Olympic Orchids is an indie perfume house run by Dr. Ellen Covey, a neurobiologist. Once a year, Olympic Orchids has a big anniversary sale, so this year I got its two deluxe sample packs. This is… a lot of perfumes. Almost forty perfumes. So this post is “too long for email.” I cannot be contained! Actually, the length is because of all the links I do after each perfume to show its spot on the three main perfume websites. Next month’s has the same problem. This is annoying to me.
Below are almost all the Olympic Orchids scents, with the exceptions of “Lil,” the “Dev” series, and “Tropic of Capricorn.” All of the samples in these sets are in teeny tiny bottles. I applied one dab from each bottle to a wrist and then wore it until it either became grating to me or was gone.
After Zoologist last month, I’m thinking about the fact that my preference for sampling and writing about small indie brands means “running into a lot of issues at the border” for any readers of this newsletter who aren’t in the States. This is unfortunate and there’s not a lot that I can do about it—nothing coming up is from a “global brand” the way Guerlain is a global brand.
In the present case, Olympic Orchids has suspended international orders from the house’s own website because the situation is so chaotic. There are some international shops listed here as stocking Olympic Orchids perfumes, but I can’t personally vouch for them.
What I Loved
Ballets Rouges
(Fragrantica / Parfumo / Basenotes)
bergamot, aldehydes, red mandarin, fresh rose accord, rose de mai absolute, ylang-ylang, red thyme, oakmoss, patchouli labdanum, and musks
This is very soapy, which is to be expected if your second listed note is “aldehydes.” (More on that in the next paragraph.) Soapiness can be hit or miss for me, and in some Olympic Orchids perfumes something smelled like soap in a way that made the fragrance simply not work, but in this case, I love it. It feels classic and refreshing, elegant and easy. This perfume definitely goes right up to the edge of my soap tolerance, but it stays under the line. I probably wouldn’t apply it really close to my nose, though. Wrists are good.
What are aldehydes? This video from Cirrus Parfums is a helpful breakdown. If you have ever smelled Chanel “No. 5,” you’ve smelled aldehydes, and if you like it, you like aldehydes (though the converse is not true). Their smell is probably a smell you associate with “perfume,” the general concept. I would say I found this one a heavily aldehydic perfume.
I really enjoyed reading this interview about “Ballet Rouges.”
Café V
(Fragrantica / Parfumo / Basenotes)
espresso-roast coffee, dark cacao, vanilla, cream, spicy chai, cardamom, leather, and well-worn wood
This perfume smells like Frasier looks. If you have ever watched a scene in Café Nervosa and found yourself wishing you were there, this is the perfume for you. It really smells like roasted coffee beans in a way that is distinct from smelling like a cup of coffee, but it also smells a little sweet and a little spicy and a little like a freshly sharpened pencil.