Liz Earle's Botanical Essence No.15
At the lovely Liz Earle press breakfast last week, we were shown so many fabulous new products from the brand, there will be a few coming up on this blog over the coming weeks. I started off the week with Liz Earle’s Special Edition Prince’s Trust Cleanse and Polish, and to end it, the gorgeous new fragrance, Botanical Essence No.15.
The first Liz Earle fragrance was No.1, so you might wonder why this isn’t No.2?! I know I did. Well, the answer is simple – it’s called No.15 because it contains 15 precious botanicals. It’s a fresh, spicy oriental scent, but it’s not a heavy oriental like many traditional oriental scents are.
It’s very clean, quite sweet, and really really lovely. Feminine tones of pink pepper, cinnamon and bergamot add the spice. Damask rose and sandalwood add sensuality; tonka bean and Bourbon vanilla add heart and warmth; amber musk, cypriol and cedarwood give clean and fresh undertones.
Over 90% of the ingredients in t
he perfume are naturally derived, and there are no animal extracts at all (some perfume ingredients are derived from animals). The beautiful box is decorated with botanical illustrations of all 15 ingredients, and they are listed inside. The bottle is opaque, very tactile, and sits inside a velvety-lining in the box. This is a beautiful perfume gift.
It was created for Liz Earle by Perfumer Alienor Massenet, and here’s part of a Q&A Liz herself did with Alienor.
Liz: When did you first know you wanted to be a perfumer?
Alienor: I made the decision to be a perfumer at the age of 20, but have been obsessed with smell since I was just six.
Liz: How did you become a perfumer?
Alienor: I started to make candles and fragrances for friends and then began to sell them. At a certain point, I contacted the Director of IFF Paris every week requesting an internship, and eventually he met me and I showed him my fragrances. He offered me an internship in New York for six months, back in 1995. I stayed for seven years and then moved to IFF Paris.
Liz: What is the most exciting element when you are creating a fragrance from a brief? How do you create something unique?
Alienor: I like experimenting, either playing with new ingredients or using a classic ingredient such as rose and contrasting it with something a bit crazy to create something new. I have to stay in touch with what is going on in the market but I am not a slave to new trends and this helps me create fragrances which are new and unique.
Liz: How did you get into the Liz Earle ‘headspace’?
Alienor: I worked with Jean-Charles Niel, the creator of Botanical Essence No.1, and so started to get a feel for the brand then. I also spent time with the Liz Earle team when they visited our Paris Creative Centre. Looking at the website, visiting the stores, trying the products and being a long-stand
ing Liz fan really helped too!
Liz: What excited you about working on this brief?
Alienor: The challenge to create a fresh oriental; a light but sensual fragrance, something new on the market; an oriental fragrance which will appeal to people who do not normally wear orientals.
Liz: Finally, do you wear your own creations, and have you worn Botanical Essence No.15?
Alienor: I always wear the fragrances I am working on – it is the only way to understand them. So, yes, I wear Botanical Essence No.15. I love it!
Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.15, £45 (50ml) is available from October
