To say that I’ve spent most of 2018 (to date) immersed in all things David Bowie would be an understatement.
That situation is about to change, but I can’t help writing one post here about Iman, the model and entrepreneur who was his wife from 1992 until his death in 2016. I could spend all day looking at photos of them together, but I’ll try to keep this post short and sweet and scent-related.
What perfume does Iman wear? Well, she established her own cosmetics line in 1994 and released a fragrance, Essence of Iman, in 2000. It was later discontinued. I’ve never tried it; if you’re a fan, please comment and tell us why you like it!
In a list of her “10 favorite things” published in the Chicago Tribune in 2005, Iman said:
“Fracas. I’ve worn Fracas for 25 years. There is a depth of mystery to the fragrance. It is my fragrance now and I will never change it.”
Well, never say never…we can always expand our fragrance wardrobes!
I just came across an 2014 interview with Iman in ELLE Decor that included another “shortlist” of favorite things. Here, Iman mentioned Tom Ford Neroli Portofino as a scent she often wears: “This fragrance takes me to the Italian Riviera.”
She likes to wear it in various concentrations, even mixing the fragranced body oil into the matching body lotion. (She also cited Neroli Portofino in a 2012 interview with Into the Gloss.)
(I personally feel that Neroli Portofino is wildly overpriced, and I can recommend the classic 4711 or Thymes Neroli Sol as more affordable alternatives, but hey, if you can spring for the Ford, go for it.)
What else?—a mention of home fragrance!
Iman loves Diptyque candles: “Baies for my office, Gardénia for home,” she tells ELLE. I love Baies too. (Stars: they’re just like us. Not really, but anyone who doesn’t love Baies must be a miserable person with bad taste.)
I’ve never purchased Gardénia, only because I’m not a big white-floral fan, but I like imagining David Bowie walking into their penthouse on Lafayette street and catching a lush whiff of this candle.
As the Diptyque website tells us about gardenia, “This sublimely romantic and elegant flower is often worn as a boutonniere on a stylish lapel or shoulder strap of an evening gown. The famous British dandy, G. Brummell started the trend among high society back in the 19th century. The gardenia is also the symbol of courtesy.”
That all seems to fit the Joneses’ home-life….as I imagine it, at least.
Whatever Iman is doing today, I bet she’s been thinking about the end of the 5-year tour of “David Bowie is” too, and I’m sure she smells wonderful.
I could not forget the Iman fragrance. But I couldn’t find it until I found it used and for sale. I describe it as a strong but alluring woman. Someone I’m not. I’ll try the other fragrances now that I know about them.
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Thank you for sharing this memory! I hope I’ll get to try it someday. I really admire Iman and all her work. And that’s one of the joys of fragrance, that they allow us to be someone we aren’t (or don’t think we are)!
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