Byredo Green, Rose Noir, Gypsy Water, Pulp & Chembur: A New Cosmopolitan Swedish Name in Fragrance (2008) {New Perfumes - New Brand}
Byredo is a Stockholm-based newcomer onto the perfume scene as a brand founded by Ben Gorham, a graduate of the Stockholm Art School and an ex-student of interior design. Acting as creative director for the new line, he has assembled the talents of perfumers Olivia Giacobetti, Jérôme Epinette, and Michel Almairac to compose a collection of five fine fragrances, six home fragrances - and drawing on his love for interior decoration - one for boutique hotels.
The five Eaux de Parfum are titled Green, Rose Noir, Gypsy Water, Pulp, and Chembur. Says Gorham,
"I have always been fascinated by the world of fragrance and its effects on my memories and impressions. Through BYREDO I want to communicate my own personal experiences - to contribute to an almost collective memory of time and place. I also believe in a modern approach without loosing olfactory techniques - of simply bringing together the best of old and new." .....
Green is inspired by Gorham's memories of his father's cologne from the late 1970s, with the memory of an original overdose of green notes, hence the name.
Top: orange petigrain, sage
Mid: jasmine, rose, honeysuckle, violet
Base: Tonka almond, musk
Rose Noir is an unisex rose perfume. "The vision was a black rose with intensity and an animalic character."
Top: grapefruit, freesia
Mid: rose damascena
Base: cistus moss, musks
Gypsy Water is a homage paid to gypsies, thanks to the artistic director's fascination for Romany culture. It was conceived of as "a fictional glamorization of this lifestyle filled with mystical woods and earthy influences."
Top: bergamot, lemon, pepper, juniper berries
Mid: incense, pine needles, orris
Base: amber, vanilla, sandalwood
Pulp is a daring fruity composition. "Imagine the very ripest pulp of a fig mingled with red apples and tiare to reveal a backdrop of smooth praline, cedar wood, and peach flower."
Top: bergamot, cardamom, blackcurrant
Mid: red apple, fig, tiare
Base: cedar wood, praline, peach flower
Chembur is an interpretation of affective olfactory memories of the neigborhood in which Gorham's mother was born and raised, located on the outskirts of Mumbai. "My memories of this place have become the bases for a fragrance best described as a vaguely spicy temple incense."
Top: bergamot, lemon, elimi
Mid: ginger, temple incense, nutmeg
Base: labdanum, amber, musk
The perfumes have a selective international distribution. They are available at Barney's, New York, Colette, Paris, Skin Cosmetics, Amsterdam, and Les Senteurs, London, amongst others.
In Europe, a 100 ml bottle is priced at 110 €.
Via Byredo press
