[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] In one of my 10 Minute Clinics, I spoke to Lynnette Hecker, a vintage specialist and stylist (HERE) about how to start a vintage beauty collection. One of the topics that came up is what to look out for as future collectables and fragrance bottles is right at the top. Anything in limited edition and pristine condition is something to keep if you’d like to start collecting. Which brings me around to The Merchant Of Venice’s newest launch – Flamant Rose. It’s worth looking at their bottles HERE which are utterly lovely to see why they will fall into the future collectable category. It’s a relatively small company so while not limited edition, the runs aren’t huge in the way that L’Oreal’s are and they’re not so readily available either. But, they are expensive because they’re a luxury brand. Flamant Rose is part of their ‘special edition’ collection.
If you like a voluptuous fragrance, you won’t be disappointed here. Flamant Rose is an amber floral that opens flamboyantly with lemon, mandarin and petitgrain wrapped in apricot, orange blossom and geranium. I would swear, if I had to blind test this, that there is rose in this – possibly because of the name but also because my nose says so, and yet it is not listed in the notes. As it turns out, Flamant Rose translates as Flamingo Pink so my mind has been tricked by language 🙂
So, this mix of citrus-in-flowers is delicious and surprising. It’s sweet and vivacious at first spritz and quickly becomes warm and at home on the skin. I’m drawn to the orange notes – both blossom and mandarin – and the dash of apricot enhances them both. Strangely, I find it harder to pick out the verbena but I think your nose knows what it likes so heads there first! As you might expect from the name of the brand, The Merchant of Venice works closely with Murano glass makers (even the tea light holders are stunning HERE) so it’s very much a collaboration of glass craftsmanship and perfume excellence combining to make the most covetable items. Flamingos, apparently, love to gather in the Venice lagoon.
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Even the box has been designed to be visually rich and emblematic – ornamental on its own. The base notes of tonka, musk and patchouli provide a smooth lushness amongst the citrus and round the fragrance off so that it’s a complete sensory experience although the tonka takes over a bit too much for my personal liking as time goes on. I have found Flamant Rose to be exceptional in last (it’s a ‘concentree’) and entrancing in looks. The bottle is sitting on my sideboard so I look at it every day – my eye is always drawn to it but it’s taken til today for me to notice that the pink glass has a slightly pearlescent quality to it. The feather is not an exact match – it’s slightly orange toned – so visually it’s doing a sort of radiant sunset thing. Anything from The Merchant of Venice is a luxury buy by my own standards – Flamant Rose is £250 HERE as a Harvey Nichols exclusive. Non-affiliate is HERE.
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