Rainbow in a Bottle

Is a rainbow real or is it a figment of our imagination? A trick of the light? Ethereal, mythical and something not tangible, not touchable? In truth, a rainbow is real even though it is an optical phenomenon, an optical illusion, that can occur only under certain weather conditions. The colours are caused by the refraction of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. So it is real, yet it still leaves the issue; you can’t touch it. However, you can listen to it, see it and now smell it. Thanks to the scent brand DS & Durga, the latest elixir is an ode not just to the mythical phenonium but also to a piece of music that also tried to ‘capture’ the rainbow. Find out more in Rainbow in a Bottle Here

Photographic images of perfumes Lydia Gu

Once upon a time, there was a musician Terry Riley who looked to capture the sound of a rainbow in a record. A Rainbow in Curved Air,  was an overdubbed electronic album released in 1969 in the midst of the psychedelia movement.

Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, Riley’s music became notable for its innovative use of repetition, tape music techniques, and delay systems.

The record was extremely experimental and largely improvisational and consisted of Riley’s overdubbed improvisations on several keyboard and percussion instruments, including an electric organ, electric harpsichord, dumbec, (a goblet-shaped drum with skin) and tambourine, alongside tape loops (when magnetic tape is used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played on a tape recorder). It is still considered one of the most important musical works of the 20th century and it inspired a lot of musicians from that period all the way to present-day techno.

Ultimately an exploration of what a rainbow may well sound like, from a creative standpoint as there is actually a sound version of a rainbow that is often referred to as an “auditory rainbow”. This can refer to various things, such as the way different frequencies of sound are perceived by the ear, or the way that sound waves can diffract and create beautiful patterns of interference.

This album was part of a short-lived album series on American experimental music helmed by CBS employee David Behrman and this specific album subsequently influenced a number of rock and electronic productions and was considered a landmark of minimalism.

Much earlier on the music timeline and something most people know is the song ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ as sung by Judy Garland in the famous film inspired by  L. Frank Baum’s book. In the book, The Land of Oz, and in The Wizard of Oz the film the character Rainbow was personified as someone who was created by the Rain King. Rainbow was the father of several of the fairies of the land.

Rainbows have been a favourite ingredient of mythology throughout history, and they are part of the myths of many cultures around the world. Some cultures see them as positive whilst others see them as benign or evil spirits.

The Norse saw the rainbow as Bifrost; Abrahamic traditions see it as a covenant with God not to destroy the world by means of floodwater. The Irish tradition of a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow is certainly not the oldest rainbow myth, but it may be the most pervasive in Western culture.

In Greek mythology, the goddess Iris personifies the rainbow, there to form a link between heaven and earth. Many Aboriginal Australian mythologies include a Rainbow Serpent deity whilst in Chinese culture the dragon is synonymous with the rainbow

In Māori mythology, there are several personifications for the rainbow, depending on its form, who usually appear to represent omens and are appealed to during times of war. And in Albanian Folk beliefs, the rainbow is regarded as the belt of the goddess Prende, and oral legend has it that anyone who jumps over the rainbow changes sex.

So pervasive is the colourful image that it seems to universally cross over lands and myths so if the colours could be captured into a perfume what would the general scent be like?

DS & Durgs have not only answered the smell but thought it through via each and every colour of the rainbow. We all know the words Red and Yellow, Green and Blue, from the music known as the Spectrum Song. Meet the new scent, Steamed Rainbow.

So for the red colour, the brand explored Red Mandarin. Also known as Tangor and Temple Orange, Red Mandarin is darker in colour than regular Mandarin and has an intense, fresh, sweet, fruity, juicy, sharp, and tangy scent with elements of candied orange and delicate floral undertones. And of course, this scented rainbow must-have orange and what else but the fruit Orange with its whoosh of uplifting zestiness; a sweet, refreshing, ziggy bright burst. With the opening finishing with Yellow Elemi Resin. Elemi resin is a pale yellow resinous substance, honey-like with a sharp pine and Lemon-like scent.

So the green blue and indigoes are represented by Green Cedar, a woody scent with an undertone of citrus. Find balsamic undertones and a ‘camphorous’ facet. Think of childhood school days of pencil shavings. Blue is represented by Blue Almond Flower, so think honey-sweet fragrance akin to Jasmine flowers alongside rich and nutty undertones.  And finally, in the heart, Indigoes Grass fulfils this coloured scent. It brings earthy, musty, and smoky with a hint of grass to the multicoloured party

In the base meet the colours and smell of Violet, which brings an ephemeral spirit to the scent. Think of violet as a soft powdery sweet note that can go all the way to a woody floral tonality. Here with it sits Vetiver that dry cut grass but with a warmer and richer undertones scent. It can go nicely earthy and woody with citrus, floral or smoky notes.

Now you have the notes within the elixir you may wonder what this rainbow smells like. Starting with the idea of a landscape that is green and painted with the seven mystical colours the day goes from beautiful and sunny to trickling rain leaving behind it a mist. Well, it’s defiantly an Orange citrus note but in a delicate, fresh fragrance, not sharp or punchy. It brings together multi-facets going all the way from the damp earth, and sweet fruit to ethereal, sexy almost watery skin facets. The steam in its title gives the aquatic tones yet all together there is a definite sense of cocooning, a soft cuddle of mythical delights.

Synesthesia in its coming to life (the idea here is that colours have smells) in this fragrance, like the past gifts from this brand is intelligent thought-provoking and gently beautiful, not a brand for everyone in a common ‘niceness way’ but an elevated scent for those who want something a little more viscerally emotional.

Should you find yourself at this point feeling very zen then a candle the brand created for national yoga day will absolutely be one to try. For a bit of inner peace go for Be Still, the scented candle is made of resinous notes including Insence Himalayan Cedar, then Cypress and Emeli gum in its heart with deeper notes in tones of Olibanum Resin and Copal. So deep smokey earthy woody notes that calm the very soul.

So now we can get a little closer to what that myth of the scent of the rainbow could actually smell like. And although we know it’s not scientific, yet it is divine.

Find Steamed Rainbow HERE and Be Still, Hereof what a

If you enjoyed reading Rainbow in a Bottle then why not read Art on to of Art here

.Cent Magazine London, Be Inspired; Get Involved