We all have a relationship with scent, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Even those people who claim to not like perfume will find that throughout their lives they have long and meaningful associations with all manners of fragrances. Whether it be the smell of the car, fresh laundry or perhaps that unmistakable aroma of a wet raincoat. Think long and hard and you will realize that everyone in your life has their own aromatic DNA. I associate the smell of bright flowers and coffee with my Grandmother, sweet sparkling powder with my Mother and the scent of suiting with my Father. These memories combine perfume, household items and specific moments when painting the relationship through smell. This is exactly what my wonderful friend, Linda Rodin did with her second perfume from her celebrated Olio Lusso collection: she encapsulated her Mother’s essence in the scent she calls, bis.
For this recreation of her Mother’s scented identity, Linda sought to translate her own personal experience and create a perfume that not only embodied her Mother but her own interpretation, filtered through the lens of childhood. Upon the launch of the perfume, Linda told the New York Times that her Mother’s scent was in her clothing, which she would wrap herself up in on the evenings her parents went out. It was something she did at moments where she felt lonely or uncertain. I can relate to this feeling. I remember as a child that perfume was very important to me in ways I had not yet come to realize. On the occasions that my Mother would accompany my Father at work functions, there would be a kind of frenetic energy throughout the house. My brothers and I knew that they would be leaving and after watching the movie, The Witches, we prayed they would return home safe. I remember the scent of my Mother’s bath, the careful yet somewhat hurried application of lipstick and powder but more than any other I remember the beautiful Edwardian bottle that held Penhaligons’s Cornubia, tied with a blue ribbon. The scent filled the room. It hung in the ether and landed on furniture, bedding and wallpaper. That mixture of scent and experience struck me as incredibly elegant and filtered through my own perception, tinged by an air of melancholy.
While Linda could not pinpoint one specific signature perfume, worn by her Mother, it was the combination of her things that lead to her particular smell. Linda described her Mother’s scent, which clung to her oversized coat, as a mixture of her Mother’s powder puff, a bit of toasted sugar with a touch of black pepper, scented 1950’s lipstick, whiffs of tobacco and Juicy Fruit gum.
To bring this concept to light, Linda once again turned to perfumer and co-founder of Brooklyn-based perfume house, D.S & Durga:- David Moltz, to find away to decipher her memories and attach each aspect to specific notes. What Linda and David came up with was an incredibly elegant perfume, full of nostalgia, telling of days gone by but somehow exceptionally modern in the way it envelopes the wearer. Bis is described as a “classic green-violet-orris fragrance,” that includes bergamot, anise flower, rose de mai, jasmine, violet, musk, ambergris, tonka bean and lavender.
I had the great opportunity of seeing Linda while the perfume was in development, and each time she would wear the latest mod, I found myself truly intoxicated by its powerful presence. Don’t get me wrong this is not a heavy offensive smell. There isn’t a trace of olfactive terrorism here, but a perfume that is commanding yet never demanding! To me it smells like the inside of an Hermes’ “Constance” bag - the finest suede with a surprising earthy green note that grounds the composition while allowing the iris to sore.
Each time Linda would leave our gathering, I would find myself thinking about her perfume, eager to make those particular smells part of my own life story. For my birthday Linda very kindly gifted me a bottle- which would come to bare more significance then I would have initially suspected.
Back in April I was struck by a mystery illness that kept me in a great deal of pain. So much so that I found it necessary to leave the United States and to seek treatment in Scotland. For that trip I packed one perfume - bis. Everyday I wore that scent and it gave me great comfort. On the day I found myself for two and half hours in the MRI machine, the scent was with me. Somehow telling me how much I was cared for and that everything would be ok. Thus is the power of scent and olfactive relationships.
I started this piece about how we are all effected and connected by our sense of smell. What began as a tale of Linda’s Mother, has by virtue of the same notes, struck me on a personal level. While bis will forever tell of ‘Billie Rodin,’ for me it evokes my great friendship with her daughter, Linda.
