Talented and humble are two words that come to mind when I think of my friend Sali.
She mentioned that she was a singer when we first became friends...a singer...as if it were nothing big...a singer.
Now, I sing.
I sing in the shower, I sing on the treadmill and I love to sing karaoke.
My sister had a co-worker once who was a karaoke performer and even released an album of herself signing to karaoke tracks. In a delusional world - the two of us (myself and this
karaoke performer) could consider ourselves singers.
Seriously, I cringe when I hear my own voice when retrieving the messages on my phone.
Honestly, if I had a voice like
Sali's I would brag about it all the time! Humble wouldn't even know my name!
Fast forward to months after become a huge fan of her voice when
Sali passingly mentions that she created a fragrance,
Pink Manhattan. She even goes as far as mentioning that I may not like it but she would like my feedback on it.
I LOVED IT!
I was not alone as it quickly became a cult favorite and was even picked up by several fragrance sellers.
Fast forward again to last year when
Sali sent me a sample of a new fragrance she was tinkering around with. This untitled sample included three notes that I seem to be drawn to in many of my favorite fragrances: blackberry, pomegranate and sandalwood.
Needless to say, I was instantly drawn to this fragrance. The final product was changed only slightly from the prototype I tested.
Sali's new fragrance known as Unreleased Mix aka Persephone is described as a forbidden skin scent: a skinful
blend of dark chocolate, blackberry, pomegranate,
mysore sandalwood & royal purple flowers.
In the bottle, Persephone smells like those chocolate covered berry creams that you get in a box of chocolates. Very tempting!
I first tested the final product on a very cold night as I was going out to dinner and wanted something that would cling to my skin.
On the skin, the dark chocolate dissipates making room for the blackberries. Not an overly sweet scent but rather one that's subtle and subdued until about an hour and a half after initial application when all of the sudden it becomes this warm, inviting and incredibly sexy fragrance.
This was when the sandalwood kicked in for me and the floral notes rose to the surface. This scent embodied what I liked the most about the prototype and couldn't have been a better fragrance choice for the weather.
The next evening, the weather was much warmer and I had been working out on the treadmill for an hour. I took a shower and applied Persephone, changed into some cozy pajamas and watched a movie.
Minutes later I'm surrounded by this wonderful fragrance that is so different from the night before. The floral bouquet took center stage on this night where it was hidden the night before. The other notes were mere "walk on" characters in this production.
This made me appreciate Persephone even more because it's one of those rare fragrances that has the ability to change. Another example of a fragrance that changes with the weather is
Delrae's Bois de Paradis. I much prefer to wear
Bois de Paradis in colder weather as it
has that extra sass that's missing with warm weather. The spices and fig seem to pop out more where they are lacking in warmer weather.
With the arrival of spring, the weather out here is very cold early in morning and late at night with warm afternoons. I have been dabbing Persephone all week long and have welcomed every note as the scent changes as the day goes on. It really is a beautiful blend and one that I have proudly added to my collection.
In so many ways,
Sali is Persephone. She has the ability to adapt, to change, in the
background or to take the lead.
Talented and humble are only two words of the million that can describe who she is, what she does and where she'll go.
Persephone retails for:
$110
USD for 1/4 fl oz. (Full Size)
$66
USD for 1/8 fl oz. (Half Size)
Carded samples $6 each for a half-filled small vial, 2 per customer limit.