Photo by Wilmark Jolindon for Wonder
There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray,
love, remember: and there is pansies. that’s for thoughts.
–Hamlet, Act IV, sc. v
Victorian Language of Flowers card, stock photo
Floriography, or the language of flowers, is a literary and cultural trope thousands of years old that employs plants as emblems of emotions which became enormously popular in the Victorian era. Pansies were meant to inspire longing; daisies, attachment; roses, true love. But for Prosody London, an all-natural, 100% sustainable fragrance brand based in London, plants are much more than a cryptic messenger of human sentiment; they are “the silent friends without which our planet would be bare and our lives unthinkable.” And they are the basis for one of the most creative, beautiful all-natural lines I’ve come across.
Keshen Teo of Prosody London
Prosody London launched in 2018 as a plant-based brand of sophisticated fragrances. True to the brand’s ethos, creative director and nose Keshen Teo has crafted a line of synthetic-free perfumes that are complex, nuanced and elegant. With stunning art that gives a nod to 1920s orientalism, Lissom Linden, Jacinth Jonquil, Rose Rondeaux, Mocha Muscari, Oud Octavo, Neroli Nuance, and Lantern Reed are all elegant, thoughtfully crafted fragrances that speak to the pure beauty of the natural world.
Photo by Konstantin Fomkin
Prosody London Mocha Muscari: One of my favourites from the collection, Mocha Muscari is an oblique coffee fragrance wrapped in woody notes and lavender. The first impression is mulchy forest ground; the smell of damp earth, dried leaves crushed underfoot, distant smoke. As these forestal notes settle down, a very dry, slightly acidic coffee note surfaces. The coffee here is less steamy brew and more unroasted bean; tangy, dry, absent sweetness. It adds an alluring piquancy while merging unobtrusively with the woody notes. The smell of green, then dried, tobacco comes center a little later on. As minutes tick by, dots of plants come through like pointillist brush marks: soapy coriander seed, soft jasmine whispering to angelica. Their presence is subtle but act to balance and soften the darker, denser notes. Ashy lavender and agarwood (oud) combine in a smoky, sooty middle stage that makes me think of darkened restaurant corners from years past, when people smoked, stayed out too late and listened to the pluck and twang of the strings in the waning hours of nighttime.
Hours later, Mocha Muscari weaves between woods and tobacco. Coffee peaks in from time to time, is coffee and sandalwood bolstered by a natural-smelling frankincense with green, minty notes. Unusual, alluring, genderless, Mocha Muscari is an inventive take on the venerable brew.
Notes: 21 ingredients including mango, lavender, black agarwood, sandalwood, linden blossom, rose, jasmine, coriander, angelica root, frankincense.
Photo by Enrique Vega for Koncierge Magazine
Prosody London Rose Rondeaux: Yes, I know, there are hundreds of beautiful rose perfumes out there. And I am not, in fact, la rose’s biggest fan. Sure, I like rose well enough, even have several rose-centric bottles. But I don’t get excited over a new rose fragrance the way I do about hyacinth, iris or a skanky jasmine. So, why, out of the gorgeous array of Prosody fragrances, single out this one? Simply because Rose Rondeaux is one of the most joyous, breathtakingly life-like roses I’ve ever come across. It is the experience of putting your entire face into the heart of the bloom. There’s not a trace of lipstick here, no jam; just the spun-silk loveliness of a rose newly opened on a hot spring day. You can almost smell it unfolding, the heat warming the fresh petals and releasing their delicate oils. Rose Rondeaux starts out sparkling and piquant as raspberry, blackcurrant and bergamot burst from the bottle with a brilliant, juicy tang. These bright, fruity notes set the stage for the the silky rose that quickly opens. Although it is not listed, I am fairly certain I smell a generous pinch of iris in the top, which sets the stage for the silky, glimmering rose at the heart of the fragrance.
The rest of the fragrance is given over to the rose, with its satiny, heartbreaking loveliness. Girded by warm patchouli, the rose seems to open slowly before me: the stemmy greenness cleverly hinted at in the blackcurrant, the powdery chamomile of the filaments, the sun-warmed head of the blossom. Labdanum reinforces the sense of warmth that permeates Rose Rondeaux. If ever there was a rose perfume to make you forget a blustery January morning, this is it.
Notes: Raspberry ketone, bergamot, rose, patchouli, blackcurrant, sandalwood, labdanum, frankincense.
Prosody London perfumes prove that all-natural compositions can, in the right hands, compete with the most advanced aroma chemicals. Seek them out. They speak from the heart.
Disclaimer: Samples of perfumes generously provided by Prosody London. My opinions are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Prosody Discovery sample set
Thanks to the generosity of Prosody London, we have a Discovery sample set for one registered reader in the U.S. or Europe. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Prosody London Mocha Muscari and Rose Rondeaux based on Lauryn’s review, where you live and which appeals to you. Draw closes 2/2/20.
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