#Maria Zede

[poetry-in-potion]

The Art of Sinning

Sometimes an image will do. An image will draw you in. Say, of a “sinner” named – Veruschka? You will look her up, then search for any info on the fragrance itself. To cut a long story short: I have yet to try the Lanvin’s classic, My Sin (1925), but everything about it sounds so…right. Or, better yet, wrong. Deliciously so.

Lanvin Mon Péché, as it was originally named, was launched in 1925, and created a year earlier by the mysterious “Madame Zed”. According to some new sources and new clues, Madame Zed was actually a Russian woman named Maria Zède, who had created some 15 or so fragrances for Jeanne Lanvin between 1923 and 1925 (some together with Jeanne’s brother Gabriel), only to disappear into history after making My Sin.

In any case, all this happened shortly before Arpège (1927) took the spotlight. My Sin managed to live well outside its shadow, and hopefully Madame Zed had lived a good life as well. Those were some dangerous times and dangerous parts of the world to live in.

Anyhow… All that’s left to be done now is to track down the vintage version and try it for myself. Whether it turns out be an aldehydic civet bomb or a powdery floral is, well, beside the point. “This is Marlene Dietrich in perfume form”, said mabelcruet of Fragrantica. It’s also Veruschka, and Jennifer O’Neill, and every fun-and-danger-loving cat out there. So promise the ads, anyway.

Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, clary sage and neroli.

Middle notes: ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, clove, orris, lily-of-the-valley, narcissus and lilac.

Base notes: woody with vetiver, vanilla, musk, woody notes, tolu balm, styrax and civet.

Some good sources on the story are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, and a great review can be read HERE.

Photos from HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

[arksiblings]

hiii i wrote this yesterday while i was getting my hair colored & idk how i feel abt it but if i don’t post it i won’t be able to write more so!! enjoy :) based on this post (also maria is jewish; zede is what she calls gerald ((thank you sid & nox <3)))

When Maria struts up to him lugging a giant plastic bucket full of water, Shadow knows he’s in for a stressful time. 

He inclines his head in greeting. “Maria.”

“Hi, Shadow,” she says, grinning widely. The bucket thumps against the ground at her feet and her hands settle victoriously on her hips. She leans towards him conspiratorially. “Guess what?”

He eyes the water warily. With a restrained sigh, he asks, “What?”

There’s a glint in her eyes that Shadow recognizes as trouble. It’s not a common look on Maria, who is mostly known around the base for being the model child. “I’m gonna pull a prank on Zede.” 

He waits patiently for her to continue.

However, Maria requires engagement. She wants to be asked about her master plan. “You’re supposed to ask what the prank is,” she coaxes. 

“Oh.” Shadow straightens up a little as if it would help him seem more interested. He is interested, even if it’s a little hard for him to show as much. “What is the prank?”

“I’m gonna put this,” she nudges the bucket with her foot, “on top of his office door and then when he opens it, he’ll get splashed!”

“Why?”

“Because it’s funny.” There’s no unspoken duh, obviously that indicates she’s annoyed Shadow is making her explain; Maria’s genuine in her answer.

That sounds like a bad idea. Still, he plays along for the sake of her absolute giddiness at doing something so out of character. “How do you plan on reaching the top of the door?” 

“With a ladder, of course.” She makes a move to pick up the bucket again but Shadow beats her to it, so she curtsies in thanks and proceeds down the hallway. “I’ve already set up the ladder. Do you know how hard it is to sneak a ladder around in this place when you can’t even lift it?”

He looks a bit unsettled by her comment, brows furrowed and a frown tugging at his lips. He keeps his eyes on the end of the hall. “Why didn’t you ask me for help? I could have carried it for you.”

Maria shrugs and twirls a strand of hair around her index finger. “I like to do things by myself sometimes. Just to prove that I can.” 

Shadow clicks his tongue at her. “You shouldn’t do that. You could’ve gotten hurt and no one would’ve noticed right away.” 

