Perfume Review: Bird of Paradise Thorn & Bloom (Jennifer Botto) + Sunrise to Sunset in Paradise  Draw

paradise karl bang

Paradise by Karl Bang

This week I am delighted to highlight yet another gorgeous natural perfume that has been selected as a finalist for the 2016 Art & Olfaction Awards in the Artisan category. Jennifer Botto of Thorn & Bloom’s magnificent no holds barred opulent white floral composition is sure to delight the devotees of jasmine.

karl bang white flower

 Serenade by Karl Bang

Upon first spritz Bird of Paradise is immediately and unapologetically floral. Champacas  warmth is matched by  the headiest jasmine’s intoxicating qualities, yet they are both tempered by the more indolic background notes within jasmine. The lush opening of ginger and citrus is paired with a ripe tart aldehydic pineapple accord that is a work of art in and of itself. And although you might be thinking to yourself “I’m not sure if I want to smell like a pineapple?!” You may soon find that indeed you do.

karl bang sea nymph

 Mermaid  Karl Bang

At the base of this beautiful efflorescent beast there is an extremely special salty aquatic wood feeling that comes out especially in the drydown this is imbued by the lovely and rare spellbinding powers of very high quality ambergris. This generous and dexterous use of natural ambergris completely takes me away. Here it is treated like the precious gem that it is. Botto’s careful infusion is thoughtfully and masterfully used to highlight the rest of the elements in this transcendent magic potion.  Ambergris provides an animalic marine quality that envelops the intoxicating tropical floral fruity embrace and not only magnifies and boosts it but simultaneously grounds it into a fuller being. The salty agrestic nature tempers down the lush and verdant flower power that could easily have gone toward cloyingly sweet. Ambergris and the milky anchoring sandalwood are an extraordinarily beautiful pairing throughout the perfume but are supremely suited for one another during the drydown where they “evoke planks of sun-scorched driftwood floating upon languid waves.” Frankincense acts as a stable support giving some of its resinous beauty and sublime staying power and references of the sacred. This elegant drydown hugs the skin effortlessly and stays with you for a long time. Even better sprayed on a favorite  shirt  or scarf making it all the more celebratory the next time that you wear it.

Notes: Ginger, Citrus, Pineapple, Champaca, Jasmine, Frankincense, Sandalwood, Ambergris

Disclosure: I received my sample of BIRD OF PARADISE from Thorn & Bloom (Jennifer Botto), opinions my own.

Zee Boudreaux, Natural Perfume Contributor

Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief. I chose the paintings of Karl Bang, known for his remarkable sense of colour, attention to detail and celebration of female beauty.

jennifer Botto  Thorn  &  Bloom

Jennifer Botto of Thorn & Bloom

Editor’s Note: Jennifer  explained to me that Birds of Paradise is an expression of her longing for the tropics a way to transport herself  to that luscious paradise, after having spent many long, cold, barren winters in Boston. She wrote, “I wanted to bottle the atmosphere of past holidays spent luxuriating on the beach in perfect peace and solitude. I wanted to recreate a full day in paradise, from sunrise to sunset. Passing time is represented by the progression of notes: Top notes: Morning: bright, sparkling ginger and citrus; Heart Notes: Late afternoon: long cool shadows of voluptuous jasmine & champaca blooms; Base notes: Midnight: a salty mist of ambergris and sandalwood drifting upon languid waves.” Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

01Bird.Paradise.natural.botanical.perfume thorn and bloom

Thanks to Jennifer Botto of Thorn & Bloom we have a 7.5ml bottle of Birds of Paradise  for a ConUS or Canadian registered reader  PLUS a sampler of Stranger in The Cherry Grove (reviewed here by Einsof), Orange Blossom, Wild Rose and Savage Garden (reviewed here by Michael Singels). To be eligible, please, leave a comment with why you would like to win Birds of Paradise based on Zee’s review, your dream  tropical destination and where you live. Draw closes 4/14/2016

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

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


34 comments

  • IslandKatz says:

    Reading about this, it reminds me of how the islands of Raratonga and Mangaia smell. They are so dear to my heart and my nose – the sweetest tropical destinations I’ve found. I love to smell anything that reminds me of this. I live on an island in Puget Sound, and am drawn to other islands as getaways.

  • I like how the fragrance goes from morning to night, and I can just see the changing light. We just had a half a foot of April snow here that covered the magnolia in ice (yes, there’s a photo with an ice fairy) so anything with warm floral and wood is just great! Beach paradise: Tobago. I’m in the US. Thanks for the draw!

