Bramble
Bramble
eau d’esprit
Description
Inspired by the sisterhood of rose and berry plants, shared aromatic molecules and qualities are woven into an ambrosial rose perfume out of dreams.
Buttery Turkish rose grown and distilled on small family farms and distributed by Japanese company, Rose Road Marumi (marumi.biz), glitters like a jewel at the heart of Bramble. The sweet, wine-like aroma of raspberry leaf absolute has been enriched by sumptuous tobacco, both sharing radiant, rose and dry fruit-like damascone molecules integral to the scent of roses. They also share haunting, violet-scented ionone molecules with rich, golden acacia—revered as Tree of Life in ancient Africa. Precious, sustainably-sourced oils from the balsamic amyris tree and Spanish labdanum resin sing like honey on skin, made sensual by patchouli and vetiver and shaded with depth by cacao, black spruce and wormwood.
Notes
wild orange, wild raspberry, strawberry aldehydes, wormwood, black hemlock, Rose Road Turkish rose, acacia flower, violet, wild amber, tobacco, wild amyris wood, cedar wood, patchouli leaf, vetiver root
5 petals of Venus, showing a simplified geocentric plot of the orbit of Venus over 8 years, from 2016 to 2023. Image by Guy Ottewell on EarthSky.org
Botanical Spirits
acacia/cassie absolute, wild amyris oil, cacao absolute, black hemlock absolute, wild labdanum absolute, wild orange oil, patchouli oil, black pepper oil, raspberry leaf absolute, RoseRoad Turkish rose absolute, rose centifolia hydrosol, California strawberry hydrosol, tobacco absolute, vetiver oil, wormwood oil
SimulacrA
Phantasy accords: green leaves, raspberry fruit, violet flower, vegan musk
Essence
The woodland mantle of the Rose of Heaven: wild roses and raspberries tangled beneath a spring sky, blooming with flowers and fruit while fragrant wormwood, tobacco nightshades and wood violets grow in their shadows. Their five-petalled flowers reflect the rose shape the planet Venus makes on its path through the sky—goddess and god of life, death, fertility and magic in cultures across the Earth and ages.
Inspiration
In the summer months of California, native raspberries and invasive blackberries sway like jewels in the summer wind and ocean fog, along creeks and roads, and beneath dusky redwood canopies. I would pick them with my sisters as we played on paths and animal trails, staining our hands and clothes deep purple and red. Perhaps arriving as seeds in the bellies of crows, or blooming in the footsteps of humans hungry for gold, these members of the rosacea family and rubus genus (named for the red of their berries) are cousins to the wild California roses that grow in the secret places of forests and woodland. Revered for its nourishment, medicine and perfume, the wild rose has been held in high esteem for millennia. Dappled with light and purple forest shadow, we begin to see just how these fragrant entities were recognized as divine.
They and their cousins are considered a pest or noxious weed in urban areas, providing both food and shelter for animal species that have found cities built on top of their habitats. Across gardens and in forgotten corners, at the edges where the world of men blurs into spaces not-entirely-human, five-petalled flowers bloom and are fertilized by bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other beings, generating nourishment for themselves and their neighbors. They are dispersed across towns and cities on the wings of birds, revolutions taking the shape of arching canes, sweet juice, thorns, delicate petals and roots that pull apart cement.
Shroud
Serpentine bramble canes heavy with pink roses, luscious wood and forest resin caress skin—the most precious of wild shrines.
Conjuration
Anoint yourself to infuse your physical and etheric bodies with the beauty and magic of Venus. Use in work involving embodiment, nourishment, growth, love, protection and elevation.
RITUAL
anoint arms, heart, hair and the lunar curve of your neck; as well as candles, bedding, mirrors, icons and personal effects.
Ingredients: alcohol (ethanol), fragrance (absolutes, CO2 extracts, essential oils, synthesized aromatic molecules, tinctures), California strawberry hydrosol, rose centifolia hydrosol, greenspot nightshade Venus kazimi 2022 flower essence [Venus transition from morning to evening star]
100 ml / 3.3 fl. oz.
Reverently prepared and bottled in small batches in South San Francisco, California.
Product photography by Alex Venegas.