Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up, Angel collage by Rachel
“We are all angels here on earth, we just need to wake up to our true selves.” – Sarah Horowitz-Thran
I was very curious to find out what kind of scent would awaken my inner angel, especially when it is a creation from the amazing Sarah Horowitz-Thran. Sarah’s perfumes and background has been extensively covered on CaFleureBon over the past 12 years including in our Profiles of American Perfumery series, perfume reviews, perfumer’s workshop and as a ÇaFleureBon 2020 Hall of Fame winner. Sarah has been creating scents almost her entire life, professionally since her college days in Boston during the late eighties and early nineties. There is always excitement around one of her new releases, especially when Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up Angel is the first launch under her own label since 2018’s Hereafter (also in the SHP Evolution Collection).
Sarah Horowitz-Thran photo from the1990s courtesy of the perfumer
Not that Sarah hasn’t been creating new scents these past few years, her Tapestry for The American Perfumer in 2021 was a gorgeous piece that allowed her to step outside the box of her brand’s aesthetic and honors her own and all fathers. Wake Up Angel returns us to the joyful, comforting, warm fragrances Sarah Horowitz Parfums for which the brand is best known. The story of how Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up, Angel came to be returns us to Sarah’s youthful years in Boston where she was on a self-proclaimed spiritual journey to find her inner angel through meditation, conversations or even in less typical locales such as Boston’s long lost Hub Club. Sarah dedicates this fragrance to her “nighttime gypsy of house music enlightenment” and to everyone who is balancing the light and darkness of life – aren’t we all?
The Hub in Boston 1990s via wiki and apped by Michelyn
I have never considered myself very spiritual but, I can certainly relate to Sarah’s memories of bodies writhing and sweating on a packed dancefloor while strobe lights and smoke create an other-worldly atmosphere. In the swarm of anonymous bodies moving to an addictive thumping bass where even the loudest screams of the top-40 chorus’ are swallowed up by the darkness and blaring music, one can almost transcend to another realm. While not what most of us would picture as spiritual, I understand how this scene can rival that of a quiet and serene meditation studio. Inner peace is not always derived from the peaceful.
Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up, Angel apped by Rachel
But how does one create a fragrance that encompasses this dichotomy? Sarah has succeeded by returning us to our youthful exuberance with a scent that can’t help but bring a smile to your face. From the very start, there is a bright blend of citrus fruits and berry-like florals that create a deep fuchsia haze in my mind; like the fumes from the smoke machine mixing with the neon strobe lights. The bright jasmine and rose bouquet are sweet but, tempered by the petitgrain, not sugary. There is no sweaty animalic musk or even dirty patchouli to this creation. The magic of angels must be that they can go out clubbing all night and awake in a bed of soft, cozy musk, orris and creamy vanilla woods smelling irresistible!
Interestingly, I find some similarities between Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up, Angel and the famous Baccarat Rouge 540. For me Sarah’s Wake Up, Angel is the more enlightened version with the same mix of fruity/citrus floral brilliance but, without the edginess of saffron and a base that is softer and cozier than MFK’s. There is a golden aura that surrounds Wake Up, Angel and persists for hours despite being a sheer scent. At times I forgot I was wearing it but with a twist of my neck or stretch of my arm a smile would automatically develop as if my angel wings had released a soft cloud of floral vanilla fluff into the air.
Sarah Horowitz-Thran in the 1990s courtesy of the perfumer
My husband, who personally loves the strongest and wildest scents adores the smell of Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up, Angel on my skin and my eldest daughter has already proclaimed this bottle for her own burgeoning collection arguing that it suits her better. She may be disappointed; I don’t think I am ready to part with this one Sarah Horowitz Parfums’ Wake Up, Angel just may have aroused my inner angel by bringing back memories of a time where life was a little more carefree and blissful.
Notes: Bergamot, Lime, Sicilian Lemon & Pepper; Middle: Petit Grain, Rose, Night Blooming Jasmine, Juniper Berry; Base Orris Butter, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Musk, Vanilla and Cashmere Woods.
Disclaimer: Review is based on a bottle generously provided by the brand. My opinions are my own.
Rachel Watson, Senior Contributor
Wake Up, Angels was created by Sarah Horowitz-Thran in 2022 and be purchased here
Sarah Horowitz Parfums Wake Up, Angel (courtesy of the brand)
Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Horowitz Parfums we have a 1.7 oz bottle of Wake Up, Angel 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 Rachel’s review. Do you have a favorite Sarah Horowitz Parfums fragrance? Draw closes 8/9/22
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