New Perfume Review: Phoenix Botanicals Ella by Irina Adam + Heavenly Hyacinth Draw

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Top Row:  vintage natural perfume essences

Bottom Row Irina Adam and Ella Perfume

If I could save time in a bottle, I'd probably do what Anne Arden McDonald did and hand it over to the able nose of Irina Adam, botanical perfumer behind Phoenix Botanicals. A treasure trove of antique plant and flower extracts found in a friend's basement became the materials behind Irina's latest offering, Ella.

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Hyacinth and Apollo Watercolor  image delillahdesanges

Ella is comprised of a vintage hyacinth and tobacco absolute blend found among the historical bottles- the very holy grail of perfumistas searching out the authentic and obscure. While immediately conjuring an era gone by, and perhaps a nod to the famous PBS queen of Etiquette, Hyacinth Bucket- there is a quality to hyacinth which proves the quantum theory that “all time is now.” Even the lauded Valerie Ann Worwood explains in her book, The Fragrant Heavens*, “Carrying souls across the divide between heaven and earth is the task of hyacinth.” This esoteric property is exactly what occurred when Irina first encountered the aroma: it brought back a memory of her childhood secretly indulging in cosmetics left in a wooden cabinet.

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Ella Weiss 1940 Irina's grandmother

Upon further investigation of the olfactive memory, she discovered the forgotten toiletries were those belonging to the deceased grandmother she never met… the one whose namesake she carries, Ella Irina. “The dark, viscous vintage essences from the 1920's-40's transported me to 5 years old, and a high up wood cabinet that opened with a waft of its contents- mid century perfume, makeup and cigarettes….” Irina explained and so it was for me as well. An instant lift of powered hyacinth opens the bottled passage in time, reminiscent of the punch of an aldehyde, somewhat cold and intriguing, polite and out of place. Unlike a synthetic based vintage, Irina's modern approach allows newer botanicals to give Ella a warming movement, as if brought back to life from the ravages of time.

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Victor Gabriel Gilbert Arranging Flowers for a Spring Bouquet

Vintage Hay and a bouquet of flowers including gardenia and jasmine work symbiotically to arrange the feeling of a human touch, as perhaps grandmother Ella had a very living hand in the process of creation. Clover, vetiver and moss add to the base of this vintage meets modern elixir and extend it's aged aromatics, which Irina worked quickly to fix into the perfume as they were rapidly oxidizing upon opening.

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Photo of Hyacinths blooming in NYC-Irina Adam

Not so Ella, the perfume and the woman who play all kinds of tricks with time to deliver a gentle and loving memory, floral and warm, crossing time and eras with it's unique mixture of past and present. A perfume which begins with the rare hyacinth from the past to exalted florals of the present, and ending in the warmth of nostalgia and living craft.

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Ella is understandably very limited in production, with only mere milliliters remaining, we are very lucky to have the pleasure of experiencing the ephemeral art.

Notes: Galbanum, vintage Hyacinth, Tahitian Gardenia, Ylang Ylang, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Clove, Vanilla, Tobacco, Sweet Clover, vintage Vetiver, vintage Hay, sustainable Sandalwood, Moss.

 

-Einsof, Natural Perfume Editor

(my sample was provided by Phoenix Botanicals for review.)

 

*Published as Aromatherapy for the Soul in North America

 

Thanks to the generosity of Phoenix Botanicals, we have 1mL of the rare Ella for a US registered reader. To be eligible please leave a comment with why you would like to win and if you have a favorite vintage scent. Draw ends 6/19/2015

We announce the winner’s only onsite and on our Facebook page, so Like CaFleureBon and use our RSS option…..or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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18 comments

  • I would so love to win this. This perfume has some of my favorite scents – gardenia, jasmine, and hyacinth.
    I don’t have a favorite incense scent – if I would have to choose, it would be something vanilla-like. Plain. Incense sometimes comes across too strong for me.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • What an odd coincidence. I have been looking for a hyacinth based scent. They seem to be almost impossible to find. I would love to try this but am afraid it would be a case of loved and lost since there seems to be only one bottle left on her site. I hesitate to do blind buys. I have never found an incense scent that I like and have given up on them. US.

