Hello, cherished reader; as always, we're grateful you're here and for this time we have together. Before we proceed with February's news and fragrance release, we wanted to extend the following message to our communities in the United States of America and beyond.
We stand in unwavering solidarity with those experiencing and resisting the systems of oppression that poison the land, silence the outcries of reason, and exploit and take countless lives. Our hearts are broken, and we remain steadfastly with you through the injustices. We will never turn our eyes away.
The world of perfumery is inherently political; customs from ancient times immortalized through modern wellness, sacred/cultural rites, and everyday practices of self-care, beauty, and pleasure. Working with natural essences binds us to their diverse histories and wholly implicates us in the welfare of the land and peoples who’ve historically developed the art of scent.
Our struggles are interconnected. No one is illegal on stolen land and safety is a fundamental human right. Land Back, Free Palestine, Ice Out. Freedom for Iran and for Sudan, Stand with Ukraine, and all eyes on the countless other communities facing oppression.
bergamot rind · black pepper · clove absolute · damask rose · cascades of rainfall · frankincense · saffron · oud attar
First conjured in March of 2020, Babylon Rose pays homage to the fabled flora of an ancient metropolis, and the biblical downpours that allowed for paradisiacal vegetation to burst forth and cascade down the brick, golden columns, and brilliant frescoes of an otherwise arid Babylonia.
available February 13th
at noon EST
Vincent Grepel, friend of the studio and the mind behind Fréquence, played an integral part in the inception of the Forêt aux Instruments scent collection, conceived to celebrate and transmute the majesty of a symphonic orchestra into scent.
Fréquence curates immersive playlists inspired by fragrance, further developing the stories told through the senses. We're thrilled and flattered to share his latest list of songs, inspired by our fragrance Rose Fantôme.
They say a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but that doesn't stand true in our world.
Babylon Rose (available February 13th) and Rose Fantôme initially signal their distinct tale through their epithets---one an interpretation of abundance and cascades of rainfall, the other a quiet elegy to the cobbled paths, sun-dried moss, and funerary sculptures erected for the dearly departed from centuries ago.
Babylon Rose is vibrant; a buoyant veil of bergamot rind and spices to warm the scent of cool rainfall and blooming roses. Base notes of fragrant woods and musk make it an alluring, seductive scent, vibrating with the sensuality of life in full bloom.
Rose Fantôme, on the other hand, begins with the aroma of sun-dried grasses, hay, and the strange moss overtaking the centuries-old monuments of the graveyard. Porcelain roses, their once-vibrant hues muted through the years, are brought to life through an accord of porcelain, rose, and immortelle. A dry, delicate spectre.
Which rose will you pick this Valentines?
To appreciate scent is to appreciate life, to experience the generosity of the Earth and the rich heritage of cultures unanimously under the threat of destruction.
May you find moments of healing, unity, and calm within the resistance.
April Lea x
founder & perfumer
AND THE LVNEA TEAM