Mémoire de Daisen InFloral Hesperidic Eau de Parfum

Mémoire de Daisen In by Ella K is a niche floral, citrusy, and musky eau de parfum, unisex, created by Sonia Constant. Daisen-in is a dry garden in Kyoto, one of the oldest in Japan.

An imaginary heroine, a house founded by a female perfumer

Ella K was born in Paris in 2017, created by perfumer Sonia Constant with her husband, himself a specialist in raw material sourcing. Very few perfume houses are created by female perfumers: Ella K is an exception. "Ella K" is an imaginary heroine, inspired by three explorers from another century: Ella Maillart — from whom Sonia Constant says she borrowed her first name —, Karen Blixen and Alexandra David-Néel. Each perfume is the olfactory memory of a moment lived somewhere in the world, and rests on an iconic ingredient, a symbol of the destination, surrounded by rare naturals and high-quality synthetic molecules. Trained at the ISIPCA and then at Givaudan, where she still works, Sonia Constant signed Guerlain L'Abeille, Montblanc Emblem, Balmain Extatic and Burberry Sport. 100 ml bottle.

An opening of kumquat, bergamot, and nutmeg

The kumquat opens bitter and zesty — it is the tiny citrus fruit that we eat with the skin. The bergamot brightens it and the nutmeg brings a woody warmth.

A heart of alba rose, peony, and musk

The alba rose — the white rose, greener and less honeyed than the May rose — unfolds with the peony, transparent and aqueous. The musk holds them without weighing them down.

A base of ambroxan and maple wood

The ambroxan brings a mineral and dry warmth, the maple wood a light woody sweetness. Only two materials, and the sillage remains close to the body.

The house's signature

Only eight materials, and a base reduced to two. A dry garden is a few stones, raked gravel, and a lot of emptiness: Sonia Constant composed the least, which is harder than the most. The kumquat at the top, a tiny citrus fruit that we eat with the skin, brings the bitterness that bergamot alone would not have — it is this grain of harshness that prevents the composition from being merely pretty. In such a short formula, every material is visible: there is nowhere to hide.

For whom, for what occasions?

Floral, citrusy, and musky, this eau de parfum is for those who like restrained perfumes. It gives its best from spring to summer, during the day, including at the office.

With Mémoire de Daisen In Ella K, Sonia Constant composes the emptiness of a dry garden.