Roxana Illuminated Perfume Hedera Helix revew

Hedera Helix is Roxana Villa's fragrant tribute to Ivy; evergreen, tenacious, survivor of the plant world.

The Illuminated Perfume signature chypre scaffold is recognisable at first sniff; the citrus/bergamot head notes flow into the jasmine/rose heart and then the oakmoss/woody base seamlessy. Smooth, elegant, Hedera Helix is a sister to Greenwitch, but of the forest instead of the sea. A number of green plant essences were used to invoke the smell of Ivy and Roxana Villa has captured the intensely green, slightly bitter/sharp scent of freshly crushed Ivy sap perfectly. It's hard to separate out the different notes and essences, but I thought I could sniff galbanum in it and it is listed in the notes.

I was sent sample sizes of both the solid and the liquid versions of Hedera Helix to try. The green sharpness is more apparent in the liquid than the solid (the solid is a touch more mossy to my nose). They layer beautifully together, and the scent lingers all day for me worn this way even with my drier skin. I also like the liquid Hedera layered over Illuminated Perfume Q solid, which weaves in more dry, woody notes.

Ivy was traditionally used in Winter celebrations to invoke the feminine principle as Holly invokes the male. This would be a lovely bridal fragrance, particularly for a winter bride and/or one who doesn't like overly floral fragrances.

A set with the sample of both liquid and solid can be found in the Illuminated Perfume Etsy shop here: Hedera Helix fragrance sample set. Full sizes are also available.

Disclosure: samples sent for review purposes.