Late one night, I was walking from the subway to my studio in brooklyn and was mugged at gun point. After surrendering my wallet I was pistol-whipped and left in a heap. After recovering from this traumatizing incident I experienced something called an olfactory hallucination and for weeks after the event woke up to the smell of tuberose and gardenia, but the flowers were nowhere to be found.

After seeing a few doctors I learned that traumatic events, especially physical ones, can trigger scent-based hallucinations. It eventually went away but the experience stuck with me and became the inspiration for this scent. A play on words, pistil whip is an explosion of lush florals that collapse into peppery smoke and mysterious notes of black tea. The top of the fragrance is a spicy combination of pink pepper and ripe bergamot. At its heart lie tuberose absolute, violet leaf and tiarre flower, and the base is rooted in deep, grassy vetiver and the smoky finish of lapsang souchong absolute.

Top: pink pepper, bergamot
Middle: tuberose, tiarre, violet leaf
Base: vetiver, lapsang souchong absolute

Rich • creamy • floral