The Heirloom Elixir Limited Editions Collection Archives: 2023 {no.28-no.31}

Description

Jacinthes Noires {Black Hyacinth :: Heirloom Elixir no.28} :  Deep in the dark of winter, the seed of renewal awakens; new growth and new light emerge.   As we move into a new year, I felt that the theme of “Blossoming”, (which has been in my notebook for quite a few years now), would be more than welcome. And while this initial release is technically a floral, the entire series will express more than just flowers. It’s more about stretching out and moving into new territory; even if the design style is classical in form. It’s going to be a fun year!

Jacinthes Noires, my black hyacinth, is an idea I have had in my notebook for over 10 years, as I have been contemplating the scent design and searching for just the right materials that would make this fragrance a reality. I wanted to make a hyacinth, which is green, stemmy, and quite heady by its nature, counter-balanced by a dank, chewy, darkness that would speak to the depths needed by our roots to climb to greater heights. I found that by using some very modern molecules woven into the dense naturals in the base structure the effect that I was looking for was possible. It felt like a reflection of the bridging needed to tie the past to what is now and into the future. I love that. It feels like the perfect sensation to start a new year.  Notes:  Africa Stone Tincture, Aldehydes, Ambrette Seed, Australian Sandalwood, Bergamot, Carnation, Civet, Damask Rose Absolute, East Indian Patchouli, Galbanum, Green Oakmoss, Honey, Hyacinth, Juhi Jasmine Absolute, Labdanum, Orange Blossom, Orange Flower Absolute – Spain, Orris Concrete, Peru Balsam, Spice Notes, Sri Lankan Vetiver, Tolu Balsam, Tunisian Neroli, and Violet Leaf Absolute.

Dutchess Meadows {a new mown hay perfume ; Heirloom Elixir no.29}

A dream and memory fragrance of Spring grass, new mown hay, meadow flowers, and soil… wet with snowmelt.   Horse barns and cow pastures roll along the countryside subtly adding their honey-like charm to the base note accord. Riding along the countryside with all of the windows rolled down in the early afternoon, on a sunny Spring day in Dutchess County (where I grew up) is how I can breathe in a favorite smell of mine.  In my psyche this scent is synonymous with a sense of blossoming and the Earth’s  renewal.  It is what dreams are made of for me.
Rural Dutchess County isn’t all that far north of New York City but it is filled with completely different imagery and smells.  The City is full of gritty grease & petrol smells, sweet and savory food smells, mixed with funky ‘animal and human’ waste smells most of the time.  The country is known for its funky aromas, too: while Dutchess County in the Spring is filled with dewy new hay, green grasses beginning to sprout, and flowers bursting through moist earth, there are loads of horses and cows filling the air with their waste smells.  Cows and horses, being vegan, seem to create a slightly sweeter experience but it’s certainly not for everyone.
Dutchess Meadows is all that is dreamy and beautiful, scent wise, from my childhood memories… it’s atmospheric, humid, sweet, round, sun-warmed hay fields with meadow flowers (and some horse and cow barns near by).  So dreamy indeed.         Notes:  Acacia Honey Absolute, Australian Sandalwood, Bergamot, Brazilian Vetiver, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Castoreum, Clary Sage, Clover Leaf, Coumarin, French Lavender, Grandiflorum Jasmine, Green, Green Clover Blossoms, Green Grass, Green Oakmoss, Hay Absolute, Horse (animalic accord), Labdanum, Leather, Leather, Liatrix, Oud Crassna, Rose Petals, Tunisian Neroli, and Violet Leaf Absolute.

Saku {an Osmanthus perfume; Heirloom Elixir no.30}:  A gorgeous blossoming confluence of green olives, osmanthus bushes in full bloom, teas, and a drydown of ‘fruity oud’ mixed with sandalwood.  It’s perfect for the transition from Summer into Autumn.
The word ‘Saku’ is Japanese for ‘bloom’; not just in terms of how flowers bloom, but also how we, as humans, do.  This was the starting point for the concept for this fragrance: my own sense of flowering while walking down the streets of Tokyo and sensing the gorgeous flowers all a bloom that perfumed my Autumn afternoons there.  As the fragrance developed, a new kind of radiance emerged as I contemplated building the top note as well as the base: the green leafy background of osmanthus leaves was made rounder and more lush with the addition of salty green olive in the top, which begged a reflection of that same kind of fullness in the base (oud).
Saku is the embodiment of elegance… A transcendent osmanthus made radiant with tea, champaca, sandalwood, olive, and oud. Notes: Ambrette Seed, Atlas Cedarwood, Australian Sandalwood, Bergamot, Cypress, East Indian Patchouli, Grandiflorum Jasmine, Green Oakmoss, Green Olive Accord (fruit & leaves), Green Tea Absolute, Leafy Green (accord), Mysore Sandalwood, Olive Absolute, Olive Wood (Accord), Osmanthus, Osmanthus Absolute, Oud Crassna, Oud Maleki, Peach, White Champaca.

Golden Poinsettia {Heirloom Elixir no.31}:  A rich and celebratory vintage style golden amber chypre with a gold leaf and softly aldehydic top note, lushly spiced florals in the heart, and sensuous labdanum, leather, and ambergris in the drydown. Warm and glowing, Golden Poinsettia is a shining star of light, blossoming out of the darkness; a radiant abstraction of retro loveliness.
As we enter the last phase of the year, (and the “Blossoming” Heirloom Elixir series), we pass through the twilight doorway of Autumn into the depths of the long Winter’s night.  Candles and fireplaces flicker with warm amber hues as we celebrate the beauty of the light; of home & hearth, of friends & family, of past & present.
The image of a Golden Poinsettia came as inspiration not only because the poinsettia is a flower associated with the Holiday Season, but also for the fact that it is known for its bloom and not its scent.  (It has no fragrance).  It allows for a full fantasy to emerge; a beauty beyond realism.  Golden Poinsettia is a retro-nouveau, luxe ambery chypre that hearkens back to perfumes of the past.  It speaks of sparkling glamour and yet retains a wonderfully warming sense of comfort that reaches deep into the heart. Notes:  Aldehydes, Ambergris, Atlas Cedarwood, Australian Sandalwood, Bergamot, Brown Oakmoss, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Damask Rose Absolute, Gold Leaf (metallic note accord), Grandiflorum Jasmine, Green Oakmoss, Heliotrope, Labdanum, Leather, Musk, Orange Flower Absolute – Spain, Orris, Orris Concrete, Raspberry, Siam Benzoin, Spice Notes, Tolu Balsam, Turkish Rose Otto, Vanilla, and Vanilla Absolute.