Flower Power: In Fiore Night Queen Parfum Solide Haute Concentre

In Fiore is the brainchild of Julie Elliott, who creates fragrances and skin care products with a deft hand and a host of pure floral ingredients that seems dizzying at first. The In Fiore skin care regimen I've been trying out is not tailored to the average American woman who is short on time and can't even bother to take off her makeup before bed. In Fiore is for someone who values her sanity and takes her time indulging the senses simply because she sees the necessity in that. This appeals to my hedonistic side quite a bit, and I will happily take 15 minutes (or more if I'm applying a masque or two) twice a day to make my skin glow supernaturally. There are many steps, and each product works in synergy with the next. Every skin concern is addressed in several products in the line. For me, it's an intoxicating and entertaining process.

Now that you have a little background on the range of products available, I encourage you to take a look around  In Fiore's website to feast your eyes on the aforementioned  lovely products. For now, I will move on to today's main event: Night Queen solid perfume.

Notes: Jasmine Sambac, Grandiflorum and Auriculatum, Bulgarian and Centifolia rose, Italian bergamot peel, saffron, Dark Indonesian patchouli leaf, Oud of Assam

Night Queen Parfum Solide Haute Concentre, one of ten fragrances available, is quite simply a jasmine lover's dream. And I'll even go one better-- I challenge anyone who historically has not enjoyed jasmine as a fragrance note-- this soliflore will be of interest. As you can see from the notes list above, different types of jasmine essences are utilized for different effects, and I think this is the main reason why I love it so much. There are a few of us out there who love the spicy, slightly jagged edge of jasmine sambac, and it's frequently passed over for its more refined sisters (always the bridesmaid...). The moonlight-stippled aura surrounding Night Queen is one of vintage repose and quiet confidence-- it reminds me of this image that I adore:

Just another Monday Night...

Brass mirrored compact each solid comes in

The patchouli and oud are in perfect proportion and lend the blend rich incense tones. The two types of rose used (centifolia and Bulgarian) act as enhancement for the jasmine and contrast for the base, but it's not intense enough by itself to make its presence known unless you're hunting for it. In other words, it's perfect for me. It's a fairly dry scent, yet surprisingly multi-layered with excellent throw. It feels like everything has its place specifically to allow the jasmine to take the lead, and lead it does. I'd follow this Queen anywhere.

The solid perfume compacts are brass with the In Fiore logo etched on to the top, it is quite generously sized, and there is a fully functional makeup mirror inside. The consistency of the beeswax mixture is soft and it spreads well, probably because of the skin-loving jojoba seed oil it contains.

There are a couple of surprises buried within the pretty brass compact-- the honey-scented wax nudges me toward orange blossom on a warm day. As usual, my skin grabs and amplifies any sweetness available to it, but there's only a little bit. Night Queen is devastatingly lush and has made its mark on me. It is now among my very favorite jasmine perfumes. Ever. If you're looking for a perfume in solid form that, strangely, has about the same scent throw as a liquid perfume and/or  if you're a jasmine nut, you need to check out In Fiore solid perfumes, and start with Night Queen. I've already got my "I'll die if I don't try these" list of other In Fiore fragrances I need to take a spin with next. In the spirit of Night Queen, I will proceed with wild abandon.

In Fiore Parfum Solide Haute Concentre in Night Queen (and nine other scents) is $65 and available through   the In Fiore website directly, or at BeautyHabit.com.

[Product sample sent to me by the creator for my consideration.]