Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph photo courtesy of Irina Adam
Botanical perfumer Irina Adam recently sent me a sample of her latest perfume, Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph; it was so marvelously quirky and charming that I felt compelled to review it. Those who’ve sampled her work and/or read about her here on ÇaFleureBon will be familiar with this petite fey creative who is most at home in natural settings. I have no doubt that she tinctures many materials to suit her own ends and frequently utilizes unusual matter to flesh out those flights of fancy and concepts percolating in her fertile brain. I relate this with frank admiration: it takes a solid measure of bravery to blaze your own trail, especially in perfumery, where trends tend to be cyclical and almost everyone jumps on a similar bandwagon. This is never the case with Irina. As a matter of fact, I’m a bit surprised that Water Nymph was released during the winter; it’s a pond reverie encircled by sinuous damp damsels crowned with dragonflies – an environment which sings to me of high summer. Well, never mind that. A little open-throated mystery never did a soul any harm. Besides – perhaps there’s a lurking intent to evoke a warmer, carefree time during these days of less light.
Irina and Lyra photo by Luis Mojica
Phoenix Botanicals’ byword – plant perfume + apothecary ~ for your wild heart ~ frames Irina’s philosophy precisely. All of her fragrances lie intimately close to the skin and are packaged either as an atomizer-free flacon or rollerball format, so there is little chance of overdosing the experience. They are ephemeral, which is part of their allure. It’s unfortunate that I feel the need to refer to this attribute, but I do so repeatedly because current expectations no longer include the notion of a scented journey or time-limited pleasure: perfumes are rated by how potent they are, how nuclear the sillage and longevity – and many people expect them to smell the same from start to finish. Chances are very good that botanical fragrances won’t meet those presuppositions, so perhaps it’s wisest to posit this in advance.
wild water lily infused leaves and flowers, photo courtesy of Irina Adam
The perfumer’s inspiration arose from swimming in a freshwater pond in upstate New York: Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph had to encompass the aromas surrounding water lilies, the wild blooms and stems themselves, tangled roots, whispers of slippery mud and fascinating scents discovered above the water. Irina initially found that native white water lily smelt of sweetened lemons, so she employed the citron, lime and über-lemony litsea cubeba to amplify that characteristic. Second impression sniffs were distinctly floral and complex – so the costly spicy (vanilla, chocolate, roasted coffee) coffee flower, imbued with white floral sweetness – and jonquil absolute (honey, mimosa, cassis, narcissus, tuberose-nuanced) were chosen to portray these attributes. To evoke idiosyncratic tones of wetland (read: grassy, swampy), the very polarizing note of celery comes into play: moist, vegetal, green, warm. Two rhizomal aromas – orris root and calamus – lend their voices tinted with doughy, woody undertones. As disparate as it may sound, Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph works. I find myself applying more at regular intervals, because it’s rather intoxicating in a peculiar vein; each time you inhale, you smell something different. It’s cheerfully citrusy, hauntingly floral, moisture-laden and beautifully odd, rooty and limpid.
photo courtesy of Irina Adam
The name of the perfume itself is a triple entendre. Water nymph alludes to a minor female deity who protects or is associated with a body of water; the nymph phase refers to the four years during which the hatched dragonflies live in ponds and marshes before they finally molt and emerge with wings fully intact. Water lilies are classified botanically as Nymphaea odorata; it’s impossible to ignore the nymph inferences. I love the specificity of Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph and how it encapsulates a discrete locus and moment in time. Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph is hypnotically, strangely beautiful and completely its own fanciful creature brought to life in a photorealistic sense. It’s pure Pisces, much like Irina herself Notes: citron, lime, litsea cubeba, water lily and leaf, jonquille, coffee flower, celery, wetland roots of iris and calamus
Sample provided by the perfumer – I love it! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Editor’s Note: If you live in New York City or plan to visit, after January 6th there is a fantastic exhibit of Experiments scent New York/New Fumes from 21 American perfumers including Irina, Christophe Laudamiel, David Falsberg, David Seth Moltz and Darryl Do. More soon.
Thanks to the generosity of Irina Adam we have two 5 ml. flacon of Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph for two readers registered readers in the USA (you must register or your entry won’t count). To be eligible, please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Ida’s review of Phoenix Botanicals Water Nymph . Draw closes 12/23/2022
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