I’m a little uncomfortable talking about my work. I don’t want to say “you should smell my fragrance this way” or “you should have this image in your head when you spray it on yourself” because it can be so limiting. On the other hand I think people like to know what they are smelling and I hope that by talking about the ingredients I have used and why I used them can add to your enjoyment of the perfume.

From the spice citrus opening notes through the aquatic florality to the woods and musks there is a real sense of lightness and continuity. I am very pleased with the balance of the structure. The themes don’t compete with each other. Even though each individual element has a character of its own they complement each other as the perfume dries down.

The initial notes of the fragrance come from a mixture of Sicilian bergamot and Italian mandarin combined with cardamom from Guatemala. When constructing the accord I used both cardamom absolute and cardamom essential oil which gives a beautifully full roundness to the spice element and a perfect accompaniment to the natural freshness of the citrus notes. The balance of the fragrance then slowly moves towards the heart where I have used Bulgarian rose and traces of Mediterranean cassis with a mixture of tropical fruits on a background of almost transparent calone. An important element in this construction and one which adds very much to the “presence” of the perfume is the ambrette essential oil. You normally can’t afford to use it at high concentration as it costs about €15000 per kilo but it gives such a compelling sparkle to the heart of the fragrance. A trainee perfumery assistant who once worked for me described it as the perfume equivalent of the bubbles in champagne and I’ve always liked that description. After about two hours the woods and musks I have used slowly begin take their place and as the dry down continues you get this lovely interplay between the almost dry Virginian Cedar and the more humid Indonesian Patchouli. It’s that accord which sustains the idea of brightness, presence and edge right through to the end.

This fragrance is the result of years of joy working in the perfumery world and I hope you will enjoy it.