L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight (Jessica Mara) + Flickering Darkness Giveaway

 

L'Aventura Perfumes Mothli

L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight and AI generated background, collage by Nicoleta

“There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’ve  written before in my review of Christele Jaquemin’s Meandering Soul of the effect of “breaking the fourth wall” (how I called it for lack of a more specific term) that some fragrances trigger in me. Like catching a clear signal through static, that I immediately recognize and connect to, strongly, deeply, and emotionally, making me feel like an alien stranded on a distant planet that finally receives news from home. A home about which I have forgotten all the details, or how to return to – but never how it felt. “Can you hear me, Major Tom?”

Loud and clear.

Jessica Mara of L'Aventura Perfumes

Jessica Mara of L’Aventura Perfumes

“ I am a born maker. I love process and exploration. I love the excitement of creation and I love the tediousness of refinement. I want to create scents that surprise and delight, that are unconventional and intriguing. I want to create scents that allow an escape from where you are or take you to a place to explore. Scents that are novel, yet familiar. Scents that conjure imaginary spaces for you to make real or remembered spaces to return to. I want to create scents that reflect my experiences and mirror people the way I see them – complex, gorgeously flawed and perfect.” -excerpted from Jessica Mara of L’Aventura Perfumes in her Profiles in American Perfumery essay.

AI generated images and Juggling the Planets drawing by J.J. Grandville, 1844

 L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight broadcasted, as soon as I sprayed it on my wrists and opened a portal that drew me back in time to a very specific moment I haven’t thought of in so many years. I must be around eleven and it’s winter, so sunset comes early, so when I get out of school it’s past five and almost pitch dark. Each night I feel deliciously grown up as I walk the fifteen minutes walk home, accompanied by the yellow street post lights, choosing the company of my headphones over the merry gossip of my colleagues who are starting to be interested in – yawn- boys. As a sophisticated woman of almost 12, I am living my own intense imaginary love life with the first (and only) celebrity crush of my life – Freddie Mercury. The fact that he was no longer alive was just a small detail that did not dim my very publicly proclaimed love. My fixation has infiltrated other areas of my life, and now, trying to dig up all the details of my latest obsession – the Innuendo album – I have discovered that the illustrations were made by an artist named Grandville, back in the 1800s and I am convinced that these drawings have some alchemical deeper meaning buried inside them. In a world where I use the Bene Gesserit litanies of fear before my math tests, there is no suspension of disbelief in imagining a spell that I would be able to use so that Freddie and I are – finally – in the same timeline. Of course, as I plot and imagine these things I don’t listen to Queen, but to a band that will be forever engraved in my memory as the soundtrack to my first love stories of my life – the one that never was – but felt more real than some others that followed. Ahem. Sniffing my wrists, I read that Mothlight was inspired by a Cure song and I held my breath, avalanched back to the first riffs of that song, there in the flickering yellow streetlamps lights, back on Fascination Street.

“Oh, I’ll dust my lemon lies/ With powder, pink and sweet/ The day I stop is the day you change/ And fly away from me/ You flicker and you’re beautiful/ You glow inside my head/ You hold me hypnotized, I’m mesmerized/ Your flames, the flames that kiss me dead” The Cure, Caterpillar girl lyrics

Anais Nin Women's history month

Anais Nin and collage of L’Aventura Perfumes promo pics

L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight feels as real as nostalgia for a faux memory can get. Deliciously unnerving, just like the warm – but- blue lights of the open flame gas cooker where the kettle boils the Lipton Yellow Label tea until it’s black. It tastes like slices of lemon drowning in honey and dissolving in tea, sizzles like the crackle of the dried-out hidden cigarette, smoked on the balcony. It gathers a heavy knot of stormclouds outside that you could feel at the edge of your temples, pulsing, burring your head and breathing in your own warm skin, there, in the wool cocoon of your sweater, each breath closer to the new truth and further from who you were a second ago. Brings the texture of stone walls of my church by the edge of the sea, then opens the metal doors of the candle cabinets placed outside,  cold to the touch but never frozen, there where the ones burning for the dead are separated from the ones lit in prayer for the living.  My fingers tremble on the yellow wax that will borrow the flickering light and pass it forward.

