So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,

and put your lips to the world.

And live
your life.
― Mary Oliver, Red Bird

You live the life of a poet through his/her poems. Every new book is a reflection of experiences, emotions and people that surround him/her. Published in 2008, Red Bird is a collection of poems that contemplate life through nature, our closest companion. Asking questions on life, death, purpose and time, Mary Oliver meditates in simple, familiar settings: by the ponds, in the woods, by the sea and at her working desk at home.

A moment of stillness in the times of uncertainty and chaos... Perfumers as all artists base their creations upon the current situation. The coronavirus crisis made us rethink our daily habits and routine, as well as focus on what might be better for our mental and physical health in the times of distress and anxiety.

RedBird is a balancing ambiance fragrance inspired by the poetry of Mary Oliver. And although I have been thinking of making perfume as a tribute to the poet (Mary Oliver died in January, 2019) for a long time, the year of 2020 showed how much poetry we do need in our life. It is soothing and calming, whether read to yourself or aloud, slow contemplative reading is what can help us heal in these difficult times.

The fragrance is neither body perfume nor room scent. The idea of perfume staying around you wherever you go might be not new, but it offers an escape from daily stress thanks to its concept. Whether you apply it to clothes, aroma stones or other objects intended for aromatherapy, it is easy to start and finish the scent therapy whenever you want. Blending scent and poetry is a meditative process itself, add to it changing notes which I add every few months and it will speak of the nature itself: never standing still, always transforming into something new. Clean, watery and slightly green, the scent encompasses the natural elements Mary Oliver writes about: water, air and the greenery, while taking the name of a Red Bird, a symbol and an ever appearing subject of her verse - local birds.

While I chose those materials which would be as much close to transparent ones as possible, the blend may still stain white and delicate fabric because the fragrance is very concentrated and might be oily. Use it on clothes (preferably darker in colour), aroma stones, herbal sachets for closets and drawers, bed linen (spray from a distance to avoid stains), cushions, scarves (one spray is enough as it is very close to your nose), any natural porous surface, particularly the one serving as an interior decorative object around the house, thick paper strips (included with samples and full bottles) or any diy aroma objects as long as they can absorb and release the scent back.

As Mary Oliver speaks in her poetry, she often asks questions to let us finish the line, so does RedBird perfume: it is an open ended fragrance, and allows you to reveal your thoughts, perhaps, most importantly, to yourself. Use the scent to journal and reflect, start a creative process and finish the day in gratitude. Poems are not read once, not even twice, you have to return to them to uncover their meaning, as they mirror your own life at the moment. This is why the perfume is issued in batches numbered for every new revelation while the notes are added to the previous ones. This means that the complexity may grow at times. Aromatherapy with a purpose might be a closer definition for RedBird.

Every new batch will have its number and new material description. To be as much close to our ZeroWaste Perfume idea, I made the blend very concentrated which will eliminate the need of buying new bottles too often, on the other hand, the purse spray bottles are reusable and can be refilled from 100ml French flacons, which in their turn, can serve as interior objects and as a reed diffuser bottle (use any natural reed sticks of your choice). The 100ml bottles can be refilled. Both purse sprays and 100ml flacons can be refilled with new batches, as every new edition of RedBird will be based on the previous notes, so they will only complement the blend. Please refer to our ZeroWaste Perfume page to learn more.