  • Linnea Wiedeman says:

    Jasmine always brings me too a happy place. I love that there are notes of pineapple as well, so different. It would make the perfect summer scent. Thank you for a chance at this draw. I am in the U.S.

  • I’m attracted to the salty aquatic wood feeling described in the drydown as well as the pineapple. Island destination: The Seychelles. 🙂 U.S.

  • Flowers always interest me, but I love love love the tropics! Any perfume that can evoke the tropics is for me. I have also recently become very fond of salty ambergris. I suspect that I will soon fall in love with it. I am happy in Hawaii – the feel, the smells, the people, the ocean, the trade winds – it feels like home. USA

  • My favorite tropical place is Tulum, MX – I love the smell of the jungle mixed with the salty ocean water! I’m curious about the pineapple note…. sounds intriguing. I particularly love natural perfume as well! I live in the US and thanks for the draw.

  • MikasMinion says:

    I’m not sure where I would go for a tropical vacation. Probably someplace extremely remote and certainly not a resort or beach location.
    I find that I really enjoy pineapple as a note in perfume. Perhaps because it is a discernible fruity scent and not just generic “froot.” I would love to try a natural version with an ambergris base. I’m in the US. Thanks!

  • Lellabelle says:

    “Jennifer explained to me that Birds of Paradise is an expression of her longing for the tropics a way to transport herself to that luscious paradise, after having spent many long, cold, barren winters in Boston.”
    I can totally relate! Perfume has transported me throughout the long cold winter here.
    My dream tropical location is Bora Bora; a definite dream as I’ve never been, though I would love to. Would love to win Birds of Paradise as I love natural perfumes and ginger as a note, I’m curious to see how it’s handled here. Please enter me for the generous draw. I’m in Canada, and my choice for the sample would be Orange Blossom as this also has lots of my favourite notes. Thanks Michelyn and Jennifer!

  • I adore tropical fragrances and have a pretty good olfactory memory of things I have fallen in love with (and not) in various Hawaiian locations. Those scents seem to jog my internal memory of great times and beautiful places. This I am sure would resonate so well with me
    DREAM tropical location? Fiji would be lovely. Bali equally so. but I would be happy to be ocean front in a nice little hidden condo or home on Kauai too.
    I live in California!

  • I love jasmine; the more indolic the better! The salty note that enters this perfume sounds very interesting to me. I have not tried this line yet but Cafleruebon has made me very interested in doing so. My dream location is Ubud, Bali and i was just there last week! Love this place. USA Thanks for the draw.

  • I love Jasmine and have loved it since I was a little girl. This fragrance sounds fantastic, especially because it can take me to a tropical location in the cold weather. The salty note and pineapple have intrigued me. These are my tropical locations: Thailand, Bali, Fiji, Bora Bora, Amalfi Coast, and Santorini. So far I have only made it to Santorini. I live in the US and thanks for the draw! 🙂

  • Ginger…pineapple…champaca! I love all these separately, but have never experienced even two of them together…and I think the contrast with the salty ambergris scent would be amazing.
    The Maldives! Went once and never forgot it… I am in the US, thank you!

  • fazalcheema says:

    Birds of Paradise is intriguing because of notes like champaca, ginger, and jasmine. Then there is realistic pineapple note. From the notes, it seems like something in the same vein of classic Patou Colony. My dream tropical location would be Hawaii. Thanks a lot for the generous draw. I am in the US

  • ramonapilgrim says:

    Love that the scent spans an entire day. What an amazing idea….i love the tropical notes in this. Reminds me of swimming on a warm night in Mexico and the air is humid and heavy with scent. One of my favorite places in the world. I live n the US and love this web site! Thank you…

  • I am fascinated by the idea of salty ambergris against a milky sandalwood background… I’ve never smelled notes of pineapple before and would LOVE a chance to discover exotic notes layered in between some of my favorite scents. My dream tropical destination is the Solomon Islands. I’ve been to Tonga & Fiji before and absolutely LOVE them. The smell of the ocean there is unlike anywhere else. But the Solomon Islands has always fascinated me. They have over 200 species of tropical flora and 600 tiny islands to choose from. They have freshwater swamps, rare orchids, and rosewood and ebony trees. I would be in heaven! (I’m currently located in the US).

  • So glad to see so much excitement around this fragrance. It really is amazing! Can’t wait to find out who the lucky winnner is!

