Tomato Leaf: Sweet Anthem + Illuminum reviews

August 15, 2016 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 27 Comments

Post by Azar

Hello Perfume Pals,

New perfumeries pop up everyday and it is inevitable that some will fall by the wayside. The ability to create beautiful fragrances does not mean a house will be around forever.

In 2016, after 9 years in business, Meredith Smith sold her Seattle based Sweet Anthem to a Portland, Oregon perfumer. While the name and the logo have not changed, my favorites – Joan, Lolita, Red Queen – are missing from the new website. Meredith will remain involved as a perfumer, but I have to admit that I miss her presence and my visits to her tiny shop in West Seattle.

Today I’m reviewing two perfumes that include the illusive scent of tomato leaf.

The Trouble with Tomato Leaves!

Tomato Photos by Azar

First let me say something about tomatoes. Last year the 100 + tomato plants in my garden produced a bumper crop in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. This summer I’m growing half that number of plants and the season has been cool. We won’t have a glut of tomatoes this year. However, we will have the fragrance of tomato leaves – but not for long! The leaf scent is produced by glandular trichomes in the epidermis that secrete a yellow substance giving each variety a characteristic odor. As the nights get cooler and the days shorter the trichomes no longer function and the scent of tomato leaf is history. At this point I resort to manmade perfumes for my tomato leaf fix!

Tomato Leaf: Sweet Anthem + Illuminum reviews

Fragrantica

Tomato Leaf by Michael Bondi for Illuminum 2012

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Tomato leaf, carrot seeds, orange, jasmine, freesia, osmanthus, musk, vanilla

Tomato Leaf is a green, raw, and crisp white floral, chilly and slightly acrid, lacking the vegetal warmth of the real thing. It seems the perfumer tried to create warmth using osmanthus and something like clove, but instead managed to push the fragrance into the realm of Tiger Balm – Baume du Tigre Fraîche! Don’t get me wrong! I like Tomato Leaf but would adore it if the green floral lasted longer and the Tiger Balm was less prominent.

EauMG

Joan by Meredith Smith for Sweet Anthem 2010

Basenotes gives these featured accords:
Beeswax, coriander, peony, tomato leaf, white mint

Joan, on the other hand, is a warm, sunny floral – herbal, minty and full of beeswax. The tomato leaf is entwined with peony creating the scent of an early summer garden. While not a true tomato leaf, Joan captures the essence of a tomato plant soaking up the sunshine. I prefer the solid version to the EdP, as Joan is quite long lived with serious sillage.

Both fragrances have been discontinued. So – why am I even reviewing them? Good question! What do you think? Should reviewers write about impossible to find fragrances? Has one of your favorite houses been sold or gone belly up? Do you like the scent of tomato leaf in perfume?

Azar xx

Enchanted Fragrances by Meredith Smith for Sweet Anthem

May 11, 2015 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 41 Comments

Post by Azar

Every year I find at least one new fragrance to love from Sweet Anthem, Seattle. In 2014 I fell for Lolita. This year Meredith Smith has created a collection of perfumes representing fairy tale villains and heroines. Here are my impressions of the four “characters” in her 2015 “Enchanted Fragrances” Collection.

Enchanted Fragrances by Meredith Smith for Sweet Anthem

Photo Stolen WikiCommons

Black Queen – listed notes: Apple, Linden Blossom, Oakmoss, Tonka Bean.

The Black Queen introduces herself as a luscious, fruity concoction wrapped in the comforting warmth of grassy, dried linden blossom and velvety tonka bean. At first I wonder how such a beauty could be a wicked queen? After five minutes the truth is revealed as the villainess proffers her apple, a genetically modified peachy pomme, smelling of potpourri, scented candles and apple pie. As I am heading to the sink to scrub her away the Black Queen once again entices with oakmoss, vanilla, cream and a pinch of salt. I take another bite. Perhaps she is the poisonous gourmand I have been searching for – a fruit from Rappaccini’s garden. The Black Queen is a powerful, long-lived personality. I crave her opening and dry down and am developing a taste for the “toxic” apple.

Photo Stolen Flickr

Red Queen – listed notes: Cardamom, Fig, Honey, Leather, Rose, White Pepper

As Portia is wont to say “Pow – right in the kisser!” The Red Queen grabs attention with a jab of smoky leather and honey. Within moments the scent of deep red rose and dry white pepper add another punch to the honeyed leather. As Red Queen dries down she mellows out and bursts open with sweet fig and cardamom, finishing with a vague reference to white patchouli. This villainess is a big, take no prisoners, long lasting leather and I love her. Red Queen is a new take on two of Meredith’s older fragrances, the Queen of Hearts and Maleficent. I can also detect something of my mother’s personal Sweet Anthem creation – Ruby.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Briar Rose – listed notes: Beeswax, Rose Otto, Tomato Leaf, White Amber

Briar Rose offers very little of her namesake rose. She is all tomato leaf, beeswax and amber from start to finish. I adore tomato leaf in perfume and for years have enjoyed Briar Rose’s scent sister, Sweet Anthem’s Joan. The fleeting rose I detect in Briar Rose comes only with the finish. This heroine is essentially a linear, one-dimensional beauty with a moderate to strong presence and amazing longevity.

