Needle In A Haystack - Cradle of Light By CB I Hate Perfume
Being a slight organization freak, I store my samples based on their category: vintage, niche/rare, niche/rare in plastic baggies, department store, and miscellaneous. The containers I use are along the lines of these boxes from IKEA, except mine are plain paper appliqued cardboard, of 4 different sizes (the store must be out of them right now). When the Needle In A Haystack project started, I’ve drawn from only one box - the niche/rare one. This time I’ve decided to add more variety and used the niche/rare in plastic baggies box. Yoo-hoo! Are you still awake? Back to the project at hand - a rather funny turn of events this time. Just as the weather got menacingly cold again, I pull out none other but a springlike white floral - Cradle of Light by CB I Hate Perfume.
CB I Hate Perfume is a New York based niche perfume house established by Christopher Brosius (previously known for Demeter fragrances). If I had to characterize it in one word, I’d say CB I Hate Perfume creations are avant-garde. They’re experiences more than scented commodity, “an art that shows us who we can be if we dare - an invisible portrait of who we are” (in the words of Christopher Brosius himself). Cradle of Light is no exception.
Built around white flower absolutes (Moroccan, Indian, Egyptian, Tunisian jasmine grandiflorum, Indian night blooming jasmine, jonquil, narcissus, tuberose, white lotus), it doesn’t smell like your typical spring white floral. In fact, the initial impression is borderline unpleasant - the flowers are raw and unpolished, with a dirty undertone, as if they’ve just been uprooted from the damp spring soil. Strange as it may seem, in spite of having so much jasmine, what I smell more than anything is daffodils. I absolutely, passionately adore daffodils but have not found a perfect daffodil perfume. Cradle of Light very well might be it. As the scent settles on skin, the flowers grow more and more illuminated, as if blooming right in front of your eyes. The drydown is where everything changes. Based on sumac, tomato, and violet leaves, CBMUSK (a rich, sour-animalic accord), and sandalwood, it sort of smothers the effervescent daffodils. I keep having this image of someone viciously stomping this gorgeous bouquet into the dirt with their rubber boots. The Cradle of Light turns into a cradle of dirt, and the weird thing is - I think I actually like it.
Cradle of Light is available at CB I Hate Perfume online shop as well as Bergdorf Goodman in New York.
Please be sure to check Marina’s lucky draw of the day.
Image source: cbihateperfume.com, corbis.com
24 comments April 5th, 2007