“I know I cannot paint a flower, but maybe I can convey to you my experience of the flower.“
— Georgia O'Keeffe.*
Serge Lutens Parole d’eau is this quote in fragrance form, evoking the sensation of being in or near a giant body of water.
We all know that water doesn't have an actual smell (beyond, say, the chlorine smell of our Toronto tap water) but Parole d’eau, $165, Holt Renfrew, unerringly creates the feeling of, say, getting inadvertently misted by a sprinkler when you walk by one on a scorcher of a day. Or cracking open an icy bottle of water as a shimmering wall of heat rises up from the sidewalk.
The notes in Parole eau are apparently citrus, pine needles, eucalyptus and musk. Cannot confirm, but given that one of the best summer smells is ‘hot sun on dried pine needle’, I am going to believe the internet stranger that came up with this list.
Didn’t make it up to a cottage this summer? All the more reason to spray a cloud of Parole d’eau to walk through so you and your (hopefully breathable) summer clothing hang on to the light scent.
It is a perfect way to arm yourself against August’s insane and unceasing humidity.
* A letter from Georgia O’Keeffe to William Milliken (1930), quoted in Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe, Laurie Lisle (1981), p. 128 1930s.
