Elektra by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2010

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hey hey APJ,

I hope life is treating you all well. You may know we have moved house and that we have been in the middle of a renovation for months. The kitchen man offered us a very nice benchtop in Caesar Stone that he had on the cheap because the colour is being discontinued. Well, he sent off the measurements, they ordered the stone and then found they needed another piece but there was NONE LEFT! Drama ensued and it’s already at the 5 week mark but fortunately the call came through and we are hoping with all out hearts that there will be benchtop in the very near future. Why am I telling you this? Well the move has brought to light some lovely forgotten treasures and I am loving finding them and spritzing.

Today’s offering got a bit lost in the excitement of my love for Olympic Amber, Ballets Rouges and Golden Cattleya but I have grabbed it out and spritzed with gay abandon.

Elektra by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2010

Elektra Olympic OrchidsPhoto Stolen Olympic Orchids

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Black currant, ripe fig, green fig leaves, amber

You may remember this fragrance as A Midsummer Day’s Dream, that’s how it was originally marketed but it didn’t fit on the new packaging so Ellen changed it. The juice in the bottle is exactly the same.

Sweet green but bitter-sweet green. Elektra is a high octane green fragrance that is so fabulously unusual and of itself that it’s hard to find a broad descriptive reference that can really apply. Forget every other fig or berry fragrance you have ever smelled because Elektra is nothing like any of them. Somehow Ellen Covey manages to create scents that are so far beyond my expectations and into the deep realms of fragrant art pieces. Yes, there are fig and black current but they are reimagined here as stark green and spiky sweets, like I am smelling what a crystaline Swarovski fig and black currant would smell like if you could go through the looking glass and smell the unsmellable.

Elektra Olympic Orchids Crystal Cave GeographPhoto Stolen GeographUK

Elektra does not smell earthly or earthy, it bypasses all your 21st century fruity expectations and lands in this otherworldly, weird and super saturated cyber garden. Could this be what Elphaba smells like? Can it be that Ellen Covey has discovered the scent of a green witch?

Actress Idina Menzel ofPhoto Stolen Flickr

One of the marvellous things about being an Independent Perfumer is that you get to experiment and build your dreams. It’s very easy to build my own fragrant dreams on Ellen Coveys beautiful fragrant gems because they are so magical, every drop a dreamers elixir.

Olympic Orchids has samples from only $3 and $65/30ml
Surrender To Chance has samples under the old name $4/ml

Are you an Ellen Covey convert yet? Which Olympic Orchids have you tried?
Portia xx

16 thoughts on “Elektra by Ellen Covey for Olympic Orchids 2010”

  1. My favorite of Ellen’s scents is Olympic Amber, but I also love Siam Proun, and both the Chocolates: California & Seattle.

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    • Oh how I love Olympic Amber JulieF,
      Beautiful. and to think it was only ever meant to be a base accord.
      Portia xx

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  2. Olympic orchids is one of my fav houses! Ellen is so talented! Funny, Golden Cat, ballet Rouge, O Amber are tops for me also. You must try her Arizona, totally nailed the combo of our deserts/canyons/mountains. I also love the feast that is Gujarat. Hopes for your bench to be completed soon!

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    • Hey Marion,
      I enjoyed Arizona but really LOVE Gularat too. MMMMMM
      Benchtops coming along.
      Portia xx

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  4. The Devil Series was so dark and murky and I really loved it every minute I was wearing it. Olympic Amber is incredible and one of my favorite ambers, ever. I think Ellen Covey is extremely talented and creates scents that are thought provoking and unusual. She is one of my favorite American perfumers. I’ve never tried Elektra, but it sounds very interesting.
    I hope your bench problems get resolved. It can be miserable waiting for something to get finished when you have been expecting it to be done.

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    • Hey Ellen,
      Oh yes, the Devil series was very powerful. I have some of my samples left and opened the box while finding Elektra. Oh My! BIG SCENT coming from it.
      Portia x

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  5. Portia, many, many thanks for the review of Electra, fabulous as always! I love the comparisons and art! By the way, the Ellen who commented above is not me, although I do love the Devil Scents, too. 🙂

    Congratulations on the move and the new house! Moving is always a cathartic experience because you get to let go of so many things you don’t need and find things you didn’t know you had. I hope you resolve the benchtop issue soon!

    Actually Tropic of Capricorn is no longer a LE – it’s been so popular that it’s now part of my regular line, although it is always in limited supply because it’s hard to get some of the ingredients and it takes a long time to make because of the multiple tinctures that I use in it.

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  6. Hi Portia,
    As you know, I love Olympic Orchids and have and use every one of them. I’m not sure if I have a favorite. Ellen has something for every mood and every season. I loved your review. it is spot on!
    Azar xx

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  8. It sounds quite intriguing, Portia. Loved Reading about it as it is always to try something completely different. I have never tried any of her fragrances before but this one sounds quite interesting. Are they sold outside the US as Well ?

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