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Born in Yorkshire, England, James Heeley studied Philosophy and Aesthetics at King’s College, London University. He lives and works in Paris. Product design, packaging, graphic design, interior design and perfume: the scope of his work is large, yet always approached with the same rigour and attention to detail. The apparent simplicity and elegance of his designs are the result of a continual thought process in which he marries form, function, and a coherent use of materials. Characterised by a certain degree of formalism, his idea of luxury is that it should abound with life and intelligence.
Now Heeley is after a playful new twist for their hesperidic fragrance in what has to do with its baptism at least. The name derives from an old British song:
Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement’s
You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin’s
When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney
I do not know, Says the great bell of Bow
Here comes a candle to light you to bed.
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!
The fragrance? It contains notes of orange, lemon, bergamot, mandarin, neroli, petit-grain, Earl Grey tea, ylang ylang, vetiver, and musk.
info via Extrait.it
When I was a child we used to play a game to this rhyme. Rather like those folk dances where you have two rows of people facing each other and the person at the end dances down the centre of the row to rejoin the far end.
ReplyDeleteTwo children would link hands and hold them up to form a spire. The other kids skipped underneath, then on the last line they would bring their hands down and try to trap a child and "chop off their head". Much squealing and giggling then followed.
While there are a lot of citrus fragrances out there, it will be interesting to see how this one compares. I'm all for Earl Grey tea in scents.
this sounds lovely--I think his entire line is really well done.
ReplyDeleteskzrypce
Wordbird,
ReplyDeletelovely info! I bet this was highly amusing!!
Earl Grey is a fine variety, I agree. It's so uplifting. And in general I like what I've tested off Heeley, so here's hoping!
Thanks for commenting!
skzrypce,
ReplyDeleteit does, doesn't it? Just right for summer. I agree that there is quality behind the line, which is your favourite?
As I said on twitter have always thought this would be a perfect name for a fragrance- well I just the bells of st... but... It suits his line and I agree I LOVE what I have tried- Cardinal and courtesy of your good self the mint one- which I think is amazing though really unusual
ReplyDeletehe sounds like such a renaissance man!
I waver on the Heeleys - it seems like I get a first Big LOVE, then a reconsider, then sort of 'eh'. Selmarine and Ofelia (Ophelia?) are two examples of Big Love Gone Wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut I am the Citrus Queen (after aldehydes, of course) and this combo sounds like it might be perfect for me.
Hope springs eternal. Will wait for it to hit Barneys!
hope you are having a lovely day!
xoAnita
The notes on this one sound great. I like the few Heeleys I have tried quite a bit (e.g., the fig and Menthe Fraiche), so this sounds promising.
ReplyDeleteWe could use some summery citrus right about now!
Laura M
K,
ReplyDeleteit's an unusual name to be sure, if a very long one!
The line is rather good, so I'm hopeful. And I do like the designs, have you checked out the Heeley site? It's excellent!
Anita,
ReplyDeletethanks, honey, it's been great so far, wishing the same for you!
Sorry about the "wow, then heh" reaction. Maybe this one will do the trick? I'm partial to Ophelia, Cardinal and Cuir myself.
Laura,
ReplyDeleteit sounds perfectly summery, it's true. All cool (apart from the ylang and maybe the musk, depending on which variety)and immediately pleasing notes!
I guess the timing wasn't accidental. They're presenting it in the Italian exhibition so early spring should be the official launch. Let's see!
The ones that work best on my skin are Figuier and Menthe Fraiche. I also like Sel Marine, but it sours on me after a bit. Hope this one comes to the States soon!
ReplyDeleteforgot to sign the above...
ReplyDeleteskrzypce
I have looked at the site and I agree it and the whole line are very impressive.
ReplyDeleteThat rhyme is one we sing all the times when we are little and those are all the bells in an area of London and it's just lovely to think of them chiming to each other- though the song is actually quite strange!