Anya’s Garden will introduce two new fragrances this November, Kaffir & Temple.
Kaffir is based on the Kaffir lime:
My Kaffir perfume contains both the oil of the leaves and even more rare, the extract of the fruit…I extracted the fruit rind oil myself for this perfume. Kaffir contains notes of many of the plants that grow in my garden -especially my rare jasmines. I grow eight different jasmines, from J. officinale and a related variety Flore Plena, through all the J. Samacs, including Grand Duke of Tuscany, Maid of Orleans, Belle of India, Belle of India longipetala, and “night blooming jasmine” and “orange jasmine”. I have carefully harvested and extracted the unique and lovely scents of these jasmines…Here, in Kaffir , they find a home. Vanilla, agarwood, galbanum and tarragon round out the sparkly perfume, which starts out fresh and aldehydic, and gently turns floral, then woody and settles into a rich, leathery dryout, a true surprise for a citrus perfume!
Temple is…
…for the quiet, inward spirit that yearns to enter the daily hustle and bustle. The sweet and candied Orange Essence Oil – made by distilling Orange juice plays with spicy cardamom to awaken the senses. Siam benzoin, ambrette seed tincture, aglaia flower, borneol crystals, rare and precious Chinese herbs and spices including cassia envelop and strengthen. The Oud base gently supports and connects the wearer to the deeper core that gives balance.
I will update with prices and concentrations when I can find them. (via Anya’s Garden newsletter) Update: Kaffir is $45 for 3.5 ml Parfum, $80 for 15 ml Eau de Parfum. Temple is $60 for 3.5 ml Parfum.
16 Comments
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These both sound heavenly to me! I've bookmarked her site, going to try the cedar too when these are available. (if she does them in small sizes). Selling by grams is a little confusing to me though!
They both sound perfect to me too
Gosh these sound delightful! I love that she's using lime – a beautiful citrus fragrance that is neglected or relegated to men's cologne. I might even be willing to spring for the Kaffir unsniffed!
I adore lime too, and this sounds just perfect.
Judging by her others, which I had reviewed on my old host on Fortunecity, I am very eager to sample them.
She makes pretty unique things! Definitely worth trying.
Yes she does, I liked the first 3 very much.
“Kaffir” is the South African version of the n-word.
The Oxford Companion to Food recommends “that the name kaffir lime should be avoided in favor of makrut lime because Kaffir is an offensive term in some cultures, and also has no clear reason for being attached to this plant.”
Well, the name thing is unfortunate isn't it?(and I'm sure unintentional) I don't think most people would know what she meant if she called it “makrut lime” though, and I don't think most people know it's an offensive word. If it's to be released Nov. 1 I'll bet her labels and such are made up already, really too late to do anything about it.
I think it is only going to be marketed in the US, where most people have either never heard of it, or associate it with Thai food.
Hi Rose
My perfumes are sold by the ml, the raw aromatics I sell are by the gram – which is the way I buy them. Since they are diluted in the perfume formula, mls come into play. HTH.
I think you'll find this lime startlingly glorious – heady, strong and long-lasting, a true lime-lover's delight
It's quite the unisex scent, with a floral heart and a vanilla/leather/wood dryout!
Hi Helg — big wave!
I've been so absent lately from many of the places we chat, and just had the nose to the grindstone – and blending table! Unique is the word for these too – and no rose to bother your nose, lol.
I've known of that association forever – learned it in college when I studied citrus. Also learned the name Linda means something horrid in Sikh, and Ulli, a common German name is harsh slang in Hindu. I'm not posting what them mean in those other cultures, because I don't want to imprint that on anyone's mind.
Kaffir is the name generally accepted for this lime, and the apartheid slang is unfortunate, but has nothing to do with the 700,000 or so other hits for the name on google.
Thanks for explaining Anya! Can't wait to try both your new perfumes, the notes sound so perfect together.
Hi! Resident Lurker here… I had to come out of the shadows to say that I have just received Temple and it is, in a word, perfect. Like food for my olfactory system and for my soul. Thank you, Anya, for creating such a beautiful scent.
And thank you, Robin, for this site. I'm learning so much! This site is going to be bad for my checkbook!
… fades back into the woodwork to absorb more info about fragrances …
Temple is really lovely, so glad it is perfect for you!