La Milagrosa

[annemathematics]

In life, she was Amelia Goyri de Adot. She was promised into a loveless betrothal, but through patience, guile, and the strength of her devotion, she was able to repeatedly postpone the marriage until the death of her father, upon which she was free to marry the man she truly loved. Tragically, her joy was short-lived: on May 3rd, 1903, both Amelia and her son died during childbirth, and she was laid to rest in the Havanas sprawling necropolis with her son resting at her feet. Day after day, year after year, Amelias heartbroken husband visited their grave. He would knock three times, screaming, Wake, Amelia! Wake! In his grief, he could not bear to turn away from her, so when he was forced to leave by exhaustion or circumstance, he would walk backwards until he left the cemetery, always keeping his eyes on the grave of his wife and son. For seventeen years, he came to the grave daily, his heart wracked with anguish. Many years later, Amelias remains were exhumed, and witnesses saw that not only were the bodies perfectly preserved, but the infant child now rested in his mothers arms: a miraculous symbol of eternal love.

To this day, pilgrims visit La Milagrosa to pray for her intercession, asking that she watch over, bless, and protect children and loving couples.

Lilith paying her respects at the tomb of La Milagrosa, Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón: clusters of mariposa and mahoe, sprays of black orchid, loves red roses, and a thin drift of cigar smoke.

bold bright syrupy floral. LM conveys both a sense of fun but also something elegant and regal. Big throw. The cigar smoke is light, delicate. the flowers remind me a little of heirophant and empress--rose + POW-- without the herbs and resins.

the smoke is similar to that in dia de los meurtos: ethereal, wispy, a part of the offering, adding grace and depth (this ain't the big tobacco of In Time of Plague). as someone who doesn't like breathing real tobacco smoke, while this evokes said smoke, it isn't unpleasant at all.

 

this feels like a monumental floral ofrenda. Intriguing. I like it, but don't know if it's really my style.

[zankoku_zen]

Bright orchid, jasmine, roses and a touch of cigar smoke. This honestly codes to stinky jasmine to me. It's bold, floral, and in your face. Great throw and wear length.

[tinyvulture]

A cluster of roses and other gorgeous, lush flowers. I'm not familiar with mariposa (butterfly jasmine) or mahoe, but I love the bright, exotic vibe of this floral blend. Makes me wanna visit Cuba so bad!!

[lizabelle]

Immediately after trying this I was sure I smelled lilacs, but apparently I'm way off. Now that I'm looking at the notes I can smell the rose (which is very red and very velvety), but it still does have that lilac edge. Could be the orchid mixing in with it, which is not a combo I've smelled before. I'm not sure what mariposa or mahoe smell like, but it all blends together into a lush, deep floral. Definitely a "nighttime" scent, if you believe in that sort of thing. The cigar smoke is faint on me but adds just enough bite that it's not like I've gone out and rolled in flowers. Beautiful.

[Little Bird]

A sharp, perfumey/musky, floral explosion that gets a little sweeter in the drydown. It smells primarily like a big, waxy, sharp, white floral to me, like gardenia and tuberose, with hints of sweet honeysuckle and sour, red rose. A jumbled mishmash or fake-floral scents, like a cheap department store floral. Very strong and gives me a headache after a short while.

[Brigdh]

In bottle: Big bursting roses, with a slight undertone of other florals, slight enough that I can’t pick out which individual ones. There’s a nice wood note in the background as well.

Wet: A woody, incense-y note dominates, followed up by the rose. It's old-fashioned, but in a very lovely way; it makes me think of opera singers or dark paneled offices.

Dry: Mostly just rose, a powdery, rich, red rose. I never got anything similar to cigar smoke – which I’m happy with, since I hate the scent in real life and was hoping it would be mild here. At 5+ hours there’s still a bit of scent left, though it’s faint by then.

 

Overall, it’s very evocative of Latin America, and feels like the perfect perfume for a humid summer evening.