Lotus Eaters Perfume

"The Lotus Eaters" is the newest story based perfume that is a-brewing.  It is a bit late in the evening to go into the whole making of it but I am basing it off the epic Odyssey poem and research from historical evidence of plants believed to have been growing in the supposed area/s of "where" it took place. It has been fascinating as not only lotus has been a player but clover, persimmon, sweet grasses, fenugreek in what I have read.
I am working from different translations as well. In a quick nut shell about the section of the lotophagi ....The Lotus-Eaters – "Rounding to the south, Odysseus and his men were blown off-course, towards the land of the Lotus-Eaters. While Odysseus was scouting around the land, some of his men mingled with the natives and ate the local lotus grown on the land. Soon, everything went hazy and the men found themselves under the heavy influence of some intoxicant that caused them to fall asleep. The lotus flowers they had eaten were narcotic in nature and made them forget all about their family and homeland. These men wanted to stay on this land and eat lotus for the rest of their lives. They refused to go home."


Notes in "the Lotus Eaters" so far have: infused fruits, lotuses, narcissus absolute, fig, fenugreek, aglaia, jasmine, peru balsam, vanilla, sandalwood, tolu, africa stone, honey abso, sweetgrass, genet, and....



So I have decided to hold my "Chang Er" Story based perfume until September. That is when the festival takes place celebrating the story and the Osmanthus blossoming.
It hasn't stopped me from working on other osmanthus perfumes. In my love to combine poetry or literature with perfume making I found a few osmanthus poems. I recently encountered a haunting poem from a W.S Merwin book of translated poetry that is never far from my reach. In the few powerful, picturesque lines I related the poem to my never ending and taunting cycle of disability.

Birds Calling In The Ravine by Wang Wei

I’m idle, as osmanthus flowers fall

This quiet night in spring, the hill is empty.

The moon comes out and startles the birds on the hill,

They don’t stop calling in the spring ravine.