COMPLICATED FLOWERS

"Simple as a flower, and that's a complicated thing..."~ Love & Rockets


The SOLIFLORE ~ is a scent that focuses on highlighting the specific beauty of one particular flower or dominant note.

For several years, I have had a special project brewing that I love to escape to whenever I need to activate my imagination and get my creative juices flowing. This is a collection of Soliflores ("Solifleurs" in French)...

Soliflores, are unique interpretations of generally familiar scents. All though Soliflores are often referred to as "single note" perfumes, they are actually constructed of many notes that are carefully blended together to create the illusion of solidarity. In other words, these ladies & gents are some Complicated Flowers!



Soliflores like all perfumes, need to tell a complete story. They must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. As the theme of this story, there is a specific single flower or dominant note (Tuberose, Orange Blossom, Narcissus, Patchouli, Amber, Etc.). Each stage of the fragrance (opening,soul,dry down), should remind us in some way, of that specific theme.



My end goal with this project, is to have a Soliflore Collection completed that can be worn in layered combinations with each other. One of the biggest challenges I am finding as I progress on this project, is in keeping the story of each fragrance simple enough to be able to contribute to the layering side of this project... The way I have been able to deal with this, is to pick a certain aspect of my chosen theme to correspond with each stage of each Perfume. For instance, my Tuberose Soliflore AKA LIL' NICO (Les Bohemes Collection,) begins with the slightly green aspect of a Tuberose bud, next comes the sticky-sweet honeyed soul note of a Tuberose flower in full bloom, with a dry-down note that captures the lush creaminess of a Tuberose flower in full blossom wafting her intoxicating narcotic ambrosia.



Most recently, I've been working on a Narcissus Soliflore. This one begins with a bit of spice that is quickly enveloped in a heady Blond Tobacco bitter sweetness that swirls like a dervish,ending in a smokey narcotic,indolic haze that's so addicting I can't stop sniffing myself (Perfume Narcissism!)

As I daydream during the creation process, each of these perfumes is beginning to take on the personality of a special iconic personage that in some mysterious, almost alchemical way, seems to embody particular aspects of each flower, (guess who my NARCISSUS is?) They are like lucid dreams, whispering to me of enchantments & mysteries that are too extravagant and surreal for normal waking life. These special Perfumes have come to represent living, breathing works of art that exist behind the shadows of reality... I feel indulgent, even extravagant, each time that I daub one on my wrist... For they are in effect, the precious essence of a unique being that longs to be treasured and savored on special occasions that warrant celebration & remembrance!... After all, is not each of us in their own way, a Complicated Flower?



SOTD: ~Narcissus Soliflore AKA GOLD DIGGER (LES BOHEMES COLLECTION)
KEY NOTES: Narcissus Absolute,Orange Blossom Absolute,Blond Tobacco,Hedione




TASTY TID-BIT #1: Marlene Dietrich was an infamous Narcissist. When shooting a film she always insisted on having a full length mirror placed next to the camera so that she could make sure that she was lit perfectly. She knew she had the right angle when the tip of her nose cast the shadow of a reverse butterfly...





TASTY TID-BIT#2: Fittingly to my Theme of Marlena D., Narcissus is the most popular flower in Germany. A spring-flowering bulb, Narcissus is the name of a genus which includes flower bulbs like Daffodils, Jonquils, Paperwhites and so forth. Narcissi (plural form of Narcissus) are easily grown from bulbs.... The word Narcissus is derived from the Greek word narke,meaning numbness or stupor. Some attribute the naming of the flower to its narcotic fragrance while others debate that it is associated with the poisonous nature of the Narcissus bulbs. According to classical mythology, a young lad Narcissus was so enamored with himself that he stared at his reflection in a pool of water until he eventually turned into his namesake flower. And this is how Narcissus flowers came into being!