What do you get when world-renowned floral designer Saskia Havekes turns her hand to creating fragrances? Naturally, a mind-blowing perfume line that is intoxicating, heady and dramatic, and absolutely captivating. Our favorite is inspired by a rare cactus that only blooms once a year under the night sky, and without a doubt, Grandiflora’s Queen of the Night is a bottled-up symphony of allure.
Saskia Havekes can do it all. A floral designer, author, and perfumer, Saskia has been influential in the world of florals, interiors, hospitality, and fashion for some years now. After opening her iconic flower shop, Grandiflora, in Sydney, dabbling in the world of fragrance seemed like the top-notch thing to do in her constantly evolving repertoire. Her childhood memories of lush Australian botanicals and the vast bush along with her professional knowledge of florals allowed her the boost to create her own exquisite perfume line.
Working with one of the top perfumers on the planet, Bertrand Duchafour, Saskia came up with a variety of scents which are stocked at WORLD in its stores around New Zealand. There are five floral based fragrances in the line and our top pick is Queen of the Night. A thumbs-up rave from our editor, Greta:
Not normally a floral fragrance lover Queen of the Night has taken me by surprise and I am already onto my second bottle! Its florals are punctuated with a citrusy freshness and I love how lighthearted the scent is while also being powerful enough to wear during nighttime occasions. It’s accented with a fun dose of woodiness at the end, and it just amazes me how this cactus can bloom one night a year and yield such an astounding aroma.
Stop by any WORLD store in New Zealand or visit their website and have it sent to you. This is a definite must-grab to anyone in love with unique scents, or even botanical lovers with green thumbs.
More from WORLD and Grandiflora’s Queen of the Night fragrance…
With unique insight Bertrand Duchaufour has thrown a noose; the Selenicereus Grandiflorus, or Queen of the Night, is a rare cactus with a dramatic feature, it blooms but once a year and only for a single night. With a fragrance so uniquely beautiful that it has been the stuff of legend for centuries.
With this inspiration, Bertrand Duchaufour and Grandiflora have delivered a fragrance that not only captures the devastating beauty of this remarkable plant, but also the poetically fluid nature of its transformation, a captivating mix of memory and desire.
Impossible to unravel, the floral bouquet opens fresh, bright and lightly fruity, gaining lushness and vibrancy by the moment before dawn’s light sees the florals slowly recede into a gentle base with delicate woodsy and powdery tones. As with the fleeting bloom it so perfectly represents, Queen of the Night is sensual, compelling and evocatively bittersweet-a tale of love without regret.
