La Promenade, BlogZine di Informazione

This new limited edition eau de parfum envisions the cavernous space, imbued by scent filling the air and the delicately smoky environment, of our original perfume workshop. It was this area, where for over two centuries until the end of the 1970s, all Floris fragrance was created and poured. The workshop, two floors below the original shop on Jermyn Street, is a vaulted cellar the family lovingly refer to as the ‘mine’ due to the long periods of time spent day after day, crafting their perfumes and experimenting with new ingredients in this subterranean studio. Fumée de Jasmin, a masculine woody floral fragrance, takes inspiration from a day imagined in the Floris ‘mine’ in the 19th century, with swathes of individual fragrance oils and finished compositions that would have been present in this creative space. Batches of blended floral scents built up over the previous century, merging with hints of the earthy Victorian brickwork arches, and rich Spanish mahogany fittings. The new fragrance is borne of a simple accord between jasmine and cedarwood, the core of this story. The coming together of two key ingredients imagined at the end of a day, after the blending of a batch of Night Scented Jasmine by our ancestors, combining with the smoking stove, to warm the air. The jasmine and cedar wood accord combine with other scents that would be in the air at the time, in particular a quintessential English ingredient, lavender which adds a freshness to the top notes, whilst resins of middle eastern woods, and exotic nuances of black pepper and tobacco all play a part. The subtle smokiness has been imagined through the inclusion of a carnation note in the heart of the fragrance.

Referring to our original recipe books from the period the early 19th century, we found them to be dominated first and foremost by flowers as our family were attempting to recreate the wonderful fragrance of nature. In February 2015 we re-opened the ‘mine’ for exploration and during that time came across a pallet of old ingredient bottles from as far back as the early 20th century. One such bottle that struck us was a beautiful cask of Jasmine that after all this time and decades of dust still held onto its clearly defined scent. These items are now on display to the public in the museum area at the rear of the 89 Jermyn Street store.

Top Note: Lavender, Bergamot
Heart: Jasmine, Carnation, Black Pepper
Base: Cedarwood, Oriental Resins, Woody Amber Notes, Vanilla, Javawood, Tobacco