Floratropia Le Ciel courtesy of Indigo Perfumery
“Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?
Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)—
Though some savants make earth include the sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.” ~ Fragmentary Blue by Robert Frost, 1923
Night Edward Robert Hughes via wiki
Poets have long venerated the heavens and have drawn seemingly fathomless inspiration from them – as do so many amongst us. You don’t have to look far afield – Dante, Keats, Shelley, Blake have rendered them immortal. Admittedly, my first thought arose from a gorgeous poem by Maurice Carême entitled Les Anges Musiciens (The Angel Musicians): his unique view of the heavens in which angels play the harp continuously upon threads of rain; it’s always Mozart which tinkles deliciously in drops of blue joy. Last week my samples of Floratropia natural fragrances composed by perfumer Delphine Thierry arrived from the ever-gracious Indigo Perfumery: named for all the elements, Floratropia Le Ciel (sky) was the first of their eaux de parfums to capture my imagination, with its lofty ephemeral-yet-earthly delicate poignancy. I perceive it as a contemporary pre-Raphaelite painting rendered as wearable olfactory art.
Floratropia Le Ciel Photo courtesy of Indigo Perfumery
Senior Editor and Paris Brand Ambassador Emmanuelle Varron recently acknowledged Floratropia amidst the marvelous natural perfume brands exhibited at Esxence Milan 2022; I cannot but agree heartily. The company has gone to considerable lengths to provide ecologically responsible and recyclable packaging – thus placing the emphasis back upon the jus, which is where it firmly belongs. At the risk of being seen as a Luddite, I adore an artistic presentation as much as anyone – but shudder when I smell mediocre fragrance poured into a fastidiously fancy flacon which costs the consumer a minor fortune; it feels like deception. How preferable, then, to enlist a brilliant perfumer and concentrate on beauty at a more affordable (and reconcilable) cost.
Night with her train of Stars Edward Robert Hughes via wiki
Floratropia Le Ciel manifests as a limpid celestial entity portrayed in softest hues of bleu celeste, azure, cyan, verdigris. It hovers above the wearer like beneficent grace: soothing, weightless, enigmatic. Angel wings consorting with a welcome mist of gentle rain, accompanied by a bevy of cumulus clouds afterwards. All the lissomeness of iris and carrot seed belong intuitively to precious ambrette, as they endow Le Ciel with a crystalline purity. Mme. Thierry exercises painterly precision as she weaves geranium, cassie and osmanthus into the fragrant fabric – any one of which might potentially tend to dominate Floratropia Le Ciel’s composition in less dexterous hands. Neither the sweetly woody and smooth New Caledonian sandalwood nor the heady coumarinic tonka bean overwhelms as the base notes; they seem to gather all components into their silky bosom with aplomb. Arachne could not have done better. Notes: Geranium Egypt, Carrot Seeds France, Ambrette Seeds Salvador, Iris Morocco, Cassie Flowers Egypt, Osmanthus China, Sandalwood New Caledonia, Tonka Bean Venezuela (in 100% natural organic wheat alcohol)
photo courtesy of Emmanuelle Varron taken at the Floratropia booth Esxence 2022
I look forward to Floratropia’s future compositions, having smelt L’Ambre des Fleurs, La Terre, Le Feu, Le Ciel and L’Eau (my second favorite!). I marvel at the beauty of each one. As it stands presently, there is at least one out of these five fragrances to suit everyone.
Samples generously provided by Indigo Perfumery – many thanks! They’re wonderful. My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Floratropia Le Ciel flacon courtesy of Indigo Perfumery
Thanks to the kindness of Ann Bouterse of Indigo Perfumery, there is a draw for a 20 ml.flacon, La Florette of Floratropia Le Ciel for one registered reader in the US. ONLY. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what intrigues you about Floratropia Le Ciel based on Ida’s review. Draw closes 8/19/2022.
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