Many a Fair Toy, Many a Fine Flower

[doomsday_disco]

(The Erl-King speaks.)
 
“O come and go with me, thou loveliest child;
By many a gay sport shall thy time be beguiled;
My mother keeps for thee full many a fair toy,
And many a fine flower shall she pluck for my boy.”

The promise of dew-bright meadows and sugar-spun toys, gleaming and hollow: apple peel, wild violet, meadowsweet, and candied blood-red fruits.

[Saeva]

One of the things my grandmother used to do was peel the end of apples where they're not edible or apples she intended to make into pies and then dry those peels to add to little crafts to spruce up the scent. The dried apple peel curls are a very mellow, almost apple blossom-like smell -- not nearly as strong as the juicy apple fruit scent underneath -- when they're done. And that's the apple peel in this blend. 

 

In fact, for a blend that only has one true flower in it -- the wild violet -- Many a Fair Toy, Many a Fine Flower has a distinctly floral blend going for it. The dry sweetness of the apple peel, the faintly astringent scent to the meadowsweet that is reminiscent of both wintergreen and almond blossoms, the (surprisingly) strong powdery spring scent of the wild violet all takes center stage, mostly upstaging the very gentle scent of hard fruit candies (giving the tiniest impression of pomegranate and raspberry). It's a sweet scent without reading as sugary on me, even though I tend to amp sweetness, and no one note overwhelms the other. 

 

As it drys down, it blends into this very balanced floral bouquet that gives the impression of winter blooms. I have no idea why my brain thinks that, but I'm picturing a small white winter flower specifically. Almond blossom, maybe, which never smells very almond-y to me. Or even apple blossoms, though those are flowers I associate more with April. Either way, I'm glad I have 3/4ths a bottle of Many a Fair Toy, Many a Fine Flower to play with. It's exactly the sort of floral I enjoy most.