Belinda Brown – Blessings: A Fragrant Journey
By: Suzy Nightingale
It was the twisting paths of Fate, so Belinda Brown passionately believes, that ultimately led a little girl from Nigeria who adored the fragranced body cream given to her by her mother, to a surely destined meeting with one of the world’s foremost fragrance experts and a master perfumer in his own right. One of those happy accidents, a spine-tingling moment when everything seems to click into place and suddenly, everything makes sense.
Roja Dove’s bespoke process took Belinda on a fragrant discovery and Roja managed to unlock some long-lost childhood memories from her upbringing in Nigeria. At last, Belinda emotionally and literally discovered her signature fragrance. The very first time Belinda got to smell Roja’s bespoke creation for her, she fell in love, and found many people thereafter commenting on her beautiful fragrance.
Being the woman she is, Belinda did not want to keep this masterpiece as solely her own—she wanted to share what she considered to be the most beautiful fragrance ever created, with other women. And so it came to be that Belinda asked Roja’s permission to produce the perfume as a limited edition for retail exclusively in the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie at Harrods.
Blessings is uplifting and joyful in its opening of bergamot, lemon and mandarin, woven through with a ribbons of exotic luxury, the heady heart of Jasmine and Rose de Mai; and yet reassuringly grounded in a sense of comfort and home, with the calming drydown of cedar, sandalwood, tonka and vanilla. Belinda Brown kindly agreed to share her unique story with Fragrantica, and I was intrigued to find out more about the unusual way this fragrance had been dreamed of, and particularly how Belinda’s own history has so intricately shaped the perfume’s creation.
Belinda, your journey into fragrance sounds fascinating, please could you describe a little of it to our readers? How did the story of Blessings begin, and where do you hope this particular path will eventually lead you?
Belinda Brown: Hailing from the bountiful land of Nigeria, I was first introduced to fragrance through my mother with Stella Pomade, a body cream fragranced with heady Jasmine and Vanilla which she put all over my skin; here began my love for exotic scents. This beautiful memory of family and home, embedded on my psyche, has grown into a passion for fragrance: a passion which has remained a constant in my life to this day. As a young girl I saved every penny to purchase beautiful fragrances, mostly containing Lavender—I worked many hours to buy just one scent I adored to have and hold as my own.
Having dreamt of creating my own perfect scent for many years, the two solid passions which have guided me through life—religion and fragrance—came together in a fantastic harmony to upon my introduction to Roja Dove, the world’s celebrated perfumer. Working with Roja lead to the production of my very own bespoke fragrance which with Roja’s kind permission is now available as a product in his Haute Parfumerie at Harrods—that is Blessings, so named because I firmly feel it brings joy to the heart of anyone who smells it.
It seems your meeting with Roja Dove was written in the stars, somehow, one of those instances of being in the right place at the right time. What do you treasure most from that meeting? How different do you think your journey would be if you hadn't met?
Belinda Brown: Along with my love of fragrance I have always maintained strong religious convictions and I deeply believe that I was guided in meeting Roja. Having been introduced by a friend of mine I understand the meaning of the saying “there are few good people in this world” but Roja is definitely one of them. From the very first day, from the very first hand shake he has looked after me like a sister. We have formed a close relationship and without him I would not have my perfect fragrance: one that embodies all that is me. There really are no words to describe my feelings and appreciation for Roja. I treasure his honesty and happiness, his colourful shirts—they bring smiles to my face before we even speak! My journey would have been very hard without Roja’s involvement: he was the only person I believed in that could realise the level of excellence I dreamed of, and his expertise and guidance has been a godsend throughout the whole journey.
What are your earliest memories of scents—freshly cut grass always seems to trigger people's memories, for example—and do you think they influence the way you choose and work with fragrances now?
Belinda Brown: My earliest memories of fragrance are the notes of Stella Pomade—the scented body cream my mother gave me to wear. It was very luxurious and to own a whole pot of Stella Pomade was very rare. I remember covering myself from head to toe with the cream, and so the Lavender, Jasmine and Vanilla permeated the dusty air in my home town. These memories of home comforts and joy do influence my fragrance choice now as they are happy memories and I love to be reminded of those times. When Roja gave me some scents to smell during the creation of Blessings many times I was “mmm-ing” over their beauty and the wonderful images coming rushing back into my mind.
Do you ever think in fragrance? I know that sounds odd! But many perfumers I've talked to say they see people or have memories that are based in fragrance. Like some people claim to see auras as colours around people, some perfumers think in scent it seems!
Belinda Brown: Yes—I think like this when I cook. I can see and smell some food and then will be able to go away and recreate the dish perfectly. I can often just look at and smell some food and know what ingredients it will contain. As far as memories go, they are steeped with Lavender: it immediately reminds me of my mother: similarly my daughter always asks if I have been in a room if she can smell Jasmine or Sandalwood!
