Red Calla Lily, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

I spotted this interesting Narciso Rodriguez display at The Bay downtown Vancouver this Friday. It took me a while to find it, as I was distracted by Sascha Luki's stunning floral arrangement accompanying the display, including calla lilies in both red and white, some of which were drowned in the vase rather the float above it...

The breakdown of three accords present in Narciso Rodriguez pour elle can be seen in the photo below. These three vials were (from left to right) are:

Coeur de Musc (musk heart) which is mostly musk and musk and more musk - the most clear, clean, persistent musk note, just like the one which makes the "her musc oil" in the black bottle.

Bois Tactile (tactile woods), which smelled like a synthesized vetiver, very clean and earthy-musky. This is what makes Narciso Rodriguez be part of the modern imitation Chypre family, AKA "Pink Chypre".

Lumiere d'Ambre & Vanille, which smelled like it sounded, amber and vanilla - though not quite what I would call "luminous". It might explain the slight sweetness of the scent once it dries on the skin, though I must admit the other two accords are far more persistent and are what makes this scent what it is.

There was no representation of the florl aspect of Narciso Rodriguez - consisting mostly of a very abstract, synthetic orange blossom and supposedly also other notes which I can't quite point my finger at (i.e.: osmanthus) or compare to the true flower which I've never smelled (honey flower).

Nevertheless, this was a very interesting experience smelling them all separately. I have to admit I prefer the compete creation, with fake flowers and all.

Narciso Rodriguez Breakdown, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.