Floris shop,89 JermynStreet
There are a number of claimants to the title of oldest heritage perfumer, but Floris, founded in the heart of old London town in 1730 by Juan Famenias Floris, a native of Menorca, is in fact the oldest established continually producing independent scent house in the UK. The flagship store is located in Jermyn Street, Piccadilly in the same building where Juan Floris founded his original business. With an incredibly rich and detailed archive Floris in many ways epitomises the rigours of classical English style cologne-based perfume, born out of Juan Floris’s homesickness for the refreshing citrus notes of his homeland.
Juan Floris
Floris is a byword for vintage style and grace, the fragrances retain an effortless capture of antique with a blending of modernity and offbeat eccentricity that doesn’t stray too far from the ancestral motherlode. They still make Stephanotis, originally made in 1786, a pillowy dose of orange blossom, carnation and an endless landscape of powered white musks. The Limes from 1832 is a HUGE bitter shudder of lime nicely played with petit grain and a weird ozonic effect like cold sea air. I was a huge fan of Malmasion, originally made in the early 19th century, and re-orchestrated in 2000, warm and sexy, cinnamon, cloves, musky patchouli and a heady almost cloying aftertow of indolic ylang. Really it was Oscar Wilde’s infamous green carnation boutonnière, rebellious and theatrical, demanding erotic attention under the guise of dressed up reputability. Sadly it is no more.
Floris is a gentle house; the fragrances regarded perhaps as a little old-fashioned, secure. Nothing will shriek or reek. Yet in recent years, the house has quietly done things a little differently, smartening up the lines, sharpening up the marketing and launching some intriguing fragrances. The Private Collection includes Madonna of the Almonds, an Italian inspired almond blossom scent launched in tandem with the acclaimed novel by Marina Fiorato, a love story of art and beauty set in Renaissance Italy and Mahon Leather, an eau de parfum inspired by the redolent tang of horse tack, saffron and the local liqueur Calent on the Isle of Menorca, birthplace of Juan Floris.
Now we have two wonderfully atmospheric fragrances, Honey Oud and Leather Oud, originally Harrods exclusives, created to showcase a particularly refined handling of precious oud wood. I know one could argue that oud scents have become ubiquitous to the pint of absurdity. Yet, the Agarwood Express shows no sign of stopping and it’s true, when moulded with skill, oud still dazzles and seduces. It’s warm, skanky animalic reach seems to trigger some primal urge within us to inhale and crave. I like my ouds sweet and rosy, perhaps a lick of chocolate. So this duo of gilded, hidebound eaux de parfums really appealed to me.
The Honey Oud is my favourite of the two, tawny and golden with a glowing waxen drag on the skin. Great texture and projection, a drop of marmalade-tinted bergamot in the top preventing too much sugared excess. The honey just drips beautifully over the rosaceous oud, opulent and just sticky enough in the heart. Amber and vanilla in the base reinforce the gilded drawl of the drydown. I love honey and beeswax in perfumes, effects I find fascinating in scent, inherently animalic, yet oddly innocent too. Floris’s Honey Oud is a potent woody oriental scent with delicious gourmand whiffs of mead and snuffed out church candles when I wear it.
The Leather Oud is a much quieter proposition; a delicate, muted rendering of a leather theme, apparently inspired by the early days chez Floris when the perfume oils were delivered in small leather cases; thus imparting a scent of fresh pelt and hide to the valuable essences. Leather marries beautifully to oud, soft skin notes over the smoky aura of the ritualistic oud. Patchouli, rose, geranium and carnation have been wrapped around the oud to give a balanced floral effect that flatters the slightly verdant leather note.
I get a huge metallic saffron hit from the leather actually; it reeks of Safraleine, the aromamolecule that gives Tom of Finland by Etat Libre d’Orange its stunning biker jacket fetish note. The drydown is a little less interesting than the opening, it twist off its axis into a generic fuzzy flat skank-off, but the grey-suede floral opening is quite arresting and hangs on the skin long enough to intrigue. They are a pricy duo, £160 each (€210 or $240 approx), but it’s good to see a vintage house like Floris creating such interesting and sensual perfumes. Whether or not the world needs more ouds I leave entirely in your hands. But the Honey Oud… ooooh so tempting.
Disclosure – From my own collection
–The Silver Fox, Senior Editor and Editor of The Silver Fox
We have a sample set of Floris Honey Oud and Leather Oud for one US reader. To be eligible please a comment with what you enjoyed about TSF review and which one you think you might enjoy most. Draw ends January 19, 2015.
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