Nostalgic, deep, warm, a mixture of sepia sweetness and musky sensual abandon, that is fit for the ones who want to romanticize the living lights out of every day. For those who are not afraid to get burned, just to feel the flames. For those who want to be consumed by what consumes them – be them memories or the longing to get burned again. I would see it worn by Anais Nin, in her long black hair, in the nights with full moon, as she went moonbathing. “I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.”

PS – If i close my eyes and imagine Mothlight as sound, it’s here, the sound of fluttering wings in the background of this song.

Fragrance notes: Lemon, pink peppercorn, ambrette seed, snuffed candle, sandalwood, musks

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Disclosure:  Sample kindly offered by the brand, opinions are my own

Mothlight L’aventura Perfumes

L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight photo, courtesy of the brand

Thanks to the generosity of L’Aventura Perfumes we have a 50 ml of Mothlight for one registered reader in the USA or Canada. 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 and where you live. Draw closes 3/4/2023

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ARTISAN PERFUMERS AND BUY SAMPLES AND PERFUMES FROM THEIR WEBSITE

Editor’s Note: There seems no better way to begin Women’s History Month March 1,2023 with such a gifted journalist, a talented woman perfumer, and to writer Anais Nin, the feminist, the femme fatale, the wildly impassioned and perfectly flawed woman.

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27 comments

  • Steve A says:

    What sparked my interest was the lemon and snuffed candle notes in the same perfume. US

  • aud604 says:

    Snuffed Candle! What an evocative accord! I can smell it right now. What struck me about this review was the Dune Bene Gesserit reference!
    Thank you for the draw, from BC Canada.

  • Arron_Q says:

    Thank you, Nicoleta, for the nearly-tangible description of this mysterious fragrance. It certainly sounds enchanting – soft and ethereal to a degree, yet full-bodied and textural at the same time. I love a fragrance that mystefies you a bit, and this sounds like it would do just that. Call me intrigued, especially by that snuffed candle accord. I live in NC, USA.

  • Half-Pint says:

    I am all about musks and the more sensual, the better. As others have also mentioned, the use of the snuffed candle note is very interesting. I imagine a soft waxiness, which would make sense if the sandalwood was tweaked with that accord in the right ways. As unique as that is, what really excites me about this perfume is the unnerving presence Nicoleta describes. I’m keen to try a fragrance that could leave me unsettled, but in the most beautiful ways. I’m from VA, USA.

  • Meeps says:

    A perfume inspired by the Cure?! I can’t wait to smell this and would be over the moon if I won. This 80s kid lives in CA, USA.

  • lovelisaxx says:

    You had me at Fascination Street. It’s one of my favorite songs and I’d love to try a perfume inspired by it! I’m in SC, USA.

  • B. D. Robinson says:

    This indeed was the most vivid experience I’ve ever had from fragrance story. You are truly amazing,
    Nicoleta! What a great way to shed light of the true artistry that women bring to this community as well. I love how what Jessica aims to do through her fragrances was directly reflected through Nicoleta’s experience.

    (US)

  • opalbear says:

    My goodness, the romance of a Anais Nin and Henry Miller. It’s been a long time, thank you for reminding me about their “singing universe, alive in all its parts”. But also… snuffed candle accord? I may be a moth!! Cocteau Twins song “when momma was moth”. That’s me for this scent. Im definitely super interested in this fragrance. And you’ve given us such a glorious image, sound and scent to imagine it with. Thank you.
    In California USA

  • dLin says:

    The idea of a fragrance with nostalgia in mind / as one of the main focuses is very interesting to me, especially with the recent blogs on how fragrance can serve as a souvenir to bring back memories of certain places and etc. The lemon described by Nicoleta sounds incredible, which with sandalwood as a note sound like and incredible combination. From TX, USA.

  • Sally Rosendale says:

    I was so intrigued by the deep tea/candle smoke/musk notes described. Anais Nin is the author of my favorite quote: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was to painful than the risk it took to blossom.”- As a therapist, I think that’s a perfect description of the sanctity of what I do. She was quite the woman with words and “perfectly flawed” was an excellent description of her. I live in FL.

  • skyhigh says:

    ‘If Mothlight could be a sound, it would sound like fluttering wings’ such a beautiful personification of scent to sound. NY, USA

  • starsnek says:

    Crumbly lemon powder, musk, and snuffed candle! Sounds mesmerizing. I would love to take this one for a whirl. Hello from the USA!

