Ramon Monegal

Stanley Marcus was an avid art collector, and in 1951 he wanted to extend his love of art to the Neiman Marcus customer. He commissioned artist, Alexander Calder to create a large-scale mobile entitled, Mariposa, and with this first commission the Neiman Marcus Art Collection was born. Some sixty years later, Master Perfumer Ramon Monegal has created a fragrance exclusively for Neiman Marcus entitled, Pure Mariposa, inspired by the butterfly, and specifically tailored for the women that frequent the famous luxury store. In 2009, Monegal launched his spectacular niche line to well-deserved acclaim. Monegal comes from a distinguished family of perfumers, and represents the fourth generation of the founders of the House of Myrurgia, the prestigious perfume house born in Barcelona, Spain.

Pure Mariposa is surprising and graceful. At first there is a cacophonous accord that strikes a dissonant tone. It’s a citrus accord that has a likeable blast of pith and bite. The yuzu note brings with it a pithy longevity combined with orange and bergamot top notes. The fragrance continues to sparkle with an aldehydic wave, think fizzy like ginger ale, and ozonic notes, that are like the atmosphere after a rainstorm, these two remain constant throughout the entire composition. The aldehydes and ozonic notes also bring a transparency to the fragrance that is as delicate as the wings of the insect that inspired it. The heart is complex yet executed with restraint. A green floral accord creates a rounded heart, namely fig, blackberry, and oakmoss mix with heady white notes of jasmine, lily of the valley, tuberose, and osmanthus. All of these floral notes blend together, none jumping out in front of the other. These heart notes seem tamed by the hand and authority of the perfumer. I can’t help but think of nectar when I’m wearing this fragrance, there is a lovely powdery almost honeyed sweetness that attracts, and keeps me wanting to wear it. The powerful woody base concludes with sandalwood, iris, peach, and tonka bean. Initially, Pure Mariposa creates a flurry of movement, but it ultimately settles lovingly on the skin, every so often its power stirs and reminds me of its presence.

Evocation of Butterflies by Odilon Redon (1912)

The ephemeral butterfly is a symbol of the psyche. Butterflies exemplify grace, flight, and are a reminder to live life to the fullest. Their life cycle is a journey of constant change and adaptation that involves incredible hard work, profound stillness, and ultimately a miraculous transformation. I found many moving stories written about encounters with butterflies that appear soon after the death of a loved one; survivors know that the butterfly represents the life force of the departed. While writing this, I began to notice images of butterflies everywhere I went, on my son’s lunch box; the framed print above my dining table that illustrates the four stages of metamorphosis. A film that tracked the migration patterns of the Monarch butterflies, they fly south to Mexico by the millions, and Odilon Redon’s symbolic paintings inspired me. At the office I spotted a butterfly print on a lonely shelf with a Matsuo Basho haiku that reads, “Wake butterfly, it’s late, we’ve miles to go together.”

Butterflies by Odilon Redon (1910)

Monegal equally captured the flight and fight of the butterfly and humanity in Pure Mariposa.

Pure Mariposa is exclusively available at US Neiman-Marcus locations. Thanks to EM Distribution we have five samples to giveaway to US readers ONLY. To be eligible leave a comment on a an encounter with a butterfly or your favorite Ramon Monegal fragrance. The draw ends March 11, 2013.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

–Valerie Vitale, Contributing Editor