Photo Stolen Pexels

Snow White – listed notes: Osmanthus, Petit Grain SFN, White Musk, Vetiver

Snow White is a shy girl with a split personality. She greets the wearer with sharp, green petitgrain-neroli then suddenly warms to golden osmanthus suffused with apricot and vanilla. Too soon Snow White displays her icy nature, a chilly combination of ozonic notes, hints of heliotrope, vetiver, frozen dirt and musk. I usually don’t care for snowy accords in fragrances but Meredith has handled the phantom heliotrope and obvious musk with care, creating an airy, invigorating chill, light as a feather and fresh as frost. These personalities conflict for an hour or so, finally settling as new fallen snow, melting and drying after 8 hours to a thin, musky vetiver.

Sweet Anthem perfumes are available online at Sweet Anthem (USA), Anthropologie (USA), Pretty Indulgent (Canada) and in several retail shops across North America.

Azar xx

Photo Stolen AllSteele

Sweet A GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 winner who will receive:
1 x Complete set of 1 ml of the Enchanted Fragrances
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me (portia underscore turbo @ yahoo dot com dot au) so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please tell us a favorite fairy tale character and a perfume he/she might wear

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Thursday 14th May 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Monday 18th May 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Sweet Anthem Perfumes and perfumer Meredith Smith

June 23, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 11 Comments

Post by Azar

Sweet Anthem Perfumes and perfumer Meredith Smith

Indie Fragrance Criterion – Discover Pacific Northwest Perfumes

An Interview, Review and Giveaway

On February 24th of this year APJ posted an introduction to Sweet Anthem Perfumes and perfumer Meredith Smith. Today I have a few questions for Meredith about the business of perfume in the PNW. My next post will be a review (and a give-away) of the six fragrances in the Indie Fragrance Criterion – Discover Pacific Northwest Perfume sample set.

Something extraordinary is going on in the Pacific Northwest perfume scene. In the February 24th post I referred to the PNW as a “hot spot” for Indie perfumers and attributed this phenomenon to our dreary winters and to the local creative climate but didn’t even consider that perhaps the business environment might be what is really driving the astounding growth of great noses in the PNW and all along the west coast; see Ca Fleure Bon

Instead of operating via the old industrial economic model of “survival of the fittest” through negative competition for limited resources (creating perceived value through perceived scarcity), what seems to be happening here is more of a collaboration. This collaborative model succeeds by taking steps to grow the customer base for everyone while encouraging new talent and supporting existing businesses. The perfumers are independent but recognize and foster their interdependence, creating mutually beneficial events and opportunities as well as sharing information and resources. This kind of information based, collaborative economic model works on the principle that sharing creates interest and value, supporting not only the perfumers themselves but the suppliers and related businesses as well.

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

Meredith, you have been one of several PNW perfumers encouraging, as you say, the “Seattle Sisterhood” of perfumers for several years now. Would you describe what you perceive to be the reasons for this local explosion of interest in perfume?

Honestly, I have no idea how it happened! For me, though, I can say that I probably would not be a perfumer if I didn’t live in the PNW. That’s not to say that I wasn’t into perfume before moving here, but the pioneer spirit and the way we interact with nature – from the mountains to the sea – helps fuel the olfactory palette. We have such intense connections to the earthly plane that it’s difficult not to be inspired on a daily basis when living here, and that helps fuel many industries of pioneers. Plus, having spirited colleagues in many kinds of industries helps keep me going – from my fellow perfumers to other Etsy-style brand owners, the PNW is really a community of talented makers in many stripes. I know my perfume sisters agree!

Can you give us some examples of how and why whatever it is that you do works so well in the PNW?

This is the crux of the reason I moved to the PNW. Everything here seems to be done in the DIY spirit. We love to branch out and get our hands dirty. We love to learn (it’s one of the smartest places in the country to live). We love to do things no one has ever done before (the $4 coffee being a prime example). PNWers are not afraid – pioneers that we are – of going upstream, avoiding the mainstream, and eschewing the man at pretty much any and all costs. I think that’s a part of why collaboration is so vital to the NW. If going upstream is the norm, there’s no point in going it alone.

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

I understand that the curated collection I will be reviewing is part of a collaborative exchange between San Francisco and Seattle area perfumers. Could you give us a little of the back-story?

