Today, I tackle six more Floraïku perfumes; for an introduction to the line, see yesterday’s Part I.
Sound of a Ricochet (vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood) “A red dragonfly under the burning sky, the sound of a ricochet.”
What a great name: Sound of a Ricochet. I expected something sharp, startling, so I was surprised at the warm notes listed for this scent. This is a cuddly, wool-y scent, with creamy vanilla and tonka bean…
Floraïku came to my attention not because I smelled one of its fragrances but because I saw one of its bottles; beware beautiful packaging. Floraïku is an offshoot of the niche line Memo Paris and its perfumes are inspired by Japan. At present, Floraïku has 19 perfumes (two of which are “ShadowingTM” fragrances — more on those later). According to the Floraïku website, the perfumes were developed by Aliénor Massenet or Sophie Labbé and each perfume supposedly contains more than 50% naturals (not sure any agency monitors such claims).
Floraïku fragrances are arranged in groupings: Forbidden Incense | Kodo — Sound of a Ricochet, My Shadow on the Wall, My Love Has the Color of the Night; Enigmatic Flowers | Ikebana — I See the Clouds Go By, Cricket Song, First Dream of the Year; Secret Teas and Spices | O Cha — The Moon and I, I Am Coming Home, One Umbrella for Two; Light Shadow — Sleeping on the Roof; Dark Shadow — Between Two Trees. Each scent has a poem attached to the perfume and comes in a gorgeous bottle/10 ml travel spray combo (presented in a bento box). Eight of Floraïku’s perfumes are missing from my two posts this week: Just A Rose, Ao, The Mountain Standing Still, Flowers Turn Purple, In the Rain, Wind in my Hand ($755!), In the Dark and Surprise…
If you read any quantity of perfume writing, you probably know that the Japanese have a reputation for loving light, almost-not-there perfumes. Notes in such Japanese-beloved/Japan-inspired scents are often citrus-y — or watery: water lily, lotus, cyclamen, tulip and the like. The perfumes I’m writing about today are made by companies based in Japan; I was curious if they would fit the “supposed” Japanese scent target.
[by perfumer Satori Osawa: listed fragrance notes of melon, bergamot, galbanum, magnolia, iris, jasmine, tuberose, rose, ylang-ylang, chamomile, miso, kogashi-shōyu (‘burned’ soy sauce) , beeswax, sandalwood, cedar, mitarashi (sweet soy sauce)]
Read Hana Hiraku’s list of notes and you’d expect a powerhouse. Hana Hiraku certainly has one of the most interesting openings I’ve smelled in ages: a combo of realistic muskmelon, ramen and thick soy sauce (a salty-sweet delight). If the perfume stopped right there, I’d be a customer ASAP. But Hana Hiraku still has some interesting developments in store…
This week, I’m enjoying my “home-away-from home” — California. I’m trying to stay outdoors as much as possible, and I plan on enjoying the desert and the ocean. Today finds me in Palm Springs, and if all goes as planned, when this review posts, I’ll be on horseback, riding through Murray Canyon in gorgeous weather.
I’ve been heartened recently at fragrance companies who give back to their communities by sharing some of their profits for great causes…
Bees. One of life’s essentials. I’m thankful my garden in Seattle has swarms of bees in summer, gorging on flowers and filling the air with their hypnotizing buzzes. My mailman is not so happy with their sounds or numbers along the path to my front door, and he often employs the “drop (packages) and run” maneuver in high summer (used most often with snarling dogs, but in my case, with bees).
One of my favorite perfumes of all time was a honey fragrance: eccentric, bold, with a “I have no more f**ks to give!” character. Yes, it was Serge Lutens Miel de Bois (beloved by the most discerning, intelligent and delightful people on this earth…like Robin here at NST and myself). Miel de Bois has been reformulated, so Robin’s review no longer has a perfume to match its words…