Glitz; The Art of Flora
By Jo Phillips
Who doesn’t love the scent of a beautiful flower , who doesn’t love the look of nature at its best, at its most extreme, at its most sensuous? We understand the reasons flowers grow- they can feed insects, birds, animals and humans; provide natural medicines for not just us but also some animals; obviously they are part and parcel of the plant’s reproduction by enticing outside pollinators. They maintain stability in our food chain, in our ecosystem and they even help in cleaning in certain river water too. For hundreds of years they have been regarded as a symbol of love and beauty, they also have the power to make people happy and cheerful. But most of all when we think of a flowers uses we think Perfume; a cornerstone ingredient from literally the earliest of perfumes.
Colognes were an early form of perfume from toilette waters to colognes; a simple fragrance water made up of citrus elements and flowers typically including oils of lemon, orange, tangerine, clementine, bergamot, lime, grapefruit, blood orange, and bitter orange. They also contain oils of neroli, lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano, petitgrain (orange leaf), jasmine, olive, oleaster, and tobacco. Cologne, is a perfume style originating from the city of Cologne in Germany. Now it relates to the concentration of 2–5% or more depending upon its type essential oils or a blend of extracts, alcohol, and water. Importantly however are the ideas of these fresh fruity floral scents as they now can be found as EDT and EDP.
So what is a good place to find where these two worlds of fragrance collide? Ancienne Ambiance is a damm fine place to start. After all as their name suggests they are inspired by antiquity.
A London-based luxury niche perfume house which started out in 2004 with a small collection of ancient themed hand-poured luxury scented candles with fine fragrances. Inspired by antiquity (the ancient past, especially the period of classical and other human civilisations before the Middle Ages) it has now grown to include luxury gifts, soaps, bath oils, homeware and accessories online or from its London based store. They produce handmade luxury goods in the UK and France and pride themselves on sustainable and ethical practices throughout their business model.
They have a collection of five cologne style fragrances each with a different facet, that are delightfully chic and refreshing light, yet lasting. However they have not been afraid to explore and expand typical cologne styling meaning each fragrance has a modernity embedded within each of the collection of five.
New Colonia IV: Bergamot, Neroli, Tonka EDT A fresh citrus fragrance of lemon, orange, tangerine and bergamot with a hint of lavender and neroli scent. A true twist on the traditional, bright uplifting and fizzy with a hit of warmth via the tonka bean.
New Colonia VII: Pink Grapefruit, Blood Orange, Musk EDT Another sparkling fruity-citrus fragrance, composed of pink grapefruit, tangerine, blood orange and musk notes. The musk gives the slight animalic sexy tones.
New Colonia VI: Blackcurrant, Geranium, Peach EDT Sweet fruity notes, composed of orange, lemon, blackcurrant and geranium. A light warm slightly sunny easy fragrance to wear every day and great to explore if you have never worn a cologne before
New Colonia IX: Cedar, Sandalwood, Patchouli EDP An woody-oriental fragrance, blending cedar and sandalwood with a hint of patchouli. The Patchouli brings that slight powderey musk hit and again a greta example of where you can go with the ideals of cologne.
New Colonia VIII: White Fig, Sandalwood EDP A sweet Fig fragrance with a mix of green notes and a touch of woody sandalwood. Fig brings a green note whilst the sandalwood roots it firmly in the wood family
A unisex scent collection and so open for all to wear; it will lift your spirits, lift your heart and you will smell of course fantastic.
Interestingly earlier this year the brand collaborated with renowned florist and flower artist Carly Rogers on a shop installation to celebrate The Chelsea flower Show. From the windows to inside the store, vibrant and vivacious summer flowers showcased an ‘inside-out and upside-down garden’; a bright pop of flower power with colourful pink peonies and roses. The floral art installation perfectly illustrated the Ancienne Ambiance’ Colonia Collection of niche fragrance.
Carly Rogers is a Camberwell based artist, who has collaborated with .Cent on editorials shoots many times. As an art school graduate there is a decidedly complex edge to her work, often based in an intellectual process that is bought to life via floral and fauna. Always stunning she pushes boundaries to create dazzling artistic installations.
Image below Cent Magazine (c) Kate Plumb
We can never deny the importance of flowers in our lives. They have a great role in make us feel happy and cheerful in every situation. So this is a great combination; where two brands come together to explore art and artistry, scent and perfume what could be more powerful beautiful or smell anymore superb!
Photography Jason Yates 3 Cale Street, London, SW3 3QT . ancienneambiance
