Black Label by Yardley

Black Label by Yardley is the image of my father in the mornings as he shaves and finishes with this aftershave; it’s always been a deep, intense memory for me… I remember (my father) after the ritual, walking into the bedroom to say goodbye to my brother and me before heading off to work… We wouldn’t wait long before peeking out the window to wave and watch him drive away in his red Opel… with a tinge of sadness, my brother and I were content with the memory of his presence, thanks to the scent of this aftershave, which we often used to play with and spray on our action figures after a good shave… the kind that left handsome soldiers without noses. Over time, and without realizing it, this ritual led me to love fragrances and seek out the scents that accompanied my childhood and adolescence… That’s the case with Signoricci, Eau Savage, and Aramis Devin; they are all the olfactory image and representation of my father. It’s curious because sometimes when I dream of him, I perfectly perceive the scent of these perfumes in my dreams. Many years passed before I became a fragrance collector, and when that happened, I told this story to an antique dealer friend. One day he said to me: ‘I think this is for you’–an old, well-worn set of Yardley containing an intact bottle of this aftershave and a beautiful stainless steel toiletry bag… It’s hard for me to say what I feel every time I uncork this bottle and catch the scent of sweet, citrusy lavender with notes of oakmoss and sandalwood… a feeling of unconditional love washes over me, just as my old man expressed to all his children until the end of his days… for moments I feel immense happiness and somehow feel my father standing by my side. Today, the Yardley bottle occupies a very special place alongside my bottles of Signoricci and Devin; all these sections of my collection in a display cabinet that serves as a shrine to perfumes above all… a shrine that is my philosophical root for loving the scents that have kept for us all the most beloved and profound memories of our lives.