Taken With Indigo and Dusk or How I know I Like A Musk: Rasa by Ava Luxe

There is a pretty easy test for me to tell if I like a musk, the scent reminds me of indigo and dusk. I have no idea why I associate a good sensual musk with indigo and dusk but I do. I think it may be because I associate otherworldly with dusk and dark blues with violet edges and good musk for me should smell otherworldly. I am aware of the irony considering musks are meant to enhance the scent of our skin...but for me a good musk is supposed to smell like enchantment. For me Ava Luxe's Rasa is one of those dusky indigo musks.

Ava Luxe's Rasa is dark sensual musk that also balances itself with with an absurd creamy lightness. I am always a bit shocked by how easy it is for me to wear but it is. The musks are balanced perfectly with a creamy iris and earthy labdanum, the ambregris offering its beautiful diffusiveness so that scent lingers around the wearer at a comfortable distance. Yet, I never feel like I am overbearing in this scent nor do I feel torrid. While it is no doubt sensual with its reminder of bare skin it does not make me feel as though I have spent the afternoon in bed with a lover. It is a wonderfully serene scent for me.

Try Ava Luxe's Rasa if you like Kiehl's Musk, Serge Luten's Clair de Musc, Sonoma Scent Studio, or Serge Lutens Gris Clair.

image by George Barbier

So You Like Ormonde Jayne Woman Then Try Ava Luxe Moksha

    To this day Ormonde Jayne Woman is sort of a wonderful fluke in women's fragrances because it is so utterly its own thing in scent and offering. It is clearly a grownup scent yet it has none of the qualities that make it seem fussy or big and booming that are often associated with grownup scents it is serenely elegantly and smooth but does not rely on the usual notes to get there. It is based around sap and green shoots with just hints of amber but overall it is a fragrance of subtle mystery that will never overpower but rather is worn like a second skin. The colors are dark green, umber, dark gold, rich velvet grey, and inky black much like the color palate above. So what on earth do you do when you love Ormonde Jayne's Woman and would like something different but in the same vein then I suggest you check out Ava Luxe's Moksha.

Ava Luxe's Moksha is a little more vibrantly woodsy relying on a citrus opening but like Ormande Jayne's Woman becomes a rather warm musky wood scent that enchants the wearer and brings about an instant serenity. They both share a wood sap like quality that I adore that rather reminds me of as a child going to my family's ranch and constantly touching the pine sap much to the chagrin of my family because I thought it smelled so good.

Andrew Bird's Yawny At The Apocalypse conveys how these fragrances feel to me.

Notes for Ormonde Jayne Woman: Cardamom, coriander and grass oil, Black hemlock, violet and jasmine absolute Vetiver, cedar wood, amber and sandalwood. 
Notes for Moksha: Indian Sandalwood, Himalayan Cedar, Agarwood, Silver Pine, Gaiac wood, Cypress, Cashmere Musk, Mandarin tangelo. 

image by Yasunari Ikenagi

SOTD: Bois des Iles

Quote of the Day: Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be. -- Jim Horning
In the middle of summer I am utterly in love with the autumnal delight of Bois des Iles. As much as everyone describes it as an autumn fragrance, I think this works perfectly year round, there is a transparency to this scent that pushes it to be a year round fragrance, and the sandalwood is so perfectly cool that well here I am wearing it in the middle of the summer. I think tomorrow I am pulling at Ava Luxe's Royal Parvati to go with this sandalwood jonesing and I admit I have also been smelling my bottle of Burberry Brit Gold which is a sumptious sandalwood which is most definately meant for the colder months.

image provided by www.nocloo.com

Image: Songs and Sonnets by Charles Robinson

SOTD: Ava Luxe Rasa

Today I am going with Ava Luxe's lovely Rasa. This is a lovely musk that highlights a dusky rose which is supported by what I could swear is myrrh and musk. There is something wonderfully exotic and dark blue about this scent to me.

Quote of the day: Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. -- W. C. Fields