Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono

This is only a part from the shunga that was the inspiration for this scent. I didn't know if it would be safe to post the complete picture in a blog, so if you want to see it, follow this link. Shunga is a Japanese term for erotic art. It literally means 'picture of spring', spring being a common euphemism for sex (common in Japan I suppose). I found it interesting that shunga are thought to have their origin in Chinese medicine manuals. 
There is more to the word shunga. Apart from its literal meaning, it is in fact  a contraction of 'shunkyu-higi-ga' (春宮秘戯画), the Japanese pronunciation for Chinese sets of twelve scrolls depicting the twelve sexual acts that the crown prince had to carry out as an expression of yin yang. (source)


The lab description for this scent is short: 

Peony blossoms and vanilla orchid.

I had never tried a peony scent before and to my surprise I liked it so much I wanted more of it. It is sweet and of course the vanilla adds to that. It is perhaps the vanilla that makes this scent smell to me more salmon coloured than pink (and what an odd thing that is, to say a flower is salmon coloured).
Peonies are popular in both Chinese and Japanese art and nowadays they also are popular as tattoos. The picture below is of Peony and Canary, by Hokusai.