Photo: Gustav Klimt Red Queen
Exaltatum Ruby Wood by Eglija Vaitkevice is a multi-faceted fragrance that makes for a fascinating olfactory companion throughout your day. It will take you among a confetti of rose petals underfoot, past London Cafés with their customers engrossed in their phones or even each other, and the tranquil beauty of green parks and their trees, like a comforting canopy reassuring you that there are still green shoots among the urban jungle. For me, one spray of Exaltatum Ruby Wood elevated my day from the ordinary to an imaginary, even theatrical place of heavy red velvet, dew drenched rose petals and a sense of enchantment. Frankly, this is the scent of melodrama and I can’t get enough of it.
Photo: Red Riding Hood by Arthur Rackham
From the blood red prick of blood on Sleeping Beauty’s finger to the velvet scented petals of a rose, the magic snakes out from the bottle like a genie. This is Red Riding Hood, Snow White and every fairy-tale forest you can picture. Maybe it’s the intensity of it: fathoms-deep like tumbling through layers of myriad fragrances, or maybe it’s the sheer, unapologetic opulence of it. Ruby Wood, a name in itself that sounds like a modern-day heroine, bewitched me as soon as we made contact, and it might well do the same to you. Prepare to shed your uniform of buttoned up daily requirement.
Photo: Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz
What sets Exaltatum Ruby Wood apart from other intense rose fragrances? This is the fragrant equivalent (tromper le nez) of an optical illusion or a trompe l’oeil. You begin by thinking it’s a rose-centric perfume, yet it has such a juicy ripe heart that you could almost think that it’s a fruity fragrance, until, as you delve deeper, it becomes a swirl of mystical incense scenting your every step
Photo: Ruby by Ophelia Overdose on Deviant Art
Ruby Wood is a rose bursting with Bulgarian absolute that could make a weakling swoon. More seasoned rose connoisseurs may merely tremble in its presence. The fruit is so temptingly mouth-watering and juicy that any evil Queen worth her salt would choose it as bait in a heartbeat. Pink pepper adds the bite and sinful sparkle, cassis and tangerine the tartness, whilst raspberries and oud add a forbiddingly tempting centre, like a hidden glimpse of a mythical elixir. You may think the fruity rose in Exaltatum Ruby Wood is your destination, but it’s just one step on a journey through fallen branches baked in the sun, exotic cardamom and a mysterious swirl of myrrh and frankincense that manifests from the ashes of roses. Smoky, mysterious shapes flee away from the corner of your eye as you willingly surrender to the magical charms of this extraordinary scent. Longevity is assured: Ruby Wood won’t leave your side, no matter what kind of adventures you embark.
Top notes: rose petals, red berries, cassis, tangerine, pink pepper, coriander, cardamom, Heart notes: rose absolute Bulgaria, geranium, jasmine grandiflorum India, raspberry, violet, coffee absolute, patchouli, frankincense, Base notes: myrrh, olibanum, labdanum, oud, sandalwood, musk.
Disclaimer: Many thanks to Eglija Vaitkevice for my tester bottle of Exaltatum Ruby Wood. Opinions are my own.
– Samantha Scriven, ÇaFleureBon Contributor and author of iscentyouaday.
photo by Samantha©
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