Brazil's beloved landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx lived in close creative connection to nature, and nowhere is this more evident than his 100-acre home, Sítio Roberto Burle Marx in Rio de Janiero. The spirit of the great landscape artist and his experimentation with plants resonated strongly with us during the creative development of Paradisi Extrait de Parfum.
Art and culture find their natural home at Sítio Burle Marx, nestled among over 3,500 tropical plant species. Aged stone pillars and arches erupt from soil and water, echoing the towering palms. This arrangement creates a sense of otherworldly beauty and über-verdancy, along with an almost surrealist quality which is reflected in Paradisi. Our beloved earthy green citrus perfume presents a distinct bitter grapefruit element, juxtaposed with an unguent sweet-soil undercurrent – truly a horticulturist's dream.
The climate in which a garden is planted massively affects its atmosphere, and the humid, balmy heat of Rio de Janeiro adds another layer of textural interest to Burle Marx's work. Also, incredibly importantly, it affects how the garden's myriad scents are perceived.
Experimenting with different accords to portray a jungle setting blooming with green realism ensured that spritzing Paradisi feels like walking into a humid greenhouse, or a tropical oasis after a rain shower.
'We have implemented and leveraged our decades worth of knowledge and intimate understanding of our materials to create Paradisi: a long-lasting citrus perfume with incredible performance. The key to Paradisi is, as always, the quality of the idea, materials and understating how to use the material to create the desired effect in a unique niche perfume.'
There is something in Roberto Burle Marx's philosophy of creating 'living works of art' in his 'landscape laboratory' that speaks directly to the perfumer. After all, is fragrance not also 'living art' – melding with the body of the wearer and moving through space, changing moods and uplifting spirits?
