Recently I have been reflecting on the novel “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera. As it presents four very different characters who have completely different perspectives and values. When all four interact with each other, their inability to understand each other is truly profound despite the enormous love present in those relationships. 

The reason I was reflecting on it is because I enjoy watching youTube videos about perfume to keep abreast with the latest and greatest in that world. Recently I purchased this perfume and I have been waiting for my favorite fragrance youTubers to review it. Nothing! Nada! Not a peep!  

What is going on? Am I the only person in the world that has discovered this perfume? Surely that can’t be? I don’t understand what is going on? 

Let me show you the perfume first. 

Oud Fool Roses from Montale. 

This perfume is a variation on Montale’s best seller Roses Musk. The name is a play on the attitude adopted when creating it. Only a fool would mess around with a best seller like Roses Musk but here it is. I have tried Roses Musk in the past and always felt that it was missing something. I always thought, this is nice, but not for me. When I read that the woody note called oud was added to Roses Musk I immediately had an inkling that was the missing piece in the puzzle for me. 

This perfume gives me the same type of feeling like Louis Vuitton Les Sable Roses. However the price was prohibitive. The other perfume that I have in mind is Rose and White Musk Absolu from Jo Malone. Another perfume where the price made me think twice before purchasing. However this perfume is the standard Montale pricing, within my range and gives me the same feeling. 

I suspect the reason this perfume got overlooked is because it was released in the summer with perfumes such as Bubble Forever and Lucky Candy. Although Oud Fool Roses is a standout  it’s not a summer perfume. When I bought it I only wore it a couple of times because of the heat. Now that the weather is colder I will wear it on repeat. 

This perfume is strong. I spray it first thing in the morning and when I go to bed I can still smell it on myself. And yet it smells transparent. It doesn’t smell like a brick wall of perfume surrounding me. It smells more like a fluffy airy cloud surrounding me. I know this sounds like a contradiction. It has a definite presence and staying power without being overwhelming. There is something bright, citrusy and light about it at the same time. I am not expressing the interplay of strength a lightness well with my own words. I need help from The Unbearable Lightness of Being to help me out. Let me read you a passage: 

When we want to give expression to a dramatic situation in our lives, we tend to use metaphors of heaviness. We say that something has become a great burden to us. We either bear the burden or fail and go down with it, we struggle with it, win or lose. And Sabina-what had come over her? Nothing. She had left a man because she felt like leaving him. Had he persecuted her? Had he tried to take revenge on her? No. Her drama was a drama not of heaviness but of lightness. What fell to her lot was not the burden but the unbearable lightness of being. 

This novel describes the paradox of heaviness and lightness in many ways and does so brilliantly. 

This perfume is so strong that one time I sprayed it on a dress and then the dress smelled of the perfume. Later I washed the dress and when it came out of the washing machine it still smelled of the perfume and now I can only wear this dress with Oud Fool Roses because otherwise it will clash. So let me show you how I wear it. 

This dress …. perfume. I style it with a belt and black boots. In terms of makeup I like to wear natural looking makeup with a bold lipstick. And when I walk around looking like this I feel like a million dollars. I feel like the epitome of chic. And then to complete the whole situation I will add a biege bag and then go to a coffee shop and drink a cup of tea in a fancy china cup. Preferable pink. Rooibos vanilla for the tea. And then it would be perfect if my bag had a book inside of it. Something like Take the Highway. I will pick it out and start reading page one. 

There are moments that are just perfection. Where lightness and heaviness come into balance. Moments that make you realize that heaven is a place on earth and it is our job to create it for ourselves. And once you achieve that for yourself you can extend a hand and invite somebody to join you. 

How have you created heaven on earth for yourself? Let me know in the comment section below.

It is amazing how something superficial like perfume can nudge me a little in one direction. And then that can made head in that same direction a little more until there is momentum building up. Next thing you know I am in heavenly spasms experiencing raptures of celestial proportions. And isn’t it wonderful that we live in a world where such a scenario is possible. 

Here are other attempts at creating heaven.

I turned this blog post to a video.