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Post by Poodle
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Hey APJ,
I was recently sent a lovely box of samples from the 1st Festival of Indie Perfumery in Russia. The non-commercial event is creative exchange between Russian Perfumers and bloggers and reviewers who love perfume. It’s a way of sharing Russian Indie perfumery with the world and was organized by Anna Zworykina. Anna has been making perfume for more than 15 years and has published a book in Russian about natural perfumery. The theme of the event was “Rose and Water” and all the perfumes were created during a six week time period with that theme in mind. There were 18 perfumers who participated and the perfumes covered every aspect of the theme. Some were all natural, others natural and synthetic. It was interesting to sniff so many interpretations of roses and water. The perfumers really managed to show the versatility of roses.
So I picked out my favourite five to highlight for you.
Everything’s Coming Up Russian Roses
Festival of Indie Perfumery in Russia 2015
Pool by Anastasia Denisenkova.
Pool is a bright juicy rose perfume with Rose de Mai, Rose Otto, and Rosa Damascena. It’s highlighted with melon and ozonic notes and grounded with amber, musk, and oakmoss. Melon can be a difficult note for a lot of people but it really does help to give a watery feel to the perfume. Imagine rose petals floating on crystal blue water and you’ve got Pool.
Ophelia by Art of Perfume
This one is an herbal interpretation of roses and water. They could have called it noir if they wanted. It smells like the blackness of water in the moonlight. Walking along the bank there’s the crush of wormwood, lavender, and daisies underfoot, the brush of rose blossoms against you as you pass by. Resins and fir balsam add more darkness and earthiness. I love how this one reminded me of absinthe because of the wormwood.
Winter Rose by Anna Zworykina
The snow might be fluffy but this rose is not powdery at all. The rose’s scent is tempered by the snow. I can smell an almost citrusy sweetness. Although its called Winter Rose it’s not cold or metallic but warm and ambery. Starts cool and frosty but warms to a bouquet seen through Russian amber.
Rose Garden After the Rain byAnna Vtyurina
Think of the rosiest rose you’ve ever smelled. This is a big rose perfume. It opens with a bold citrus and rose. It’s juicy and watery, crisp and green. On me there’s a little tough of mintiness but it’s barely there so I could be mistaken. Remember when those bouquets of roses from the florists actually smelled like roses? This is that smell. The bouquet, the fern green filler, the water in the vase. Early summer bottled.
Marilyn’s Kiss by Galina Anni
This perfume isn’t as rosy as some of the others but was really fun to smell. There’s just enough mint to give it a watery feel along with some citrus. At the heart of it the rose blends with ylang-ylang and fruits. It’s sweet but not like a fruit punch. It’s creamier than that. It’s vanilla pudding with rose petals and buttery ylang-ylang. I didn’t expect to like this but the mint and ylang really make it work.
I’m so happy I got the opportunity to sample all the perfumes from this event. It was interesting to see how each perfumer approached the theme. I hope this will be the first of many such festivals.
Hugs
Poodle