It also allowed me the opportunity, for the first time in my life, to appreciate art. I was fascinated.
The experience was defined by two distinct facets that, when combined, sucked me into this whole perfume thing. First: logic. Smelling fragrances gave me something to think about. Second: emotion. I suppose that is a physical reaction, but it stimulated an emotion of excitement, enjoyment, pleasure. This connection between logic and emotion was new for me. Or, at least, newly recognizable. The experience was a newly discovered appreciation of art, an appreciation that I simply never had before.
I had no desire to be an expert. Now, I can stand in front of a painting for a long time. My mind races. I wonder what the story is. I try to figure out what made the artist want to create it. I look at the strokes and am captivated by the construction of it. I lean in close and see the blending of the colors, the texture, the detail. I lean back and see how a small blob transforms into very specific detail — my mind actually making up those details automatically in service of the artist.
I love how the reflection of light is manufactured, especially on images of water. Similarly, when I hear a song that sounds good to me, I go to Spotify and listen to the whole album, songs in order. Sometimes I discover a new favorite that has never been chosen for radio play. Having the patience to fully experience something the way someone else intended is gratifying and luxurious. Our society pushes everything into the realm of commodity. Everything is for sale. The primary purpose of everything is for it to be sold.
This society defines economy as financial. In the case of music, unless you proactively explore, what you get to experience is only what you are most likely to buy. If we can acknowledge the flaws in the system, maybe we can at least chip away at the injustice it creates. Early on, as I began to appreciate fragrances and dove further into niche and independent perfumes, one house that I explored was Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Liz loved wearing it too. I built a diverse collection of Francis Kurkdjian fragrances.
