Heliotrope

Upon smelling heliotrope, I immediately see a color, the palest violet and a pastry, a meringue sitting politely on a plate, so light. Yet, as I continue, the meringue turns into marzipan, an almond paste mixed with vanilla, lending a phenolic note-heavy and sweet. Bursting through the sweetness is also a floral note, a powdery floral. As I approach the dry down, I see my children sitting around the table doing all sorts of things with play-dough. Heliotrope smells like play-dough in the dry down. Homemade play-dough has flour and cream of tartar in it, so there is also a powdery dryness that pushes forward in a gentle way. This makes me laugh, it's such a funny playful magical note. I sit and daydream about Guerlain's incredible Après L’Ondée, a fragrance centered around heliotrope. Amazing. Photo is Leslie Caron.