” What about these soliflores? Well it’s just a fancy name for a fragrance built around one single flower. Perhaps one asks themselves, where’s the art in something perceived as so modest? That very word, modest, should be underlined because that is exactly what a soliflore should be according to me. Creating a soliflore is the endeavour to imitate nature, showcasing the work of the very best perfumer of all, Mother Nature herself. And nature never brags about all the beauty it surrounds us with, it’s simply there for free. Something I think should be respected and cared for. It’s popular to create soliflores around what we call mute flowers, flowers that simply won’t give up their oil. Lily of the valley, honeysuckle, hyacinth, lilac, freesia, peony, lily, carnation and many more.
All of these have to be recreated synthetically or together with the help of a few similar naturals we can get the oil from. In the Semper Augustus I was presented with two challenges – Recreating a flower most people don’t think have a scent and secondly recreating a flower that no longer exists.
The Semper Augustus was the very epitome of Dutch tulip growing in the 17th century, at the price of 13000 florins in 1638, you could choose between buying a nice canal house or one bulb for the same price. The tulip market crashed that same year. Much later they found that a virus caused the beautiful streaks in the flower, these “broken” tulips are still grown today but the original is gone. Tulips do indeed smell, but it’s shy so you need plenty of them to smell it. You could smell them from miles away when I visited the tulip fields outside Lisse. It’s magical. Waxy, musky, hints of saffron and something reminding me of Ambrette seed with an olfactory body very similar to freesia. It took me a long time and many trials to find the exact balance. Using the same trick nature does, complexity disguised as effortlessness. Weirdly enough I hope you find it simple, only then do I feel like I gave nature and the Semper Augustus justice”. Fredrik Dalman In-House Parfumeur.
To explore the Alinea Collection from the comfort of your home, we offer the Alinea Sample Set HERE
Make a selection of five different Alinea creations that you love to try and receive a € 35 gift voucher redeemable against any monadiorio.com 50 ml Eau de Parfum Intense flacon.
To truly experience the artisanal craftsmanship of the Alinea Collection, we welcome you to our Atelier in Amsterdam where you will be greeted by our in house-perfumer Fredrik Dalman and/or creative director Jeroen Oude Sogtoen.
Request your fragrance session
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