In the Amazon, there exists a flower shrouded in much mystery. A species that blooms only once a year, during a full moon night, at which time it exudes a very expressive fragrance. Several researchers have been enchanted by the Moonflower. The exuberant species, with white flowers and red stems, that grows along the banks of the blackwater rivers of the Amazon, now serves as inspiration for yet another launch from Natura Ekos.
Extensive research, technology, and a touch of art were necessary to create the fragrance of the new Ekos cologne. Natura's Bioagriculture area found, through a literature review, documents about the species of Selenicereus and their stories, such as the botanical name that refers to Selene, the goddess of the Moon. They also included the botanical description of the plant and the fragrance that the Moonflower exudes (*). The illustrations by British artist Margaret Mee, who dedicated herself to drawing species of Amazonian Flora, revealed the beauty of the flower. "We were familiar with Margaret Mee's work and her dedication to the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest. We studied the work of a researcher who provided a detailed description of the plant's fragrance. This fragrance is only released at the moment the plant blooms, for a short period of time. All these references were very important for shaping the project,” highlights Débora Castellani, a Bioagriculture researcher at Natura.
There were some specific difficulties in working with the Moonflower. Due to all the characteristics that make the plant so special, it was not feasible to use it directly as an ingredient in a product. “We are talking about a species that only occurs in the Rio Negro region, which has nocturnal blooming and only flowers one night a year. Margaret Mee waited many years to see the flower and smell its fragrance just once,” explains Débora. But it was possible to seek a composition of ingredients that could reproduce the fragrance and the mysterious atmosphere surrounding the plant. This was the mission of perfumer Verônica Kato. “My idea was to try to translate the moment when this flower opened and perfumed the surroundings. To express in a fragrance all the sensations of that place, not just of the flower, but of what surrounds it, the moment it is blooming, uniting the plant, the mystery, the sensuality, the river, and the night into a single olfactory composition,” clarifies Verônica.
To develop the exclusive fragrance, Natura's perfumer relied on support from scientific literature with data from chromatography analyses of the Moonflower (*). “Chromatography is done using a device that captures the fragrance and breaks down its components. We studied the article by this researcher who used the chromatograph at the moment of the Moonflower's blooming, which allowed him to describe the predominant fragrances, in higher concentration, among other information,” explains Débora. With information about the Moonflower, the Igapó Forest, the black waters of the rivers, and the artistic touch that cannot be missing, perfumer Verônica Kato arrived at a formula. “In perfumery, we say that perfume is a mixture of art and science. My work was not simply to reproduce a scent, but to try to translate the entire atmosphere surrounding that plant into a distinctive fragrance,” emphasizes the perfumer.
After a year of hard work, the Moonflower fragrance signs a label for Ekos. “It is a fragrance that brings a white floral note, to create an intoxicating sensation and reproduce the scent of the flower. We used notes of spices from the Amazon region to bring the mystery of the flower's blooming. The night and sensuality are represented by notes of vanilla, and the surroundings, the river, and the forest are represented by slightly greener notes,” describes Verônica. With the scent of the Moonflower in the air, the feeling is one of another duty fulfilled. “Every time we are working on a project, there is always that flutter of excitement because perfumery is something subjective, not always so concrete, but we had a very happy result with this fragrance; people loved it,” concludes Verônica.
(*) Barthlott, W., Porembski, S., Kluge, M. et al. Pl Syst Evol (1997) 206: 175. doi:10.1007/BF00987947
