The cusp of winter is a strange time for me—I feel more restless and anxious than usual, probably because of holiday-related stress compounded with the early darkness each day. It’s as though I’m steadily being actively submerged into winter, and the resulting micro–eddy currents and bubbles are conducive simultaneously to spontaneous rumination and an inability to focus.
This exact day one year ago, we were in Budapest over Thanksgiving break, a perfect escape. Time no longer feels linear to me, so while I remember parts of the trip vividly, part of me has a hard time wrapping my head around the concept that it was a whole year ago. One notable activity was visiting the perfumery Cherry Garden, where the lovely sales associate and her unofficial, presumably preteen assistant carefully placed my scent strips into plastic sleeves for preservation.
Today, the two that I’d kept are still going strong. The unmarked one I believe is Tonkin Tonka 2 by The Unleashed Apothecary. It’s lost most of its animalic growl and has left a shadow of a powdery yet spicy floral gracing the fur that’s been shed by tonka.
The other, Smoke and Mirrors by Roos & Roos, may have been toned down a bit by the passage of 365 days, but it’s still got its structure. Notes include honey, myrrh, amber, tonka, cedar, white musk, and osmanthus. It’s very well blended, so none of these stand out individually, although it’s the kind of smoky that might typically go with an oud. Woody, resinous, and furry…
…in a way that makes me think tonka will outlast them all.
Nose Prose 
I remember laughing at the brand that offered to send me scented strips in mail (from the UK). But later I came across those transparent sleeves for preserving paper blotters with perfumes on them and was surprised how much they helped. But I wouldn’t expect them to hold a scent for a year!
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These were some extremely long-lasting perfumes. Other shops have provided me plastic sleeves that were resealable (and not always transparent, to protect from light), which have also worked well and probably better.
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Not sure if it’s getting older or the post-Covid effect. I feel the exact say way about time. I’ve tried the Roos & Roos sometime ago and really enjoyed it.
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It could be the post-Covid effect as well, I suppose – I remember during the height of the pandemic, a coworker wrote about a theory for why time felt simultaneously fast and slow. Fast because people were filling their time with new activities, including learning how to adapt to the circumstances, and slow when things shifted from acute to chronic, for example when tentative event cancellations became definite and we knew we wouldn’t go back to “normal” anytime soon.
Thanks for the thought starter!
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It’s my pleasure. And thank you for additional info.
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Impressive basenotes in those fragrances!
I have read a theory of why time seems to go faster as we age. Each time period is a smaller percentage of the whole life lived.
An example the six week summer break seems to last forever as a small child. As an adult it flies past.
A 5yo experience of the summer break
5 x 52 =260
6/260 x 100 =2.308%
A 60yo
60 x 52 =3,120
6/3120 x 100 =0.192%
Or a year to the same
5×52=260
52/260 x100=20%
And
60×52=3,120
52/3120 x 100=1.667%
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That makes perfect sense. I’ve also heard that the days seem longer when one gets older, too, so maybe the present feels slower while the past goes faster?
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I’m pleased that there is such a theory because it was exactly how I was explaining this phenomenon without reading about it anywhere.
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The older I get, the faster the years go. I remember hearing when I was younger, and never thought it was true. While I’ve never been, the people I know who have just love Budapest. It’s remarkable that your scent strips are still detectable. That’s a sign of a good perfume, in my book.
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“The days are long, but the years are short.” Not sure who said it first.
The perfume from Roos & Roos that I ended up buying later was Oud Vibration (partly due to availability and price – I found one in a bottle from when they were still named Dear Rose at a significant discount). It also lasts all day and then some.
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This year has certainly flown by. Somehow, I’m surprised the scents lasted so long, even in the plastic sleeves. It’s good they did. Smoke and Mirrors was always one that intrigued me, so I’ll have to seek out a sample.
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So am I, especially as they were not sealed. Roos & Roos (formerly Dear Rose) make some good and long-lasting perfumes.
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