A life cradled by the soft, intoxicating scent of thousands of petals, a career devoted to the exaltation of the ephemeral beauty of flowers. To Saskia Havekes, Australian artist and founder of the brand Grandiflora, the search for the most precious and rare botanical species is a true vocation.

Branches, blooms and foliage in Saskia Havekes hands become small works of art destined to shine in the houses of royals, artists and celebrities all around the world. In 1995, Saskia opened a flower shop in Sydney and her passion, supported by managerial skills and artistic talent, leads to the publication of four books that, from 1999 to 2015, document the grace of her floral arrangements.

The flowers, the sublime miracle of nature that each season renews its pure and captivating beauty by dressing the earth with colours and filling the air with poetry, are her inspiration and her art, of which she wants to keep not only a visual portrait, but also an olfactory portrait. In 2011, Saskia entrusted to the French nose Sandrine Videault, pupil of Edmond Roudnitska, the creation of a fragrance able to capture the soul, the fresh and delicate breath of the Magnolia Grandiflora, emblematic flower of the brand.

Sandrine Videault portrays a fleshy bud, wet by shining gems of dew and wrapped in the rosy light of dawn. The Magnolia created by Sandrine seems to exalt the pureness and the fragility of the flower. Its petals reverberate of a transparent pearlescence with notes of grapefruit and lemon on an accord of dry woods and white pepper, enfolded by juicy hints of summer fruits (melon, watermelon) and green notes, caressed by a breath of marine notes and musk.  A fragrance infused with all the sensitivity, talent and elegance of the perfumer who passed away prematurely in 2013.

Michel, son of the famous master perfumer Edmond Roudnitska, met Saskia and, as a tribute tribute to Sandrine’s work, gave  her a fragrance that he previously created for his personal collection, a Magnolia immortalized at the height of its beauty. A bright jus of lemon, grapefruit and bergamot opens the fragile bud, revealing the refined sensuality of the majestic flower. Creamy, enveloping and romantic, the magnolia intertwines the notes of jasmine and ylang ylang, framed by a lush emerald green foliage, amid earthy and woody hints of vetiver, patchouli and musk. The first two fragances of the Grandiflora Collection come to life with the names of  Magnolia Sandrine and Magnolia Michel.

In 2015, Michel creates the fragrance Madagascan Jasmine, inspired by the Stephanotis Floribunda. A beautiful fragrance soliflore where the exotic jasmine exhales its intoxicating breath between aquatic and green notes, supported by the woody, smoky and earthy shades of a modern musky accord.

In 2016, Grandiflora Collection welcomes Queen of the Night, a fragrance created by Bertrand Duchaufour and inspired by the giant flower of Selenicereus Grandiflorus, a cactus species originating from Antilles, Mexico and Central America that blooms only once a year and for a single night.

Bertrand decides to revive the compelling charm of the night-blooming flower through an olfactive evolution able to document its apparition in the suggestive setting of the desert. Surrounded by the suffused glow of the moonlight, amid dusty, mineral, musky and incense accords, the intoxicating spell of Queen of the Night wafts soft and irresistible, entwining the freshness of citruses to the captivating delight of berries and a bewitching spicy touch of cloves. A wonderful imaginary flower blooms around a milky, transparent and indolic accord of silky white petals. The sublime scent is centred around the flower of seringa (Philadelphus  coronarius or Sweet mock orange) that associates the effervescent crystalline brilliance of Wisteria and the innocent candor of the lily of the valley, supported by jasmin and, most of all, by orange blossom absolute that combines a strong indolic note with the mineral shade. A sensual bouquet of gardenia and ylang ylang shapes the fleshy petals of the Queen, that now sighs in a powdery touch of mimosa, sandalwood, amber, vanilla and musk, exhaling her silent song in a magnetic trace of incense.

I had the chance to try Grandiflora Fragrances at Fenwick store, in New Bond Street, where I have been captured by the charm of Queen of the Night. The fragrances, in 100 ml size Eau de Parfum concentration, can be purchased from Grandiflora web site to this link.