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Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Atlantic by Strange Invisible Perfumes


Last November I visited the Venice, California boutique of Strange Invisible Perfumes. It was a great experience- there aren't too many one brand perfumery stores around here, and meeting people who are passionate about their vision and art is always refreshing. The perfumes are unique and they come alive on the skin in a way few commercial releases can. I especially liked Musc Botanique (of course) and Narcotic, a tropical lush tuberose that melts into a vanilla sandalwood base. My husband was instantly taken with Atlantic.

Atlantic starts with a very bold lime. There's a bracing green blast but also ripeness, almost overly so. It's kept in check by lavender, and the combination is strong and aggressive. It's interesting to smell it on different skins. On me it's chaotic and it takes a while to settle and reveal what this perfume is all about. On my husband you get it immediately- it's very manly. It takes a few hours before the lime leaves the scene and I understand those who get a big dose of a sharp household detergent from this phase. Occasionally I do as well, though my husband would deny any such thing. On him it morphs smoothly into a soft wood base.

I'm wearing Atlantic right now as I'm typing this. I applied it nine hours ago and while the sillage is very minimal (it's the parfum concentration), the scent is still detectable on my skin. It reminds me of a high quality men cologne, in the best way possible. Not surprising, since it was created by Alexandra Balahoutis, the perfumer, as an homage to her father.

Atlantic (($185, .25 oz parfum extrait) and the rest of Strange Invisible Perfumes line (some also come in an EDP concentrations) are available online from siperfumes.com as well as from the boutique on 1138 Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, CA. If you're visiting, there's an absolutely amazing place, Jin Patisserie on 1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Don't bother with the sandwiches. Go straight for the cakes which are a fusion of French artistry and Asian aesthetics. The result is a dreamy perfection.


The photo above is of the Abbot cake from Jin Patisserie.

Utterly unrelated, but I found a recipe for a lime-lavender cake .

Top image: siperfume.com

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