New Fragrance Review: Olympic Orchids Peace, Love, and Perfume Collection by Ellen Covey + Little Hippies Draw

olympic PLP 3 bottles cafleurebon

Peace, Love, and Perfume bottles

There is a perfume focused group on Facebook called Peace, Love & Perfume (PLP for short), a lively community of perfumistas with Administrator and Goodsmella Carlos J. Powell at the helm. To help celebrate the third anniversary of the group, Carlos reached out to several perfumers to see if they would be willing to create perfumes on the themes of Peace (meditative incense), Love (sexy animalic) and Perfume (classic cologne with a twist). As Carlos notes: “Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids was one of the first to jump on board, and I couldn't have been more thrilled as I have loved many of her creations. When the samples arrived in my mailbox and I got my nose on them, I knew that The PLP Project had gotten off to an amazing start” Ellen’s take on the project:“I decided that the general approach should be a 1970s peace-love-and-flower-child theme, which is probably the most obvious and conventional inspiration possible, but that’s not a bad thing given the limited time I had to work on the project.”

olympic plp eldest cafleurebon

Photographer not known/uncredited website

When I first apply Peace, I get a very green, fresh fennel, which is similar to anise in flavor. We have a lot of fennel growing roadside here, and if some is crushed, the aroma is crisp and deep, almost juicy. Since there is nothing remotely licoricey in the notes, I have to suspect that it is just the way the notes play in my nose. The resinous incense is calming, and, indeed, meditative As the perfume matures on my skin, it becomes more woody and has a lovely touch of sweetness. Ellen’s concept was that Peace is the oldest sister in a trio of 1970’s love children, the serious and introspective one.

Notes: Frankincense, cedar, New Caledonian sandalwood, vetiver, double-distilled patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, tarragon, and Oregon lavender.

olympic plp middle cafleurebon

Photographer not known/Pinterest

Love is an intriguing perfume, with a similar base as Peace, but a much more floral opening. Blue Lotus is a note I haven’t had much experience with, but it has a lovely waft. I smelled quite glorious as this note sang on my skin. The wood notes got a bit animalic, but in a slightly harsh way. I do admit that it is a rare wood perfume that doesn’t turn sweaty on my skin, while my friends smell amazing in the same thing, so I can’t blame the composition at all. The drydown loses that sharpness, and the whole perfume settles nicely. This is the earthy middle child, exploring her world.

Notes: Blue lotus, sandalwood, frankincense, benzoin, humid air, vanilla, musks, tarragon.

olympic plp youngest cafleuerebon

Photographer not known/Pinterest

Perfume is the cologne with a twist, and twist it does. It goes on the skin transparently, and defies gravity by lightening the woods and resins so they float above the skin. A little squirt of grapefruit tickles the nose and like pink grapefruit with a bit of sugar sprinkled on, adds a nicely fruity sweetness. An aromatic lavender, barely a ghost of scent, helps to keep the whole composition lifted. The youngest child is the most free-spirited. This one is sure to beat the heat of Indian Summer, and Ellen says she wore it frequently during the warm August of Washington State.

Notes: Cedar, benzoin, vetiver, frankincense, pine wood fraction, myrtle, airy notes, Oregon lavender, pink grapefruit.

This set of perfumes are made to wear alone or combined. I have all of them on, and I can say blending would be fun. They are all unique and well-made, although my favorite could be Perfume, and I suggest trying them all.

olympic plp ellen covey cafleurebon

Perfumer Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids

My samples were graciously provided by Ellen Covey at Olympic Orchids. These limited-edition fragrances will be offered as a 30 ml EdP spray for $50 (a set of all three for $120) and as 5-ml travel spray parfum for $18 (a set of all three for $45). The 30 ml bottles will be issued as a numbered set of 50 or as many as are sold in one year, whichever point comes first. The 5-ml travel sprays will also be sold for one year from the date of release.

Tama Blough, Managing Editor

Thanks to Ellen Covey, we have a great draw : For a reader in the US  you can win a full 30 ml bottle of  your choice or a 5-ml parfum travel set of Peace, Love and Perfume. Our internation readers are eligible for the travel set only.  Please leave a comment stating which of these you would want to win, where you live and which Olympic Orchids fragrance you enjoy. Draw ends September 9, 2014.

We announce the winners only on site and our Facebook page, so like CaFleureBon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will just be spilled perfume.

