ‘What the hell is going on?’ I thought. ‘There’s no way I could’ve sprayed anything down here!’ A few moments later, I found the culprit: a narrow strip of paper with a word jotted at one end. Lyral.
Gritting my teeth, I picked it up, threw it in the bin and have been lily-free ever since. But I feel ashamed to think that all this time I’d been blaming Mr Tauer’s divine angel. Can anyone suggest a suitable punishment for me? Throwing me into a vat of Sécrétions Magnifiques, perhaps?
Persolaise.
PS I’ll bet the real irony of this story is that Carillon doesn’t even contain Lyral…
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a little bit of lyral is in it. Just a bit….a little, little bit…
I will greet the devil when getting together for a sniffing session again.
Until then: Have a nice day!
hehe phantom odours! sometimes, they're the most interesting
Eau d'Epices is still on my pillow, and not from a hint of spray, it has taken the scent I put below my ears in the morning, since five days perhaps? Subtle and enchanting. Instead,my brother loves a perfume that I dislike, very sour, it reminds me of a Kouros's base note,don't know which can be, and it is always through the part of the corridor that goes to his room. I can't say I don't like, he is too sensitive..haha.
Liam J, you're quite right, sometimes they are interesting… and sometimes they're darned annoying!
Andy, now that you've confirmed the identity of your mentor, please could you answer the one question I'm sure we're all dying to ask: does he really wear Prada?
Vintage Lady, Eau d'Epices is most certainly another one that'll still be clinging to a blotter long after all organic life on the planet has been wiped out.
OUCH!! 🙂 Hey, no one of us is perfect, and Gabriel is all about forgiveness and soothing frayed nerves!
Thanks for a very amusing story! I must admit – I do believe all succesful creators have made a deal with a Devil… And yes the one responsible for the department of vogue, cosmetics and perfumery DOES wear Prada 🙂
Punishment? Hmmm… How about working with Lyral for the next couple of month trying to create Lily-of-the-Valley?
heheee re: vat of SM – that would be hell indeed!
Thanks, Linda! I feel suitably soothed 😉
Frida, a vat of SM would certainly be one of my worst nightmares! Urrgh… I can't even bear to think about it right now…
AromaX, that's a tough challenge. How about 3 parts of Diorissimo to 3 parts of Carillon and… 1 part of Lyral… would that work? Can I be let off the hook now?
If Andy's creations have that lasting power I am onto Les Senteurs in a moment. I think I sprayed 25ml of Bois D'Encens before I went out yesterday. About fifteen minutes out I couldn't smell it .I get so sick of this I want to smell it ,I don't wear it for anyone else . Maybe it's me ,my skin but the only fragrances that stay in a halo are Une Rose and vintage My Sin.
Angela Cox, everybody's skin works in slightly different ways, as you well know. But in my experience, Le Maroc Pour Elle, Reverie Au Jardin, Orange Star, Une Rose Vermeille and Carillon Pour Un Ange just keep going on and on and on.
Having said that, I should just mention that you won't get a sample of Carillon from any UK retailers at the moment; the perfume isn't officially launched in this country until next spring. Oh, and don't forget that samples of Andy's work are also available from Scent & Sensibility.