Marmara

There are just some fragrances that have faded into absolute obscurity, with nary an entry on a fragrance site nor tribute from a vintage blogger. Dana's Marmara, with only a listing on the Parfumo site, then on Basenotes with a few photographs, now just appearing here, no notes breakdown, no reviews, caught my attention purely because of its breezy presentation and chartreuse juice. It was an exciting blind buy as it wasn't exorbitantly priced, it was an "unknown" Dana, and I had this hunch that it would in the least, it would smell "interesting." What a surprise when I find it's this gorgeous green citrus floral aromatic in a similar vein to Eau de Guerlain or Eau de Patou, its bergamot and lemon still miraculously fresh and vibrant, a spicy basil, a carnation in its heart that reminds me somewhat of Hermes Equipage, and even what seems like a warm heliotrope underpinning. There is also a note similar to caraway, further warming the skin after its vivacious opening. The base is fixed with a delicious trinity of labdanum, musk, and moss and lingers for hours. This came from a time when a working class consumer could buy a Dana and have access to a fragrance developed with care and attention to quality in their Consumer Value Store (what we now know today as CVS). The gap has widened and something like this now comes at a premium. This is a time capsule from an age long before late-stage capitalism and while there is the argument that there was far less accountability toward the ecosystem in procuring perfume materials natural and otherwise, it was a time of promise, but we know what happened in the 80s...