Due to several ties, there are 13 finalists in the Artisan Category.
Absinthe-Minded
by Anka Kuş Parfüm, Australia
Perfumer: Ali Erkekli
Intoxication is enticing as it allows the psyche a temporary escape from reality, in essence, an absent mind. It releases the endless anxieties and ruthless rumination that revolves around everyday life. The fragrance begins its journey with a boozy and dissociative opening, signifying a liquid overindulgence, containing notes of absinthe, wormwood, anise and sweet fennel. The transitive middle notes of cashmere musk, patchouli and woods attempt to induce the wearer into a comforting, disinhibitive state. Sobering base notes of oakmoss, amber attempt to ease the consciousness back into the material world, however, this reality is short lived due to the compelling and impulsive nature that is addiction.
www.instagram.com/ankakusparfum
Sample available here
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Bonsai
by House of Matriarch, USA
Perfumer: Christi Meshell
Enter the Zen Garden. Within this timeless and sacred place, rare natural notes of alligator juniper, black copal, aglaia flower, chrysanthemum and specimen evergreens of the Far East burst forth in their fullest expression and radiance. Breathing deeply, your heart opens and the marriage of the bright opening to the ancient, earthy base is underway. Magical is the dry down – rooting into the soil of your most primitive pleasure centers with touchpoints of incense, mosses and spicy earth. Linger a while longer. Breathe deeply. Open your heart. Find your zen.
www.matriarch.biz
Sample available here
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Eve
by St. Clair Scents, USA
Perfumer: Diane St. Clair
Eve is one part of the audacious innocence collectuon, inspired by the painting “Pandora” (1896) by the Pre-Raphaelite artist, John William Waterhouse. Showing Pandora as she opens the forbidden box, the artist captures her curious, innocent expression against the backdrop of a dark, sinister forest. The stories of Pandora and Eve, who reached for the forbidden apple, have much in common. Both came to symbolize women who were punished for disobeying orders and acting on their impulses towards curiosity. We believe that women who challenge the rules and follow their curiosity are striving towards creativity, innovation and independence. Thus, these perfumes are part of our “Audacious Innocence” collection.Pandora and Eve are “sister” formulas, sharing most of the same notes. The darker elements of Pandora, reflected in Waterhouse’s painting, make this scent the “yang” to Eve’s “yin”.
www.stclairscents.com
Sample available here
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Fall
by Criminal Elements, Australia
Perfumer: Corey Newcombe
Fall was created after a turbulent start to 2019, and is my first gourmand oriental fragrance. Aromatics from bay laurel and cinnamon give warmth to the opening, while sweet birch lends a medicinal counterpoint to an otherwise amber-centric backbone. Vanilla adds softness through the dry-down, and oakmoss a herbal complexity to the base. A few things I find comforting in times of need have been sculpted as facets of the fragrance; the musty aroma of old books, the sweet woodiness of old-fashioned brewed creaming soda, and a camphorous, sweet labdanum-like aromatic that I encounter on hikes around Morialta which I still haven’t managed to pinpoint; sweet and enchanting, and yet altogether quite elusive.
www.criminalelements.net
Sample available here
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Impermanence
by Christèle Jacquemin, France
Perfumer: Christèle Jacquemin
The IMPERMANENCE Eau de Parfum is inspired by the collection of photographs I made in Jin Ze, a village in the suburbs of Shanghai where I stayed for one month in an artistic residency. It was a month of pure happiness and well-being to wander in the early morning along the canals which traversed this village still preserved from tourism.
www.christelejacquemin.com
Sample available here
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Keman
by DI SER, Japan
Perfumers: Rajesh Balkrishnan and Yasuyuki Shinohara
Keman opens with notes of Japanese rose, geranium, jasmine, and blue tansy. At the heart of the perfume is the fresh aromatic energy of yuzu, cherry blossom, and the unmistakable snap of shiso, or Japanese mint. The scent settles on a base of that exquisite agarwood- dry, smooth, gently smoky, and quietly potent- and woodsy, aromatic cypress. Reverent, uplifting, and serene.
www.diser-parfum.com
Because this was a limited edition scent that has sold out, no samples are available.