  • MikasMinion says:

    I’m afraid to fall in love with this one but it sounds beautiful so I would love to try it. My favorite incense perfume is probably Incense Pure but I like several quite a lot.

  • Wow! How amazing that she found her namesake’s scent! Seems rather like destiny. I would really love to try this and see this melding of old and new. I remember trying an Aftel incense I loved, but I cannot remember it now. I also love Anya’s White Smoke which I believe is an incense. Thanks for the draw.

  • fazalcheema says:

    i am interested in this perfume, especially due to hyacinth note…i have some vintage and i was reading something about Piver that hyacinth was quite a norm in creations of the early 20th century..this looks like something that does pay hommage to classic creations..my favorite incense creation is Gucci Pour Homme I. thanks a lot for the draw. I am in the US

  • ringthing says:

    I enjoyed reading this, what a treasure trove to discover! It would make a great short story. The ephemeral nature of hyacinth makes me want to smell the richness and depth of Ella. My favorite vintage perfume in my collection is Habanita perfume. The Lalique bottle and rich smooth skank underneath the powder makes me feel like a naughty flapper when I wear it. Thanks for the review and generous opportunity.

  • I enjoyed reading about the stash of vintage oils and that is why I am curious to try Ella with the vintage Hyacinth . I am not familiar with Irina’s work.

    My favorite vintage scent would be my vintage collection of essential oils and absolutes I have. I have a 70 year old cedarwood I like.

  • thegoddessrena says:

    Ooh hyacinth. Something you just don’t see often in perfumes. My favorite vintage scent is either Bois des Iles extrait or my teeny little bottle of 1940s Jungle Gardenia extrait

  • Why, I want to win because I want to experience the perfume, of course.
    My parents in law have quite a large perfume bottle collection. which doesn’t interest me, but lately I started searching more deeply, and found some treasures. my favorite is Femme by Roudnitska for Rochas
    Hemla

  • winterlude says:

    What a beautiful and romantic story!
    I haven’t got my hot little hands on any vintage perfumes, yet I’ve only tried the reformulations on offer at sample and decant sites.

    I’d love to try vintage Mitsouko and Shalimar, and this of course.

  • Thought it worth mentioning “Keeping Up Appearences”, the program which features the character Hyacinth Bucket (“Bouquet!”) is actually a BBC production and is shown on PBS in the USA.

    cheers all!

  • Oh, I’d love to win this because I’ve suddenly become obsessed with fragrance, and everything sounds marvelous to me. My (current) favorite vintage scent is the only one I own: my mother’s stash of Chanel No. 5. I live in the U.S.

  • Aromas that resurrect the past is one of the main reasons I admire and love parfumery and this blend sounds like thee quintessential vintage essence. My current favorite vintage scent is simple violets, because they remind me of my dear grandmother Anne.

  • I do like the vintage Shalimar. My sister used to wear it a lot and so I have an association with it on a personal level. I would love to try this rare fragrance, almost too rare to even use. That is the dilema I see that the winner might have.The notes, exquisite..nostalgia, florals..what a blend. I am a US registered reader.Thank you for this generosity.

  • I would like to win this fragrance because vintage hyacinth and tobacco remind me of my grandmother’s house. My favorite vintage scent is Coty Emeraude.

  • JazzBelle says:

    I’ve been searching for a hyacinth perfume forever! This perfume sounds gorgeous, especially combined with tobacco. It’s fascinating how an olfactory memory can be tied to such important moments and people in our lives.

    I’m in the USA, have liked the CaFleureBon Facebook page, and my favorite vintage perfume is Jungle Gardenia.

  • I used to watch “Keeping Up Appearences”, the program which features the character Hyacinth Bucket (“Bouquet!”) and that was the first thing I thought of! The second was actual hyacinths and greek myths.

    I would love to try Ella because of the associations–layering old and new, reaching through time forward and backward to connect–and also because it would be a privilege to try such a rare and beautiful botanical. I love real hyacinths and hay and have never tried a perfume like this one!

    Vintage…hmm…My grandmother had a few teeny vials or perfume that I loved–Shalimar parfum the most. And Caron Bellodgia.

    USA, thank you for the review and draw!