KAJAL Joorie, photo by Nicoleta

“If you want a red rose,’ said the Tree, ‘you must build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with your own heart’s-blood. You must sing to me with your breast against a thorn. All night long you must sing to me, and the thorn must pierce your heart, and your life-blood must flow into my veins, and become mine.’ (…) ‘Be happy,’ cried the Nightingale, ‘be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart’s-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty. Flame-coloured are his wings, and colored like flame is his body. His lips are sweet as honey, and his breath is like frankincense.”- Oscar Wilde The Nightingale and the Rose

There’s this beautiful legend about a world in which all roses were white, and nightingales were no different from other birds. One day, the nightingale met the most beautiful white rose and fell in love with it – and from that moment on, he was inspired to sing, and thought the flower would bloom from her bud only if the song would be beautiful enough. The nightingale’s love grew so ardent that, one night, during his song, he slowly started to press his chest to the flower, and the sharp thorns pierced his heart, coloring the rose crimson – red forever. No matter how far back we travel in time, and to which cardinal point of the map we look at, we are surrounded by myths and legends woven around the symbol of the rose. It does not matter if we are visiting the Greek legend of  Aphrodite and Adonis or watching  Brahma use 108 large and 1,008 small rose petals to create a bride for Vishnu, or gaze at the rose petals raining from the ceiling of Nero’s banquet halls, there is a connecting red thread that links most of the stories to one common idea, making the rose the most ritualized flower, an everlasting and universal symbol of love, passion, and desire.

 

 Daria Heveleva via Unsplash background image, edit by Nicoleta

  A note from the brand:

“KAJAL Joorie is our red rose in all its aspects of love – caring and confident.

Joorie is our red rose reflecting strength – supportive and dependable.

Joorie is our red rose in all its splendour – marvellous and beautiful.”

KAJAL Joorie unites the best of two – seemingly contradicting – worlds: the comforting deliciousness of a honey-based gourmand and the depth, elegance, and complexity of a spicy rose scent.

 

KAJAL Joorie, photo by Nicoleta

 For me, there’s an eerie feeling of long-forgotten yet instantly familiar reassuring comfort to Joorie.  Do you know those recurrent dreams that manage to seep their mood into reality? The ones you forget the second you open your eyes, but recognize as special and can precisely pinpoint their effect in the remnants that paint your days a different kind of *magic. Not déjà vu but déjà rêve?

Interestingly enough, the inspiration for the scent comes from trying to revive a summer childhood memory: “In working on the creation of Joorie, I kept having flashbacks to the farmhouse where my family would go during our summer holidays. There were two acres of land surrounding the little house, fenced with pine trees along the borders. Berries, figs, jasmines, petunias, chamomiles, and lavender were just a few of the many plants that we had growing in the gardens. Most majestic of all was the one rose bush that yielded the most beautiful red flowers, and it was this plant that I would visit on a daily basis – not only to see the sublime velvety red petals and superior elegance of the roses but also to capture a whiff of the sensual perfume that this rose would so elegantly emit.”  Moe Khalaf (Founder & Kajal Creative Officer)

 

Laura Makrabeshu photography©

The first blast is a fiery dragon breath – a burning avalanche of spices rolls on your skin, heating it up to a feverish temperature, with nutmeg and cloves tingling ontop of sharp flakes of prickly pepper. A playful contrasting effect of vague coolness comes from the shaved ginger, with its slightly camphoraceous nuances. Everything still feels sizzling hot in effect, just like the olfactory equivalent of the “burn” you feel when placing an ice cube on your skin. Lemon and bergamot come to aid, with their reviving freshness, cooling the scent even further to a warm, sensual level of “hot-ness” (double-meaning pun very much intended).

 The heart of the perfume is my absolute favorite, sliding between sceneries and nuances, just like in a REM phase of a dream. Time runs in sensual slow motion, with soft pouring honey enveloping everything in sight. Her majesty the rose – a  beautiful, perfect, singular specimen, dominating monolithically the other flowers that serve as whispered backing vocals, to even more poetic pallid contrast to its’s dark crimson beauty.

 

 

Forever Rose – Crypto art  based on Kevin Abosch’s photograph, created by Abosch and GIFTO©

Large windows open, light pierces in, yellow, full of the promise of bloom, carrying microscopic new-born universes in the pollen of flowers, echoing the green siren’s call of the dryads. Sequence change again – chasing the zephyr out through the window, sliding down the long vines of a castle walls, all the way down to the river. We are flying above, watching the waters twist around and gather the dark roots of deep forests, thick hollowed out branches of trees filled with wild honey, mossy patchouli, musky dry grass burrows. The dream slowly fades into the morning light, the sweet aroma of honey still lingering on the skin.

Top Notes: Nutmeg, Clove, Ginger, Bergamot, Lemon, Pepper; Heart Notes: Rose, Ylang ylang, Orange Blossom; Base notes: Tonka Bean, Oud Accord, Musk, Sandalwood, Honey, Cedar, Patchouli, Vanilla

Nicoleta Tomsa, Editor

Disclosure: My own bottle, opinions are my own

 

photo courtesy of KAJAL©

Thanks to the generosity of KAJAL we have 100 ml of Kajal Joorie for one registered reader in the EU, UK or USA. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review of Kajal Joorie  and where you live.  What is your favorite Kajal perfume? Draw closes 4/28/2021

Joorie is part of the KAJAL WARDE collection each are inspired by the beauty of flowers

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