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48 comments

  • Lovely review. Each one of the celebratory trio sounds so enchanting. If pushed to choose, I’d have to say “LOVE” because of that magical note Blue Lotus. The children images are magnificent. I’m Canadian. I’m also proud to say a member of the wonderful group PLP.

  • Thanks for your generosity, Ellen Covey! Lovely reviews and these sound good, I like the premise. I’d like to give Peace a chance, see what I did there 😉

  • PLP is a great idea and it would be great to know what other perfumers create for this. I would choose Love, because of the blue lotus. I’m curious about the humid air note also. US

  • Fabulous review, I am excited to try these.I think my choice would be Love, but Perfume sounds lovely also. Either way its a win win 🙂 thanks for the amazing draw!

  • hotlanta linda says:

    Thank you for the mini-histories on each scent! Tough to choose, but I`ll go w/ Love for the moment…This is a “family fun“ for grown-ups project! lol!!

  • Great review!

    I would love any of these; I suppose I would choose Peace.
    My favorite perfume by Olympic Orchids is Lil, which was part of the Dev project.

  • I love the creations of Ellen! I know this was an exciting project for Carlos as well as the perfumers that participated. Hard choice as to which I would enjoy I thinking all three, since I live in the US I must choose only one which would be Love. That doesn’t mean I won’t be ordering a travel set of my own.

  • Georgette Villareal says:

    Thank you for writing this beautiful review. I am especially interested in trying peace, but the descriptions of each of the PLP scents sound enchanting. It is an exciting project.

  • Great review, i loved the photographs you used, especially the one of Love. I think that Peace or Perfume would be my choice. While I have lurked on the olympic orchid site quite a bit, I haven’t actually smelled the fragrances yet.

  • I would love to try Peace. I have not yet tried Olympic Orchids brand. I adore the name.A travel set sounds like a fantastic way to get the feel for all three. I am in the US

  • Thanks for the wonderful review and the generous offering! I would love to try Peace first, but eventually all 3! My current loves are Blackbird and Olympic Amber. I live in Iowa. Thanks again!

  • It is really hard to want to test only one from these three as they all share some of my favourite ingredients. However, Peace has some of my big loves (incense, sandalwood, patchouli) and that is the one that caught my attention instantly.

    I live in Eu. Thanks for the draw and the article!

  • Would love to try them all, but am most drawn to Peace. I live in northern Maine and am a happy member of PLP. I haven’t tried any Olympic Orchids fragrances yet…

  • I would love to try the sample set, they all sound very worth sniffing. I’m in MA and my favorite OO scents are Red Cattleya, Golden Cattleya, and Osafume.

  • GREAT review Tama!! I would like to try Peace. I live in the U.S. and have not sampled any of Ellen’s scents. Thanks for the draw!

  • Barbara Fox-Hajj-Houssien says:

    Love has all of my favorite notes, so Love would be the obvious choice, but the ‘woody and sweet’ Peace sounds beautiful also, and I love a good grape fruit note. Perfume sounds very interesting. I would love a travel set! I am in Michigan, USA, and I am a member of PLP.

  • Finally! A winning game, where can to win the internation readers to. The article is lovely, but I was never try Olympic Orchids. I would like to win the travel set.
    I live in Europe.

  • I was never try any of Olympic Orchids perfumes. I like the review. I would like to win the travel set, I suppose all three are lovely.
    I’m from Europe.

  • I had never try Olympic Orchids fragrance, but I want to try for a long while, because I read their website. I read that these perfumes are all naturals, and I very love natural perfumes. My choice would be the travel set.
    I live in Europe.

  • what a great title for a group online and even better for perfume! Peace, Love and Perfume. had i believed in santa claus as a child- this would have compromised my wish list every year.

    i am so proud of the PNW perfumers! they are a force to be reckoned with- a glorious rising of aromatic art.

    yet, i have not had a chance to tango with Olympic Orchids and so i would be very interested in the sampler set!

    thank you Tama, your reviews are sheer delight (and so many natural/mixed media artists!! yea!) and of course, the draw.

    i reside in the usa.

  • Everyone sounds lovely so I choose the sample set.
    My absolute favorite of the line is Dev #1 🙂 USA

  • These sound like so much fun! I think either Perfume or Love would be beautiful (not a fan of anything licorice). I’ve never had the pleasure of wearing any of the fragrances from Olympic, but I’d love to try. US resident. Thanks!

  • I’m in the EU so I’d like to try the sample set.
    It’s an interesting project, it would be nice to see how the scents match the concepts.

