Saveur d'Artichaut by Sinfonia di Note: Perfume Review

Apparently, this week I am compelled to write about "garden" scents. I must be longing for summer. And so, after salivating over tomatoes, lets tackle artichokes. And, yes, who would have thought there would be a perfume inspired by this perennial thistle with an edible bud...Apparently, Sinfonia di Note people have. To my shame, I must admit that I don't often consume artichokes, and so I have no recollection of their smell. Nor do I know whether the purple florets have a scent of their own. According to Google, artichokes smell of anything from wet dog to fried seafood, onions and pepper...Cooks and gardeners, weigh in! As for Sinfonia de Note's interpretation, it is green, piquant, sweet and woody. The aromatic note, paired with citrus, has a pleasant candied quality. Basil and pepper produce a fresher, verdant, subtly earthy effect and give the fragrance a delightful nose-tingling quality. The woody accord, although quiet, is present throughout the scent's development and has a resinous, freshly-cut-bark characteristic that I enjoy. I would position Saveur d'Artichaut somewhere in between the delicately sweet and nutty skin scent of Jour de Fete and the fresh, green spiciness of Piment Brulant, with quite a bit of wood-hay goodness of Bois Blond thrown in for good measure. That said, Saveur d'Artichaut is quite unique and a must-try...if only because you could then tick off, on you list of things to do before you die, the line that says: smell an artichoke-inspired perfume. As for artichoke-inspired poems, there is at least one that I know, again among Neruda's Elementary Odes, Ode to the Artichoke: The artichoke With a tender heart Dressed up like a warrior, Standing at attention, it built A small helmet Under its scales It remained Unshakeable, By its side The crazy vegetables Uncurled Their tendrills and leaf-crowns, Throbbing bulbs, In the sub-soil The carrot With its red mustaches Was sleeping, The grapevine Hung out to dry its branches Through which the wine will rise, The cabbage Dedicated itself To trying on skirts, The oregano To perfuming the world, And the sweet Artichoke There in the garden, Dressed like a warrior, Burnished Like a proud Pomegrante. And one day Side by side In big wicker baskets Walking through the market To realize their dream The artichoke army In formation. Never was it so military Like on parade. The men In their white shirts Among the vegetables Were The Marshals Of the artichokes Lines in close order Command voices, And the bang Of a falling box. But Then Maria Comes With her basket She chooses An artichoke, She's not afraid of it. She examines it, she observes it Up against the light like it was an egg, She buys it, She mixes it up In her handbag With a pair of shoes With a cabbage head and a Bottle Of vinegar Until She enters the kitchen And submerges it in a pot. Thus ends In peace This career Of the armed vegetable Which is called an artichoke, Then Scale by scale, We strip off The delicacy And eat The peaceful mush Of its green heart. Translated by Jodey Bateman Saveur d'Artichaut is available at Luckyscent, $150.00 for 100ml. Another Sinfonia di Note review: Coeur de Noisette Image source, producegirl.com.