  • Trinity33 says:

    As a longtime Cure fan, I can certainly see how someone can take inspiration from the lyrics to “Fascination Street”. The smell of lemon, spice and cozy sandalwood, musk and the snuffed candle brings to mind the moth drawn to a flame in a library. It seems slightly melancholy but certainly evocative of a place and memory. I really love L’Aventura Perfumes aesthetic. MD, USA

  • lemoncake says:

    Nicoleta’s description of lemon, honey, tea, dried cigarette sounds incredible. Thank you for the draw. I’m in MO, USA.

  • bigscoundrel says:

    The sepia sweetness and musky sensual abandon of Mothlight sounds intense and almost primal. I’d love to win it. New Jersey, USA.

  • Regis Monkton says:

    I’m interested in trying something from this company. Milano Fragranze’s “Basilica” is one of my favorite fragrances, and it includes a candle wax accord and that is a reason why I’m interested in trying this fragrance from L’Aventura Perfumes. I’d like to see what the ‘candle’ note is like in this one. Also, I want to see what the lemon and the musks are like in this one. I live in the U.S.A.

  • cnii says:

    Love The Cure, love the smell of a snuffed candle. Thanks for this dreamy review, I’d love to smell L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight! I live in WV, USA

  • Christie says:

    This fragrance is really cool? Interesting? Unique? Yes, all three! I had a small sample of it and I thought it was fabulous. That lemon note with the snuffed candle (and you will smell the candle) was masterful.

    Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to win this!

    One more thing, Jessica’s bottles are excellent quality. Two thumbs up! In the USA.

  • mmerline says:

    Thanks for the poetic, thoughtful review to begin Women’s History Month and a reminder to listen to the Cure today. The lemon and peppercorn opening of this fragrance sounds lovely, but I’m really intrigued by the snuffed candle aspect of Mothlight, which is one of my very favorite smells (and reminds me of the exceptional candle wax note in Tapestry). I bet it works particularly well in a musky floral setting. Mara seems to be a really compelling and singular perfumer.

    I’m in the USA. Thanks for the giveaway!

  • drjedi says:

    I don’t think I have smelled snuffed candles in a perfume, so that definitely sparks my interest. Besides the reference to Anais Nin in Nicoleta’s review of L’Aventura Perfumes Mothlight was interesting. Thanks for a generous draw and a lovely review. From continental United States.

  • wallygator88 says:

    Thank you for the great review Nicoleta! Your mention of Lipton Yellow Label, brought back so many memories. I used to love opening the box and taking in that delicious tea aroma.

    I loved the mention of teenage angst in your review – the wanting to be grown up by cultivating interests and rash wanton abandon of youth.

    I do think the ambrette seed and the snuffed candle accord sound quite interesting.

    Cheers from WI, USA

  • Michael Prince says:

    What interests me about Nicoletta’s review of Mothlight is the interesting note breakdown…especially the snuffed candle note that is supposed to be reminiscent of a smoky buring candle. I loved learning more about Jessica Mara of L’Aventura Perfumes and the amazing story behind the fragrance. I am from the USA.

  • jojosi3 says:

    I absolutely love the name of this fragrance! Super intrigued with Nicoleta’s description of it capturing the feeling of nostalgia from a real memory. The review is beautiful and inspiring, and the scent sounds like it too.
    Thank you for the giveaway, from Canada

  • Half-Pint says:

    Oh this sounds really enigmatic. Nicoleta’s decription of its senuality and warmth, along with its straightforward yet unusual note breakdown has me intrigued. Have heard good things about this house and woud love to try this one. I live in VA, USA.

  • foreverscents says:

    Nicoleta’s review brought back memories of my teenage years when I used to listen to the Cure and when I read and re-read “Spy In the House of Love’ by Anais Nin. I will always remember the part in that book about the moonbathing. I also loved Nicoleta’s memory of the early winter dusk. Mothlight, with its notes of lemon, pink peppercorn and snuffed candle(!) sounds like the kind of fragrance I’d love to wear as I recall my goth/punk past.
    I live in the USA.

  • sephrenia300 says:

    Great review Nicoleta! What sparks my interest based on Nicoleta’s review is the idea of a perfume that feels both real and fake, like “nostalgia for a faux memory,” with warm and unnerving notes in turn like lemon in honey and sizzling cigarettes and stormclouds – a complex juxtaposition of soft and hard-edged. That sounds absolutely fascinating and so modern! It definitely piques my interest. I live in the US.