  • Liked the part with ndolic background notes within jasmine. Dream tropical vacation I think it would be something like Bali. I am in the US, thanks!

  • My wife loves Jasmine and I have never smelt a perfume with real ambergris. It would be like going on vacation together. Maui is my favorite vacation spot. I live in Canada
    Congratulations on your finalist btw

  • ernestine32 says:

    I’m always looking for a perfume with real ambergris and one that goes from morning to night. The tropical notes sound so inviting. It has been a long cold winter and I’m ready for a vacation. I’m in the US thanks.

  • I love, love, love beautiful lush florals, especially in the summer months. Coupled with the other notes, this sounds like a total win-win. Anything that can transport me to feeling like I am in a luscious tropical paradise is a must try. Natural to boot! Fantastic. Love the bottle too, very nice. Thank you for the review and draw – I am in the US, registered.

  • Since I live in the tropics, I can say with certainty that Jennifer succeeded beautifully with Birds of Paradise. She was one of my most professional, dedicated students, and I was delighted to welcome her into the Guild as a perfumer. I’m so glad that the judges of the IAO recognized her talent. She will have a long and distinguished career as a natural perfumer, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

  • This sounds absolutely amazing! I’m a huge fan of ambergris and have been dying to try the real deal. Frankincense and sandalwood are also two of my favourites, so this perfume is right up my alley. My dream tropical destination is the Galápagos Islands, because I am a science nerd. I’d especially love to meet a giant tortoise! I live in Canada, thanks.

  • I would love a chance to win this fragrance. It sounds really beautiful. I love aquatics and the idea of pineapple and flowers mixed with a salty aquatic is very appealing. My dream tropical vacation would be Bora Bora. I live in TX. Thanks,

  • Rachel Lindstrom says:

    Ambergris, ginger, pineapple, and jasmine! Heaven! I have always wanted to go to Tahiti. I live in Vermont

  • Good heavens, I’d love to win this to remind myself of warmer climes every time I’m stuck in snow or it’s raining and miserable out. I’d love to be reminded of lying on a beach and letting the sun beat down on me while I’m at work!

    My dream tropical destination is Bali. They have these little shacks on stilts in the still, blue ocean that I dream of staying in. You need a boat to get out of your shack–total isolation. Remarkable.

    I live in the ConUS! All of these reviews make the scents sound just amazing.

  • Diana Devlin says:

    So intriguing! Pineapple AND Frankincense notes?! Sounds incredible!
    My dream tropical vacation would be to Cannes, France. I visited there for a short stay of only 2 1/2 days for a film festival. My hotel was right across from the ocean. But I never had any time to enjoy the beach. That was almost 10 years ago and I’d love to go back!
    I live in the U.S.

  • I love the idea of a milky sandalwood with those bright white florals. I’m not sure how I feel about pineapple, but I’ve tried one pineapple fragrance and it was tolerable. 🙂 My dream tropical destination is somewhere in French Polynesia… it just looks so beautiful, especially the over water bungalows. That being said, we married in Jamaica and it was absolutely amazing. Thanks for the draw, I’m in the US!

  • Jasmine and Pineapple! Sounds like a wonderful combination to me> I woud love to try a sample. Thank you for the chance.

  • Ginger and pineapple, yes please 🙂 I am in the US, and my dream tropical destination right now is Sri Lanka. Thank you!

  • I really like how the top, mid, and base notes were described. I think the top of this fragrance sounds beautiful and fresh. My dream tropical destination would be Fiji. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go. I’m in Canada and thanks for the draw!

  • pursejunkie says:

    Since she asked, I actually am sure that I want to smell like a pineapple, especially a salty, wooded one. You know what’s surprisingly good? Pineapple with olive oil and large-flaked salt. Apparently it’s an Italian treat. Who knew?

    My dream tropical destination is Costa Rica and I am in the US.

  • Love the name and spirit of this perfume. I am always lured in my the mere mention of champaca. An aldehydic pineapple is pretty unique among the usual suspects for natural perfumes, too. I would like to visit Tahiti! I’m in the US, thanks for the draw.

  • I love the floral aspects of this fragrance. It makes me think of something very inviting and fun. I also love the name of the scent. I always wished to visit to Hawaii, hopefully I get my wish soon!

    I’m a Canadian reader and thank you so much for the draw.

  • Roxhas1cat says:

    Oh, I want to be transported back to Kauai. I just returned last week and didn’t want to. Loved looking at the bird of paradise flower. Thanks.