CB I Hate Perfume: Memory of Kindness

I abolutely adore the creative philosophy of this perfumer. Christopher Brosius eloquently states "scent is life." He attempts with each of his fragrances to capture a moment in time, as a photographer does with his camera. This artistic, earthy perfumer explains our sense of smell as one of the most complicated and misunderstood senses, as powerful as it is complex - perhaps one of the reasons I derive great pleasure from its development. I always have been up for a challenge!

But I digress. Let's get back to Mr. Brosius and this fantastic line. CB I Hate Perfume fragrances are water and oil based scents, lacking the typical alcohol and synthetic-based formulas of the plethora of commercially available perfumes.

Memory of Kindness is his ode to his warm, gentle aunt and her vegetable garden. If you are not touched by the scent (which would surprise me), you will most certainly be touched by his story of the fragrance, which you may read here. True to CB's philosophy of recreating life experiences through fragrance, Memory of Kindness captures the story quite beautifully and perfectly.

At first the scent bursts forth all greenery and earth, wet soil and rawness. It softens considerably after a few minutes, and what remains most certainly transports me to a lovely vegetable garden on a crisp, sunny day. Fresh air, fresh herbs, fresh vegetables. Who knew their combination could be so wearable and so uplifting? With an equally palatable base smelling faintly of celery to be specific and more fresh greens with fresh air to be general, I find this scent surprisingly good, one that would serve as great aromatherapy on a stressful day. It also breaks the barriers of what we typically consider perfume, and just smells darn good. There is nothing that I can compare this scent to, other than to again reference the moving, reflective story behind it. Masterfully done, Mr. Brosius.

CB I Hate Perfume Memory of Kindness can be found at luckyscent.com. A list of independent retailers can also be found at CBIHatePerfume. The water formulation is available in a 100mL bottle for $60 and the absolute is sold in a 15mL vial for $60.

Images courtesy of luckyscent and sd1new.net