The Enigma, the Untold

What's a secret you will never tell?

Let me tell you something, back in the day of my youthful craziness, I used to think that I owed the world an explanation for what I was doing, for what I was keeping mine, and mine alone. I used to feel like I needed to tell anyone who asked where I spent my weekends, who with, what I ate, how many glasses of wine I had and when was the last time I went to the dentist. If I omitted some information from my life while telling a new acquaintance, I shouldn't feel so guilty about it.

Recently, I was asked as to how much my rent was. I mean, how do I tell off a random person asking me such thing? I didn't even escape the question of what floor my apartment was. The person might as well ask me how much I'm earning, how much my taxes are and the price of my grocery tab.

Is nothing ever sacred anymore?

It all changed after I went on a Francophile literature bingeing phase, after I've read Debra Ollivier's Entre Nous. To cut a long insight short, French women have mastered the art of being enigmatic by thoroughly filtering what they tell strangers. This is why no French film is about two strangers meeting in one day and then telling each other their whole life stories. Tossing out our private experiences is like tossing meat over to hungry hounds --- most often than not, it will be ripped apart in contempt or judgment.

Since then, I've mastered the art of keeping things, numbers, secrets, chance encounters, smiles, evil thoughts {hey, I'm only human}, and mental notes.

The world doesn't need to know everything after all.

Whether it's dreams she has yet to share, secrets she has yet to reveal, or ambitions she has yet to declare, UNTOLD was designed to embody the many different facets of the modern woman. While some of these facets are apparent on the surface, others remain hidden, only to be revealed or discovered over time.

The UNTOLD fragrance journey opens with sparkling Pink Pepper fused with crisp Bergamot, exposing her vibrant optimism while playful fruity accents of Pear and Blackcurrant Bud LMR* evoke her unpredictable ways. Her refined femininity is revealed as delicate Gardenia petals enwrap themselves with intoxicating Egyptian Jasmine LMR*. Her mysterious aura is sensed through whispers of Patchouli Heart LMR* and nuances of Sandalwood. Finally, her magnetic sensuality is unveiled as heated ambers cascade over the caress of hypnotic musk. Lingering in the air is the unforgettable essence of her presence.

On so many levels, Elizabeth Arden's Untold is so much like a woman with numerous untold things --- it's a fragrance that's hard to pin down, it's hardly a scent cliche, even I was puzzled during the first time I used it. The beginning notes are undoubtedly a fresh citrusy fragrance, and then it dries down to a musky, sandalwood, kind of like a woman who comes out as a debutante and emerges a woman of a certain age.