CHRYSOLITHE #11 BY OLIVIER DURBANO

CHRYSOLITHE #11 BY OLIVIER DURBANO

Photo Credit: + Q PERFUME BLOG

Launch: 2015

Perfume House: Olivier Durbano

Olfactive Family: Woody-Aromatic-Spicy

Olfactive Notes: Hyssop, cumin, Vervain, cinnamon, black pepper, ginger, sage essence, rosemary, jasmine, cedar wood, vetiver, sage absolute, ambergris, musk.

Description by the brand: Chrysolithe combines ancestral virtues and the mysterious aroma of hyssop, symbol of purity and humility, with the precious and majestic power of cedar, pungent fragrance and revitalising properties; infused with white sage, "desert sage', with its purifying power, and mixed with black cumin, known as "the seed of blessing" invoking all the virtues of strength and harmony, Chrysolithe gives out and pure luminous vapour, marked by peace and wisdom.

Description by + Q Perfume Blog: soft, illuminated, dry, spiced, fresh, timeless, genderless. (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️)

In 2009 I asked Olivier what he considered an excellent perfume. Back then the answer was "Sincere, gentle and devoted to make women look beautiful. A very personal and essential "skin", like an emotional story, a pure dream, a movie between soul, or mind and body...Something also with memory, in the past and at the moment... and why not to the future. Something that elevates your being, in order to transform life into something better and more beautiful".

Chrysolithe #11 has definitely all that. 

Being mystical, the perfume was named after the ancient Greek Khrusolithos which means gold stone. The stone, referred in the Torah in Hebrew as Peridot, meaning "transparent", is the 10th precious stone that adorned Aaron's breast plate (representing the tribe of Dan) and the 7th of the foundation stones of New Jerusalem.

"We are told not to seek treasures in this life where moth and rust will destroy them, but as we can see, God has chosen to build this city with the finest of gems, and the richest of materials.  And each of the materials used in the construction of this New Jerusalem has a divine purpose and reason to be used where it is.

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it was transparent glass".   Book of Revelation 21:19-21.

The perfume bottle is also is numbered - Chrysolithe #11. According to the perfumer, the number eleven in the Arab culture represents the number of steps one must take to understand God. In China, it represents the TAO, the mother earth, the path through heaven. To Jewish culture 11 is a master number for the elevated spiritually.

In that sense CHRYSOLITHE #11 is indeed a fragrance that uplifts the spirit for its purity and freshness. 

To me the perfume has the smell of Israel. To be more specific, of the Galilee. This combination of spices is found in a typical landscape of the Mediterranean region called in French Garigue which is described as a low open scrubland with many evergreen shrubs, low trees, aromatic herbs, and bunch grasses found in poor or dry soil. Chrysolite #11 has the smell of Garigue herbs and bushes. A smell that I captured in 2011 in a trip to Israel. At that time I was already interested in smellscapes of countries and cities. I brought back with me a booklet with all the herbs I collected and when I flip the pages of this booklet, I smell a scent that is very similar to some of the notes in the composition Olivier's perfume. I travel in time and space to Israel in a fraction of second.

Galilee

Photo credit: + Q Perfume Blog

Now it would be odd to us perfume wearers to smell like the Galilee. You won't, I promise.
CHRYSOLITHE #11 is a woody dry scent, with a freshness of an early morning bath and a flowery powdery touch that is simply lovely.  It brings a rather spicy and strong opening, but as time passes it becomes a gentle perfume with a mellow dry down.

Needless to say that it reflexes 100% the personality of its creator. 

To add a mystery in the whole thing I must tell here what I have already told in my facebook and something that I think it is quite magical:

As I progressed in my meditations I started to see the number eleven everywhere. Mostly the hours 11:11 (am or pm). No matter what I was doing, every time I checked the time or made a phone call or entered to facebook via cell the hour was there 11:11. I began to see it in car and street plates, in websites, in movies. EVERYWHERE. If I wished to see, it would not appear before my eyes. It did and it does only when I am not thinking about it.
I had a major question mark in my mind about what could it mean. If it had any meaning at all... The answer came the day the fragrance arrived. Not only it contains the number 11 in its name, but in the description of the fragrance written by Olivier Durban he explains about the meanings of number 11. I was in a total shock when I read the flyer that came with the perfume. It all made sense. I now know that it has to be with my spiritual elevation. For that I will be FOREVER grateful to Olivier.