Lyric Rain (2005)
by Strange Invisible Perfumes

Lyric Rain is so pungently bitter it's all but telling you outright to dislike it. But then you become fascinated with its tragic past, like a once well to do family that fell precipitately from providence. It smells contemplative and sort of sad, in a very funereal way. In the Harry Potter book series there are winged, skeletal horse-like creatures that can only be seen by those who have seen death, and it seems to me this is the olfactory equivalent; one must meet certain life requisites to truly enjoy it for what it is - a bitter, melancholic masterwork. What turned these normally bright, herbal ingredients so pensive and sour? It's life itself.

2nd February, 2011.

Ingenius. Inspired by and named for Dorothy's Parker's morbidly exquisite poem, Lyric Rain is an olfactory deconstruction of the reality of death, and the implications of decomposition. "Oh, let it be a night of lyric rain/And singing breezes when my bell is tolled." Like Parker, this perfume cannot resist wit; and it knows better than to take itself too seriously. True to form for the exceptional Strange Invisible Perfumes, at the beginning of wear, I am damn near compelled to dress in black and roam a moonlit cemetery. Jasmine, patchouli, and lavender create a night spell; I can almost hear echoing footsteps and wisps of Chopin Nocturnes played by raindrops. "I have so loved the rain that I would hold/Last in my ears its friendly, dim refrain." In synch with the poem, Lyric Rain becomes wry, yet bitter, with notes of lotus and pink pepper; "Kinder the busy worms than ever love." Overall, the fragrance creates irony: the scent of old damp leaves, cold night air, moss-covered earth, and yet, somehow, prettiness emerges, like an afterthought; hindsight. "My bed made secret by the leveling showers,/My breast replenishing the weeds above./And you will say of me, "Then has she died?/Perhaps I should have sent a spray of flowers."

24th November, 2008.

It starts out with a bit of a medicinal-ish blast, which seems to be common to the house. It settles down quickly into jasmine, joined by blue lotus, with just a tiny hint of pink pepper. The florals continue into the base, joined by lavender and a hint of patchouli. It's very wearable, and yet it has a slightly dark and atmospheric sense, almost as though it's haunted. Light sillage but decent longevity, especially for a natural. A lovely and somewhat unusual fragrance.

14th October, 2008.