Room Service collage courtesy of Vilhelm Parfumerie
Swedish-born Creative Director Jan Vilhelm Ahlgren of Vilhelm Perfumerie is a visionary, delivering beautiful olfactive stories and equally captivating narratives to accompany them. The inspiration for Vilhelm Parfumerie Room Service is Greta Garbo, the iconic actress of the 1930s, well know even today for her gender bender androgynous sensual style. Garbo captivated audiences in a way no one else could throughout her career. The public saw one side of her, but she was known to withdraw into her private world. It was in the 1932 movie Grand Hotel that she spoke the famous line, “I want to be alone”.
Poster for Grand Hotel 1932 apped MC
In the film, Garbo plays a renowned Russian ballerina, staying in the exclusive Berlin hotel, “a place where nothing ever happens.” But there are many plots afoot and nothing could be farther from the truth. There is a thief after her jewels and her heart. Mise-en-scène: There is an unfinished supper brought up to the room to avoid the prying eyes; the butler draws a bath with aromatic oils of violets and sweet musk. Its heady aroma slowly overtakes the room filled with a soft fruit fragrance, it’s overflowing with ripened nectarines and blackberries. Garbo slowly approaches the bath as the silk robe slips of her alabaster skin. She is completely lost in reverie and doesn’t notice the the shadow of a man lurking behind the curtains. The predator will soon become the prey.
Room Service by Olya Bar
Vilhelm Parfumerie Room Service composed by perfumer Jerome Epinette is almost cinematic in the way he overlays an icy orchid accord with green and vegetal bamboo notes, lush fruits, and sensual florals. Flirtation and the need for privacy coexist peacefully in this composition, as two different moods of the same woman. It starts with an uplifting nod to the fragrances we have seen emerge in the 90s, bright and bubbly, what may seem like pink florals, slowly morphs into much more sensual and musky direction. As one wears it, a darker heart of violets and orchids emerges, letting the rich woodsy base peek through. Room Service celebrates the pleasure of luxury yet with a sense of approachable simplicity. The fragrance opens with the ebullient nectar of fruits, cooled by the green sap of bamboo. The heart is filled with velvety soft violets, showing restraint of emotion and the need to be alone, while the base brings the grounding warmth of sandalwood and amber, enveloped with musk. It leaves you craving more, as if you have just met a mysterious woman and you are looking forward to inhale her scent one again and uncover the secrets she hides so masterfully.
If Garbo was wearing Room Service she would have a hard time being alone. You will too.
Notes: Blackberry, Orange, Violets, Orchid, Bamboo, Musk, Amber, Sandalwood.
Europerfumes generously provided a bottle of Vilhelm Parfumerie Room Service. I work with Europerfumes. The opinions are always my own.
–Olya Bar, contributor
Room Service by Olya Bar
Thanks to the generosity of Europerfumes we have a draw for Vilhelm Parfumerie Room Service for one registered reader in the USA ONLY. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Olya’s review of Vilhem’s Room Service. Have you tried Vilhelm Parfumerie fragrances before? Draw closes 8/22/2021
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