Well we seem to be on a bit of roll here with some of the more hyper-niche perfumers being featured at the Posse and that’s a good thing.
Liz Zorn is one that I was meaning to write about for a while, but I mistakenly thought that she had shut down her perfume business in favor of her (quite excellent) art. So I kind of didn’t want to write about something that you’re unable to get; it’s sort of like stating that I just had the Apollonian ideal of cherry pie just now, but I got he last piece and the bakery closed. Too bad, so sad. Come to find out I was wrong, and one can still get the lovely Blood Orange & Vetiver I purchased at her “going out of business sale” but not the Gardenia.
Well, something is better than nothing, right? And as lovely as Gardenia 63 is, with it’s crisp, green, stemmy opening and bright, fresh, eminently wearable take on Gardenia I have to say that given a choice I would go with the Blood Orange and Vetiver every time.
Blood Oranges, as you know, are those seasonal Oranges originally from Spain (I think) that are (I think) seasonal over winter (I think.) I’m not sure if they grow them in the US or they all come from abroad, but they’re known for being slightly sweeter than a regular orange and having the singular blood red flesh that can, when ripe, be almost black. In America it’s a tradition that one gets Mandarins or Clementines over the holidays as stocking stuffers (“Cuties” is the big brand in the States) but I will take a blood orange anytime over those. Zorn pairs the bright orange with cinnamon, cardamom, and a touch of nutmeg (to quote Ina Garten “not so much you think ‘Oh, Nutmeg'”) to give it a little, dare I type it? Holiday Flair as well as some grassy vetiver and a grounding in vanilla, woods, and comforting musk.
Being natural it’s not shrieking or overwhelming or obvious but it does have great lasting power. Considering airports, fractious relatives and the general case of the “icks” one (at least I) get at this time of the year, I say who needs to be “Home for the Holidays” when I can have this, fettuccine Carbonara and Turner Classic Movies on demand? That makes me truly thankful.
(I know- how DOES he say single?)
Blood Orange and Vetiver is available at the perfumer’s website, $135 for 30ML of Eau de Parfum, which these days is basically free. I purchased my bottles from the perfumer. Some of her other scents (some of which may no longer be available) can be sampled from Surrender to Chance.
Photos: my iPhone, and Pexels
I also think blood oranges are from Sicily because of a perfume that I like very much, Arancia Di Sicilia (“Sicilian Orange”). “Top notes: Arancia Sanguinella” = blood orange – extracted in Sicily. The orange in this is gorgeous. I agree blood oranges are delicious! They’re the only oranges I buy when I can find them.
I bookmarked Liz Zorn’s website. I think I could like Blood Orange & Vetiver and there were several others that I would like to try.
I think blood oranges are a southern Italian and Sicilian thing, they do need cold nights to develop the red blush on their skin and to develop a deeper color inside, they grow well in coastal So-Cal, there is a tree in the lotus infested garden where I work, its location shared among a few worthies, they are really good.
Great info, thanks!