Dr. Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids Perfumes photo courtesy the perfumer

 I see myself as a prototypical 21st century indie perfumer who makes perfume as an art, not to please one demographic or another, but simply because it’s one of those creative urges that I feel compelled to express. My perfumes are olfactory manifestations of my life and experiences.” ~ Dr. Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids Perfumes

Dr. Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids Perfumes might not be a household name – but that doesn’t infer that she shouldn’t be. I have been following her work with great interest for many years, for any number of reasons – not the least of which is her fiercely independent and creative manner of olfactory expression. Speaking from the point of view of someone who has been nose-obsessed for many decades, it feels as if we live in an era in which crowd-pleasing reigns supreme. While there exist ample innovative minds (some of whom create because they are compelled, rather than being primarily concerned with making money), one gets the impression that even some of this population appear to canvass the public in order to create fragrances which will be ‘safe’, pleasant, or deliberately appeal to a specific demographic (give the people what they want). This may not necessarily be a negative thing, but it feels predictable and rather dull to me – as well as disappointing. As an active evaluator, I frequently see briefs which only confirm these suspicions. Dr. Covey remains unique, in that she is driven to compose a wondrous body of eclectic-and-wearable fragrances which are beautiful for beauty’s sake alone. To pursue this is an act of faith and courage – and it explains why she has earned two Art & Olfaction awards for her fragrances (as well as placing as a finalist for the first A & O Artisan awards in 2014 for her Blackbird). Although we have yet to meet, we seem to share certain commonalities, including an insatiable curiosity and a fascination with the neuroscientific aspects of olfaction. I deeply appreciate her academic acumen and ability to translate personal experience into scent. When it came to choosing only three from Olympic Orchids Perfumes, I felt quite daunted. In this wise I attempted to cull a trio of varying hues of opulence which will bloom in summer months: one which is mysteriously moody; another with soothingly sylvan qualities and one a dizzyingly glowing floral. Perhaps you will find one or more of them as alluring as I have.

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Golden Cattleya collage Michelyn images courtesy of Dr. Ellen Covey

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Golden Cattleya (2010)

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers
For especially in the month of June
There’s a wealth of happiness and romance
All in the golden afternoon. ~  Walt Disney lyricist Bob Hilliard, for the 1951 film Alice in Wonderland

I hadn’t yet read the Olympic Orchid Perfumes description; when I opened my sample vial, the lyrics to All in the Golden Afternoon (from the 1951 Walt Disney film of Alice in Wonderland) immediately began to whirl around my brain. It was only later that this synchronicity made sense. Golden Cattleya is a molten honeyed pleasure, complete with an indolic kiss for the indolent. Don’t fret – all these luscious blossoms will be very gentle with you, I promise. This is a warmhearted, generous perfume which holds nothing back. As sweet and full-bodied as it is, it doesn’t cloy, and it isn’t pushy. Golden Cattleya enfolds you in rays of summer sunlight; it shimmers, like the sultry air above a calm body of water. I suppose that I could call it a floral gourmand, but that wouldn’t really do it justice. It’s an unadulterated summer afternoon in a bottle – unhurried, in varying degrees of deshabille, and languorous as a grande horizontale (I intend that in the best way); perfectly pitched. What is not to love? Notes: narcissus, daffodil, orange fruit, orange blossoms, honey, pollen, cream soda, New Caledonian sandalwood, amber-tinged resins, labdanum, musks.

 

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Woodcut collage Michelyn images courtesy of Dr. Ellen Covey

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Woodcut (2014 and the Winner of A&O 2015 Artisan Category): I’m not a beach bunny; I’m a woodland creature, so Woodcut makes me sublimely happy. It is no wonder that it won the 2015 A & O Artisan Category award, in my eyes. If you only read notes, you might be misled by the mention of caramel, burnt sugar and vanilla – and surmise that this is a sticky gourmand, which it is not. It’s a love ballad to the Pacific Northwestern forests, and a reminder of our patent dismissiveness towards such a precious natural resource. I can’t phrase it any better than Dr. Covey does: “The inspiration for this fragrance came from passing by a building site where old trees had been newly cut for a development and lumber was being sawed for a fence. The scent of cut wood was intoxicatingly beautiful and primitive, like a fleeting glimpse of the invisible essence of life spilled carelessly on the ground and burned as an offering to human greed.” Extraordinarily tenacious, possessed of a distinctive smoky sillage which is both potent and delicate by turns, Woodcut is reverently manifested and a delight to wear at any time of the year. Is there room for yet another sylvan scent? Absolutely [sic]. Nothing else smells quite like it. Notes: Fractional distillations of pine and cedar, oakwood absolute, tolu balsam, olibanum, caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla.

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Night Flyer Collage by Michelyn with photos from Dr. Ellen. Covey

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Night Flyer – The Original (2015 and the Winner of Art & Olfaction 2016 Independent Category Award (under original name Bat for Zoologist, now discontinued by Zoologist and since reformulated by Prin Lomros in 2020 as a completely different perfume): Those among us who adored Dr. Covey’s Night Flyer (originally Bat) from the get-go were thrilled when she released it in 2020 under her own brand. Eight years since its inception, Olympic Orchids Perfumes Night Flyer continues to fascinate – and is, admittedly – a polarizing scent, due to its brilliant photorealistic evocation of Everything Bat. What does that mean, precisely? Imagine the moist, mineralic environs night flyers inhabit; their diet, in tropical climes – of figs, bananas, all manner of toothsome fruit. The damp soil (often replicated in perfumery by the employment of geosmin) of their caves. The marriage of frankincense, sandalwood and mineralic notes is nothing short of spectacular – and whichever musks Dr. Covey utilizes are downy and tender. Few fig perfumes actually resemble the smell of ripe fig flesh to me (too creamy, too coconutty, too woody), but Night Flyer does, to its credit. I love its earthy, musky overripe fruit tones, which hover on the verge of divine decay (a favorite descriptor of mine, mea culpa) but never venture into the territory of decomposition. Banana never waxes overbearing, which is a feat in itself – and it feels completely believable, unlike the synthetic nature of most attempts to depict this tropical fruit in perfumery (rubbery, plastic, screechy). I’d highly recommend sampling it for yourself. Notes: sandalwood, olibanum wood, vetiver, furry musk accord, wet earth, damp air, mineral notes, resins, leather, figs, banana, soft tropical fruits. (Perceived notes: geosmin)

Samples provided by the perfumer – many thanks! My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

Please read Dr. Ellen Covey of Olympic Perfumes Profiles In American Perfumery

Night Flyer (formerly Zoologist Bat) was named a CaFleureBon Modern Masterpiece by Ermano Picco

Please read Dr. Covey on Night Flyer here

 

Olympic Orchids Perfumes Golden Cattleya, Woodcut and Night Flyer collage by Michelyn using brand images

Thanks to the generosity of Olympic Orchids Perfumes there is a reader’s choice of ,a 30 ml spray of Golden Cattleya or Woodcut or Night Flyer for one registered reader residing in the USA Only. To be eligible for the draw, please leave a comment about Ida’s reviews appeals most to you and which you would like to win. We have featured the brand many times over the years; do you have a favorite? Giveaway ends 7/5/2023

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