the floral formula

During my two years in London, the one thing that surprised me the most was the number of royal gardens (there are actually 8 different ones in London!) you can find in the city, even just huge gardens & parks in general. I lived in Canary Wharf, a relatively new business district with a lot of high-rise building. Despite all that, you can always catch the freshness of trees, flowers and gardens on the street. This is perhaps my favourite thing about the British capital. And thanks to Miller Harris, I get to relive those memories - through their Forage collection.

你眼中的倫敦是什麼模樣？是個性的、自由的？我想，每個人在走訪一個未知的城市前，都會有些自己的見解。三年前，帶著對歐洲的各種憧憬，在英國首都生活了兩年。而那段時間，發現倫敦的綠化其實做的非常徹底。暫且不論那八座皇家公園，幾乎每區都有至少一座公共花園或公園。就連當初公寓所在的新興商務區金絲雀碼頭，即便高樓大廈隨處可見，在街上依舊能感受到綠葉花草的氣息。鋼筋水泥並沒有阻擋植物的生長，兩個看似極其相反的元素，卻能夠如此和諧的共同生長。這或許就是霧都最吸引人之處，再不一樣的文化、生態都能在那兒找到生存方式。感謝 Miller Harris ，持續以詩人般的調香技術，讓我透過全新的的「都會秘境採食系列」憶起些英倫美好。

There are three different scents in this particular collection (Lost in the City, Hidden on the Rooftops & Wander through the Parks). And I'm sharing Lost in the City with you today, inspired by urban ferns. When I heard about the idea behind this perfume, I thought it would smell more botanical. However, the first scent that I picked up was actually rose scent. Which is odd, since rose petals are their heart note rather than the top. It caught me off guard, but in a good way. Along with early grey, black currant, amber & musk, blending into a subtle feminine scent with a nice sharp of rose. To be honest, I never thought I'd be sharing perfume with such a significant rose note (I use to think it's too girly or sweet for me). And yet now I'm reaching for it a lot more often than expected.

都會迷蹤 Lost in the City，是我在這次「都會秘境採食系列 」中要跟大家分享的淡香精（整個系列共有三個，另外兩款為天台秘境＆園林密語）。「以蕨類的生存蹤跡為發想」，官網上是這麼介紹的。在還沒用前，一直誤以為是偏清新或木質的調性，沒想到感官第一個接收到的居然是玫瑰，然而卻是與一般印象中不一樣的玫瑰香氣。前調是黑醋栗與佛手柑，接著由玫瑰花瓣、天竺葵與大黃共同組成的中調，經過大黃巧妙地中和，淡化了花香味較重的另外兩者，進而帶出了不膩味的清甜。最後以伯爵與麝香的茶香、果香做收尾，同時制衡前中兩調較濃郁的花香味，呈現了玫瑰花不同以往的面貌。

I only started appreciating roses after I started taking photos. It's pretty hard to imagine, since visiting the local florist for white roses is now a huge part of my weekly routine. Even so, flowers haven't worked their way to my perfume collection much before. I tend to go for wood and tea scents. To me, they are so refreshing, and I love how they just wear off in a nice organic way. I was never the girl who would ask for a rose scent in a perfume shop back then. Well, not until now. I've found my favourite floral formula, finally.

應該是開始拍照之後才學會欣賞花（特別是白玫瑰！）。起初，純粹是喜歡她們在畫面中呈現的模樣，不知不覺也就成了生活的一部分，現在只要家花瓶一空就會渾身不自在。不過即便如此，玫瑰香的香水卻很少出現在我的收藏中。梳妝台上清一色的木質和茶香，再不然就是柚子、茉莉等清新調性的。不是不喜歡，就是不習慣。感覺玫瑰花的甜美女人味似乎與我搭不上邊。但，真的是這樣嗎？自從接觸了 Miller Harris 的 Lost in the City 都會迷蹤，這迷思漸漸開始被打破。原來，玫瑰不只甜美這一種模樣，他可以知性，可以溫暖，更能可以呈現女人專屬的個性與灑脫。說穿了，不是不能駕馭，只是一直沒遇到心儀的香氛罷了。

My very feeling for Miller Harris' Lost in the City inspired me to plan these images without too much flower. Being so different from all other rose perfumes, I think this is the only way to do it justice. Cheers.

後記：在拍攝這組影像前，有想果把很多鮮花帶到畫面中。不過後來決定以偏個性甚至是帶點憂鬱地方式製造點反差，畢竟她與我們平常所接觸的花香調香水是那麼的不一樣。希望你們喜歡。

*disclaimer: I received this product for free, however, the opinion & thoughts are 100% mine. shot on Fujifilm xh1 with 35mm lens _