Of our five senses, smell really is special. Taste, for example, is dependent on smell. But not vice versa. And while sights and sounds can trigger memories, the power of smell not only transports us back but compels us to close our eyes. We all now a perfume’s smell is very personal, as it intermingles directly with our body’s chemistry. How a perfume smells on me may be completely different than how it smells on you. And let’s not forget, smells are powerfully reminiscent. They can remind us of people or places we love, or once loved. But neither taste nor touch can claim such a power. But I must say, more riveting than all of the above is the fact that our sense of smell, in essence, conspires with our breath… and breath is life. 

The concept of stopping up a smell in a bottle—in order to inspire, to embellish our very breath and aura and path—is really something. It’s like capturing and bottling blooms from the gardens of heaven. 

I love discovering new fragrances. I love seeking out the more obscure perfumes, those not typically seen on the main market and those less straightforward. That said, it’s my pleasure to present you with my personal heavenly collection of smells. But first, a poetic introduction:

I ask, “Please, pick a bloom from the gardens of paradise

And send it down to me as a message of your gentle love”

Bless me with blooms of lily

Blooms of jasmine

Blooms of tuberose

Let fall from Heaven, please, the shower of flowers

Let me be anointed with the splendor of their perfumed essence

So that I may see the face of God in all people and all experiences

So that in your fragrant path, I might imitate your venerable little way

-Paraphrased from Heaven Scent, by Soulwax and Chloe Sevigny

[The descriptions below have been borrowed from their brands’ websites so as to convey their truest verbal essence.]