This year, French perfume company Fragonard is celebrating verbena with the release of Verveine.* Much of Fragonard's PR has to do with Verveine's perfumer:
Céline Ellena envisioned a magical formula.... Verveine is closely tied to the cycle of nature and the daily life of a perfumer who searches for inspiration in her plant garden. The perfumer drew inspiration from the plant’s natural environment to create three worlds of scents to describe it: sun, earth, and water. The sun symbolizes energy and light, with the hint of white grapefruit zest. The water is a delicate bouquet of white petals mixed with the freshness of a summer rain. The earth diffuses a soft, sensual perfume of warm, light-colored wood and roots.
Hey, whoever wrote this PR should mosey up to Paris and assist their imagination-challenged brothers and sisters in perfume public relations who are stuck in a rut of writing "sexy" (what's sexy about men in skyscrapers, attending business meetings?)/predictable/aspirational drivel.
Verveine opens with a punch of spicy-sparkling grapefruit (yep, it smells "sunny"), followed quickly by vibrant lemon verbena (as if you're rubbing the leaves between your fingers). Verveine's floral (rain) element is dominated by Litsea cubeba (citrusy, tangy and fleshy), one of my favorite perfume ingredients — if I move back to California I'm definitely growing one of these trees! While writing this review I was sitting next to a tiny vase filled with tendrils of blooming jasminum polyanthum. Suddenly Verveine (on my person) and the delicate blossoms seemed to "communicate;" as the aromas of perfume and flowers mingled, they became stronger. Perhaps the dying blossoms and captured, liquid jasmine recognized kin, no matter how distant and different, and reached for each other?
As Verveine moves into its final stages, it remains interesting and fresh (cedar and iris root have been given a verbena oil bath and then dried and pulverized into citrus-tinged powder).
Fragonard Verveine Eau de Toilette is available now at Beautyhabit; other items in the Verveine line include soap and room fragrance diffusers.
* Listed fragrance notes of verbena (beebrush), grapefruit, Litsea cubeba, ylang-ylang, jasmine, iris, cedar, amber, patchouli.
And just like that, reader, I bought it.
Unsniffed.
In my defense, it’s hotter than the face of the sun here, so I neeeeed it; I love litsea cubeba (which is in a favorite, Malibu Lemon Blossom); according to perfume math this is free; and I really need a pick me up and this will do it.
Aparatchick…ha! Don’t know where you are, but it’s hot here in Seattle, too. And I’m wearing Verveine.
Fragonard is great at these kinds of scents, simple, easy to wear and just lovely. I’ve got the Mimosa from the same series which is fun as well. I will definitely try this, I think I gave the soap in the same line a sniff last time I was in a Fragonard shop. Also, love the packaging!
Austenfan…Fragonard does do a great job in their niche…I’ll check out the mimosa.
I knew I shouldn’t have read this review! Now I must have this for the summer. I love a good grapefruit and all lemon verbena. Kevin, did you detect any ambroxan or ISO E Super? It seems that several newer citrus releases seem to be overloaded with one or the other.
Laura: nope…and if I had this would have been a very different review! White musk is also showing its cloying face in lots of newer citruses, too.
Oh boy.. heading over to the website
Lovestosmellgood: get ’em while they’re cool!
Down here in Arakkis (aka Portland, OR) this would go down a treat! I bet this would be just lovely on a day like today.
Ede: I feel your pain…you guys are always hotter than Seattle!
Uh oh. I just heard my wallet open.
Lucy: the clatter of a credit card falling on your table….
“Suddenly Verveine (on my person) and the delicate blossoms seemed to “communicate;” as the aromas of perfume and flowers mingled, they became stronger.”
Errrrrr, I want what he’s having?
I love the smell of verbena, but not on my skin (once had a lovely creme anglaise flavored with verbena, at Verbena on Irving Place in NYC–gone now…sadly). I have loads of jasmine frags, so one day I will sit very close to a verbena plant to see if the aromas communicate
!
Oakland Fresca: Verveine has a jasmine note…the jasmines were chatting.
(wails) I’m on a no-buy, and have been so good for so long…
(wails again) But I want this!!!
FearsMice: it’s “free” remember!