Needle In A Haystack - Cradle of Light By CB I Hate Perfume
April 5th, 2007
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
Entry Filed under: Needle In A Haystack, Perfume Reviews
24 Comments Add your own
1. Marina | April 5th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
This is sumptuous stuff on me, robust, slightly rotten or rotting. (Which is something I like in floral perfumes) One of the few CB scents I like, because it actually smells like a proper perfume
It is interesting that you find it spring-like. On me it is late summer, over-ripe flowers that will soon start to wilt. I want your sample boxes, they look great 
2. Ina | April 5th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Marina, yes, I definitely get the rotting action here, and, yes, it’s robust flowers, and, yes, it’s probably the only CB I can wear.
3. tmp00 | April 5th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
What does this say about me that I am totally dying to try it? Rubber boots and all?
4. Ina | April 5th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Tom, well, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory - there’s CBMUSK. It’s calling your name, flowers and all.
5. Solander | April 6th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Oh it sounds horrid! Now I’m all for dirt, earthy and animalic, but I’m not a fan of white florals, especially not the rotten/waxy smell of lilies. Daffodils, now that sounds slightly better, but I already have my pretty spring floral in To See A Flower. Not even the CBMusk base sounds tempting - I recently tried CBMusk and was very disappointed. I realise it’s supposed to be different from other musks, but it should still be musky, right? Because I got no dirt or skank or animalic notes out of it whatsoever. I got a sharp, dry, stale, cool woody/herbal/metallic/plasticky scent without any sweetness whatsoeve. Isn’t a certain overripe sweetness part of what makes animalic scents animalic and alive? Or at least a warmth? CBMusk is artificially cool to my nose, room temperature at best. Perhaps slightly musty like a crypt is musty, not a body odour. And worst of all, it just sat on my skin, glaring sourly at me. No development, no blending with my skin scent, no nothing. At least the ridiculously sweet and clean white musks use to blend in to skin scents!
6. chayaruchama | April 6th, 2007 at 5:41 am
Hello, beautiful ones,all-
Tove,dear, try this , just for me ?
CB Musk doesn’t work for my skin, but when the MASTER annointed me with this, I really swooned.
Really.
On my skin, it was as glorious as it gets- crisp floral, rhizomes, soil, air.
I think I may need to possess 2 mls. of this soon.
It just smells like the real deal- probably because he used mostly costly absolutes, and you can smell it.
A peaceful Easter to you all.
7. newproducts | April 6th, 2007 at 6:11 am
Oh, this one sounds glorious! Just as I think I’ve dodged a lemming on Marina’s blog, I come over here and run smack into one. I can’t remember what daffodils smell like though. Do they smell intoxicating like white florals or are they a more dainty smell?
8. Judith | April 6th, 2007 at 7:02 am
I just got a sample of this and I LOVE it. Swoon. That is all.
9. Elle | April 6th, 2007 at 7:16 am
I love this one. Passionately. Totally cracked up over your stomping boots image.
10. Solander | April 6th, 2007 at 7:28 am
chaya, Oh dear, I might have to… But to tell you the truth, it still doesn’t sound very tempting. White flowers and air? So not my style… And the price? I’d rather not know how pretty it is so I can’t miss it…
11. Patty | April 6th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Adore this. It is absolutely freakishly different from anything else out there, and I love all of its faces, from that dirt at the beginning. to the almost over the top floral that gets dragged back down into the much, but remains beautiful. CB says he finds it hypnotic and a little contemplative, and I totally agree. It is the best and the worst, existing side by side somewhat friendly-like!
12. Victoria | April 6th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Cradle of light is a very silly name, but the perfume is wonderful. Thank you for reminding me to dig out my sample.
13. Mr. Aromascope | April 6th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
A slight organization freak, she says!
14. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Tove, I completely agree with you. CBMusk on me is just sour cheese. My ultimate musk is still MKK.
15. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Chaya, I’m glad this works for you. I think it works for me, too. It’s growing on me, for sure.
16. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Minsun, run to the nearest grocery store and smell me some daffodils!! They’re sort of in between, I think. Intoxicatingly dainty.
17. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Judith, glad you love it!
18. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Elle, well, don’t you get the dirt in this?
19. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Tove, it’s still worth a try. It’s the only CB so far that I actually like and can wear. That says a lot. Ha!
20. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Patty, loved your description! Yes, it is indeed hypnotic.
21. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Vika, curious to hear your impressions.
22. Ina | April 6th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Mr.Aromascope, what are you doing here?! OK, fine. Well, it’s a relative concept, isn’t it? Like if compared to you, yes, I’m a freak.
23. Solander | April 7th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Ina, sour cheese still sounds more animalic or at least “organic” than what I get…
MKK is the way to go! I love L’Air de rien, too. Not all people seem to find it as musky as me though..
I also recentely tried AvaLuxe’s X-treme versions of Kama and Rasa. Oh boy, now we’re talking skank! My sister said they smelled like the restroom in a greasy joint and I got whiffs of barnyard, but I still love them., skank-addict as I am… Wouldn’t want to smell them on someone else though, unless that person was very attractive and otherwise made a cleanly impression…
Musk is such a private smell. I love to smell skanky musk perfumes on myself, and possibly on someone I know intimately, that way they’re addictive, but the almost exact same scent as the real deal, i e body odour or bad breath, on a stranger smells just horrible. I also think I enjoy musty musks when I can tell they’re perfume, at least on someone who’s not repulsive, but on the “lucky” people who smell like that naturally… not so much… A double standard for smelling good, really…
24. Ina | April 7th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Tove, I adore L’Air de Rien, and, yes, I get dirty musk from it as well. I get a similar dirty musk note in Stoned, too. Haven’t had a chance to smell the Ava-Luxe ones. Believe it or not, I’ve actually gotten compliments on MKK, and I once smelled it on another woman, and it was just amazing. So you never know. Same goes for Kiehl’s Musk. It smells really good on others.
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