What are your favourite perfumes to wear, personally? What fragrances have left a special imprint on you throughout your life?
Belinda Brown: Throughout my life I have had the ability to mix my own fragrances to suit my mood or the day: I would often not be able to tell people exactly what perfume I am wearing as it will be a mixture of four or five. I would buy one perfume and then add drops of oils and create special mixtures just for myself, however since my earliest memories I have been looking for a fragrance which reminded me of Stella Pommade. I wore Angel by Thierry Mugler for a while to try to satisfy this need, then on my wedding day in the UK I wore Clive Christian No.1. Each of these perfumes are very important to me and have special memories attached when I smell them again.
Who do you see, wish or imagine wearing Blessings?
Belinda Brown: Ultimately of course the fragrance was created by Roja for me: it was created to embody all that is Belinda Brown. However, the fragrance is so beautiful and so many of my girlfriends commented on it, that I wanted to be able to share this with more women.
How do you see your work with fragrance and your relationship with Roja blossoming in the future? What are you working on right now that's most important to you?
Belinda Brown: I would like to see Belinda Brown Blessings available around the world—giving joy to the hearts of women everywhere. We are launching an Eau de Parfum version of Blessings in May this year, which will be very exciting as the next step and then we will see…
It must be a very strange experience, launching a perfume into the world when it was originally created for you, I’m not sure I could be as generous as Belinda obviously is—I might have kept it a jealously guarded secret, instead! The limited number of bottles available at least mean Belinda’s precious perfume is shared with only a lucky few. It’s an incredible journey, indeed, for that little girl we may so easily imagine dipping her fingers into her mother’s exotically perfumed pomade and reveling in its heady fragrance; to now be launching a signature fragrance that was created for her due to meeting of like minds and which bears her imprint you might say, but which she ultimately felt destined to share with others.
In the pipeline is another fragrance—a more accessible one, perhaps, due to the higher production quantities&mdahs;an Eau de Parfum which will retail around £75 and is set to be launched later in the year. Belinda Brown’s journey has many paths yet to explore… Blessings is now available at Roja Dove’s Haute Parfumerie in Harrods for £675 per bottle.NOTES:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin
Heart: Jasmine de Grasse, Rose De Mai
Base: Cedar, Sandalwood, Tonka, Vanilla
Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin
Images: jasmine - Kpjas, Stella Pomade - pzcussonsng.com
Thank you so much for your lovely comments, I'm so pleased you liked the article! :-)
14
2011
Blessings is the most beautiful perfume i have ever seen and used. Its bottle is as beautiful as the content and indeed its creator - Belinda Brown. This perfume is the epitome of class, elegance and understated glamour. though expensive than most perfume, it also last longer than most perfumes - lingering for days rather than the few hours that one gets from high street perfumes. Thus it is worth every penny.
PA
12
2011
This lady is the real article. She is as genuine and beautiful as her perfume is lovely. I am sure the Eau de Parfum is going to be as stunning as Blessings. Thanks Belinda for letting us share your dream.
11
2011
What a great interview I am so happy it will launch world wide.I will buy this fragrance it sounds amazing.And just for the bottle alone I wouldn't mind saving my pennies up for it.I just love how it was made with some of the best ingredients on earth what a stunner!And how she talked about her country just made me want to buy and cherish this scent I so look forward to this.
10
2011
$1100 ?!... Faint... (-__-)!
09
2011
I am ready to purchase this fragrance today, between the notes Ms. Brown has chosen, to the exquisite bottle, and the incredibly moving story of her creative journey. If this fragrance is anywhere as beautiful as she is, particularly spiritually, then it is destined to be a success. One note: Please, Ms. Brown, if it becomes a classic....please don't fall into the temptation of the bait-and-switch game so many perfume lovers are experiencing....reformulation.
09
2011
What an inspiration this lady is. Like others have said, hope to hold the beautiful bottle in my hand and breathe in its fragrance one day. Sounds heavenly and the name "Blessings" is perfect.
Looking forward to the release of the EDP and hope that it will be more affordable. What a lovely person to share this incredible experience with others. May her life continue to be blessed.
09
2011
Great story, thank you for it! The perfume's bottle is beautiful and the notes are very close to my taste. Hope I can smell it some day...
09
2011
What a lovely article! It's so kind of Belinda to launch her signature perfume world wide. The bottle is a stunner.
Will that be the same bottle when Eau de perfum will be launched or this bottle is only reserved to the limited addition? I will be looking forward to the reviews then.
08
2011
Love this article!
08
2011
I love that she is guided by Divine inspiration and also think that the name of her perfume Blessings is simply perfect. And what a stunning and passionate looking woman!
Thank you for sharing this story. It truly is an inspiration for me.
08
2011
Very nice article! Great to see you here again, Miss Nightingale!
08
2011
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