Aether Arts Perfume Hive Mind (Amber Jobin) 2022 + Bees in Space Draw

April 9, 2022April 9, 2022

Aether Arts Hive Mind artwork courtesy of Aether Arts

In a galaxy far, far away, bees have left their home planet and zoom through the universe in metal hives, seeking out new planets to pollinate, ensuring their survival by boldly going where no bees have gone before. Hive Mind, a new creation from Art and Olfaction Winning Amber Jobin is, in her words, “a reimagining of bees in the distant future.” It’s a sci-fi gourmand, a futuristic honey constructed around honey, metallic spaceship notes and wax. With its flowery sweetness and molten metal, is as strangely alluring as Yeoman Rand’s interplanetary beehive.

I often describe Amber Jobin’s work as offbeat or quirky and I mean that entirely as a compliment. Her mind is a one-off, her inspirations singular and her execution highly individual but disciplined. Hive Mind has a layered meaning, referring not just to bees but to shared thinking. As Jobin explains,

Amber Jobin self portrait

“I’ve long been fascinated by the idea of a collective consciousness, that perhaps as a species we might share some universal ideas that are hardwired into us. (Jung’s Archetypes spring readily to mind.) But I’m just as transfixed by the social behavior of other life forms. The cooperative behavior of mammals and insects are just as interesting and inspiring. Bees are especially captivating, but more importantly, bees lie at the heart of our survival: they pollinate 1-in-3 bites of food we eat and are essential to the health and prosperity of countless ecosystems. However, bees are in peril. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, more than half of North America’s 4,000 native bee species are in decline, with 1-in-4 species at risk of extinction.”

Aether Arts Perfume Hive Mind begins, not, as one might expect, with honey, but with an impression of warmth. The first aromas are of melted beeswax and, then a moment later, heated metal. The metallic note is not the acrid odor of a hot iron skillet, but closer to the comforting smell of a car that’s been baking in the sun. Together, they give a dual sense of familiarity and dislocation that is a hallmark of much of Jobin’s fragrances.

Space Bee image via The Atlantic©

The richness of orange blossom honey comes next, flowery and sweet. The honey here, with its royal jelly and pollen bouquet, bears an initial similarity to the early stages of Cristiano Canali’s wonderful Bee for Zoologist. But all comparisons fall aside after that as the metal and florals rocket off each other. I get fragments of sun-dried flowers rather than any individual scent; a rose petal; a bit of broom, perhaps. The metal opens out to impart a spearmint note and a bit of papery woodiness that makes me wonder if there’s some opoponax in here. As time passes, Hive Mind’s honey and metal course in parallel to each other all the way to dry-down, and there’s a hint of vanilla right at the end.

Futuristic Beehive: The role of Yeoman Rand was played by actress Grace Lee Whitney who appeared in 8 episodes of the first season of Star Trek Original Series. photo IMDB

Aether Arts Hive Mind never smells edible, as many honey-centric fragrances do, though clearly prominent and subtle food aromas appear throughout the composition. It is gourmand as only Amber Jobin could give us: honey dessert squeezed from an aluminum tube while the table’s floral centerpiece floats serenely in zero gravity. And in the viewfinder, gold beehives whiz by, searching for another Earth, one where the inhabitants are neither so careless nor destructive, and flowers bloom forever.

Notes: Metal hive-ship accord, space-floral accord, space-honey accord, bee-bodies accord.

Disclaimer: Sample of Aether Arts Perfume Hive Mind kindly provided by Aether Arts. My opinions, as always, are my own.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Aether Arts Perfume, we have a 2 ml roller bottle of Hive Mind for one registered reader worldwide. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Aether Arts Hive Mind, and where you live. Draw closes 4/12/2022.

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