For the Love of Ivy

A bit of poetic entanglement, a Hedera helix review by Donna Hathaway:

" It reminds me of her wonderful sea chypre GreenWitch, but Hedera Helix takes another direction. Instead of being of the sea, it is essentially of the forest, a walk in magical woodland where every step brings up the aroma of the greenery underfoot and the slightest breeze brings the scent of living things in all their mystery”

Read the review in its entirety directly at Perfume Smellin' Things and leave a comment to be entered in a draw for a sample set including Hedera helix the solid and liquid.

Image: La Pia de' Tolomei by Dante Gabriel Rossetti via Artmagick

Heralding in Hedera Helix

This page has been created to list all the reviews and testimonials that come in for Hedera helix, the new, green chypre natural, botanical perfume for Ivy, one of the sacred plants of the Celtic forest and part of the Tree Ogham. Get your sample set here.

"I have been rolling in Hedera Helix ~ sweet green chili peppers surrounded by leaves of ivy and oakmoss and lightly sprinkled with powder. Um, am I crazy? Absolutely love this perfume!!!"
~ Customer

Hedera helix Review at London Perfume Girl
For the Love of Ivy by Donna over at Perfume Smellin' Things
Hedera helix Review at Indie Perfumes
Gaia at The Non_Blonde Reviews Hedera helix
A Complex Dark Green Chypre by Victoria at EauMG
Roxana Illuminated Perfume Hedera Helix at Perfume Shrine

"SOTE: After a hot shower, the wonderful new Hedera Helix in solid perfume from Roxana Villa - a green lover's idea of paradise, and so calming too. Aaahhhhhh.... :-)"
~ Donna Hathaway

Roxana Illuminated Perfume Hedera Helix: Wouldn’t you love to receive the lovely compacts pictured above? I certainly would as they’re filled with Roxana Villa’s newest fragrance, Hedera Helix, an olfactory ode to ivy. Not surprisingly, this perfume is a leafy green chypre that has a dense and addicting note of oakmoss as its foundation. Both incarnations of Hedera Helix, solid and liquid, are a complex blend of nearly forty different essences, but I prefer the solid’s focus on the effervescent top notes of clementine, orange blossom, and grapefruit. (The liquid is much more resinous and inky and also very beautiful). The heart is full of warm beeswax and woods and the drydown is dappled with sweet rose and jasmine petals. I find this progression from chypre green to pale pink to be quite compelling and all together lovely.
~ Trish of Scent Hive

Tree Ogham: Ivy

Greenest of the pastures, sweeter than grasses.

Ivy, the twelfth letter in the Tree Ogham goes by the letter G and the name Gort, meaning green field or garden. According to Blamires some legends and poetry refer to honeysuckle and woodvine interchangeable with Ivy.

We interpret the message of a plant by observing where and how it grows. Ivy is a very tenacious, evergreen which uses another plant as a host eventually smothering and/or killing it. Ivy in the physical world is witnessed growing as a ground cover, on trees, and the side of a building. The deep green waxy leaves have four or five pointed lobes growing from long vines which rapidly cling and wrap themselves spiraling upwards. Paul Rhys Mountfort in his book Ogam, The Celtic Oracle of Trees calls this a basic archetype of growth and endurance which we can witness in the structure of our DNA and the patterns of the

The survival instinct of the Ivy is fierce with the ability to grow in adverse conditions, exploiting anything found in its trail in order to prevail. Ivy is a ruthless parasite prepared to use what might appear unfortunate as a benefit. The lesson of the Ivy in our physical world is related to a aggressive warrior spirit. There are moments in our lives when an indomitable will force is needed to move forward, this is the positive aspect of the Ivy spirit which we can tune into. In doing so clear mindfulness is needed so that we do not choke others or ourselves in the process.

For the Tree Ogham of Ivy I have created a liquid and solid natural perfume title Hedera helix. Originally created in April of 2007 as a liquid perfume, I have duplicated the original formula with a few minor additions for the solid. When this fragrance was first created I began by making a list of essences which smelled green and Ivy-like. I then created five different versions labeled Ivy 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Number five in the end prevailed, like Coco Chanels first perfume.

The list of essential oils, C02 extracts and absolutes is quite vast
including thirty three individual essences from a variety of families:
Resin
Wood
Moss
Root
Leaves
Boronia
Flowers
Herb
Parsley
Seed
Root
Citrus










The structure of the fragrance has the characteristics of a Chypre with a very classy air. The oakmoss and resins in the base give the liquid perfume some powerful longevity. The aromatic notes are woven very tightly so that individuals are not easy to perceive. The best words I can use are: mossy green, floral Chypre. I utilized many essences with a green profile as well as those that come from green leaves. On the skin of those who have tested it for me it is quite beautiful with fabulous silage. I have sent samples to varies bloggers thus perhaps you will have the opportunity to read some collective thoughts.

This perfume was made at a time when I was removing large amounts of Ivy from my garden in order to plant California natives. I had witnessed how destructive Ivy was to the oaks and other plants that grew alongside it. Thus, had Tonie Silver not made the request for this fragrance it probably would never have manifested. Here are Tonies words about Hedera:

"My favorite potion from Roxana was a special commission per my request. "Hedera helix~ the mighty Ivy Dark green leaves, reddish, yellowish pink vines, and that special sharp tang that ivy possesses. This is the big, aged, thick leaved ivy of my Grandmother’s front porch, climbing and twining in the shade. Cool and crisp, an inviting home to innumerable dark creatures."

The color harmony for Ivy is a deep, mossy green. Hedera helix is currently available as a liquid and solid perfume at my website.

