Creating perfumes that let memories linger a little longer
SAMAR operates in that liminal space where science meets artistry, where personal history transforms into universal storytelling through scent. The house was born during the wee hours of a mid-pandemic morning, midst conversations of art and dreams of travel, self-taught perfumers Na-Moya and Debbie then went on to spend the next two years perfecting their first line of scents.
Samar Perfume is no stranger to accolades with Garden Heaux as a finalist for the 2023 Art and Olfaction Awards and Grove is in the Heart winning the award the following year.
A Garden in a Bottle
Anyone who’s spent the past few months gardening knows that gardens go beyond just pretty flowers, so why should scents inspired by them stick to strictly florals?
Garden Heaux is about the dirt under fingernails after a spring morning spent planting, scrutinizing, and pruning the greenery. It’s the scent of brushing tomato leaves away to make space for snipping the little yellow blossoms because it’s too soon for them to start fruiting. Of walking around rows of haphazardly planted lemon balm amongst other herbs, trying to be careful not to trample on your hard work as you lug around a watering can that is unfortunately spilling it’s contents.
To put it frankly, this scent is green. Ridiculously so. I’m not talking a green tea kind of green, rather, it is green like a freshly mown grass next to a patch of clover. Green like a high quality matcha. A verdant green that wakes you up and sticks in you mind.
It is a fragrance that honors the labor of growing things, the authentic earthiness that makes a garden truly alive.
Meet Me at the Orange Tree
Where Garden Heaux is about a backyard garden in liquid form, Grove is in the Heart takes a different approach to botanical storytelling, capturing not just the scent but the emotional resonance of trekking through a citrus grove just before the midday sun. Garden Heaux is the act of gardening, while Grove is in the Heart is enjoying the fruits of your labor, literally. The house summed it up as a “Frolic in an idyllic grove bursting with the juiciest citrus fruits” but its so much more than that.
The opening is a masterclass in creating a citrus accord, with mandarin rendered so clearly you can almost feel the spray of zest as you peel the citrus open and the juices drip down your fingers as you take your first bite. It’s a sunny spring day in an orange grove.
Citrus scents in perfumery usually doesn’t last quite long, a few hours tops before it starts to favor the base notes; usually something woody, which this one has. However in this case, the citrus is so skillfully rendered, you can still clearly pick up on the mandarins hours after other citrus scents have already morphed into something else.
This post was originally posted on Substack.
Collage by MaHRT. Photos courtesy Of SAMAR.
The fragrances featured in this post was chosen because I currently own samples of them. This post does not contain paid third-party affiliate links, and I was not otherwise compensated for this review. The links are for the convenience of the reader.
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