Casanova and his world

Photo by Nicholas Asotelo

Happy birthday to Casanova, a long-time favorite character of intrigue and the inspiration behind The Lily & The Rose perfume. I stumbled upon Casanova's memories as a teenager and was enraptured with them. The pages enchanted me, transporting me to another time and place with strange customs and endless adventures. He was a man of poor moral character with a shocking amount of guts and of course a large helping of dangerous charm.

Over the pages and pages of his 12 volume manuscript one ends up enamoured with the same women who caught his eyes...Often they are more fascinating than him! Like Henriette, a cross-dressing woman fleeing an unsavory marriage who was the only person to abandon Casanova and break his heart. There of course are the two nuns with whom he had relations, with coded names C.C. and M.M., who were also lovers themselves in the convent they lived in. There are so many more!

The memoirs sweep one away with the customs of the 1700's that Casanova describes. He travels all over Europe in his life and points out the fashion and ways of life in each place he visits. I used some of these descriptions in the perfume I created.

First, there's the symbolism of the lily and the rose, which the perfume is named after. Casanova described the flush on a lover's cheek after a skirmish (his words) in the sheets as "the lily wedded to the rose upon the cheek". I have tried to research the history of the symbolism of the lily and the rose in general and there isn't much I have found that's satisfactory. I have read in a few books people referring to these flowers being very valued in the medieval ages and used symbolically. I have a theory that it still echoed into the 1700's from the medieval era whether from art or verse that people were still consuming. There is also a poem called The Lily and The Rose by William Cowper that was published towards the end of Casanova's life. In modern times we have the lily and the rose present in the magician card of the tarot. It seems these beautiful flowers often find themselves woven together in symbolism

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Chocolate was popular in the 1700's in Europe with those who could afford it. Casanova loved to eat it for breakfast and often he would be accompanied by his lovers. From the description in the book it sounds like a cup of melted chocolate rather than something like hot cocoa. I use a divine roasted cacao extract in this perfume to pay homage to this.

Musks are a big part of this composition too... I wanted there to be a slight echo of sweat on skin, a memory of lovers entwined. There is also sparkling bergamot to give a nod to the bubbly champagne these lovers enjoyed. Casanova was surprisingly not an addict of alcohol or anything besides the chase of women and gambling... but he did enjoy some bubbles in his social escapades.

Last of all I put ambroxan in here as a nod to real ambergris which was worn in Casanova's day and which I thought he wore. Last year I went back through his memoirs to find the section where I remember him talking about the perfume he wore. I was surprised to find he actually hated ambergris and he in fact wore a jasmine-scented pomade. Lucky for me I looove jasmine and had already put some in the perfume originally even though it didn't have a direct tie-in.

In the end I hope this perfume pays homage to the earthly pleasures of the 1700's and the lovers of Casanova. May it bring a spark of romance and adventure to anyone who wears it!