I don’t wear perfume very often anymore (I have clients with allergies), but when I do it is my beloved Antonia’s Flowers. I discovered this perfume by chance in the 1980s, and have used it consistently since then (although I did experiment in my twenties). It is the only perfume where someone has stopped and asked me what fragrance I am wearing. My sister loves it so much that I always take her a little vial when I travel to South Africa, siphoned from my last precious bottle. It has gorgeous notes of freesia, which most perfumers do not recreate well.
Antonia Bellanca (a florist with a passion for fragrance) also created other iconic fragrances such as Floret (sweet peas) and Tiempe Passate (cedarwood and rose).
A few years ago, I wrote this sad blog post when I discovered that Antonia’s Flowers had been discontinued. This particular blog post became a little community of women from all over the world who were devastated about the loss of their signature perfume.
The sense of smell is often an underrated sense, but it is closely connected to emotions and memory. My dad smelled of Old Spice, my first boyfriend of Brut, my granny of 4711, my best friend of Miss Dior. Whenever I smell those, memories come flooding back. Fragrance can also be a security blanket, or memories of wonderful holidays.
Imagine my surprise when I received an email from Antonia over a year ago, letting me know that she would be producing her beloved fragrances again. What a wonderful woman! I felt completely fangirly that a person featured in Vanity Fair was chatting to me and so friendly and down to earth. She is so thoroughly nice which is one of the biggest compliments I can give someone.
I was also gobsmacked when Antonia sent me some small sample vials of Tiempe Passate (the first fragrance in production again) as well as a full-sized bottle. I was so surprised to find that I loved it. It is heavier and more complicated than Antonia’s Flowers but it really suits me.
When Floret comes out again, I will definitely be trying that. And of course, stocking up on Antonia’s Flowers again!
