I have too much perfume. I know it and there are things I own which get lost in the back of the shelf. Things I absolutely adore. A few weeks ago, while trying to excavate a bottle of something else I discovered my bottle of Providence Perfume Co. Moss Gown. When I know something has truly connected deeply is as soon as I saw the bottle I remembered the scent immediately. I was thinking if this had fallen off my radar since it got pushed to the back of the shelf it was time to give it some attention.
Providence Perfume Co. is the brand of all-natural perfumer Charna Ethier. Ms. Ethier is one of my favorite independent perfumers because of her attention to detail plus her delight in using unusual ingredients. The attention to detail comes from sourcing and producing some of them. Moss Gown is an education on doing this.
Charna Ethier
The name of the perfume came from a story by the same name Ms. Ethier read to her daughter at bedtime. It is at its core a Bayou re-telling of Cinderella. As I imagine any perfumer does when interacting with another art form she began to wonder what it smelled like. Which then propelled her to her studio to figure out how to realize it. What comes out of the finished product is one of the only perfumes I know which captures the smell of watery vegetation and wood in the height of the summer.
If you’ve ever spent time in the Everglades in Florida or the bayous of Louisiana or the Okefenokee Swamp on the Georgia-Florida line on a summer trip you will recognize Moss Gown from its first moments. Ms. Ethier uses sunflower essence as one of her keynotes. This has a bamboo-like watery quality. She supports it with chamomile. This gives the vegetal green part of the bayou accord. There is also a part of this milieu which is the scent of natural decay. Ms. Ethier uses boronia to capture this. Boronia Is not used often because of this character in Moss Gown it completes the stage for the appearance of our Bayou Cinderella. A duet of mimosa and rose crowned with cedarmoss provides the floral accord which captures the fairy tale in the swamp. It all finishes on a lovely creamy sandalwood.
Moss Gown has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
One of the reasons I pulled Moss Gown off the shelf is it has been a while since we’ve seen a new release from Ms. Ethier. Doing my research to make sure Moss Gown was still available I found there was a new release I missed, Vientiane. Which goes to show even perfumers I admire can fall off my radar. Take the opportunity to put Providence Perfume Co. on your radar you will be delighted to find one of the best independent natural perfumers we have. If you need proof get a sample, or bottle, of Moss Gown.
Disclosure: this review is based on a bottle I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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