It seems like another lifetime ago. I am still recovering from PTSD, to be perfectly honest. I accompanied Sarah Baker to Pitti Fragranze 2017. If you were there you might vaguely recall the dramatic weather that weekend. But trust me, if you happened to fly home on the Saturday after Pitti via the Pisa Airport, you could never forget the biblical rains and flooding that nearly washed away an entire airport and at least two suitcases full of perfume samples.
Naturally, when Sarah Baker told me she was returning to Pitti in 2018…gasp…and again in 2019…I was transported back to that hellish 36 hours of travel from Florence via Pisa and Florence (again) and Frankfort and London. Stranded in that storm, I still picture us clinging to the futile hope we’d find an alternate flight, a taxi, a hotel, a place at least six feet above ground with a working outlet to charge a phone. How could I let Sarah endure that again? Am I being dramatic? YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
deep breathes
But then I peep the House of Sarah Baker Instagram. There is Sarah Baker splashing around in a sun-dappled Florence swimming pool like Daryl Hannah on a set break from Splash. The lovely Sarah Colton—perfume insider, writer, and the author of Bad Girls Perfume—created a video series where she asked various Pitti attendees what brought them to Florence.
We see Sarah Baker chatting with colleagues at a Pitti booth. We see her talking about her new bottles and new scent, Atlante, which was a finalist for the 2019 Art and Olfaction Awards, and was debuted at Esxence in Milan. There is more pool splashing. [I’m so traumatized by splashing water in Florence, but I’m still watching because this is honestly delightful]. The video closes with an adorable black and white animation for Sarah Colton’s video series, Sarah Colton and her Perfume Notes.
I remember meeting Sarah Colton ever so briefly at Pitti Fragranze 2017. Sarah Baker spoke very highly of her, and she mentioned that we might meet with her in Florence. Of course, as soon as I saw this glamorous woman from across the Pitti courtyard, I knew I would like her. She gave us such a warm greeting with her bright smile and her generous spirit. I was merely a guest of Sarah Baker, but Sarah Colton was so immediately friendly. It reminded me of that old unattributed quote…’You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.’ Genuinely kind, she was.
So, if you’re reading this Sarah Colton, thank you for your great videos about the perfume world, for your wonderfully fun and informative writing, and for taking good care of our dear Sarah Baker in the wilds of Italy.
You have me thinking I might just go back. There’s a lot to explore at Pitti.
xo Ariel