Photo: permission from Hiram Green Perfumes
When I was a little girl, my father and I would sit out on summer evenings star-gazing. I treasure those memories of me snuggled up to him, as we played connect-the-dots with the stars. “Look, Dad, those stars make a house.” I’d squeal. His shapes were always goofy. “There’s a fish playing hockey,” he’d say and we’d end up laughing and laughing.
But for all of that, it was the Moon that held my interest the most. I was fascinated by its constancy. One night, I panicked, “Dad, the Moon is lost,” I said. “It’ll be back in a couple of days,” Dad said, “Look, there’s a dog riding a bicycle.” The Moon may disappear for a while and it may seem bigger or smaller at times or shine bright white or Hallowe’en orange, but it always comes back and shows its same side – its true face – The Man in the Moon looking down upon us.
As I grew older, I became captivated by the lore of the Moon, the role it’s played in history, art and literature and by its effect on our physical lives; the ocean’s tides, the calendar, and plants, like datura, jasmine and turberose. Especially tuberose.
Tuberose is a night blooming flower. During its blooming cycle, tuberose flowers release a sweet, rich aroma at dusk to attract the nocturnal moths that pollinate it. So intoxicating is this scent, that it has given tuberose a reputation for being narcotic and arousing. In the morning, the fragrance changes to a fresh, green, floral scent.
Despite its name, tuberose isn’t part of the rose family – it’s part of the Amaryllidaceae family of plants and is related to narcissus and jonquil. It’s a native of Central America but was brought to Europe by Conquistadors and over time was cultivated in Grasse where tuberose absolute started to be produced. Today, most tuberose absolute is produced in places like Morocco, India, China, and Hawaii.
Still, I remember sitting out on a moonlit night in the south of France, under a summer sky full of twinkling stars set against a bleu nuit backdrop, a cool drink at my hand, and a soft breeze stirring the sweet, rich fragrance of tuberose my way. I think this is when I started to love tuberose and began to really seek out the best tuberose fragrances, like Moon Bloom by Hiram Green.
Hiram Green is a niche perfumer based in The Netherlands. He was born and raised in Toronto and attended the prestigious Ontario College of Art and Design. After graduation, he moved to London, England where he worked in many perfume stores, before opening his own niche shop called Scent Systems. Over time, he developed an interest in natural perfumery so he closed Scent Systems, moved to The Netherlands and taught himself how to make perfume. He soon started making natural fragrances in small batches, and in 2013 he launched his first fragrance: the highly acclaimed Moon Bloom. I could not wait to try it and when I did, I knew it was one fragrance I was never going to be without.
Moon Bloom is one of those fragrances that doesn’t go through set stages as much as it reveals itself over time. On me, it opens with a gentle green note before the sweet, floral tuberose comes forward. There is a moment where I get a whiff of its mentholated aspect, and that just makes me like it more. As it warms on my skin it gets lushly tropical – I smell coconut, jasmine and banana, from ylang ylang. There’s a spiciness to it too, a quality of pure tuberose absolute, that adds a wonderful depth to the fragrance. The base is rich, warm and resinous.
The drydown is an opulent, rich and elegant fragrance, so beautifully crafted that it that sparks thoughts of tropical climates, hot nights and sweet, sexy (furtive) encounters – ahh, the tuberose effect!
I was looking out my window at the stars the other night and do you know what I saw? A star I’d never seen before. A bright, new star – Hiram Green.
Moon Bloom is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $8.00 for 1 ml.