I must admit, I love writing in the morning, perhaps because all the senses are active during these beautiful hours, when the mist hasn't lifted yet and its fresh scent prompts me to feel a clean, musky perfume with notes of jasmine.
I have always associated mist with musk, jasmine, and aldehydes. Cold notes, of an ethereal, glacial beauty—notes that seem to cut through the air and flood it with an otherworldly beauty.
Therefore, today I reached for the perfume DUET II by The Gate from my shelf.
I had known the niche house The Gate for some time, back when their perfumes were available at Elysee and came in a golden bottle, as an eau de parfum version. I must confess that it was precisely that golden, slightly massive bottle that didn't entice me to try them and explore further.
But behold, this year I rediscovered the house of The Gate with a different look—this time, entirely to my liking! The Gate changed both their bottles and packaging, as well as the perfume formula, which has now become an extrait de parfum—something I truly love about them because even though they are longer-lasting, they haven't lost their sillage!
What I also love about them, besides the special and very beautiful scents, is the packaging. The bottle, extremely elegant and refined, completes itself perfectly within the luxurious packaging, carefully crafted with close attention to detail.
Although Ivory Temptation and Inside Out are my favorites, behold, the weather outside prompted me to write about Duet II—a perfume that, even though it steps out of my olfactory comfort zone, I like very much, and especially this autumn, it matched the weather outside perfectly!
Duet II is a unique perfume, I could say. Both warm and cold, floral yet also spicy! A perfume exactly like a duet, like a combination of styles perfectly brought together to create an artistic whole, full of nuances, of shadows and light.
The perfume opens with bright notes of jasmine—a clean, slightly indolic jasmine—but right from the start, I can feel how the jasmine performs a duet with the musk: a dry, powdery, cold musk. Also in the top notes, we encounter spicy notes of nutmeg—not necessarily warm, but rather cold, dry—and notes of olibanum. The suede and tonka notes in the heart of the perfume arrive to bring a bit of creaminess, and I feel some fruity nuances here too, of sweet dried fruits, slightly smoked from the dry, aromatic, and powdery tobacco. The base is woody and musky, with just a touch of sweetness from vanilla.
Duet II is a beautiful perfume, unique yet intriguing—it is both floral and accented with animalic nuances, feminine but full of sensuality and mystery; it can be warm, but only in the heart of the fragrance, because its outer shell is cold, dry, and slightly distant.
Duet II is like a sunny winter day, when it is freezing outside, and the sun and its rays only emphasize the cold, even though you might think otherwise!
Or, Duet II also carries my mind away to a cloudy, grey, and gloomy November, with the scent of mist, rain, and clean air—only then can you truly feel the warmth and beauty of this surprising perfume. A perfume that intrigues me, repels me, and then attracts me, like a carousel of olfactory emotions and feelings that I just want to experience!
Perhaps it is a perfume-experience for me; it's not the kind of fragrance I would wear every single day, but that is exactly why I like it even more! Because it is mysterious, because it intrigues me and doesn't reveal everything all at once! Because it has secret weapons and knows how to use them to entice me into wanting to wear it! And maybe sometimes it carries me away instead, but how wonderful that is!
Maybe sometimes we just need to let ourselves be carried away by the wave, by life, and even by a perfume! To live its experience and merge with it! Even if it isn't familiar to us, even if it might not be easy, it will certainly be something beautiful! And an olfactory experience is not easily forgotten; it remains in your memory, and that is how, slowly but surely, you fall in love not with the perfumes you like at first sight, but with those that tell you a story over time! A story about yourself and about the parts of you that you perhaps didn't even know existed!
A perfume is a journey, and I am glad to be on this olfactory train, letting myself be carried by it wherever the fragrance notes lead me with emotion and joy!
And now, because it is one of my favorites for this season, I want to tell you about Ivory Temptation as well.
Ivory Temptation is one of the most beautiful perfumes with peach notes because it is not just fruity, but also spicy! Ivory Temptation is indeed a delicious yet spicy temptation, but it is also bright and ivory, just as its very name suggests!
The perfume opens with notes of peach, mandarin, cardamom, and nectarine—a creamy, warm, spicy, yet also airy, fruity, and slightly sweet blend! In the heart of the perfume, we encounter spicy clove notes, floral notes of rose, ylang-ylang, and orange blossom, but also a touch of cinnamon! In the base notes, we find creamy, velvety, and sweet notes of tonka bean and sandalwood, alongside patchouli, musk, and vetiver!
The fragrance is like an ivory cashmere scarf on an autumn day—gentle, delicate, and tender, with a creamy, velvety, and bright side, but also warm and spicy, heating you up and embracing you!
If you wish to purchase The Gate perfumes, you can order directly from their website, www.thegateparis.com.
