Yesterday Haze, the subtly sinister follow-up to Lenora Blumberg’s acclaimed debut Violet Disguise, tells the story of a farmer’s wife who, after maintaining a decades-long affair with a crop duster pilot, decides to come clean to her husband, who also happens to be her lover’s employer. “Just as sunsets are more beautiful on hazy days,” Blumberg wrote, “So, too, are the memories of yesterday.”
Set in California’s tranquil and dusty San Joaquin Valley, the elaborate tale unfolds like a dream, delicately shifting perceptions like the colors of a dimming dusk. Yesterday Haze unfolds on skin with the slow, inevitable progress of a Grecian drama, but with the subtlety and electric humor of Harold Pinter. Fig is, at least at first, relatively unrecognizable in this fragrance: any jammy sweetness is masked by an iris so diffuse and elegant that the immediacy of fig and it’s fast ripening form is transformed into alternative shapes and sounds. As such, fig’s sweetness lends a fruity tang to cream, but it is mainly cream we smell, not fruit. Similarly, tonka bean sizzles with the lactic, coconut-like freshness of fig milk, but again it is tonka bean and it’s salty-sweet cola effervescence we sense. Slowly, iris dissipates, rolling off the surface of this scent, like a thick fog evaporating in the rising morning sun. As light permeates the hazy dim of this fragrance, starker flavors come into play. At last fig blooms, a purple, bursting beauty that plainly begs to be eaten. Tree bark is a bittersweet, solid snap that injects this scent with urgency, like the sound of something, irrevocably, giving way. Walnut bitters are rich and delicious, but consistently bitter, relaying a sense that sad tidings accompany too much enjoyment. Orchard dust, kicked up in the snap of tree bark, fig’s eager, oozing burst and walnut bitters profound drop convey the chaos and confusion of this action. Is Yesterday Haze evocative of redemption or longing? Wear it to discover.
When to wear: The seductive, dreamlike quality of this scent works like a magnet. Use it liberally during the day and, as it lingers into night, watch as those around you are lured into your sphere.
Notes: Fig, Iris, Cream, Tonka Bean, Tree Bark, Walnut Bitters, Orchard Dust.
Please Note: All full sized bottles of niche fragrance priced $95 or over will receive a complimentary sample of the same fragrance. Use this “Fragrance Insurance” for a few days before opening the full size bottle, as we are not able to accept returns on fragrances that have been opened or used. If you decide you don’t love the fragrance after using the Fragrance Insurance sample, you’re welcome to return your unopened and unused full-size fragrance within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.