Sage Lifestyle Diamond Perfume Oil

Sage Machado's Diamond has been a long time coming (about a decade), and I must say, I think she hit the nail on the head. The vibe of Diamond is relaxed yet minimalist, speaking to me as the raw Herkimer diamond instead of the ones that are polished, cut and sold to the privileged for obscene amounts of money. It was the perfumer Tanja Bochnig (April Aromatics) who first turned me on to Herkimers, as she uses them in her bottles of fragrance to amplify the radiant qualities of the raw botanical materials. I adore the uneven beauty of Herkimer diamonds and I can easily make the leap to associate them with the born-beautiful Mysore sandalwood-- my favorite scent in the world, and the clear star of this perfume.

[Sage Lifestyle Diamond official.notes: Indian Sandalwood, white crisp amber, clean oceanic musk, touch of rain, dew on the skin]

Besides the sandalwood, there is a salty, soft marine note that I think is quite beautiful as supporting role to the sandalwood. It feels breezy and ethereal like a tear caught by surprise on the tongue- it's proof of life. Two major notes is plentiful when you have a streamlined composition like this. I don't believe complexity has a place when you're talking about diamonds (or in this case, smelling them), especially raw diamonds. On my skin, Diamond uses body heat to achieve its balance. The marine aspect is rather fleeting and the sandalwood is long-lasting-- but I should mention that I apply this scent liberally from the rollerball. I just don't get the full spectrum of it by gingerly dabbing. On skin, the light marine musk dissolves into an ozonic wash, which pairs perfectly with the natural ozone qualities present in Mysore sandalwood. That is just one of the things that separates Mysore from Australian sandalwood- fresh, creamy roundness vs. sharp and aromatic. I love both, but Mysore is my greatest, most enduring love.

One of the sweetest, most satisfying things about this perfume is how it clings to fabrics, and every time my nose is near the collar and cuffs of my favorite sweater, that fresh expansiveness returns. It's not the same living, warm scent as it is on skin, it's the scent of frozen time. Memories on ice with a twist.

Diamond is the perfect fragrance for Spring. The feeling of limitless space, perpetual movement, endless possibilities and all the fresh air you can drink in. This is not quite the beach or what lay beyond it in the great wide ocean, this is the town tucked away just inland which hides the secret of its denizens: that the type of beauty that Diamond projects is not just for the rich or the well-connected-- it's a state of mind which can be achieved by everyone and is not one-size-fits-all.

1/8 oz Roll-on Perfume Oil, $45 on SageLifestyle.com

[samples provided by Sage Lifestyle for my consideration]