Photo of Olya Bar wearing a kimono holding Floraiku Sound of a Ricochet
“a red dragonfly
under the burning sky
the sound of a ricochet”
Sound of a Ricochet is one of my favorite compositions from the house of Floraiku, founded in 2017 to celebrate the beauty and simplexity of the Japanese culture. Each fragrance is visually represented by the artwork created by Victorie Cathalan, who uses mixed media- images, materials, and objects to illustrate her deepest feelings. A dragonfly (which is also Japan’s national emblem) represents our inner spiritual growth, and mysteriously appears in our lives when we are facing emotional traumas. A protagonist in the poem of “Akatombo” by Rofu Miki or “Red Dragonfly” carries symbolism throughout the entire story.
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Sophie Labbe Principal Perfumer courtesy of Firmenich©
Filled with longing, the lyrics of Red Dragonfly recall a red dragonfly seen as an infant while being carried on an older sister’s shoulder. Kosaku Yamada later made the poem into a song, he was a close friend of Rofu Miki, who happened to pass away on the exact day a year after Rofu Miki death, talking about an invisible bond between two artistic souls. Sophie Labbe translates the poem and song into an evocative fragrance.
Drawing and a bottle of Sound of a Ricochet by Olya Bar©
The opening accord of salty-sweet anise mixed with the bitterness of tonka bean is sharp and slices through your senses; it pulls you aggressively into the perfume, only to soften and reveal the delicate beauty of soft sensual sandalwood shortly after. Floraiku Sound of a Ricochet is a poem of textures, of layers translated into a beautiful fragrance through the artistic lens of Firmenich perfumer Sophie Labbe. Imagine the golden hour on a hot summer day viewed through the eyes of your inner-child who longs for comfort and love symbolized by the warmness of vanilla with the chocolate richness of patchouli. Tonka bean adds both depth and a pinch of much-needed astringency in otherwise a gourmand composition. At the dry down, the perfume slowly transitions into an intimate hug of sandalwood and vanilla, and the return to your childhood home with all the familiar scents and objects that you associate with happiness of the past.
Art Image for Sound of a Ricochet by Victorie Cathalan©
Sound of A Ricochet is a beautifully layered composition that conveys the nostalgic scent of an old home, a safe haven for a child’s dreams and the absence of fears or negativity. Here is the familiar warmth of the wooden floors, the resinous and slightly balsamic scent of the lacquered furniture in the room, a spicy and comforting whiff of an antique Danzo (sandalwood carved sculpture, which was used in Japan for religious ceremonies and worship). Sound Of A Ricochet smells of both a safe haven and loneliness at once, the echo of dragonfly wings beating against the wind, a memory, a sound, a scent of longing for the past.
Notes: Anise, Patchouli, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Sandalwood.
Disclaimer: I’d like to thank Europerfumes for providing me a bottle of Floraiku Sound of a Ricochet for a review. The opinions are my own.
– Olya Bar, Contributor
Photo Floraiku Sound of Ricochet with a dragonfly by Olya Bar©
Thanks to the generosity of Europerfumes/Eden Square, we have a 50 ml tester available of Floraiku Sound Of A Ricochet for one registered reader the USA only. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please tell us what you enjoyed or found interesting about Olya’s review and if you have a favorite Floraiku Perfume. Draw close 5/28/2021
Available to test or purchase at Arielle Shoshana.
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