Neela Vermeire Creations Ashoka : New Perfume

Neela Vermeire Creations has recently presented its new fragrance Ashoka. Inspired by one of India’s greatest emperors, perfume was created by Bertrand Duchaufour. It is “a tribute to an emperor who was conquered by his own compassion at the moment his victory was assured. He converted to Buddhism and devoted the rest of his life to spreading the Buddha’s teachings, to truth, to justice and to compassion for all living creatures beneath the sun…. His own evolution from ruthless conqueror to benevolent emperor is reflected in Ashoka’s journey from the fierce opening to a softly floral heart & the gentle embrace of its richly complex drydown.”

Ashoka includes notes of fig leaves, leather, white and pink lotus, mimosa, fig milk, osmanthus, rose, water hyacinth, vetiver, styrax, incense, sandalwood, myrrh, tonka bean, and fir balsam. Ashoka will be available in select stores from early autumn 2013.

NVCAshoka

In other news, Mohur will be released in a higher extrait de parfum concentration. Its amethyst glass flacon and other bottles from Neela Vermeire’s collection were recently re-designed by Pierre Dinand, a renowned bottle artist. Via press release (the image of King Ashoka via wiki-images, some rights reserved).

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22 Comments

  • Jessica M: Ooh, this new fragrance sounds interesting. I’m already a big admirer of Mohur. I bet it will be gorgeous as an extrait… March 27, 2013 at 12:21pm Reply

    • Victoria: It does sound unusual! And like you, I’m curious about the parfum version of Mohur. It’s already quite rich for me, but I imagine that the formula might be reworked in some interesting way. March 27, 2013 at 12:48pm Reply

  • george: It sounds like another Duchaufour composition that I wont’ love: a recent article I read described Duchaufour as the Bowie of scent, and I guess that is kind of how I see him- continually outputting interesting and unusual work I don’t love because I feel there is something missing at the centre of it. This too sounds like lots of interesting ingredients put together but not in a way that will produce a perfume with a definite enough an identity that can be loved.

    I would also love to know exactly how the pr person for NVC can justify describing this scent as

    “a tribute to an emperor who was conquered by his own compassion at the moment his victory was assured. He converted to Buddhism and devoted the rest of his life to spreading the Buddha’s teachings, to truth, to justice and to compassion for all living creatures beneath the sun”

    and how exactly the compositional method was such that the end fragrance communicates the ideas and beliefs of the man to whom it is a tribute. March 27, 2013 at 12:56pm Reply

    • Annikky: Did you dislike Trayee as well? It, too, had a very long and confusing list of notes, but I find the whole to be very harmonious and also distinctive. March 27, 2013 at 1:24pm Reply

    • Victoria: George, the press release also says, “His own evolution from ruthless conqueror to benevolent emperor is reflected in Ashoka’s journey from the fierce opening to a softly floral heart & the gentle embrace of its richly complex drydown.”

      I generally try not to go by the notes, because most perfumes are much than the sum of their parts, but on the question of Duchaufour’s style, I suppose that it’s a matter of taste. I always see very polarized responses to his fragrances. March 27, 2013 at 1:59pm Reply

      • george: Unfortunately, I remember his recent work for Guli and his reasons for carrying that out, which didn’t suggest to me that he was a person of a particularly buddhist understanding………….and because of that I feel particularly cynical about a press release that claims that this perfume is a tribute to a major advocate of Buddhism. March 27, 2013 at 6:47pm Reply

        • Ariane: Spot on,George,you clarified something for me with that Bowie theory as well,that is exactly how it is for me every time,very well done,interesting,and yet not once have I fallen in love-mind you,have just ordered a sample of Mohur,gotta keep trying! March 28, 2013 at 4:32am Reply

        • Masha: I agree with you George. There’s some real irony in hiring Duchaufour for a fragrance that supposedly embodies Buddhist compassion! I will give this one a miss. I hope she works with a variety of perfumers over time. None of the originals worked for me. They were too complicated and “busy” for me, though I know others have loved them. March 29, 2013 at 8:34am Reply

          • Victoria: From what I understood, Neela Vermeire has worked with BD on this fragrance well before the whole Guli incident. March 29, 2013 at 9:09am Reply

            • Masha: She’s not responsible for his poor choices in any case. I’m just hoping she works with a variety of perfumers, because I love the concept and want to smell what other noses create within the framework. March 29, 2013 at 1:22pm Reply

              • Victoria: I agree, Masha! It would be interesting to see how other perfumers interpret India, since it has so many different facets and everyone experiences it differently. March 29, 2013 at 3:25pm Reply

  • iodine: I feel so stupid! I went to Esxence, as you know, passed by Neela’s stand, said hello but the thought that she had something new didn’t cross my mind!! I could have guessed from the crowd surrounding the booth and the sight of an Italian blogger smelling something with an intense expression!!!! The notes seem just something I would die for…. March 27, 2013 at 1:09pm Reply

    • Victoria: Was it Ermano of La Gardenia nell ‘ Occhiello? 🙂 I regret not going to Esxence, because I had such a good time meeting the Italian bloggers at the Pitti. They are a fun group! March 27, 2013 at 2:00pm Reply

  • Annikky: Ooh, this is exciting. Trayee is one of my absolute favourites and Mohur is not far behind – am pretty confident that it’ll be stunning in parfum concentration. And while I was suspicious of Bombay Bling! at first, I now enjoy it a lot – such a happy fragrance, but not too simplistic. March 27, 2013 at 1:22pm Reply

    • Victoria: I’m also curious to see the new bottles. Pierre Dinand’s designs are usually impeccable. March 27, 2013 at 2:05pm Reply

  • Rachel: I can’t imagine what it might smell like, but it sounds interesting. March 27, 2013 at 5:30pm Reply

    • Victoria: I agree, sounds intriguing. March 28, 2013 at 5:21am Reply

  • Eva S: This sound very interesting, both the new perfume and the extrait version of Mohur.
    A new bottle design is defenitely in order, I bought a bottle of Mohur from Jovoy and when the bottle arrived it had leaked and was completely dry! Jovoy promptly replaced it, on the second bottle the spray was malfunctioning, I hadn’t the heart to complain again… March 27, 2013 at 5:58pm Reply

    • Victoria: Oh, that sounds unfortunate. This is probably why the bottle needed to be redesigned. March 28, 2013 at 5:29am Reply

  • Carolina: Ahhh! This sounds fantastic. I wavered on Trayee, though I still have plenty of sample with which to change my mind (a little goes a long way). I was also underwhelmed by the bottle, looked a bit dowdy to me, so this is all exciting news. Can’t wait to sniff! March 28, 2013 at 11:08am Reply

    • Victoria: I also find myself working through my sample of Trayee! It’s very potent but addictive. March 28, 2013 at 4:07pm Reply

  • Martha: I love Mohur and will keep an eye out for the extrait. March 28, 2013 at 7:32pm Reply

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