This is actually a curated collaboration between myself and Antonia from Tigerlily Perfumery, a little perfume shop in the Valencia neighborhood of San Francisco that features mostly indie and niche lines. Initially, Karyn, Nikki, and I were trying to do this sort of thing with a shop in New York (who shall remain nameless) but that fell through, much to our dismay. I had a chance to meet Antonia before the perfumer’s salon last March and we really clicked, both owning perfume shops that carry a lot of the same inventory and really loving indie perfume lines. I pitched this idea to her about the PNW gift set, and she loved it! It was actually her idea to do a Bay Area box in tandem, with launch events in both cities. (It worked out nicely that several of us Seattleites were already going back to San Francisco for the summer Renegade Craft Fair, so the launch event got neatly wrapped into our existing event schedule.) But really, Antonia’s the big idea gal here, so I’m excited she’s on board!

Can you explain why/how these specific perfumes were chosen for this first Indie Fragrance Criterion?

By and large, the perfumers were asked to submit their best works! In the Seattle set, we all submitted things with a bit of a Northwest-y vibe, and I consulted with many of the perfumers what I thought would be the best fit (I’m thankful that they trust my judgment and happy that they’re all brands I’ve come to know and love). In the San Francisco set, you’ve got some IAO award nominees and winners, and some noses new to me but not to Antonia. Antonia and I talked a lot about themes, but in the end we decided that for a showcase of raw talent, generally the talent knows their works best, and so we left it up to each of them.

Photo Donated Azar

Meredith, thank you so much for taking the time to share your perspective on indie perfumery in the PNW. Stay tuned, everyone, for the upcoming review and give-away!

Azar xx

Sweet Anthem Perfumes – Meredith Smith, perfumer

February 24, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 53 Comments

Post by Azar

In the past ten years or so the Pacific Northwest has become a hot spot for niche and indie perfumers. Our unique northwest culture of creativity and innovation, our dreary wet winters (we’ve got to come up with something to do!) and the independent spirit of many of the residents all contribute to an atmosphere that encourages our local “noses” to flourish. Several PNW (Pacific North West) perfumers have developed international followings and have been written up and blogged about extensively throughout perfume-land. If I name a few of these perfumers I will be missing too many. Today’s post is an introduction to a PNW perfumer who is probably not as well known as some others but whose work is very popular nonetheless.

Sweet Anthem Perfumes – Meredith Smith, perfumer

Meredith Smith initially founded Sweet Anthem as a small press / independent publisher in 2001 while at college in Texas and closed the business when she went to study abroad in Eastern Europe. She began studying perfumery in 2005 while working as a graphic designer and web developer in Seattle’s Capital Hill neighborhood. Like many independent perfumers Meredith found composing a fragrance to be a natural extension of her love for creating music, visual art and poetry. Sweet Anthem evolved into an on-line perfume shop in 2007. Three years later she left the mass design industry and began working as a full time perfumer. In October 2011 Meredith and her husband Phil purchased a live/work residence where she opened her brick and mortar Sweet Anthem storefront and workshop at street level.

Photo9 Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

I love visiting Meredith’s tiny shop on California Street in West Seattle. She offers her own perfumes for sale, maintains a small inventory of other niche and indie brands and teaches occasional classes in the basics of perfume composition. For more information about the Sweet Anthem product line and scent related services check out Meredith’s new website Sweet Anthem Perfumes

Recently Meredith added a sample service to her shop. I recently received my first of four installments from Sweet Anthem’s “SA List”. The “Spring Anthology” includes two 2ml samples of soon to be released EDPs – Poppy and Lolita, a 2ml sample of Alice and a perfume solid of an older favorite, Cath. While I have enjoyed a number of the Sweet Anthem perfumes for several years I found that these latest fragrances have taken a slightly more sophisticated turn.

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

Poppy, a sort of gourmand-oriental, unfolds like a flower bud in time-lapse photography. The pointed clove quickly opens into a dark cocoa tinted with red flowers that I perceive as spicy carnations (Meredith points out that there is a trickle of saffron here as well). After a couple of hours the gourmand heart develops and finishes as a dry, smoky incense/opium fading to musk. While the name “Poppy” references the perfume classic Opium, I find this new scent to be kin to fragrances like DSH Café Noir and Olympic Orchids Café V, but lighter and drier. Poppy is a warm and spicy fragrance with good sillage and great longevity, a perfect scent for holing up in a cozy den, anticipating the arrival of spring.

Photo Stolen Sweet Anthem Perfumes

Lolita, on the other hand, is reminiscent of a warm spring afternoon, but without the muguet – thank you! (Don’t get me wrong, I love Lily of the Valley, but it seems to have become such a seasonal cliché.) Lolita opens with just a touch of black current, evolving to a heart of fragile and delicate cherry blossoms. I can barely detect the rosewood mentioned in the fragrance notes. The cherry blossoms linger for several hours eventually combining with and drying down to a salty sort of tonka bean. Lolita is more intimate than Poppy but seems to last just as long on my skin and, like the movie “Lolita”, the final impression of the salty cherry blossoms evoke a youthfulness far removed from innocence. Lolita will be mine as soon as she is available.

Photo Stolen sassisamblog