MIZU Floral Delusion X Rose Road of the perfumer
Independent artisanal perfumer Mason Hainey of MIZU paints his cosmos in botanical hues. He has always drawn sustenance from the natural world, and his olfactory compositions reflect this unshakable bond. The very name of his brand, MIZU – arises from his first visit to Japan while still in high school as a student ambassador: it was the first word his host family taught him, meaning ‘water’. Thus began a lifelong admiration and fascination with Japan and all things Japanese, including aesthetics.
Mason Hainey courtesy of the perfumer
A born creative, Mason has pursued several artistic venues. He was attending art college for a time, then transitioned to a foray into fashion and his own line of clothing at age 19, utilizing vintage Japanese fabrics. As his business grew, Mason felt restless and unsettled. The inner city didn’t suit. In addition to his custom-made textiles, Mason began to create candles (something he had enjoyed making as a child) – which kept him in touch with botanical beauty and the soothing qualities of essential oils. His love of nature and natural materials blossomed into a desire to compose fragrances based upon the elegance of raw essences.
courtesy of the perfumer
These days, the perfumer finds himself happily ensconced in Rhode Island (aka the Ocean State) and proximal to both forest and ocean. When I learned that he had created a new fragrance, I awaited its arrival eagerly. Even more so when it became clear that this fragrance, Floral Delusion, was a collaboration with Rose Road – a favored supplier of high-quality rose oil.
still from Dreams Sunshine in the Rain Akira Kurosawa 1990
Floral Delusion is inspired by the age-old tale of the auspicious and happy marriage of two foxes (Kitsune) – a Kitsune Wedding. The brief vignette from Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1990 film Dreams – entitled Sunshine Through the Rain – exerted further influence, in which a very young boy happens upon a kitsune wedding in the woods (after having been warned by his mother not to play in the forest when it is sunny and raining, because the foxes have their wedding procession on such days and detest being observed). It is revealed that the kitsune live under the rainbow (as with many cultures, the fox/kitsune may be male or female – and is a well-known trickster).
The spirit of the fox is wise,
a trickster wrapped in apt disguise,
with nine or less tails, she gains power
that grow as age comes, hour by hour. ~ excerpt from Kitsune, by Lillian Rose
Foxes Wedding courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
MIZU Floral Delusion X Rose Road opens with the brilliant verdant clarion provided by shiso; a Japanese mint imbued with a complex cinnamon/mint/caraway scent profile. Aligning shiso with the equally earthy, terpenic cannabis (or hemp) oil feels utterly intuitive, accented with the bright sulfuric tart/sweetness of grapefruit; some say that cannabis’ strongly herbal quality has a touch of bitterness (not unlike pink grapefruit). Rose smooths over rough edges, as she is wont to do – while cassie flower contributes many facets: fruity, floral, hay-like, dryly herbal, woody, softly animalic and green. Sandalwood and frankincense further echo a Japanese motif, with their attendant devotional aspects – deeply dry and soothing, grounding in character. It appears (to my nose) that the petrichor accord which Mason has constructed is significantly inflected with another prominent member of the mint family: patchouli, redolent of damp earth, the mushroom-strewn forest floor after a sunshower. Somewhere deep within, there exist stirrings of the fox and vixen wedding party; the floral/animalic/incense-laden trail of their ghostly nuptials in the woods.
MIZU Floral Delusion X Rose Road flirts with blossoms. The fragrance’s main thrust, for me – is its accompanying underlying mysticism. I find it an intricate, haunting aromatic allegory.
Notes: shiso leaf, cannabis, grapefruit, rose absolute, cassie flower, Australian sandalwood, frankincense, petrichor accord
Sample kindly provided by the perfumer – many thanks! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
MIZU Floral Delusion X Rose Road courtesy of the perfumer
Thanks to Mason Hainey, we have a draw of for a registered reader in USA only for a 2ml sample of this very limited edition of MIZU Floral Delusion X Rose Road. To enter the draw, you must be a registered reader. To be eligible, please share what appealed to you in Ida’s review and where you live. Have you sampled (or own) any MIZU perfumes or candles. Draw closes12/18/2022
Please read about Mason in the Perfumers Workshop: “Natural Perfumers Who Do It All”
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