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Nepenthe
by En Voyage Perfumes, USA
Perfumer: Shelley Waddington
Nepenthe was inspired by the story of Helen of Troy, who after many trials and adventures, was given the gift of Nepenthe by an Egyptian Queen. It was said that a few drops of this magical liquid would quell all her sorrows and bring her great joy. In The Odyssey, Homer describes how “Helen, Zeus’ daughter, quickly put Nepenthe into the wine they were drinking, making them all forget their troubles. Quieting all pain and strife, and bringing forgetfulness of every ill. His promise was that no one would have a tear fall on their cheek for one whole day.
www.envoyageperfumes.com
Sample available here
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Nimbis
by Parallax Olfactory, USA
Perfumer: Linda Sivrican
An abstract scent expressed through experimental accords. Nimbis represents the scent of fallen meteors: blue iris, violet rays, vibrating violin strings, paste.
www.parallaxolfactory.com
Sample available here
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OBO #302
by OK Fine Fragrances, USA
Perfumer: Steven DeMercado
A mysteriously alluring and easy to wear smokey spiced oud for women and men. Each batch of OBO is aged for 47 days in a bourbon seasoned American Oak barrel. The perfumer crafted notes of blonde oud, ginger, sandalwood, juniper berries and a trace of olibanum to age in a bourbon seasoned oak barrel which imparted a warmer and smokier dimension to the top.
www.okfinefragrances.com
Sample available here
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Perfumista
by Anatole Lebreton, France
Perfumer: Anatole Lebreton
The fragrance is built around a woody rose accord that serves as a common thread. The essence of Bulgarian rose, lively and sparkling, combines with patchouli, round and soft for a heart full of elegance. The accord is dressed in Indian jasmine which accentuates the floral aura and Virginia cedar for a velvety woodiness, fruity notes of pear and plum brighten up the head. The fragrance lets the richness of materials and their generosity express themselves by playing on textures. Sometimes like a stole that flies in the wind, a breath of freedom. Sometimes like a velvet that glides smoothly over the skin.
www.anatolelebreton.com
Sample available here
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Rasa
by Pomares Stolen Perfume, USA
Perfumer: Rachel Binder
Rasa translates from Sanskrit to English as “the taste” but it can also mean a deeply connected feeling place, the energy that flows through you or a quality of art. This perfume is a meditation on the spiritual connectedness of Rasa. I wound up composing a scent whose ingredients all grow together in Northern India, the same place where this aspect of spiritual practice originated. And yet all of the ingredients in this scent have very sacred and universal meanings that have transcended time, religion and culture.
Oud is treasured in the Bhagavad Gita just as it is in the Old and New testaments. The lotus flower has symbolized purity and rebirth as far back as the first hieroglyphics.
www.pomaresstolenperfume.com
Sample available here
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Weinstrasse
by Chatillon Lux, USA
Perfumer: Shawn Maher
Founded by German immigrants searching for a new home after fleeing an authoritarian rule in the 19th century, the Missouri Rhineland is named after its German counterpart due to the similar rich, fertile soil along the sloping banks of the Missouri River. The Missouri Weinstrasse, a region my ancestors helped grow, features many wineries with sweet, white wines in the German tradition, along winding countryside roads. This fragrance aims to reimagine the fougère with a white grape top note and a lush, dense supporting cast of flora and fauna that could be found on the winding trails, perfect for a beautiful day with no particular destination in mind.
www.chatillonlux.com
Sample available here
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Wild Child
by COGNOSCENTI, USA
Perfumer: Dannielle Sergent
This is a portrait of a nocturnal wild child. Her scent is informal, dark, uplifting and not too flowery. The internal illumination recalls black licorice: deep, earthy and sweet with a surprising sharpness. She is all of these things,… and green. Tarragon becomes the central note due to its sweet, anisic and green profile. Her portrait is kissed by pink even though many of the botanicals are weeds and seed pods. A synthetic “pink” floral note, Florosa, adds a blush dusting to the fragrance. All of the colors and moods are translated to aromatic notes to accent the Tarragon: Vetiver, Cedarwood (browns), Lavender (purple) and Labdanum (gold). Rose and Patchouli are added to increase the depth of this Dark Lovely. Uplifting, deep, precocious and modern; she will surprise you.
www.cogno-scenti.com
Sample available for purchase here
Meet the finalists in the Independent Category
Meet the Finalists for the Sadakichi Award for Experimental Work with Scent