Happy Autumn Equinox to those in this Northern hemisphere, a time to breath in this sacred moment as we begin our preparations for the impending darkness of the seasonal year.

Images: Portrait of a girl surrounded by ivy leaves by Henry John Stock, Flora by John William Waterhouse, A Hamadryad by John William Waterhouse

In contrast

The coloration here in the woodland has slowly been turning more and more golden. Hills that were once bright green with the vitality of Spring rains have shifted to golden yellow and ochre. The heat and solar influence has slowly saturated the landscape. In the hillsides of Los Angeles, pretty much the only place you'll find native flora, the one constant green is provided by the native oak, Quercus agrifolia and a few of shrubs like the Rhus species.



This palette is so very different from the photos being sent by Eve out in Vermont, where everything is really lush and green from ample amounts of water.


One of the invasive plants we have here which is a nemesis to our local oaks is Hedera helix, common ivy. In April of 2007 I created an ivy perfume as a collective project with a handful of other natural perfumers. At the time I named the perfume Hedera but did not release it.


Now, as I reach down to my roots with a variety of upcoming projects and products, I've chosen to start a new series following the Celtic Tree alphabet. Hedera will debut with the Ivy lunar cycle in September. More on this in the next few days, stay tuned for more details.

Images:
Opening illuminated © Greg Spalenka (I posed for that image.)
Chaparral solid perfume mini and Artemesia photo © Roxana Villa.
Vermont photos © Eve Neuhart
Ivy photos from Free Ivy Plant Pictures

Hedera helix

Continuing down the ever greening path of verdant perfume we step onto the spiraling and purposeful Ivy. Hedera helix is the botanical name for Ivy as well as a perfume I created in April of 2007, two months after the formulation of Greenwitch.

Having devoted the last few years to learning the wonders of native California plants and creating indigenous perfumes, working with Ivy, required a tremendous paradigm shift. Here at our little woodland home we have been removing large amounts of ivy since arriving in order to facilitate a hospitable location for our native plants. Ivy is not indigenous to this area and is extremely water greedy. In fact it is considered a invasive, meaning it will crowd out native plants and create habitat destruction.

This is from the "Don't Plant a Pest" handout form The California Invasive Plant Council":

English ivy or Algerian ivy

Hedera helix or Hedera caneriensis

Some ivy species in the Hedera genus are a problem in California.
They can smother understory vegetation,
kill trees, and harbor non-native rats and snails.
It's difficult to distinguish problem species from less invasive ones.
Do not plant ivy near natural areas,
never dispose of ivy cuttings in natural areas,
and maintain ivy so it never goes to fruit.
Researchers hope to determine which ivies can be planted safely.

+++

I discovered that creating a “Green” scent was fairly easy, however, creating a masterful botanical perfume that conveyed “Green” and “Ivy” was a challenge. Most especially given my particular orientation toward the plant.

Thus, I took a deep breath and dived in. The aroma of crushed Ivy leaves, to me, is very green with hints of citrus and powdery notes.


Here is my list of ingredients, as usual quite long:

Tonka Bean+Sandalwood+Oakmoss+Orris Root+Labdanum
+Cedarwood+Guaicwood +Rosewood+Angelica+Ambrette Seed
+Elemi+Seaweed+Choya+Styrax+Peru Balsam
+Beeswax+Hay+Mate+Vanilla+Tobacco+Peach Leaf+Boronia
+Orange Blossom+Jasmine+Rose+Pink Lotus
+Galbanum+Clary Sage+Geranium
+Parsley+Lavendin+Violet Leaf+Rhododendron Leaf
+Bergamot+Yuzu+Grapefruit+Lavender Flower tincture
in Organic Grape Spirits & Organic Grain Alcohol

Here is a segment of an article by Tonie Silver in Sniffapalooza Magazine:

"My favorite potion from Roxana was a special commission per my request.
Hedera helix~ the mighty Ivy Dark green leaves, reddish,
yellowish pink vines, and that special sharp tang that ivy possesses.
This is the big, aged, thick leaved ivy of my Grandmother’s front porch,
climbing and twining in the shade.
Cool and crisp, an inviting home to innumerable dark creatures."

This fragrance will be available, I'm just not sure when. It's possible it may be part of an upcoming project. In either case, when I put small vials of it on etsy I will give you all a holler.

In October I wrote a little post about the Celtic Tree Month of Ivy, find it here.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Celtic Tree: Ivy

"Greenest of pastures and sweetest of grasses"

The cycle of the Celtic Tree mysteries are upon us once more, this months learning comes from the ivy. Like the vine, we do not generally witness ivy as a tree. Unless, of course, you have tried to remove it from your garden. This is when I learned that this invasive plant is actually a tree and a threat to native plants in California.

Teachings of ivy, represented by the letter "G", center on resurrection. The spiral growing pattern combined with it's tenacity teaches us strength and perseverance. As an evergreen the plant was used often to decorate altars while other plants slept. It has also been used often as crowns.

I created a perfume for Ivy, it is a very complex composition with the green, powdery quality of this spiraling serpent. The fragrance is being considered for an upcoming series. Originally I thought to use it as the nemeses of our "Q" perfume devoted to the California Coastal Live Oak.

"My favorite potion from Roxana was a special commission per my request. Hedera helix~ the mighty Ivy Dark green leaves, reddish, yellowish pink vines, and that special sharp tang that ivy possesses. This is the big, aged, thick leaved ivy of my Grandmother’s front porch, climbing and twining in the shade. Cool and crisp, an inviting home to innumerable dark creatures." ~ Tonie Silver

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™
Image: Pieces of my paintings woven together like a green quilt.