New from Hiram Green: Shangri La

by: Jodi Battershell

I was very excited when Hiram Green, founder of the Netherlands-based perfume house which bears his name, shared the news of his latest perfume with me. Green, a founder of Scent Systems in London, now works on his own line of natural perfumes from a studio in Gouda. The first fragrance released by Hiram Green, Moon Bloom (2013), is one of the prettiest and most wearable tuberose-themed fragrances I've encountered. A glance at our members' reviews of Moon Bloomreveals that its beauty, longevity and sillage made a big impression on both natural and mixed-media perfume lovers. Nearly 18 months passed before the house introduced its next fragrance, Shangri La.

Shangri La is known to many of us from the 1933 novel Lost Horizon and the subsequent films, plays and music it has inspired. The "Shangri La"  presented in the novel offers such a powerful vision of paradise that its mythology continues to permeate Western consciousness, more than 80 years later. Today, this name which conjures a Utopian village in a beautiful hidden valley can be found on everything from Chinese restaurants to jewelry to a luxury hotel chain. A perfume named Shangri La seems a more appropriate use of the name than some of these other entities.

I was very excited by the official release notes for Shangri La:

"Almost one hundred years after François Coty defined the chypre genre with a perfume of the same name, Hiram Green presents his adaptation of this classic accord. Named after the fictional land described in James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon, Shangri La evokes a mystical fragrant paradise.
   
Shangri La opens with a sharp burst of citrus, followed by a rich bouquet of peach, jasmine, rose, iris and spices, all anchored by an earthy base of vetiver and oakmoss."

Oh, my goodness! Hiram Green, you had me at "chypre!"

My eagerly-awaited sample arrived yesterday. Lost Horizon indeed, but ... paradise found for sure!

Here we have sun-warmed fruits, ripe to bursting and complemented by flower petals fluttering in the gentle breeze. Soft, spicy smoke drifts from a nearby temple. Some accord gives a slight coconut tone to the perfume, but in keeping with the fragrance's natural provenance, the aroma is that of freshly-toasted coconut shreds rather than the synthetic suntan lotion variety. (It has this in common with Moon Bloom and perhaps we'll find this accord is a signature of Hiram Green, if it turns up in future releases.)  I can parse the dry, grassy vetiver but the oakmoss note is subtle and elusive, a gentle green shadow rather than a musty, invasive aroma. The notes in Shangri La are so well-married that the perfume presents on the skin as a mood, a complete thought and an overall effect, bigger than any of its individual components.

The sillage is moderate and the longevity is outstanding—my spritzes from 12 hours ago are still going strong on my skin and my clothing.

Shangri La is another fragrance that will surely appeal to perfume aficionados of all stripes. It's a warm, gently sweet and earthy fragrance that wraps the wearer in a beautiful cloud of subtle mystery. So often we describe perfumes in terms of art, color, shadows and light. For me, Shangri La recalls the gentle warmth, soft colors and tender temptation of a Maxfield Parrish painting. Perhaps Daybreak?

Daybreak, Maxfield Parrish

Shangri La is available as a 50 ml eau de parfum and a 5 ml travel spray from the official Hiram Green website. Hiram Green perfumes are also available at Luckyscentand Indigo Perfumery in the United States and at select boutiques throughout Europe.

All other images: Hiram Green