The road is not straight, it’s twisty, turny, and sometimes there are cliffs, except they only feel like cliffs, so you squeeze your eyes shut and hope to not feel anything, but then you land on your feet and can open your eyes to see that it wasn’t a cliff, just a break in the path.
And throughout it all, I’ve enjoyed being your friend and basking in the sunshine that is your friendship.
Through it all I’ve learned so much.
I’ve learned to agree to disagree, and that even when we do disagree, we are not enemies. I’ve learned that empty vessels make the loudest noise, and that luck favors the fools – which makes me wonder whether I’m the most foolish or the least.
But as I think of all that, for right now there’s Borneo 1834.
I’ve read that someone thought that Christopher Sheldrake had taken Borneo 1834 and extended it into Coromandel and personally, I don’t really get that. The Borneo 1834 sample I had immediately evoked India for me, Bali for others, but this is a case of the sample smelling different from this Gratte-ciel bottle. The sample may have been for a Palais Royal bottle and the scent was dryer, woodier, with less cocoa powder. Nonetheless, Coromandel has the same dark patchouli but it’s heavier, sweeter and more complex, while Borneo 1834 is a darker, simpler, and has a dry green cardamom that pushes this to face gourmand territory without quite getting there. Right now, it’s my favourite Serge Lutens scent and it’s got a coziness that really works well in crisp days. This is a feeling of warmth when you walk into your favourite pastry shop and you know that you’re in for a treat but you’re not sure what it will be. It’s anticipation and reward in one, and strikes a balance that’s comforting.
