Tony with his parents and sister, circa 1994 (long before he discovered niche perfumes and Heeley Eau Sacree)
I grew up in a small rural town in Massachusetts, my grandparents and the rest of the family either there or in the next small city over. I wasn’t particularly exposed to perfumery. My mother only has one perfume, Wind Song by Prince Matchabelli, which has been her signature fragrance since 1965. Her mother wore Avon Sonnet. Quite frankly, I do not remember my father having any fragrance, except maybe a bottle of Old Spice Aftershave in the medicine cabinet. I do remember, at about 10 years of age, asking one of our neighbors what she was wearing for perfume because she smelled so pretty.
Avon Sonnet and Prince Matchabelli Windsong, the perfumes of Tony’s Grandmother and Mother
I discovered designer fragrances when I was 16, trying to pick out an adult scent to wear to a Christmas party. I spent nearly 2 hours in the men’s fragrance department at Macy’s before I decided on the one fragrance that smelled at least a bit different from the others, Fahrenheit by Dior. That became, along with La Nuit de L’Homme by YSL, my signature scents for the following 15 years or so.
Fahrenheit was Tony’s Signature scent from his teens to early 30’s.
Fast Forward to 2016 – While sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, I was reading one of the stale magazines one finds in such places. There was an article about men’s fragrances, I don’t know how I happened to find it, nor why I read it, but, I was so destined. The article was mostly about the newest Designer releases to market, but it did include something it called a “Niche” fragrance which was unique and beautiful. I tucked away this tidbit as I hurried into see the doctor.
The two fragrances that really kicked off Tonys’ adventure into niche – Avignon by Comme des Garçons and Heeley Eau Sacree
A few months later, the memory of that article resurfaced. What was a niche scent and where does one find them? Certainly not where I had looked. So, online I went. Google graciously gave me several perfume websites where I could purchase this scent, so I chose one and off I went. I was lucky, this was a great scent for a blind buy and it became the gateway into the perfumed world in which I now live. It came, I wore it, received more compliments than I had ever done. So, I went back to that site to see what else I could find. Based on what I thought were the notes I smelled, Heeley Eau Sacree and Avignon by Comme des Garçons were recommended. I, like any red-blooded person who was discovering perfume, proceeded to purchase both. I was terribly excited when they arrived and promptly spritzed on some Avignon. I immediately fell in love. It was beautiful, dry, resinous Catholic Incense, very close to the kind I so often was around in my many years as an altar boy.
Then evening came, then dawn: the next day. This was the day I was wearing Heeley Eau Sacree. How could this beat Avignon? Did I waste my money and get essentially the same thing as Avignon? With some reluctance, I sprayed the perfume, behind each ear, on each wrist. Then it was like Handel’s Messiah was playing inside my head. Yes, this had the same ecclesiastical goodness as the Avignon, it was that heavenly, spiritually uplifting aroma of olibanum – aka frankincense, myrrh, and spices (a mere soupçon of pepper, perhaps). But, it was more. There was rose, passionate, and mysterious, warm and engaging. Not overly sweet, in your face rose, but a complementary note, melding and dancing with the incense. I was taken back to my youth, to those years of being an altar boy, to the comfort and sustenance of my faith. This fragrance awoke something long dead in me, it was a spiritual, religious awakening. This scent represents “me”, deep down inside, believing in love, hope, peace and faith, that all humans are created equal and deserve to be treated as such. Wearing this scent enrobes me in love and hope, and makes me feel closer to that which is the mysterious Divine. This scent, comforts me when I am sick, it buoys me when I am wavering and it reinforces my uniqueness, that which has helped mold me into who I am today. This is the scent that truly made my interest and love for niche perfumery bloom.
Heeley Eau Sacree evokes the memory of being an Altar Boy for Tony. Here he is with his sister at her First Communion, with the Rev. Fr. Phillip Davignon
This is where Niche stands out – It dares to be different and unique, to push limits. Niche perfumery is about letting the perfumers’ creativity and artistry shine through and be savored. It’s not about making the most profit for a corporation; it’s about the realization of a dream and a concept.
Tony in 2019 at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
These scents let perfumers take us into their world, their imagination, their heart and soul. They let the people we encounter get a glimpse of ourselves, our unique tastes, our spirit and souls. It lets me express myself in ways that I never could otherwise. I push the limits, and love doing so. It lets this short, plump, middle-aged, gay, spiritually esoteric man be himself – be it with one of his perennial favorite incense perfumes, a light, bright rhubarb and green note scent, or the most lovely (BLUEHILL Fragrances) Beach Rose scent you could imagine.
Notes: Labdanaum, Olibanum and Frankincense
Disclosure: from my collection
–Tony Burgess, Guest Contributor and CaFleureBon reader
Editor’s Note: Heeley Eau Sacree is somewhat difficult to find in the USA. You can purchase on Heeley’s site here and Jovoy Paris which ships worldwide
Thanks to the generosity of Tony Burgess he is offering 1 ml from his own bottle for one registered reader in the USA ONLY. You can register here. Please leave a comment regarding Tony’s Fragrant Awakening, and if you have tried Heeley Eau Sacree. If you live outside the USA, please leave a comment for Tony anyway. Draw closes February 18, 2020
all photos are by Tony… all rights reserved©
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