Fashion designer Agatha Brown has been creating some of the industry’s most unforgettable fragrances in the last few years

F YOU CARE about someone, you would give her the finest. And if you care about yourself, you can afford to indulge on number one. It’s these two facts of life that have seen some of the most discerning women (including royalty) travel to Aruba to purchase their wardrobes from the Agatha Boutique. Wisely, like a lot of fashion labels, Agatha has released some fragrances to extend her brand, but unlike other fashion houses, this is no cynical licensing exercise.
   When we covered her signature Agatha and Mystery of Agatha fragrances in 2001, we learned that the designer had spent a year of her own time getting the manufacturer to add in the right ingredients. This year, Imperial Jade is another direction for Agatha’s fragrances, made with the same exquisite attention to detail and rarest ingredients.
   The response from one wearer suggests that Agatha’s latest fragrances deserve another ‘Best of the Year’ accolade. Beautifully packaged, the Imperial Jade bottles already seduce before the wearer puts on the scent.
   Drom Fragrances International was asked by the designer to conceive fragrances that fitted her notion of ‘timeless and eternal beauty,’ but when Agatha demands this, the nez have to surpass themselves. A mass-produced or even mildly exclusive Chanel this is not; Agatha keeps the quantities limited so that the customer is not threatened by the possibility of someone else who has been to a counter at Neiman Marcus and found the same thing. It is this respect that sees buyers purchasing them personally via her boutique or web site at www.agatha.com. They are not sold at department stores.
   Launching two fragrances, Imperial Jade—Emperor and Imperial Jade—Empress, Agatha recalls her travels to the exotic Far East and a long love affair with the jade stone, while tapping into a rich 6,000-year history. Although jade comes in a variety of colours, it is the divine gem quality imperial shade of green that is unforgettable once seen.
   Describing her reaction when first seeing this stone, she said, ‘It was like looking into a bottomless pool of clear, cold, green water, and inspired an almost unbearable burning desire to touch and possess it.’
   She remembers with some pleasure her stint in Hong Kong, where she was located for a time. But this was pure, vibrant Hong Kong, not the Fritz Lang Metropolis that it became when people sold a few shares to pay for thousand-dollar lunches. Agatha Brown has always been in places that inspire her—as with so many creative people, she wishes to be where she can touch the culture and allow its purity to reach her soul.
   The men’s fragrance, Emperor, opens with a unique and surprising fresh top note comprised of iced lavender, crisp blackcurrant, muscat grape, and almond honey. The bold mid-notes consist of stephanotis, jasmine, parma violet, orris root, Indian waterlily, heliotrope florette, blue cedarwood, redwood, and santal mysore. Its masculinity and intrigue emerge in its warm, deep dry down of nutty tonka bean, Baltic amber, Zanzibar vanilla, and rich musk.
   The companion fragrance, Imperial Jade—Express, differs by being feminine, beginning as a cool and calm scent but changes within five minutes to become hot, sexy and erotic.
   Empress is a passionate and erotic floriental, blending sparkling top notes with subtle oriental spices, exotic florals, and warm woods. The beauty of this fragrance opens with bright crisp notes of blood orange, red berries, pear william and ivy leaves. This blends into its seductive heart of Amazon lily and night-blooming jasmin intertwined with tantalizing nuances of cinnamon leaf and pink peppercorn.
   Descending into the base are warm, sensual notes of blonde cedarwood, creamy sandalwood, haitian vetiver, white patchouli, and cashmere musk.
   These scents are powerfully exotic—and notably erotic. Unsurprisingly, Agatha recommends that both fragrances are recommended strictly for romantic evenings. There should be plenty of those as the holidays and the New Year begin. •

Visit Agatha Boutique
Visit Agatha Boutique: Imperial Jade
Lucire: ‘Mysterious and seductive’ (February 21, 2001)

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