Sunday, April 5, 2009

Polders are not Fjords

If you go to Luckyscent, and click on L'essence de Mastenbroek Eau de Polder, you will see that you are helpfully offered other scents you might like.  (The usual routine:  "If you like Jingle Bells, you might like White Christmas / The Christmas Song / Bell Jamboree.")  Among the suggestions for Eau de Polder fans: Geir Ness Geir.

Not.

That's like saying if you like South Pacific, you might like The Year of Living Dangerously or March of the Penguins.  Sure, all are stories whose geographical setting helps inform the action.  Yet, they are very different stories and realizations.  Likewise,  Eau de Polder and Geir are both supposed to be inspired by specific landscapes.  Contemplate the official copy for each:  
  • Geir:  "feel the Power of Norway which captures the cool freshness of crisp Norwegian mountains and the warm, sensual scent of exotic herbs and spices"
  • Eau de Polder:   "L’Essence de Mastenbroek is a perfume that expresses, in a variety of aromas, how life is in the polder of Mastenbroek..."     Luckyscent reveals the chosen aromas to include grass, hay, and herbs. (Story here; Luckyscent notes here.)
But inspiration is a conceptual link; in execution and experience, these two scents are nothing like each other.  (You can find how I felt about Geir Ness' women's scent, Leila, in an older post.)  It seems I embrace the polder...and leave the power of Norway to someone else.

I find Eau de Polder to be a wonderful embrace of sun, grass, hay, sweet...vaguely herbal in a garden and not medicinal way.  Remember, I'm the one who loves Bois Blond, who enjoys a well done amber, who gets pleasure when things like violet are anchored in the dirt and grass or hay are a bit warmed by the sun.  So anything that's sweet, viscous, and from the earth is a likely candidate to please me.

Yesterday, I tried Eau de Polder for the first time...but I've a feeling it's going to be one of those that always translate into "happy spot" when applied.

7 comments:

Musette said...

Huh. I haven't thought to revisit Norway since sniffing Laila and coming away completely unmoved.

Perhaps it's time to visit the Polder?

btw - polders are sort of scary to me. I have never quite overcome an atavistic fear of lowlands. Nature isn't really paying attention to what WE want, alas...

ScentScelf said...

Now there's the silliness of this all...when it comes to the real deal, I trust being *in* a fjord; I know Nature's right there with me, and that despite being in a water filled crevasse, all is right with the world. On the other hand...a polder...no matter how old...seems to be a muted hand gesture toward Mother Nature and an invitation to water coming in.

When it comes to scent, however, bring me the polder, and leave Norway behind.

Rose said...

I think I could love both- but it is very frustrating the way sites recommend stuff in a seemingly totally random way

Am off to check out the Norwegian scent though. I dream of the Northern Lights and Fjords all the time- it's some sort of Philip Pullman obsession

ScentScelf said...

Rose, I love Norway and the concept of things fjordian. I found Leila to be, well, a sweet floral. Have not tried Geir, but you can see how, on paper, it seems a stretch to expect that somebody drawn the the warm grassy peat of Mastenbroek might be taken aback by crisp mountains and exotic herbs and spices.

Do let me know what you think of the Geir...

I ♥ Philip Pullman, and would love a scent based on that environment. On that note...

ScentScelf said...

Ooops! Meant to say, on that note...

Roxana of Illuminated Perfume offers a scent called "Lyra," inspired by the character. I'm currently spending a little time with her Greenwitch, but have not tried Lyra. Would like to at some point.

Rose said...

A perfume called Lyra sounds wonderful! Pullman is so amazing and so modest. I will check out Roxana's fumes asap!

NathanB said...

The best part about Eau de Polder -- you can get your bottle refilled . . . if you go to the visitor's center in Mastenbroek!

Mmmkay. Think I might just skip the plane ticket and rented car and simply buy myself another bottle, thanks.

Though wouldn't it be fantastic to take a field trip to Mastenbroek and compare the scent of the air with the scent on your wrist?