By Dane
Aliage and I have a love/hate thing going on. Today is obviously a love day, because otherwise I wouldn't be writing about it for the second time. That being said, I've still yet to buy a bottle...partially due to the fact that it, along with Azuree, are not sold in Canada(?), but also because it's rather fussy and only works on certain days.
Observation 1: I know Aliage wasn't created by Sophia Grosjman, but I'm wondering if it may have had some influence on her when she created the brilliant White Linen. Generally, they smell nothing alike, but it's almost as if White Linen took the vetiver-rose central accord of Aliage and flanked it with blinding aldehydes on one end and soapy musks on the other. I now think of Aliage as Green Linen.
Observation 2: I've noticed that Aliage, unlike most of the other scents in the Lauder collection, smells virtually natural at all stages. Unlike something like Private Collection which smells natural up front and synthetic thereafter, Aliage doesn't rely heavily on musks or other obvious fixatives.
Observation 3: While I consider Aliage to be the atypical "green" scent, it does something that most others don't - it manages to keep galbanum in the forefront through it's entire life on the skin. Other classic greens like Silences or No. 19 have a blast of it up front, but then other accords seem to take centre stage. This is of course why Aliage lacks the sparkle of some of its peers, but also why it remains rather unique.
While I was looking at Lauder's website today, a notification popped up saying that they were now offering shipping to us in the North, so now I have one less excuse to finally get a bottle.
I love the process of an evolving relationship with a scent...reading your observations on Alliage (my bottle has the two "l"s) is interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've generally avoided White Linen -- those aldehydes are undoubtedly the reason -- but I've made a note to go back and check it out and see if I get what you get.
I started out in love/hate with Alliage, too...but haven't regretted my purchase at all. When you think about it, the price point almost laughs in your face. (Especially for those of us in the States with easy retail access.) Given that I loved Silences out of the gate, and came around to No. 19, it should come as no surprise that Alliage found its own place in my heart somewhere in between.
Even though I'm an avowed fan of green fragrances, Alliage has never pleased me as well as Private Collection, Pleasures or its "masculine" Aramis cousin Devin. There's something harsh and brittle in its texture that I just haven't been able to get past. I suppose I too will have to revisit it sometime and see if it's grown on me.
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