Boujee Bougies Verdant courtesy of the brand
“Smell is taste at a distance, so to speak, and others are forced to share the pleasure of it, whether they want it or not.” – Emmanuel Kant
Perfumer Pia Long and Nick Gilbert, courtesy of the brand
Since the triumph of Cartesian epistemology in the 17th century, it has been difficult for western thinkers to imagine, let alone articulate, a philosophy of the olfactive. Sight has historically been prioritized as the “philosophical” sense of inquiry because one can observe an object without touching it; therefore, our sense of sight is able to give us an “objective” and “untouched” picture of reality. Taste is a process of destruction, as the object must be consumed by the subject to be examined. Scent, on the other hand, disrupts the neat subject/object divide without total destruction, as smells act upon the observer. Scent has a mediating transgressive nature, as it permeates boundaries. Smell achieves a kind of colonization of the subject by the object. One cannot shut oneself off from smells due to the physiological necessity of breathing. Our cranial nerves immediately touch upon the world. So, what are the metaphysical implications of the biochemicals of fragrance? How do we employ scent ethically in the world today?
One avant-garde fragrance house is considering these questions and working intentionally to provide ethical answers for fragrance consumers in today’s world. Boujee Bougies is an artisanal house founded by Pia Long, a Finnish-born, UK-based perfumer and business partner Nick Gilbert. Theirs is a project that works through an ethical lens actively subverting the narrow and proscriptive modernist definition of traditional perfumery as a colonial project of resource extraction whose artisanal merit can only be realized in the gatekept fragrance houses of western Europe. Including ethical decisions when considering farming, green chemistry, supply chains, creation, education, transparency, authenticity, marketing, and distribution channels is a worthy mind frame for the 21st century. Boujee Bougies takes on big ideas and big issues with their fragrances and lead us to a higher realm of thinking with their release Verdant.
materials for Verdant, courtesy of the brand
Boujee Bougies Verdant dares to imagine a world absent humankind’s domination of nature. Intrinsic to this conjuring are the questions: what have we done to disinherit this role? Have we survived as a species? These questions are being articulated and seriously discussed among scientists involved in the study of climate change and in other art forms (e.g. Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, John Akomfrah’s Purple, etc.). Boujee Bougies Verdant is presented to us by the brand with this description, “new verdant air reaches skyscraper heights as millions of green stems weave through brutalist buildings from some distant past when humans ruled the Earth. A dewy mist lightly hovers over the concrete jungle, and a desert has turned into an oasis. New life can begin.” We experience Verdant from this post-apocalyptic vision of the real and it is a compelling encounter with art that can stimulate our intellect as well as our senses.
Boujee Bougie Verdant opens with revitalizing spiced citrus, peaking the senses. An invigorating and wild smelling neroli seems to have turned into some kind of carnivorous plant with deadly teeth. A light humidity expands the scent into surrounding air. Tomato leaf brings a comforting green into the mix and a calming white floralcy allows us to focus on the beauty of our environs. Grassy and musky, tomato leaf has the complex herbaceousness that turns green into a beneficial and welcoming scent. White florals add a touch of flourishing sweetness as reassurance.
Dry vetiver and cool oakmoss bring our focus from the towering tree branches to the firm earth of Boujee Bougies Verdant. The concrete accord is especially articulate, as layered components come to mind: misty water, fresh air, textural sand, flinty gravel, and slightly acidic cement. Sandalwood allows us to settle into meditative observation and thought. Musks hold the warmth of the earth as we consider what could have led to the scenes of lost human civilizations before us.
Boujee Bougies Verdant bottle, courtesy of the brand
As we begin to make room for a metaphysics of olfaction in our society, it is helpful to keep ethics squarely on the table. Due to the transgressive nature of scent, we may find ourselves experiencing an increasingly manipulated scentscape in the near future. Hopefully, the experiences will be worthy of our intellect and attention. Pia Long and Nick Gilbert have risen to the occasion and given us Art with our Olfaction. Boujee Bougies Verdant is a transgressive journey you don’t want to miss.
Notes: Timut pepper, neroli, cactus accord, violet leaf, tomato leaf, white flowers, Australian sandalwood, Javanol®, vetiver, oakmoss, concrete accord, musk
Bottle my own, opinions my own.
~ Rachel K. Ng, Senior Contributor
Travel size courtesy of the brand
Thanks to the generosity of Senior Contributor Rachel Ng, we have a decant of Boujee Bougies Verdant for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader USA ONLY AND thanks to Boujee Bougies we have a 7.5 ml travel spray UK only, (if you are not sure if you are registered click here – you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid). To be eligible please leave a comment on this site with what strikes you about Verdant and where you live. Draw Closes 5/19/2024
Follow us on Instagram cafleurebonofficial @rachel.k.ng @boujeebougies @perfumer.pia @nickrgilbert
Deputy and Natural Perfume Editor Ida Meister’s review of Boujee Bougies Infleurno and Senior Editor Nicoleta Tomsa’s overview of the brand.
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