The road to becoming a perfumer is an incredibly varied one with choices and sacrifices needing to be made from the very beginning. One of the biggest decisions though is whether to train privately or as part of an institution, or even to dispense with formal training all together. When Jessica Buchanan took the brave leap to move from western Canada to Grasse she really did put all of her eggs in one basket, but she was determined to succeed. Twelve years later she is the founder of her own company, 1000 Flowers, and the creator of the exquisite fragrances Réglisse Noire and Rose Cassis Paradis.
Jessica’s entrance to perfumery began at an early age with a fascination for essential oils. Private study saw her start to create natural fragrances, and she also became a certified clinical aromatherapist in 2006, but she realised that a more formal training was going to be needed to take her career to the next level. So, the following year, Jessica moved to France to study at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery and, after graduating, followed this up with internships at the famous Robertet and Mane. In 2017 she opened her fist boutique in the city of Grasse with two wonderfully contrasting collections.
Jessica’s Original Collection is a selection of three of her earliest fragrances. It’s an interesting choice of scents because it includes one from before she trained in Grasse, Narcotic Flowers, and two that were created after she graduated, Réglisse Noire and Ode. The second range is the Blue Collection and takes its inspiration from both wild and cultivated Mediterranean plants. It’s unusual because it also sees the addition of a beautiful damascena rose water in each of the scents, and it seems to add a delicate continuity to the series. Choosing a favourite from each range was hard but there were two definite standouts.
Réglisse Noire, from the Original Collection, takes the idea of liquorice as its central theme. It opens not with an expected citrus but, instead, with a real push of spices. White pepper and star anise are the most prevalent but, just in the background, there’s a spearmint and ginger. All of these help to push the liquorice to the front but there’s more to come. The development of the scent reveals an almost powdered cocoa aroma, bitter rather than sweet, that links perfectly with patchouli, earthy vetiver, and dry cedarwood. Réglisse Noire conjures up the woody liquorice stick with rather more bite than sweetness.
Rose Cassis Paradis, from the Blue Collection, is an exquisite fruity floral scent that takes this well-worn style but gives it a welcome maturity. Inspired by the Line Renaud rose, you are greeted with a “fruity rose accord” that never veers into the overtly sweet or cloyingly floral. The vibrant rose is given a green edge and paired with blackcurrant, mango, and just a touch of raspberry to give a body that is addictive. I found that the aroma of “pear drop” sweets gave a crispness to the scent, linking beautifully down to the elegant cedarwood and a stem-like vetiver, and the rosewater in here really does add an effervescence to the scent.
Réglisse Noire and Rose Cassis Paradis are both available from Jessica Buchanan's website at 100Flowers.ca priced at £11 for 10ml and £60 for 50ml.
Thank you so much Stephan for this wonderful review! These 2 (plus Ode), are the winners in the boutique as well. Wishing you and all your readers a happy summer/winter. See you again in Grasse! <3
ReplyDeleteHello Jessica, it's lovely to hear from you. You told me to take a chance on Réglisse Noire and you were absolutely correct. I'll hopefully see you at the end of August. Best, Stephan
DeleteI love liquorice scents, plus, I loved the stringy liquorice root when I was kid.
ReplyDeleteHello Barry, it's the liquorice root that I was most reminded of and it works beautifully on the skin. Best Stephan
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