Sarah Baker Gold Spot courtesy of Sarah Baker Perfumes
Under the glare of the kliegs, the heat on the set is hovering close to 100 degrees. On the vast white bed, the silk sheets and monogrammed pillows gleam. Marooned in the middle of this opulent island, swathed in a white satin dressing gown fluffed with ostrich feathers, she pauses, an amused smile playing on her lips. As another adjustment to the lighting is made, she pouts, leaning back into a mountain of pillows, and lifts a bonbon to her scarlet mouth. Just a little further to the left, a little more … The first cameraman checks again. Through the lens, her platinum hair sheens like white gold and, as she lifts her chin, an incandescent beam bathes her skin. The cameras poise like breathless spectators, the director peers once more into the camera. She is transformed, seemingly lit from within. Roll film.
Jean Harlow by George Hurrell, 1933
Sarah Baker Gold Spot, the third in her trilogy of oud-centric perfumes, is inspired by the golden age of Hollywood and the auric beam of light that cinematographers refer to as the “gold spot.” And oh, baby, is it gorgeous – a purring angora of a fragrance with the sensual glow of a George Hurrell photograph. Sultry yet cozy, Gold Spot is the Jean Harlow of the trio and the most approachably delicious thing I’ve sampled this year.
Sarah Baker, photo courtesy of the brand
“With Gold Spot, we asked Chris to dip Loudo in gold,” explains Baker. “The vibe is hedonistically indulgent, which is how I imagine the era of the Golden Age of Hollywood when everything was dripping in gold; the sets, the talent and the screenplays. In fact, included in the presentation of every Gold Spot bottle is an original mini screenplay that we wrote. It’s a scene from a fictional larger storyline that is suitably glamourous, takes place in the Golden Age, and stars some of Hollywood’s great legends.” Perfumer Chris Maurice composed Gold Spot, like its sisters Loudo and Symmetry, around a central blend of orange blossom, cypriol, natural Laotian oud, and a Suyufi agarwood tincture he made himself.
photo courtesy of the brand
As with last year’s wonderful Loudo (which has become one of my go-to cold weather favourites), Maurice and Baker have shown a genius for playing with childhood sweet notes off sophisticated, grown-up aromas. On first spray of Sarah Baker Gold Spot, there’s an arpeggio of dessert smells: nutty, toasty butterscotch, dark chocolate and the dry, cracked wood aroma of agar, and just a moment or two later, the custardy smell of baked vanilla. it’s an olfactory version of biting into one of those deliciously complex Parisian pastries that layer flavours and textures, a voluptuous parfait. Baker comments that the “stretch of butterscotch … is the golden brush across the oud.” And indeed, the butterscotch adds a chewy, ambery ribbon that puts in mind images of the jars of old-fashioned fudge, sun pouring through the windows of a yesteryear sweet shop.
Joan Crawford, phot by George Hurrell, 1934
Cutting into all that toothsomeness are slivers of bergamot and petitgrain, which bring some bright, bitter fruit for balance. The agarwood and oud come into their own in the heart of the composition, adding a sturdy base around which the gourmand notes swirl like poured cream. But outdoors, in the cool sunshine of late October, the woody notes become much more distinctive and take on a burnished quality, as if some smoulder from a nearby firepit wafted in. For the next hour or so, Sarah Baker Gold Spot teeters between gourmand and woody, the smokiness of the oud and agar tipping into butterscotch and vanilla and back again. It so yummy that I find I get cravings for it, just as I did with Loudo.
With its precise layering of notes and brilliantly executed contrasts of foody, dense, and astringent notes, Sarah Baker Gold Spot, like Loudo, signals a new sophistication in Baker’s line. It is one of the year’s best gourmands and I defy anyone not to be captivated by it.
Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.
Notes: bergamot, petitgrain, cypriol, orange blossom, butterscotch, Laos oud, Suyufi agarwood, dark chocolate, sweet myrrh, musk, amber, vanilla.
“Screenplay” inside Gold Spot box courtesy of Sarah Baker Perfumes
Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Baker, we have a 50 ml bottle of Sarah Baker Gold Spot extrait de parfum for one registered reader in the U.S. or UK. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Sarah Baker Gold Spot based on Lauryn’s review and where you live. Who’s your favourite Golden Age Hollywood star? Draw ends 10/28/2022 and the winner will be announced within 10 days after.
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Available at Luckyscent in the USA
Please read Ida Meister’s reviews of Tartan and Leopard here
Lauryn’s review of Loudo here and Flame and Fortune here (a top 10 Best of Scent of Nicoleta 2020 here)
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