Bal à Versaille, and a wrap up

This weekend saw my Cattleya orchid blooming for the first time (see picture, real size: ca. 10 cm); a fact I am very proud of… living in Switzerland means hard times for Cattleyas in winter time, yet my little pink lady made it! Living in Switzerland means hard times for Cattleyas in summer, too. Last summer it was almost killed by a hail storm….thus, I own a tough pink lady, too.

Then there was code developing on my computer’s nervous system that will soon find its way onto a domain tauerperfumes.com. And there were meetings and relaxation.

I sometimes wonder what other guest think when Vero and me meet in the Lobby of the Hyatt, downtown Zurich. Regular guests might know us by now. Maybe they even look forward to observing us and witnessing the study of scents that might sooner or later find their way into flacons. These habitués enjoy the calm and peaceful aura of a large, yet cosy room with a burning fire and watch us coming. Our small talk wouldn’t distract them as they have seen this scene many times. They read our faces when we start with the first fragrances. What’s happening with their eyes…do they open up, eyebrows up or down? For how long do they sniff on one particular paper strip? Are their thumbs up or down? How often do they come back to the smelling paper? Will the perfume end up finally on their wrist or does it fail to pass the test and will die silently and unnoticed? This weekend our regular Hyatt Saturday afternoon guests would have seen Bal à Versailles being brought to the test.

Acquired in the eighties by Vero, the head notes were a little bit off (we guess) but the central part of the perfume was there. Magnificent. I never studied it in such detail and there are narrative lines within this fragrance that are reminiscent of Le Maroc pour elle, indeed. It is thrilling to study a perfume for which you have such detailed insight due to your own work. I saw the Jasmine and a touch of rose, but a little bit darker than in the Le Maroc pour elle, where there is Frankincense shining through the flowers. I loved the patchouli and the cedar wood in Bal à Versailles on an animalic, dangerous background of erotic juices. Here, in the background of this wonderful perfume, I see the biggest difference to the Le Maroc pour elle: Bal à Versailles is going much further, with its castoreum and musk tones, nicely layered on top of each other and coming forth and back on you. Bal à Versailles is Ms Pompadour, fully loaded, stepping into the fête des nobles, accompanied by an entourage of young servant musketeers, all enchanted to find themselves close to a glorious woman, who starts to dance across the room to an eternal melody of erotic desire.