Merveilles de la Mer - Wonders of the Sea
Something that is so much 'me'. This project has been with me for years and I had so many other distractions that it took a pandemic and lockdown to make me look around and figure out who and what I really wanted to do...
This offering is for anyone who loves the sea, loves beauty, loves scent, loves memory, and feels nostalgia is like a big, soft jumper they can wrap themselves in during times of need.
Limited Edition solid scent presented in dry polished sea shell, collected from my wanderings over the last decade or so, in a keepsake tin. The bed of dried herbs, granulated resin and crushed seashell infuses its salty, ozonic signature to the poured solid botanic perfume, gifting it something uniquely sought after in realms of perfumery; a real scent of the sea. Each perfume pour is matured in the tin with this bed of shells, incense and herbs, to infuse it with the signature of the sea. The shell's fabric seal is made of beeswax infused organic calico cotton and is compostable. It's in place so that your magical perfume balm remains free of any seaweed or shell detritus. This bed of aromatic wax can be used as a 'melt' in a standard oil burner.
The green colour is completely natural, coming from the addition of Tamanu Oil, Polynesian 'green gold', that provides immense skin benefits as well as its subtle, nutty aromatic, which works well with the bright notes of beachside tang. The scent is a blend of oceanic inspired aromatics from Bergamot, Lime, Frankincense, Neroli, Galbanum, Ylang Ylang, Vanilla and artisan botanical infusions. It is citrus fresh with green florals, and balsamic undertones. Just like the beaches I wander.
Collecting shells is something I have always enjoyed. I only ever try to pick two or three, or maybe just ONE very special friend from any beach I walk on. My children have grown up with the same sensibility, probably from watching me choose, and then leave, a selection of shells, rocks, fossils and driftwood. Some things called to me to take care of them. Others needed to be left right where they were...
The Scent Story
Growing up along the coast of SE Qld and Northern NSW, the vast ocean has always inspired me as much as the wanderings along endless beaches, and the treasures and wonders I'd collect that were washed up by the tides. This scent comes heavy with nostalgia, but light in fragrance texture.
Years ago while on a holiday in Aotearoa | New Zealand, friends of ours invited us on a trip over the mountains to Greytown. While visiting the unique little shops there I found a beautiful poster with scientific illustrations of various seashells and coral titled 'Merveilles de la Mer'. I had to have it. A ridiculously difficult challenge ensued to get it back to Australia uncrushed, but I managed.
It now hangs in my workspace to remind me of my time in Wellington, NZ, the fresh blast of the ocean direct from the Antarctic, the marvelous rainbows from paua shell fossicked from the shoreline and ultra-clean, salt-whipped air along Oriental Bay.
The tins inevitably became the best container for this project as they will keep the material inside safe and to an extent, airtight. The idea is that over time (during maturation) the scent of the crushed shell in the scented wax would infuse into the solid perfume balm. The use of salt, dried herbs and granulated incense in the wax base gives the solid perfume a unique salty signature that I know others will enjoy. It'll set off your lymbic receptors! but that is what scent is all about. Memory, experiences, exploration, daydreams and beauty.
I will be making more of these in time with other selections of shells, but for now there are just three options in the collection. These photos are indicative of the shells you will receive, as they are all individuals, and will vary.
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