Angel Falls by Ian Lambert

It’s kind of a blur what came first, wanting to write about By Kilian Sweet Redemption, or my interest in Angel Falls aka Churún-Vená in Venezuela – for these two worlds continue to collide and settle in my mind’s eye. Churún-Vená is the world’s largest waterfall that offers a plunge that drops more than 3000 feet into the Churún Canyon. The thing is before the water reaches the canyon below it is blown into a fine mist that looks like a cumulus cloud or some kind of floating spirit that is suspended and thick, yet buoyant. There is something sensual about this hovering mist, yet it remains mostly untouchable, leaving an ethereal impression. Churún-Vená’s real name, given by The Pemon, the indigenous people of Venezuela is Kerepaküpai Merú, Kerepaküpai meaning the deepest place and Merú meaning falls.

Dreaming of Sleep by Susannah Gilley

Like Kerepaküpai, Sweet Redemption wants to be admired, and this orange blossom soliflore beckons with stunning duality that is at once bitter and bright and then turns heady and haunting, not to mention very addictive. The opening begins with a good healthy sting of petit grain bitterness. I love its pithy bite. As this bitterness slowly dissolves, its heart fades up to the orange blossom and vanilla accord that brings a tempered sweetness that is heady, but still remains fresh and delicate. Its deeper moments develop into an almost holy dry down that includes base notes of myrrh, opoponax, benzoin, and incense that add a hypnotic ambery twist on things, however Sweet Redemption never comes across as clawing, I’d call it velvety. Calice Becker masterfully constructed Sweet Redemption, but she has also created an emotional fragrance that evokes mixed feelings of longing and serenity. Sweet Redemption ebbs and flows, at times it is barely detectable to me, and then it comes back, receding and advancing all day long always showing a different side. It seems to breathe on the skin, and has a polite tenacity; I got several “you smell amazing” this week.

I have never been to Kerepaküpai, so I can only imagine its waters approaching the cliff right before the fall. I can only imagine the cascading free-fall that magically turns into mist, and then the sweet redeeming fall into complete luxury. This kind of luxury is not concerned with the material, rather the luxury of sensuality that brings peace of mind and feeds and nurtures the soul. When I get to Venezuela, I will be wearing Sweet Redemption.

–Valerie Vitale of Soliflore Notes, Contributing Editor