Pretty in Pink: A Lucy Honeychurch English Rose from Pell Wall Perfumes

by: Elena Vosnaki

“Lucy Honeychurch has no faults,” said Cecil, with grave sincerity.

“I quite agree. At present she has none.”

“At present?”

“I’m not cynical. I’m only thinking of my pet theory

about Miss Honeychurch. Does it seem reasonable that

she should play piano so wonderfully, and live so quietly?

I suspect that someday she shall be wonderful in both.

The water-tight compartments in her will break down,

and music and life will mingle. Then we shall have her

heroically good, heroically bad—too heroic, perhaps,

to be good or bad.”

                          ~"A Room with a View", E.M.Forster

 

I was reminded of the "fine English rose" descriptor, reserved for the Edwardian, fresh-faced British beauties with the peaches & cream complexion that is the envy of many a beauty magazine editorial, upon smelling Pretty in Pink by Pell Wall perfumes. And from this to that, the involuntary association of the perfumer's surname (Bartlett) with the spinsterly chaperone Miss Bartlett overseeing Miss Honeychurch (but ultimately overlooking Lucy's romantic, passionate streak) jumped out in my mind like Jack from the box. Small epiphanies like these, Aristotelean in their vividness, make perfume testing the rewarding exercise that it is. And yet, they're never a foregone conclusion, simply because one can't try out everything.

American writer Dale Carnegie (author of "How to Win Friends and Influence People") once wisely claimed "One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." I often find myself validating the veracity of this pronouncement when smelling perfumes, the "reporter" and historian in me searching for milestones, the sensualist in me appeased that small gems hide in plain sight.

Indeed Pretty in Pink, the perfume, would have flown well past my radar, due to both its cute name (the rebel in me demanding edginess) and its rose focus (the southerner feeling a greater predilection for jasmine), had I not seen its perfumer (Chris Bartlett, member of the British Society of Perfumers), sharing some details about it online. The mention of lilies, spice and a wink from jasmine and shy violets, to adorn the rose, to gild the lily, were enough to entice me and to seek to try the fragrance out for myself.

Pretty in Pink is decidedly a rose and decidedly feminine in a Miss Honeychurch kind of way, a fine rose oscillating between the antique rose otto and the more contemporary, an English garden sprinkled with dew, Liberty print on a shift dress in a bright hue. After years of niche companies suffusing the rose in patchouli, loads of artificial sandalwood or bitterish nutty "oud" wood, the rose regains its innocence and brightness.

The fragrance nevertheless features delectable cinnamon spicy accents (the lily reference) and a fresh citrusy top note (between oranges and bergamot), to retain interest beyond the soliflore "paint from nature" school; no doubt made via a clever combination of cinnamic elements and "fresh" smelling terpenes. This countryside air presents itself vividly, like a tapestry of various herbs and plants, from laurels to rosewood, from mint to hesperidia. "Love planted a rose and turned life sweet". The ambience of Pretty in Pink, alternately cool and warm is delicately sweet, but robustly lasting and solid, like the Beethoven sonatas that Lucy Honeychurch plays in the Forster novel, optimistic like only "A Room with a View" is in the author's canon.

The lovely color of the fragrance (a warm, soft salmony-golden tone) comes from an infusion of the perfumer's own roses from his Shropshire garden  ~English roses! ~added to clear hued essences plus a hint of gromwell root oil. 

The standard black packaging for Pell Wall perfumes with its cool pink silvery decor and typeface (decidedly 1920s Art Deco) is supremely fitting for Pretty in Pink. The simple austere bottle in square glass is effective in spraying and elegant with its silver mechanism.

Perfumer Chris Bartlett has the best possible strategy for an artisan entrepreneur: "My mission is to make fragrances that some people will love, rather than perfumes everyone will like." And the sub-heading for his brand is "perfumes from the edge", something that might transpire from fragrance names such as Tempus Lucenti or Minted Mornings; not exactly what most people brain-washed from standard marketing expect in a name, right? (Interestingly Chris has a bespoke service available as well at pretty decent prices).

Pretty in Pink is available through pellwall-perfumes.com