Frida. The Red Shawl
Обновлено: 16 окт.
Chilini Private
Frida Kahlo's rose.
In the bottom drawer of the work desk, under the patterns, lay a red silk shawl. Mirra had sewn it for herself many years ago and had never worn it.
For twenty years she had been the costume maker at the town theatre. Velvet gowns, scarlet cloaks and embroidered bodices had passed through her hands, while Mirra herself wore a grey jumper and tried to stay out of sight backstage.
On a November premiere night she put Frida on her wrists. The aldehydes sounded bright and sparkling, blackberry and pink pepper added a dark juiciness, and Mirra straightened her shoulders without noticing.
By the third bell rose and saffron had opened on her skin, dense, velvety and warm. Mirra adjusted the leading lady's hem one last time and stepped back into the shadow of the wings.
In the interval the director Mark came backstage. He had been looking for her to thank her for the costumes, and stopped beside her.
"Mirra, you smell like a rose in an autumn garden. Bright and restless. You're quite different tonight," said Mark. Mirra was embarrassed, and Mark added: "You'll take the bow with us. It's your premiere too."
By the finale vanilla, sandalwood and amber remained on her skin, deep and warm. While the audience applauded the last scene, Mirra pulled open the bottom drawer.
She took the bow with everyone else, in her grey jumper with the red silk shawl around her shoulders.
How it sounds
The opening is bright and sparkling: aldehydes give a cool radiance, pink pepper a light sharpness, and blackberry a dark berry juiciness.
At the heart is the main theme, rose: dense, velvety, dark. Beside it peony and orange blossom make it lusher, jasmine and lily of the valley add light, angelica a green freshness, and saffron a warm spicy depth.
In the base vanilla and tonka bean warm it, sandalwood and white cedar give soft wood, fir resin adds a light resinous shade, and amber and musk leave a long, warm trail.
What makes it special
Frida belongs to the Chilini Private collection, fragrances made from costly and rare materials. It is dedicated to Frida Kahlo and her character: honesty, directness, wisdom and wholeness, the ability to live while accepting reality. The fragrance is built around the rose in all its feminine many-sidedness. It is a floral oriental women's fragrance for autumn and winter.
@sunshineladyvera on Instagram writes: "A perfect rose with aldehydes. Dark, languorous, tart, anxious, hot and cool at the same time. Very beautiful and with a strong sillage."
The my-world-tsarina blog describes it as "Sweet, powdery, woody, rosy, with a very strong sillage and compliment-drawing."
*Quotes translated from Russian.*
People wear it for courage: to a premiere, on an important evening, and on the day they finally want to be seen.
Notes
Top: aldehydes, pink pepper, blackberry
Heart: rose, peony, orange blossom, jasmine, saffron
Base: vanilla, sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, musk
