I am blessed cursed with an extra sensitive nose. The good news is that if you are hanging out with me, I’ll smell that gas leak or that smoke before anyone else detects it, the bad news is that I can literally smell EVERYTHING in the room. And while I love the idea of fragrances and scented products, the truth is after about 5 minutes the Chanel’s, Fracas’ and Creed’s of the world all start to smell cloying and cheap and gross – to me anyway. And even though they ultimately disappoint, for some weird reason I can’t stop searching, testing and even buying bottles in the hope that my olfactory senses will come around. Because I guess I like the idea of perfume more than the reality of it. I suppose it has to do with some deep-seated 1930s fantasy of seeing myself sitting at a mirrored dressing table, surrounded by the crystal bottles and spritzing myself before a big night out. The glamour!
So a few weeks ago, when some oil testers from the artisinal fragrance company LURK, came to the office, I was naturally skeptical and sniffed a few. Not bad! I even went as far as to dab one in particular on my wrist. Woah. This oil was not like the others! The RSW 005 perfume oil is made from sandalwood and rose, and has a smooth citrus finish, it is floral but not musty or sour, and didn’t leave me thinking I’d just been doused at the Grateful Dead concert. I absolutely love it.
LURK creators Kristi and Anne, photo by TOMAAS
LURK’s fragrance line was launched last year in NYC by Anne Sanford and Kristi Head who import their flowers from Colombia and use old school methodologies like enfleurage to distill essential oils. So I’m happy to now have something to put on my bedroom table and perhaps live that fantasy a little.
I’m looking forward to new products being launched this Spring. LURK is available in a few select boutiques like Erica Tanov and others to be found here, and directly from their website Lurk.
Photos via Lurk
