Ellen Covey at the 2013 Seattle Artisan Fragrance Salon

Ellen Covey and her perfume company Olympic Orchids has long been aligned with ÇaFleureBon and we have taken pleasure in the perfumes that she has created, watching her grow and develop as a perfumer, and seeing the way she can take an idea and make it a reality. For Tropic of Capricorn, Ellen participated in a challenge put on by Lyn Ayre of Coeur d’Esprit  natural perfumes. The challenge was to create a tropical scent that was all natural and could be worn in the winter to help lift the spirits of those missing the sun. Ellen works a lot with orchids to create some of her floral perfumes so this was a little bit of a challenge for her: for one, to work strictly with naturals and secondly to use flowers that were not orchids. She decided to avoid the common tropical scents of piña colada and coconut and some of the brighter aromas that most tropical perfumes include, to create something darker.

Henry Miller's "Tropic of Capricorn"

Another source of inspiration was Henry Miller’s sexually explosive book, “Tropic of Capricorn”, set in New York prior to his earlier “Tropic of Cancer” which revolved around his time in Paris. A prequel, so to speak. Both were banned for 30 years, until the courts deemed them literature and not pornography in 1964.  A passage the particularly struck Ellen reads: “I wanted something purely terrestrial and absolutely divested of idea. … I wanted the dark fecundity of nature, the deep well of the womb, silence, or else the lapping of the black waters of death. … To be of the night so frighteningly silent, so utterly incomprehensible and eloquent at the same time. Never more to speak or to listen or to think.” This is what she wanted the perfume to be.

Luminescent Jungle – wallpaper, artist not known

Wearing Tropic of Capricorn is almost like stepping into a primeval jungle. I immediately got the vision of dense deep foliage surrounded by gigantic prehistoric blossoms. Even the air is balmy, and dense with mist. A few perfumes I have smelled lately have given me an image of a caterpillar of scent, an outer ring of greenery, with the florals embraced but open to the air. My deeply green, mulch-covered hands are holding a beautiful selection of tropical flowers, and I like that I can smell it all together like really being in a place. I have to say that the blend of flowers in this creation is sensational, and the addition of mango is a nice touch. Maile, a plant used extensively in Hawaii, and I would guess other tropical islands, to make lei, has a wonderful wet, verdant aroma. I don't think I've seen it in perfume before, and it creates the perfect kind of green; not harsh or spiky, just rich. You can smell a bit of the sea in the salty ambergris, and there is a nice whisper of vanilla and sandalwood for the rest of the fragrance to recline on.

"Black Jungle Panther" by Devaron Jeffery

I love a good sunny tropical suntan lotion sent as much as anyone else, but I'm very intrigued by the concept of the dark tropical. To be wrapped in the night instead of the sun, to feel yourself part of the jungle, part of the rain forest. It's like roaming the night like a panther smelling all the dramatic smells that happen when many of these tropical flowers actually do come to life and puff out their most vivid aromas. I think Ellen did a really nice job on this project, challenging herself with the natural ingredients and veering in a very different direction than I would assume some of the participants in the challenge took. It was a labor of love as well, as the perfume has to go through many filtration steps and is time-consuming to make. Nice work. Sillage and longevity decent given that this is a natural perfume, which by its nature is not long-lived. Just reapply.

Notes: Hawaiian maile vine, mango, jasmine grandiflorum, jasmine sambac, frangipani, magnolia, osmanthus, tuberose, davana, oakmoss, benzoin, Africa stone, ambergris, Bourbon vanilla, and New Calidonian sandalwood.

15 ml bottle

My sample was provided by Ellen Covey. Tropic of Capricorn was released at the 2013 Seattle Artisan Fragrance Salon.

Tama Blough, Managing Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Ellen and Olympic Orchids, we have a draw for a 5 ml.  of Tropic of Capricorn worldwide to one reader. Let us know in the comments where you live, what you liked about this review, and if you have a favorite Olympic Orchids perfume. Draw closes August 9, 2014.

Editor in Chief Michelyn Camen worked in collaboration with Ellen Covey on Olympic Orchids  Sonnet XII which was specifically inspired by Pablo Neruda’s One Hundred Sonnets of Love and in Ellen's words Tropic of Capricorn is its love child.

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