My first thought upon smelling the bold, curvy and spicy opening of Anya's Garden Kewdra was "oh no, she didn't". But of course, she did. I should have known she would go there.
If musk is the sexiest of substances, Anya McCoy went right to the heart of it and created the Kama Sutra in a bottle. I haven't read Jitterbug Perfume, the Tom Robbins novel that inspired McCoy, so I can't add any insight into that aspect. I can only speak of the things I smell, the depths and the emotions Kewdra evokes.
The opening sweeps you away and carries you to India. There's no question about it- the spices and colors are all there, and even I, who hasn't been to India yet can hear the music, the jingling of jewelry on henna-painted hands and feel the hot air and silk. Red, orange, hot pink and saffron, a blend of Garam Masala that didn't come from the spice rack in Whole Foods,exotic flowers worn in one's hair and woven into long chains hanging everywhere. And the heat... you can't escape the heat that rises from bodies and from the earth itself and mixes all those scents and sensations into a thick substance that goes right to your head.
(Did the little red Ganesh statue my sister brought me from India just wink at me?)
And that was just the beginning.
When things calm down a little you're left with a sweet musk. The vanilla, angelica and patchouli stand out to me most, but it's the honeyed feel of the skin at night that is so haunting and tempting in Kewdra. It's incredibly daring and sexual and not just because after the first hour you must be almost at skin level to smell it (and it lasts and last for hours, all through the night if I apply it before bed). It's the extremely animalic scent of the beeswax and ambrette seed that takes residence on the body. I never want it to stop.
One very lucky reader is going to win the fabulous bottle you see in this picture. It contains half an ounce (15ml) of the magical Kewdra from Anya's Garden (the rest of us can buy it in the regular bottles and sample vials from Anya's website. It's already available for sale). To enter the giveaway please leave a comment and tell us:
1. Have you been following the Mystery Of Musk project across the blogs?
2. Which perfumes and/or perfumers have captured your interest the most?
3. What musky perfumes have you been using so far (commercial, natural, niche, mainstream, etc.)?
Photo at the top from the 1996 movie Kama Sutra, featuring the young Naveen Andrews.
Photo of Kewdra bottle by Anya McCoy
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