(Otherwise known as The "Meaning To" Beginning, With Gipsy Kings and The Arabian Dance)
For several years, I have had an idea of diving into music. I know what I tend to gravitate to, but I have been on a journey of asking myself, "Is this who I am, and how do I know that," in many areas of my life. Music somehow remained static. I liked what I liked, and didn't stray much from that. But, as I continued to question myself regarding what I was "sure" I liked and wanted to add to my life, music began to take on a focus.
Music, like perfume, is often considered a personal taste. Also, like perfume, there will be those who think your personal taste is terrible (and should not be aired to the public, lest ye offend). With both, some will be interested in more than what is traditionally offered. Like perfume, there are music brands and types sold for mass consumption. Then, there are the steadily growing niche perfumers and bands that have developed loyal followings because they offer something else/more, something that isn't being acknowledged by the mass consumption gods.
Music, like perfume, even though developed by others, is considered an intimate form of self expression.
I have taken several years to explore perfume (although I admit that even there, I have tended to find one thing, obsess over it for a little while, then stall out before moving on). In doing so, I have discovered more of myself--things I thought I didn't like but ended up loving, new words to describe my tastes and interests, ways I tend to self-care (and ways I can improve), the way I approach something I'm not sure about (and how I can work on expanding my experiences).
I have often not understood not wanting to learn, whether it's more about self, about others, about the world we live in. I see people going about their day-to-day, sometimes candidly expressing that they don't want to explore anything else. They want the routine, the predictable. While, I do understand how comforting sameness can be, I also crave discovery and truths that may lurk beyond what we think we know and experience. I've been told by several people (in varying tones and degrees, and sometimes meant as an insult, sometimes as a compliment) that "You are a very different type of person, Maya. Not everyone is as __________ (bold/willing to explore/critical of self/whatever the thing is at the time) as you are."
When I've heard that, I have allowed it to set me back. Should I be as curious about the world, about people, about what makes us all tick? Why is this insatiable desire to know inside of me?
One thing I seem to have to keep learning is that whether I am the same as everyone else or different, it's not going to change who likes me, loves me, hates me and even more importantly whether I like or hate myself. So why not test a horizon or two?
Which brings me back to exploration. I have, through the past two years (and especially so last year), been adding to my "Someday I want to explore that" list in music. I've asked people what they listen to, and have added those artists and songs.
While I've been doing this, I have also been adding to my perfume lists as well as looking at the boxes of perfumes I have set aside to fully test, explore, make decisions about.
For over a year, I've been meaning to get to both the music and the perfume with the idea of combining them. Test a perfume. Test a new artist. I have held back because sometimes I scare myself by how much I want to do something (and I also realize the big risk of exploring an artist, not liking them, and having someone tell me how stupid they think I am).
But the idea has persisted. Persists. Probably will continue to do so.
So, today, I basically closed my eyes, spun the list on Spotify, and picked a group at random that I added I don't even know how long ago, and pressed play. I also closed my eyes, reached into my box of perfume and grabbed.
I didn't realize that just doing those things would make my hands sweat a little bit.
I probably won't give as in depth a review on the music that I pick as I do this (although who knows how it will evolve), but I do look forward to seeing what I connect with and what I decide to add permanently.
On to the reviews!
Gipsy Kings
The group Spotify landed on today was the Gipsy Kings. Per Wikipedia, "The Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in the south of France, who perform in Andalusian Spanish." Their website was fun to wander through and read. They hail from an area very close to where most of the well known perfumes in the world have been developed and come from (as we know them today). Both this music and perfume have history behind them--weighty, bold, and beautiful.
I also have liked flamenco music through the years, but have never really taken the time to focus on it. The Gipsy Kings grabbed me immediately, and I found myself adding more of their songs to one of my permanent lists. I find it almost impossible to be cranky while listening to flamenco music, and the Gipsy Kings kept making me happy from track to track.
However, reading their story also reminded me of a different history when it comes to gypsy culture, and how gypsies have been treated through the years. I found myself wondering what joy, what cultural impact, what influence would have been lost if the people who had wanted to rid the earth of gypsies and their culture had succeeded.
Today, I am grateful for a chance to listen to masterful guitar work and powerful vocals. I will be keeping this group's music around and look forward to more days spent with the Gipsy Kings.
Today's perfume grab was The Arabian Dance, and I admit to chuckling over how life can sometimes pair things. I'm listening to music that makes me want to dance, and it is paired with a perfume with dance in its name. I probably would have had to hunt for hours to find that pairing, and yet closing my eyes and picking made it happen. It tickles me.
Today, for the fun of it, I'm going to go through the review first before I find the scent description and notes from the perfumers website.
The Arabian Dance
In the bottle, I get a bunch of things that smoosh up together. I start to pick them out and at first get the sense of a dark and woody chocolate or coffee. It's dark and just shy of bitter. But, immediately dancing around that and lifting the whole is a sweet fruity note that feels like it's tangling with raw silk. It's compelling in the play of light and dark.
On my skin, my left arm immediately gets a beautifully spiced note (like an amazing spice cake, loaded with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove), threaded with a touch of coffee. I also get the sense of sugar. On my right arm, I get more of the sweet fruit that turns very perfumey. The raw silk edge lifts, then drops down to become part of the perfume base.
As it dries, the spice on my left arm is beautiful. The coffee note drops into a deeper and softer chocolate vibe without smelling like chocolate, and continues to play along a line that dashes between light and dark, without ever becoming heavy. It is (on my left arm) completely what I would like my cozy days to smell like in wintertime: charming, uplifting, slightly spiced, warm. On my right arm, that coffee note begins to rise a bit and brings up the raw silk aspect. It also comes across as very perfumed with a sweet edge. It also has a note in it that reminds me a little bit of Phyllotaxis also from Possets, which had a black musk and coffee note blended with chai and lavender notes. My right arm has a slightly plastic edge among the notes, but it is not dominant and only noticeable when I put my nose on my skin and sniff. I suspect there is clove in this one, as clove can sometimes go to a weird plastic on my skin (but only up close, not in the throw). The waft around me is glorious: warm spices, a distinct snugglycuddleness, and yet lifting into a really beautiful perfume with soft and sweet edges, without being too sugary sweet.
Fully dry, the perfume softens a lot, but stays warm and cozy spices, a faint hint of coffee base, and keeps that lovely perfume edge with a soft sweetness. This is perfect for me right now in our winter months. (I suspect it would be too much in our heat and humidity.) I will be putting this in my autumn-spring rotation pile.
The Arabian Dance is a permanent at Possets, so if you think you may like to try it, it would be available as a sample. The notes for it are: Clove, coffee, a drop of mild oude, and very light smoke. Very spice sensuous and lovely like a sunny afternoon in a coffee shop in Dubai in January. A glorious simple pleasure.
The mention of smoke surprised me a little, but I suspect that is the raw silk edge I was getting. Overall, I'm a bit pleased that I picked out the clove (or spices) and coffee. For people who may be afraid of smoke fragrances, this seems like it would be a good one to try. I have other perfumes that literally have a smoke-from-a-bonfire smell. This is a much lighter, more "clean" smoke, and soft. It is a beautiful perfume and deserves to be out more. I'm thrilled to have rediscovered it.
Both the music and the perfume are perfect for today, and both are keepers (although I know some will not be). I look forward to seeing what else is out there just waiting for me to discover them.
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