Brand: Traveling Vardo
Scent Description: “Glinting golden through the trees,
Apples of Hesperides!
Through the moon-pierced warp of night
Shoot pale shafts of yellow light,
Swaying to the kissing breeze
Swings the treasure, golden-gleaming,
Apples of Hesperides!”
From Apples of Hesperides, by Amy Lowell (1874-1925)
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are the evening nymphs who were tasked with guarding the tree that bore Hera’s golden apples, located in a lush garden in the Arcadian Mountains. My personal interpretation of them is a golden, lusty not-so-innocent elixir. After all, these nymphs were anything but innocent, as they couldn’t resist the very apples they were tasked with guarding. As a result, they were promptly relieved of their duties, which were then delegated to the fearsome Ladon, the ever watchful dragon who is said to never sleep.
Honeysuckle, sweet pea, and apple enveloped in a rich base of amber, vanilla, and cedar. I’ve rounded it out with subtle nuances of sandalwood and champa, and then anchored it with a deep animalic musk – but just a whisper!
This blend, on the skin, truly IS the embodiment of a decadent, golden nectar – golden apples, indeed! It dries down with a rich, creamy, almost powdery note with plenty of tenacity on my skin.