Monkeyflower EDP 30ml

The Musk Monkeyflower (so renowned for its vibrant scent that it was simply referred to as The Common Musk) was imported to Europe from the American west coast, where the sun-yellow flowers, perched on fuzzy, sticky stalks, can be found in meadows or along old dirt roads.

The Monkeyflower was a smash hit in Victorian England, thanks to its rich musk smell. Over nearly a century, it spread from the botanical aristocracy to London street hawkers and countryside cottage windows. But at the turn of the twentieth century, the flower suddenly lost its scent – not just in domesticated plants, but in wild specimens as well. 

Botanists in North America reported that the uncultivated flowers had also lost their fragrance. This puzzling mystery was the hottest topic among biology conspiracy theorists for decades, but no explanation was ever found. Eventually, the subject faded into obscurity, along with the flower’s popularity as a houseplant. By then, the flowers had spread into the wild and can sometimes still be found living a quiet life in parts of Europe and New Zealand – perhaps just biding their time before returning to the olfactory stage.

“It appears that the loss of the scent of Monkeyflower was first noticed in Britain in 1909, when a well-known nurseryman asked: ‘Is there such a thing now as a common musk with the old musk perfume?’” – THE LOST FRAGRANCE OF MUSK, letter published in the journal Nature, 1934.

NOTES
Top: Tussilago, Sunscreen
Middle: Fig, Buttercup, Chamomile, Goldberry
Base: Musk, Hay

PERFUMER
Olle Hemmendorff

HOW IT WEARS
Monkeyflower begins with the scent of a green fig – accented by the tang of goldenberry and an almost coconutty sunscreen accord. As it begins to dry down, you’re met with the sweeter yet aromatic (almost vegetal) florals of chamomile, buttercup and Tussilago. Here’s where Monkeyflower begins to get really interesting… As it continues to wear, the musk and hay begin to come out, creating this fluffy, golden, buttery, musky creaminess that feels borderline animalic, but not in a dirty way, more in a warm skin way. Monkeyflower lasts for hours on the skin and is one of those scents that kind of comes and goes – just when you think it’s gone you get a delicious waft of it like a ray of sunshine coming from out behind a cloud.

LORE LOVES
We are really loving Monkeyflower at Lore as it’s a demonstration of the fact that you never know what to expect from Stora Skuggan! This fragrance is totally different to anything they’ve done before, both in its character and how it wears. This fragrance smells like the perfect summer afternoon (it’s not too hot, just perfectly warm) and you’re having a picnic in a meadow surrounded by wildflowers. You’re lying down on a picnic rug, feeling the 3pm sun on your skin, and watching butterflies flutter by and making daisy chains. There’s something really comforting and beautiful about this fragrance, it’s like sunshine in a bottle we think! 

ABOUT THE BRAND
Founded by a group of 5 multidisciplinary creatives in Stockholm, Sweden, Stora Skuggan (or “Big Shadow” in Swedish) is a fragrance house that enthrals and enchants with its esoteric scent creations.
Approaching fragrance as a form of abstract art, Stora Skuggan’s line invites a range of interpretations. Their fragrances function as wearable works of art; blending concept, aesthetic, form and function together to tell distinct olfactory stories.

FREE RETURNS
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