Vahine no te Tiare

Author's perfume inspired by Paul Gauguin's painting

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Paul Gauguin arrived in Tahiti in June 1891. In his book 'Noa Noa' he described the events that preceded the creation of the painting. The woman in it was Gauguin's neighbor. One day she ventured to enter his hut to look at the pictures pinned to the walls - reproductions of paintings by Edouard Manet, some Italian primitives and Japanese artists. He took advantage of this visit to make a sketch of Tahitian's portrait but she protested and ran away. An hour later, the woman came back dressed in an elegant dress with a flower in her hair. She was not attractive according to the European standards but still beautiful.

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In her facial features Gauguin saw true Raphael harmony, melancholic bitterness mixed with joy and fear of the unknown. When you look at her face you remember the phrase: 'There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.'

Tahitians were converted to Christianity by French missionaries, together with which was imposed the European style of dress. That is why the woman had changed in European-style clothes before allowing the artist to paint her portrait.

 

Yellow and red background of the portrait is decorated with  stylized flowers that can be found in some other older portrait by Gauguin. Besides a decorative effect they create a balance of the composition, a flower in her hair is a Tahitian gardenia (Gardenia taitiensis) which is common in Tahiti. This flower is also used for perfumes.

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The composition is built around the fragrance of a tiare flower, considered the queen of flowers in Polynesia. It is sweetish, tropical, unique, soft and multifaceted: the top notes are sweetish, spicy, the absolutes of the rose are similar to the honeyed note, and at the same time the fragrant overtones of the cool-resinous aroma of the neroli are distinct, the more smooth and playful middle note is grassy, ​​fragrant, resembling bells and violets, stupefying and luxurious gold base note - tart hot, balsamic, vanilla, warm like a sunflower

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Top notes:

blackberry, mandarin leaf, orange blossom, cactus flower

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Heart notes:

melon, chamomile, tiare, gardenia, Tahitian rose, lily of the valley, jasmine

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Base notes:

vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood

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