On the Radar: Editions Perfumes She Came To Stay- New Fragrance Review + Simone de Beauvoir Draw

Timothy Han of Edition Perfumes (polaroid photos Agnieszka Trzoch)

Speaking with Ann Onusko of Indigo Perfumery about how she selects and curates fragrances for her perfume boutique in Cleveland and the even greater task of importing fragrances from around the world, including the ever increasingly restrictive UK- our conversation finally turned from politics to art and she spoke highly of a new British natural perfumer and conspired to send me a sample. Let me share what Ann's curating nose has discovered for you: East London's Timothy Han is the founder of Edition Perfumes. A natural artisan perfumery house based on the existential quandary: can a natural perfume every be made twice outside the same batch of raw materials? When the batch of rose oil from 1992 is gone, is the perfume made with that oil the same when rose oil from 2002 is used? Unlike synthetic counterparts, botanical ingredients carry the scent of the season in which they were grown. “Natural ingredients vary from season to season and crop to crop. This can affect the fragrance in minute ways. It's the reason why some perfume aficionados seek out specific years of a perfume's production. Thus the concept of Edition Perfumes was born.”

Simone de Beauvoir wrote She Came To Stay in 1943; Edition Perfumes bottle

She Came to Stay, the debut fragrance based on the novel by Simone de Beauvoir (1943), is a unisex, woody fougere fragrance which “…tells the story about our perceptions of a world on the edge of change and the evolving nature of our relationships with those close to us.” A muted cedar wood briefly announces the clove and patchouli accord, almost floral with the addition of nutmeg. When basil herbed lemon and geranium start to lift the heady and healthy dosing of oakmoss, there is the fern or barber shop aroma (depending on who you ask)- hallmark of a classic fougere. The combination of astringent geranium and tart lemon keep the fougere fresh and clean- a maneuver away from men's stand-bys and the powdery Victorian places the aroma family can be directed. The green accord has longevity far beyond what is typically expects of a natural perfume and will eventually burn off to a labdanum and vetiver layer, at least on my skin… at this moment in time.

Top: (L) Courteneh,Polly

Bottom: Kim, Paulina, Rosario

As much a story about knowing yourself as it is about knowing others- She Came to Stay is a perfume about knowing the subtleties of your own skin. About what is absorbed, what is projected- in heat, in cold and in the transitions of the environment around you. Used as standard or daring discovery of the fougere aroma family or as suggested by Edition Perfumes- this could be the adaptive base from which you layer your own personal scent story. (Inviting their sophomore offering to be perfectly layered upon the first Edition Perfume.)

notes: top notes of geranium, basil and lemon, a heart of Indonesian clove, nutmeg and cedar wood and a base of patchouli, vetiver, labdanum and oakmoss.

–Einsof, Natural Perfume Editor

(disclosure: my sample was provided by Indigo Perfumery for review.)

Writer's Note: The First Edition of this perfume is limited to only 500 bottles. Kirtland Ash, an artist from Oregon for the packaging uses primarily collage, fusing text and images on paper to explore the human form. For this First Edition, #001, Ash produced only five different print designs, Courteneh, Kim, Paulina, Polly and on vinyl with a run of only 100 each for a total of 500 perfumes.

Although She Came to Stay is only available in the UK through Edition Perfumes website, Brown's of London and Content of London. Thanks to Ann at Indigo Perfumery, and her desire to share hard to find perfume with ÇaFleureBon readers, we have one rare sample for a US reader. To be eligible please leave a comment with what intrigues you about Einsof's review, Edition Perfumes and why you would want to win She Came To Stay. Draw closes 2/25/2015

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize wil be just spilled perfume

10 comments

February 23, 2015 at 1:10 am
taffyj says:
This intrigues me because the fragrance combines two of my favorite things: perfume and books. (I read Simone de Beauvoir’s book “Second Sex’ years ago.) I think the perfume is aptly titled, since its concept is to know your own skin. Very generous of Ann to share her sample.
February 23, 2015 at 5:31 am
Fazal Cheema says:
I share the author’s sadness regarding the difficulty of getting perfumes from UK..i used to get lot of perfumes such as Richard James SAvile Row and Theo Fennell Scent so i really hate this new royal post restriction. I am interested in She Came to Stay because it focuses on the uniqueness of our body chemistries. thanks so much for the draw. I am in the US
February 23, 2015 at 9:40 am
Violet says:
As a philosophy student, I’m in love with the idea of perfume editions! The comment on how a fragrance exists in a different form with each batch made me think of how Beauvoir studied Hegel, who talks about moments as “appearing” and “vanishing” – we can never really understand a moment except upon reflection, and by the time we understand it, it’s already changed. The metaphysics of perfume is serious stuff.
February 23, 2015 at 10:07 am
Ferris Ègoïste says:
What a concept, combining perfume with the literary prowess of books. Wonderful. I am one to try a new woody fougere perfume and it being a natural and hard to get in the states makes it a double whammy! Im in the US. Thanks for the draw!
February 23, 2015 at 9:13 pm
Carol W says:
I found it very interesting that different years or editions of perfumes could vary slightly. I never thought about it much but absolutely, a natural scent would change slightly based on whatever year’s product is used, much like wine. I’ve only tried a couple English perfumes and have loved them, and I do agree that they are hard to get. I would love to win/try this perfume as I love many of the notes – basil, lemon, cloves, bergamot. Sounds wonderful and something both my husband and I would love. I’m in the US, thanks for the draw!
February 23, 2015 at 11:17 pm
shopperdoc says:
I think of drawing the analogy between the composition of the natural perfumes of different vintages, and the appreciation of wines and the concept of terroir, the characteristics in which the ingedient (plant) grows, which makes every harvest distinctive. Then the skin is another modifying environment of the composition. One has many more chances to discover the character of She Came To Stay than of a bottle of wine! Thank you for this opportunity. I’m in the U.S.
February 24, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Patty P. says:
I’m always intigued in these review by what books or artwork are chosen to be part of the fragrance story. I like this is natural and unisex. The notes are all ones among my favorites. I’m liking geranium more and more. 🙂 US.
February 24, 2015 at 7:49 pm
cynthia says:
I find the topnotes of geranium basil and lemon and interesting starting point. USA
February 25, 2015 at 1:28 pm
Cynthia Richardson says:
I am always intrigued by a rare fragrance and Einsof’s review of Edition Perfumes was interesting in that I too have wondered how can a natural perfume every be made twice outside the same batch of raw materials. I would like to win She Came To Stay to try it as an adaptive base from which I layer my “own personal scent story.”
February 25, 2015 at 8:44 pm
Holly F. says:
I’m intrigued by Einsof’s description that “She Came to Stay is a perfume about knowing the subtleties of your own skin.” I’d love to win this to explore such subtleties. Thanks, I’m in the US.