Subject
Birthday tidbit (Lolita love potion)
From
Date
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In a recent posting about Nabokov's synaesthesia, Jansy Mello speculated
about the possibility of detecting "a purple aroma in a Nabokovian
comma." For my own birthday last month, a witty and ingenious friend
sent me a vial of "Lolita" perfume oil, a love potion manufactured by
the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Their website describes the scent as
follows: "Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous
sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon
verbena." I would add that it has a distinct hint of lollipop (from the
honeysuckle and orange blossom, perhaps?). At least my friend didn't
find it fitting to send me "Jail Bait," which evokes "Innocence defiled.
Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry
lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume."
Perusal of the site didn't turn up other fragrances linked to VN,
although there are "Dream Formulas" for inducing sleep, illustrations
from Aubrey Beardsley, allusions to legendary and literary lore, and
whole categories of scents devoted entirely to Shakespeare, to Lewis
Caroll, and to Poe (a little "Ligeia," anyone?). Not all of the
perfumes are meant to smell nice (my friend, who knows well my
fascination for variants of the Bluebeard folktale--don't ask!--also
sent a concoction meant to convey that ogre's jealousy and murderous
rage).
If you're curious, you can order samples. Here's a link to Black
Phoenix:
http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/welcome.html
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
about the possibility of detecting "a purple aroma in a Nabokovian
comma." For my own birthday last month, a witty and ingenious friend
sent me a vial of "Lolita" perfume oil, a love potion manufactured by
the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Their website describes the scent as
follows: "Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous
sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon
verbena." I would add that it has a distinct hint of lollipop (from the
honeysuckle and orange blossom, perhaps?). At least my friend didn't
find it fitting to send me "Jail Bait," which evokes "Innocence defiled.
Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry
lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume."
Perusal of the site didn't turn up other fragrances linked to VN,
although there are "Dream Formulas" for inducing sleep, illustrations
from Aubrey Beardsley, allusions to legendary and literary lore, and
whole categories of scents devoted entirely to Shakespeare, to Lewis
Caroll, and to Poe (a little "Ligeia," anyone?). Not all of the
perfumes are meant to smell nice (my friend, who knows well my
fascination for variants of the Bluebeard folktale--don't ask!--also
sent a concoction meant to convey that ogre's jealousy and murderous
rage).
If you're curious, you can order samples. Here's a link to Black
Phoenix:
http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/welcome.html
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm