The Persistence Of Memory, Salvador Dali
"When I think of where I am, and where I dream to go, I cannot help but reflect back on where it all began." Sarah Horowitz-Thran
Sarah Horowitz-Thran began her journey in fragrance almost thirty years ago when she first stepped over the threshold of a bespoke perfumery on Newbury Street in Boston. As a pioneer in the indie perfume industry Sarah has lived many lives since her interest in olfaction first blossomed in 1988. Her passion has always been to capture and recreate emotion, reflecting dreams and memories in scent. The new unisex Sarah Horowitz Parfums SHP Evolution Collection tells Sarah's personal story. Three fragrances, Origin Story, The Now and Hereafter, function as a fragrant time warp, revealing and involving us in Sarah's past, the present moment and beyond. There is a vast universe of niche and indie fragrances out there! New scents seem to come onto the market faster than the speed of light. Sadly, many of these "introductions" smell disconcertingly similar. Nevertheless, every now and then, while pondering a new perfume, I find myself pushed into the deep end, so to speak, living an olfactory experience of excitement, confusion and discovery. The three intriguingly beautiful and very different fragrances in the SHP Evolution Collection have rekindled my fascination with a mind blowing old theme.
The Eye of Surrealist Time Salavador Dali 1971
" Quantum mechanics, the theory that governs the smallest possible spaces, forces our human brains to accept some really wacky, uncomfortable realities. Maybe we live in a world where certain observations can force our universe to branch into multiple ones. Or maybe actions in the present influence things earlier in time. " Ryan F. Mandelbaum – particle physicist, writer and opera singer
Gail's Strange Perfume Universe
The olfactory story told by the SHP Evolution Collection has me contemplating, once again, the nature of time and asking myself how the perfumes I will smell tomorrow might influence the psychological expectations (and perhaps even the physiological/molecular impressions) of what I am wearing today – or have worn in the past. The SHP Evolution Collection prompts me to imagine that our familiar temporal causality and the implications of a quantum Retro-causality, (backwards causation where actions and objects in the present or future influence actions and objects in the past) are both capable of altering my immediate and future perceptions and memories of fragrance. The three perfumes in the SHP Evolution Collection – Origin Story, The Now and Hereafter – seem inextricably bound to and entangled with one another, each a discreet and unique perfume in its own right that at once recalls and predicts the effects of the others.
The Lugubrious Game Salvador Dali 1929
Of course, true Retro-causality refers to unimaginably tiny spaces and particles. Nevertheless, I can't help but imagine that the Art of Perfumery, as exemplified by the SHP Evolution Collection, demonstrates a unity of the plastic and temporal arts, functioning as both particles and waves, so to speak, with obvious rhythmic commonalities and interchangeable perspectives. Before I get too deeply mired in this weird and wacky alternative quantum universe I want to briefly describe each fragrance in the SHP Evolution Collection. Let me begin with the Hereafter.
Gail's Hereafter Photo Collage
Sarah Horowitz Parfums Hereafter was designed "…for this present moment and all the moments to come…" The tart, rich, berry-like sweetness of blood orange and the spicy balsamic and slightly medicinal warmth of cardamom are woven seamlessly together as vivacious top notes. This brief effervescence melds swiftly into the dry, woody, clear cedar qualities of Iso-E-Super. In Hereafter the dry-down focuses on the evolution of Virginia cedarwood as it morphs from smooth and oily to sweet and dry. Rich amber, vanilla and sandalwood add darkness and depth to what at first appears as a froth of lively and buoyant citrus. Notes: Blood orange, cardamom, Iso-E-Super, Virginia cedarwood, sandalwood, rich amber and vanilla.
Gail's Origin Story Photo Collage©
Moving on to the past: The SHP Evolution Collection Origin Story initially manifests as bright, zesty yuzu, a scented vignette, seen through glasses tinged with balsam and tasting of the smallest hint of grapefruit pith. The fruity tang of cassis carries both earthy and green minty undertones into a yesterday filled with wine, black roses and jasmine. Sarah Horowitz Parfums Origin Story ties this nostalgic bouquet of flowers and fruits with a spicy, herbaceous ribbon of clear Tunisian patchouli, recalling, as if in a dream, the crystals, apothecary bottles and mysterious oils of the bespoke perfumery on Newbury Street. Resinous pine suffuses a rich amber supported by china musk and buttery Mysore sandalwood, completing the Origin Story, the tale of a perfume that is one of my favorite evocative and modern "new age" classics. Notes: Japanese yuzu, cassis, Jasmine grandiflorum, Egyptian jasmine, black rose, spicy patchouli, French vanilla, China musk, Tunisian patchouli, Mysore sandalwood, and rich amber.
Photo of the devastation of the Woolsey Fires in Ventura via vcstar.com
Today, as I write these reviews, California is experiencing some of the most devastating fires in its history. * At this moment in time nothing seems more appropriate and more healing to me than The Now. SHP Evolution The Now uses the cooling, but not necessarily aquatic, elements of smooth white tea and freshly cut grass to create a lifted and purified experience of the present moment. A bright etheric and evanescent neroli lends its delicate yet powerful breath to the hay-like sweetness of fresh fig. Hints of white amber and intimations of a cool onshore flow seem to bless the earth with soothing floral mists, revealing the regenerative power of The Now. Notes: White tea, fresh cut grass, fig, neroli, white amber and oceanic musk.
Salvador Dali Time
“Only time (whatever that may be) will tell.” – Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
My experiences with each offering in the SHP Evolution Collection modify my impressions of the others. The modern woody qualities in the Hereafter tamper with my perception of the earthy sensuality of the Origin Story, effecting memories of the cool centering power of The Now. All three perfumes in the SHP Evolution Collection, applied separately over a period of days, simultaneously entangle my olfactory experiences in the past, present and future. "It's like déjà vu – all over again"! And how is this possible?
*Please note: One of the perfumers who works with Sarah, helping to create her beautiful fragrances, has lost everything to the California fires. To help please see Sarah's Go Fund Me Page for more information.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank Sarah Horowitz Parfums for the generous samples of the SHP Evolution Collection. My opinions are my own.
Gail Gross – Senior Editor
Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
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Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Horowitz Parfums, we have a reader's choice of one EDP Extrait from the SHP Evolution Collection for one registered reader in the CON US only. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about the fragrances in the SHP Evolution Collection, based on Gail’s reviews of the SHP Evolution Collection. Please tell us which you would like to win and if you know someone who has been effected by the raging fires in California. Draw closes 11/26/2018
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