  • Perfume or Peace would be my pick. I’m also from PLP and hoping that my name would be picked. May this be my first Olympic Orchid fragrance. Thanks a lot.

  • I think Peace would be my choice (although now I’m really curious to know what blue lotus smells like!). I’ve never tried an OO scent, but many sound tempting. I’m in the US; thanks for the draw.

  • The 30 ml of Peace would absolutely be my choice. I’m in the US, and I really like Siam Proun. Thanks for the draw!

  • Love this! I would choose PEACE! Great review, and awesome concept. I’m in the U.S. and really have been enjoying Gujarat.

  • What an interesting project! The few perfumes of Ms. Covey I have tried have been really lovely. I can’t decide so I think I’d try the travel set if I was the winner. I am in the US. Thanks for the draw!

  • Tama thank you so much to and Cafleurebon for this well thought out and beautifully written feature. I absolutely loved it. Your support is very much appreciated xoxo

  • sillage2infinity says:

    I adore Javanica sooo much, can’t wait to try these. Of these, Peace sounds most likely to appeal to me.

    The 5-ml parfum travel set of Peace, Love and Perfume should fate shine on me, please.

  • What a generous gift, and a great way to be introduced to what sound like my next favorite fragrance “PERFUME”. I can’t wait to start trying all the fragrances. Thank you for the gift.

  • Interesting concept! Out of the three, the one I think I will like the most is Peace. Sandalwood and incense – a dream!

    I live in Europe. Thanks for the draw!

  • Kyphi is the Scent I know and love. I haven’t tried the other scents yet. I love the concept of these perfume. If I am lucky enough to win, I would love to have the Travel Set. I live in Michigan.

  • I think much like Carlos. I’m very happy to read this lovely review but for me it represents a lot more, it’s a great support to The PLP Project I’ve been following. As I love Olympic Orchids perfumes and these three are made to wear them also combined, I just need all three to see Ellen’s full concept of The PLP Project. Arizona, Carolina, California Chocolate, Sonnet XVII are some of my favorites. I’m in Croatia. Thank you.

  • I love Ellen Covey’s work and would really love to smell Perfume. I live in Washington state and love Ballet Rouges.

  • I leave quite a few favorite OO scents but I think the Devs and Tropic of Capricorn are my favorites. Will probably like Peace best-I love a good incense- but Doc Elly’s scents always surprise me and I could be wrong. I’m in the US and would prefer the set. Thanks.

  • I enjoyed this review and the description for each perfume and I would love to have Love from what I have read. I live in EU and I have not yet experienced any of the Olympic Orchids perfumes.
    Thank you for this lovely review and draw.

  • I’d like to try (and hopefully win) PERFUME; I live in the US. Of those I’ve tried from Olympic Orchids’ line, I like Bay Rum.

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    i would love to win the sample set since it would be fun to experiment with layering,..i notice the common thread of frankincense through all three which makes them perfect for fall and winter..i am in the US and my favorite creation from Ellen Covey is Blackbird. Thanks Ellen for your generosity!

  • What a lovely group name
    My favorite from Ellen are sonnet xii, Seattle chocolate and golden cattelya
    I would like to win the sampler

  • I think I would enjoy Love. I have not tried any Olympic Orchards yet. I am from the EU. Thanks for the draw!

  • Cynthia Richardson says:

    I have not yet had the pleasure of wearing an Olympic Orchids fragrance, but have had my eye on Arizona. I know I would enjoy the scents of acacia and sagebrush. I live in the US and would like to win the 5-ml parfum travel set of Peace, Love and Perfume.

  • Thanks for the chance to know another natural perfumer! I qualify for the travel set only, but it would be great if I win, and I guess that I would like Love the most!
    I have never tried anything from Olympic Orchids, and I really wish I win this set.
    I am in the EU, Bulgaria.

  • sourlemonzest says:

    I guess I have no choice in the matter as I only qualify for the travel set but I’d like to try Perfume most (although Peace comes a close second). I have yet to try anything from Olympic Orchids but I was interested in Siam Proun based on notes. I am from the EU

  • “…cologne with a twist” and “most free-spirited”, not to mention the cedar and vetiver – a 30 ml bottle of Perfume is definitely the one for me.

    I live in the U.S. but haven’t had the opportunity to try any of Olympic Orchids fragrances yet. I will say that the description of Dev One has intrigued me ever since I first read it.

  • My favorite Olympic Orchids fragrance is Gujarat.

    I would like to try Perfume. I live in the US. Thanks,