Sarah Horowitz Parfums Journeys 4/Rima
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. ~ On Friendship, from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Sarah’s dear friend Rima Freeman
True friendship is not all that different from true love: one can be struck by its thunderbolt at first glance, even as you observe an individual from across the room. It’s that potent – and it is capable of infiltrating your being before you are conscious of it. In artisanal perfumer Sarah Horowitz Thran’s most recent fragrant release, Sarah Horowitz Parfums Journeys 4/Rima – originally a bespoke for her dear friend of longstanding, Rima Freeman – we are privileged to bask in the radiant glow of an everlasting friendship which transcends the years. Sarah fondly refers to Journeys 4/Rima as a “Love Letter in Patchouli” – and that affection is apparent from the very first spritz. So is the patchouli, which is the nexus of this eau de parfum – because Rima’s late mother, who passed in 2020 adored patchouli-forward fragrances. Rima had approached Sarah to create a perfume which would help her celebrate and preserve those precious olfactory memories of her mother Edie. Journeys 4/Rima is a work born of love and friendship – a fragrant collaboration and ‘creative scent visualization journey’, as Rima describes it. Sarah, in turn, refers to Rima as “the purest artist I know, a woman who cannot help but speak the truth, and who equally abhors dishonesty – the ever-present Goddess that she is – Rima.” Such is love which neither time nor distance can alter.
Sarah Horowitz -Thran of Sarah Horowitz Parfums
In 2016 I wrote extensively about Sarah Horowitz-Thran and her odyssey from Long Island to Boston and eventually to California – where she became as much a California girl as one might imagine. In the 1980s Sarah was attending Emerson College, where she majored in performance art with a minor in philosophy and religious studies. This matters because Sarah has always possessed a spiritual bent – and this proclivity which has informed all of her creative work continues to this day. I cite our lengthy interview for illumination purposes: “Sarah viewed her minors [philosophy and religion] as an extremely useful adjunct to her perfumery: it enabled her “to ask perfect strangers intimate questions. What did they believe?” This was a touchstone for personalized perfumery, later to be created straight out of a wooden toolbox. “It’s the process of creating through conversation, meditation, and experimentation”, our perfumer avows. “A Fragrance Journey.”
Sarah Horowitz Parfums Journeys 4/Rima is devotedly composed of a large proportion of beautiful natural materials, each of which contributes to the overall tapestry of the fragrance itself. They are employed in the service of “beauty, strength, and timeless bonds of friendship”, as Rima affirms. 4/Rima achieves two particular objectives: it provides a powerful personal link between perfumer and muse while preserving a continuity with the body of Sarah’s compositions. As I see it, Sarah Horowitz Thrans’ fragrances are notable for their affectionate wearability, combining creativity with comfort. Whenever I smell one of her perfumes, I recognize her signature: they are frequently musky, ambery, vanilla-embroidered – accompanied by luscious sandalwoods (creamy, not spiky) and often encompassing a lovely jasmine (or other white flowers, such as gardenia and tuberose). Sarah is equally fond of rose- and carnation-focused scents, but they are not required here; rose is intended as a participating member of the bouquet, not the star. After all, Rima and her mother are the focus, and this perfume is their bespoke, according to their desires. 4/Rima is a marvelous mélange of gourmand and mysterious elements: a symphonic amalgam of profoundly shadowy labdanum and patchouli, augmented by multihued ambers, resins, Sarah’s beloved vanilla, and choice florals, sprinkled with the aromatic fairy dust of blood orange, bergamot and saffron. 4/Rima is a complex fragrance possessed of stellar longevity and depth – on clothing it lasts indefinitely; on skin, for at least 12 hours, minimum. Rima is supremely soothing and in keeping with Sarah’s Taurean aesthetic (each time I experience one of Sarah’s perfumes, I smile to myself and remark upon what a Taurus she is: creative, beauty-loving, practical, family-oriented and so Venusian!). In addition to honoring a lasting dedication to one another’s friendship, 4/Rima is a perfect example why Sarah Horowitz Thran’s’ fragrances retain such global appeal. A fascinating fragrance which languishes upon the shelf seems a waste; why not do as Sarah does, and create universal loveliness that you can’t wait to wear? This would make a perfect gift for someone you cherish.
Notes: Italian bergamot, blood orange, saffron, geranium, jasmine grandiflorum, black rose, Mysore sandalwood, Tunisian and red amber, labdanum, Tunisian opium, tobacco, Tunisian and Indian patchouli,, tonka bean, benzoin, orris root, vanilla
My bottle was kindly provided by the perfumer for review– many thanks! My nose is my own…
all photos via Sarah Horowitz Parfums
Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Sarah Horowitz Parfums Journeys 4/Rima
Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Horowitz Parfums we have a 1.7 oz. flacon of Journeys 4/Rima for one registered reader in the US. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest about Ida’s review. . Do you have a favorite Sarah Horowitz Parfums fragrance? If you could make a bespoke perfume for your dear friend what would it smell like? Draw closes 2/21/2024
Sarah Horowitz Thran was Michelyn’s co-recipient for ÇaFleureBon’s Hall of Fame 2020 here
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