“But I didn’t get hurt.”

“But you could have.” They turn right down another seemingly endless hall littered with doors, Maria looking down at the tiled floor to step carefully between the cracks. “At least tell me next time so I can be there.”

“Okayyy,” she acquiesces reluctantly, then lowers her voice to mumble, “killjoy.” 

“I heard that.”

Maria giggles, skipping down the hall a ways, skirt flaring out around her as she does a little twirl of excitement. “C’mon, we’re almost there!”

-

Shadow peers up at the ladder leaning against the wall. It’s a good eight feet, much taller than someone like Maria should ever even consider climbing, and his frown deepens. He’s about to voice his concerns when he realizes she’s already three rungs up. Just as determined as her grandfather.

“Is this really necessary?” Exasperation and pleading rolled into one, he grabs both sides of the ladder as it wobbles under Maria’s movements. 

“Yes.” She climbs up another rung, then leans over slightly to open and close her hand at him. “Hand me the bucket.”

No way. “You won’t be able to hold it.” 

Now it’s Maria’s turn to frown. Her hand doesn’t move. He can tell she’s upset by the insinuation that she isn’t strong enough, but he won’t play into her plan if it’s going to result in her being harmed.

For a long moment of silence, neither of them speak. Shadow narrows his eyes. Maria remains unflinching. The standoff feels like it’s going to last an eternity, the world around them silent except for the faint beeping of machinery and gentle hum of the air unit.

Then someone calls her name, her full name, in a stern tone that sends a jolt through her. The ladder shakes as she whips her head to the right and grips the cold metal for dear life, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. 

A scientist with black glasses and chestnut colored curls watches them suspiciously from a few feet away, a clipboard in one hand. “What exactly are you two doing?”

Maria twists to meet Shadow’s gaze, her own shock mirrored back at her in ruby-colored eyes. Their standstill only lasts a moment, though - when Maria hears approaching footsteps, she hops off the ladder (wavering unsteadily on her feet upon landing before Shadow offers her his arm to steady herself), takes his hand tightly in hers, and sprints off down the hallway as fast as her legs can carry her. 

The scientist shouts something after them that Shadow can’t quite make out over the sound of Maria’s laughing. Relief that she hadn’t been able to go through with her plan replaces the concern over getting in trouble - specifically Maria getting in trouble. Her grandfather loves her more than anything, but even he wouldn’t be too pleased at being unexpectedly drenched.

Maria finally slows to a stop after a few twists and turns and shortcuts through offices. Her hands rest on her knees as she catches her breath. Shadow, meanwhile, stands alert, listening for any sound that would indicate they were being pursued. 

“She’s going to take the ladder back into storage, but that’s okay.” Maria sniffs and straightens up to smooth down her skirt, composing herself from troublemaker back to princess. She looks at Shadow sideways. “That was fun anyway, right?”

Fun maybe isn’t the word he would use. Not fully understanding the appeal of her prank in the first place notwithstanding, seeing her up on that ladder was more than enough to remove any semblance of fun from the equation. But at the end of the day, any time with Maria is time well spent.

So he nods once, shortly. “You had fun. So did I.” 

It’s obvious that he’s only saying what he thinks she wants to hear, which is sweet, but she wants to know what he really thinks. Her voice is gentle when she speaks. “If you didn’t have fun, that’s okay, Shadow. I know I worried you with the ladder.”

He seems to be gauging her reaction as he slowly nods again. “Yes, but in the end you were unharmed.” Pensive, he adds, “I didn’t have fun with the prank, but I had fun with you.” 

Smiling fondly, Maria reaches out to pat his head, catching the way he instinctively flinches to duck away before he stills himself. The frequent experiments have done a number on him in regards to being touched, but Maria is Maria. Nothing she does is to hurt him. He allows her to ruffle his fur affectionately. 

“Come on,” she says as she retracts her hand. “Let’s go see what’s for lunch.”

Shadow nods, claiming his rightful place at her side.