Purple Rain

SOTD. Purple Rain Attar.

I’ve now given this a few days of use, and it continues to impress me with every wearing. While there are obviously many from this house that I’ve grown to love, this is probably in my top 3, and may continue to climb with additional wearing. How much did I like it? Enough to also buy the PP (which I can’t wait to get my hands on to compare with and layer).

The name of this semi-b is a fitting one. While I find it to be more “blue” than “purple”…. I can certainly comprise on it being a bluer hue of purple. The blue lotus, jasmine, and iris are the stars, especially in the beginning. That first 20-30 minutes IS my favorite opening of any of the EO potions thus far. These beautiful florals sit upon the gentle elegance of the purple kinam. Let me be clear, this is not an oud dominant fragrance, at least to me. The oud doesn’t punch you like white kinam, and it’s not as strong as it is in qi nan ghalia. But, it’s definitely there, as evidenced by a thickness in the base, and the light but noticeable mind-altering effect that’s present.

My intial concern – I don’t want to use “complaint” here, as it’s not wise to “complain” about something you really enjoy even though we must recognize our flaws – was longevity. As an attar, it’s unsurprising that the initial blast of florals quickly dies down to a personal scent bubble and, largely, a skin scent. In a few wearings, I noticed, or thought I had noticed, that after 7-8 hours, one really had to search to still find this gentle beauty.

Note, I said INITIAL concern. While it still doesn’t project out to the world, I have found that my longevity concern isn’t with the attar, it’s with me. How do I know? The last time I wore this, I had an evening workout, showed, and gave this a swipe on my arms and a couple of drops on a t-shirt. Wore the shirt for a few hours before bed and took it off before sleep. Two days later, I picked up that same t-shirt and wore it to workout in. As soon as I put it on, all of those sensations of a fresh swipe hit. It was still there! One better? Yesterday I went to wash the shirt in the laundry. Picked it up, now 4-5 days since initial swipe, and it was still there. Not as strong, but definitely noticeable. The only thing I can come up with is that this combo, that I find so lovely, apparently makes me nose blind after a few hours of exposure. That was a shock to me.

Not to sexualize this hobby, but by way of metaphor: purple rain is the intelligent, quiet, beautiful girl. She’s gorgeous without being pretentious. She isn’t going to scream and tell you how great she is. However, if you really take the time to talk to her, you’re quickly going to appreciate her inner beauty.

—Kelly C. / USA