Happy 2014

 and listen to this–––1, 2, 3, 4.

the smell of Sartre's nothingness 薩特的虛無氣味

During Xmas and New Year period, I yearn for staying at home and doing nothing. I don’t check my messages, I keep my phone away at most times, and when it’s with me I only reply to the curator who is busy orchestrating an exhibition that I’ll be participating in Macau on January, 2014.

With the cozy fireplace lit, I light up an Assouline’s Books candle, pick out Elisabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things, make some green tea, slump onto the couch, and read in the solitude of my own time, space, and mood. 

I know by doing so I can smell Sartre’s nothingness floating in the air––– a fresh and clean scent like L'eau Serge Lutens. It's a smell of simplicity and freedom that is often hard to come by in my hustle and bustle lifestyle.

在聖誕和2014年元旦之間的假期，我渴望待在家裡無所事事。我不檢查我的短信，把手機放得遠遠的，真要用它，也只是拿來回覆忙著策劃我2014年一月在澳門參加藝術展覽的策展人。

我升了壁爐內的溫暖柴火，點亮阿蘇利納的“書籍”香氛蠟燭，挑出作家伊麗莎白吉爾伯特的《一切事物的簽名》，泡上一壺綠茶，在沙發上舒展身體，讓自己擁抱時間，空間和情緒的孤獨。

我知道這麽做便可聞到了薩特的“虛無”氣味，那是一種類似「盧丹詩之水」（L'Eau Serge Lutens）的純粹乾淨。我認為，簡單和自由的味道，有時很難在我的喧囂生活中聞出。

My favorite perfumes to wear on Xmas holidays 聖誕佳節想”穿“的香水

關了工作室全心準備過聖誕假期，列點聖誕禮物的購物清單時，居然想著Xmas假期想用的香水…… 你呢？會”穿“那一款香水來展現個人的風格品味？

和你分享我心中的香水名單–––

簡潔低調

Kiehl’s Orange Flower & Lychee: 澄澈的美麗

個性森林

Comme de Garcons的Amazingreen ：海洋氣味的綠色矛盾

藝術波西米亞

Bottega Venett的葆蝶家： 粉紅胡椒和感性皮革的氣味有如皮革裝訂的詩集

都會浪漫

Prada的Candy：溫暖輕盈如棉花糖的幸福感，如冬日在壁爐旁餟飲一杯淋上焦糖的熱巧克力

不過，既然我是在瑞士與家人共度詳合的平安夜，那麽可能就選擇清新安靜的Kiehl’s古龍水，讓那淡淡的橙花與甜甜的荔枝果香在"Silent Night"的聖歌中彌漫著幸福的笑聲。



I closed my design studio for the next few days to do the Xmas gift shopping. While shopping for my loved ones, I was thinking about what perfumes I should wear to further embrace the ambiance of Xmas holidays. Clearly, the holidays are a time for looking pretty and smelling glam. 

I'm presenting a list of my favorite perfumes on the holidays:

The simplicity  

Kiehl's Orange Flower & Lychee for its transparent beauty 

 

The charismatic paradox 

Comme de Garcons Amazingreen Eau de Parfum for its color of green with an aquatic scent of paradox 

The artsy, bohemian flare

Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum for its scents of pink pepper and sensual leather like a leather-bound poetry book

The Urban Romance 

Prada Candy Eau de Parfum for its warmth of airy cotton candy like drinking a cup of caramel-drizzled hot chocolate by a fire place

while hearing the Xmas choirs from the street... 當聽到街頭的聖誕歌聲……

 

While hearing the Xmas choirs from the street I finished my perfume column for Harper's Bazaar's V-Day special issue 2014 (Chinese edition.) Suddenly I had an illusion confusion when I looked at the Xmas tree: all the decoration balls became heart-shaped...

Interviewed by 中国《北京青年周刊》(BQ Weekly, Beijing)

To my English readers, I apologized for not being able to translate the Chinese transcript of my interview with senior editor Zhang Na at Chinese BQ Weekly. However, I'd like to give you some highlights of the interview that you might find interesting...

The creative people who have influenced me are–––

The Italian renaissance polymath Leonard da Vinci for his unquenchable curiosity and creativity (check Flights of the Mind by Charles Nicholl, an excellent book about da Vinci)

The Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto for his simplicity in form and color

The German writer Patick Suskind for his talent to make writing sensual and vivid (check his most famous novel Perfume)

The Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa for their clean and modern elements (check their outstanding work Rolex Learning Center at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland)

FYI: In January, 2014, my scented art installation collaborated with the talented perfumer Christophe Laudamiel will be shown at Macau, China. I'll keep you posted about the detail of the exhibition soon.

my november in sketches 我的11月生活插圖

I believe visual has power, so it doesn't matter if you only understand Chinese or English, I hope you enjoy watching my life in November.