Hothouse Flower

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Saturday Question: Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

A couple of days ago, I received an email from INeKE Perfumer San Francisco with a subject “Last Call for Ineke Perfumes.” Ineke Ruhland, the owner of and the nose behind this niche brand, wrote the following:

Hello fragrant friends,

After 20 years of making perfumes, I’ve reached a new chapter in my life and will wind down my business over the next few months. As many of you know, I co-founded Ministry of Scent with Antonia Kohl in 2018. We sell niche and indie brands from around the world in our two San Francisco stores, as well as online at ministryofscent.com. This year we’ll also be opening a Perfumery Studio in San Francisco and selling raw materials to perfume makers online. We’ve been growing in leaps and bounds, and it’s more than a full-time job, so I’ll be focusing my efforts on Ministry of Scent.

She also mentioned that there were some remaining bottles of her perfumes produced in the last small batches, samples and sample packs for some of them. There is no sale going on, whatever is available can be purchased now. Some online retailers also have the remaining stock, but I’m sure it’ll disappear quickly once the brand closes.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #290:

Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

Do you have any favorites from this brand? Will you miss any of them?

My Answer

When three years ago I featured the brand in my Brand Appreciation: INEKE post, I ended it saying that I was looking forward to their next letter – K. I am sad that it will never happen.

I have 3 favorite perfumes from the brand – Field Notes From Paris (its story is in the post linked above), Hothouse Flower (“H” for Hothouse Flower by Ineke) and Idyllwild (Light and Shadows: Ineke Idyllwild). I still have enough of FNFP and Hothouse Flower. My Idyllwild bottle is still 1/3 full, but if feels like not enough. I enjoy this perfume very much. Recently, before I learned the news of the brand’s closing, I wore Idyllwild and thought how great it was and how much I liked it. Besides, this perfume holds a special place in my heart because of the picture I took for the post (a shadow of Rusty “smelling” a shadow of Idyllwild).

Rusty and Ineke Idyllwild

Considering that, I wanted to get a backup bottle. It was sold out on the site, so I ordered a pack of 10 samples thinking that 15 ml in addition to what I have in my original bottle would be enough. And only after I started putting together this post, I thought of checking Ineke’s new enterprise – The Ministry Of Scent. They still have a bottle of Idyllwild. I wrote to the brand’s sales to see if I could cancel the samples order and buy a bottle instead. I hope they’ll agree, I’ll get that backup bottle.

 

How about you?

 

Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

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“H” for Hothouse Flower by Ineke

 

Say “rose,” “peony,” “jasmine,” “lily-of-the-valley” or even “tulip” – and I immediately imagine both a flower and its scent. I hear “gardenia,” and I draw a blank: I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it in nature, and I can’t imagine how it smells. I saw gardenia petals at the Bouquets to Art exhibition (pictures two and tree in the post) but that was the closest I’ve ever come to the real thing.

Probably because I have no preconception of gardenia I like many gardenia-centered perfumes – Cruel Gardenia by Guerlain, Gardenia by Jo Loves and White Flowers by Yosh. These perfumes do not smell similar to me, so I’m still not sure how close to a gardenia flower these are.

Hothouse Flower by Ineke

For the first time I smelled new gardenia soliflore perfume Hothouse Flower by Ineke in July of this year at the First Artisan Fragrance Salon in San Francisco. It smelled nice, but I was so overwhelmed by everything I tried this day that I knew I wouldn’t be making it any justice. It was the end of the day, and they were out of samples but Ineke Ruhland was very kind to make one for me. Since then I kept testing it.

Hothouse Flower notes include Earl Grey tea, green foliage, cypress, absinthe, gardenia, galbanum, fig, frankincense, guaiac wood, musk and corn silk.

Hothouse Flower smells green. But it’s not No 19 or Silences type of green. It’s more like a green apple green. It’s floral but not sweet – at least to my nose. It’s fresh but not ozonic. Hothouse Flower stays on my skin for at least five hours gradually fading out but not changing much. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem overly simple.

I’ve mentioned it before: Ineke has a great sample set. For $25 (shipping included) you’ll get the first seven perfumes of the line. Plus, once Hothouse Flower is released in September, they will send you a sample of it. Plus, you can redeem the price of the set against a full bottle purchase later. But wait, there’s more! If you call in the next… OK, just kidding. It’s not a commercial, I just feel really excited about this release. I think I’ll need a bottle of Hothouse Flower.

Ineke Delux Sample Collection

Images: my own