Allow me to tell you a fairy tale, inspired by the sixth Talisman in the Mendittorosa perfume collection; The Talisman of Talent – Mendittorosa Talento!
This review was first published in Cafleurebon, and I believe it was the first fairy tale review of a fragrance ever.
Mendittorosa Talento – Extrait du Parfum (30%), was created by Amèlie Bourgeois and Camille Chemardin for “the barefoot artisan perfume princess” Stefania Squeglia of Mendittorosa in 2019.
“The Talisman of Talent, the green light of genius that could flourish and grow in all of us. A light to be protected as in turn protects us.“ – Mendittorosa
A light to nurture, to cherish, to protect, and keep shining brightly by supporting its glow in ourselves, and in all people that shine their light on us! And this is my fairy tale inspired by it:
Once upon a time, there was a very young plant growing in a well-kept garden called Mendittorosa, hidden in an obscure corner beside the white wooden fence. It seemed that it just appeared there one day, out of nowhere. As far as Old Oak could remember, being here long before all the other flowers and trees were planted, nothing managed to grow on that spot except a few bushes of grass.
Other flowers, grand fragrant divas surrounded by their well-groomed groupies, protected by caring and friendly trees, together with clusters or various other small flower families, were planted in cascades forming fireworks of carefully arranged different colors and odor profiles, their roots firmly set in the ground for years.
They couldn’t recall the moment when they first noticed two frail, crooked branches straining to grow a few wrinkled leaves, couldn’t even tell if it’s a flower or a weed, so they soon forgot all about it, and went on minding their own business of smelling pretty and keeping their buds blooming regularly. Its presence was ignored.
It was by sheer luck and some stubborn perseverance that Little Plant managed to claw its tiny roots deeper into the soft, black ground of the Mendittorosa garden. This forgotten corner was a fine south-facing spot, protected by the fence, and with just enough sunshine and rain to make our little friend feel simple pleasures of growing quietly, enjoying sunny days and comforting mild nights of Spring and Summer in its solitary everyday life.
As days and seasons of a year passed, it managed to thrive, growing upwards, stretching out, celebrating the growth of every single new leaf, all alone. Little Plant didn’t know if it shall ever have flowers of its own, what these flowers might look or smell like. It just hoped and dreamed of blooming one day, looking at other fragrant inhabitants shaking their petals like peacock ruffles its tail.
There was no poison of envy in its leaves, just sheer fascination with the beauty of the world surrounding it. By now it has grown enough so that its smallest leaves, at the top of the highest branch, could see the whole garden in full bloom and waves of fragrant air coming from even the smallest plants. Excitement would then run all the way down its spine, down to its roots, it would tremble at the delight of witnessing such beauty and an opulent diversity of scents and colors.
Little Plant was so proud just to be a part of the famous Mendittorosa garden!
Winter came, snow and cold temperatures slowed the growth of our Little Plant down. It was the third Winter of its existence. One cloudy, windy morning it woke up and felt no frost on its leaves anymore. Sun warmed it up at noon. Still dizzy from sleeping for so long, it suddenly became aware that something has changed: it had grown thorns, soft and green.
Some other plants did notice those little thorns and whispered that the plant growing in the corner has thorns that look like ones roses have, but Little Plant growing in the corner of the garden couldn’t possibly be a rose! Roses never-ever grew there. Little Plant overheard that, and couldn’t care less: it didn’t consider itself to be worthy or capable of producing any flowers at all, let alone rosebuds, and it was not into thorns anyway.
Besides, it thought that its thorns were beautiful in the moonlight, silver-clad at night. Something else had changed: one of its roots, stubborn and dedicated, managed to find its own way to a rich supply of fresh underground water, purified by stones in the neighboring garden!
Little Plant with soft green thorns felt stronger, its roots drinking thirstily. It was determined to give its best to live its own way, to thrive and rejoice in Spring. It accumulated and saved energy for Winter, knowing that time shall come for it to shed some leaves in order to grow new ones, come next Spring.
Soft Spring rain woke it up gently one day. As the weather became warmer, ants and insects started to look for food. Among all the flowers in this lush garden – they chose Little Plant to feed on its juices. It fought this new battle, alone, in silence, withering. It was in pain, dying a slow death.
Amidst its effort to stay alive, it noticed a new, small plant leaning on it, hugging its base gently. It curled its dark green leaves to protect the small one and offered its soft green thorns to help it climb. It also noticed that ants and bugs stayed away from it, ever since this small, fresh-smelling friend appeared.
Mint looked up and said: “Thank you, Rose.” Little Plant started to shake: it had overheard stories other flowers whispered about Queens of Flowers, beautiful roses with big, black thorns, and royal crowns made of the most fragrant petals in the world. Rose? With small, green thorns and crooked branches?
Little Plant thought: „What if there is a rose budding inside me, regardless of everything?“
That thought made its whole existence make sense, it felt so…right. “Thank you, Mint”, it whispered.
Little Rose hugged Mint gently. It realized that no matter what its thorns looked like, no matter the most distant spot in the garden – it might direct its juices wiser and with a higher purpose, one that it suddenly visioned clearly: to bud and bloom, at last. To celebrate its resurrection, the only way it felt it could!
Little Rose and Mint swore to each other to protect, accept, and respect each other, by doing and giving their best to each other, no questions asked.
Spring came again, the garden woke up, butterflies circled around first flowers, bees could be heard buzzing and birds humming, and one sunny day all the other flowers noticed that Little Rose and Mint have grown bigger and greener than ever, filling that empty corner of the garden beside the wooden fence. Embraced. Together.
One day later in May, early in the morning, the entire garden fell silent in awe: our Little Rose grew one single bud overnight, while no one was watching! Mint rushed to kiss its cheek, laughing and releasing its fragrant, airy, ice-fresh breath. They both felt their scents, mixed together in a single drop of dew, dancing one around the other, blending in a swirly movement, producing even a more beautiful accord than each separate plant could have created it on its own.
Geranium, their first neighbor squealed in surprise adding its fragrant, velvety-smooth breath too, and bowed to be closer to them, happy that it could contribute. It felt like a ray of warm sunshine! This beautiful, airy, and light fragrance rose above the dark earth as dew evaporated, lifting it higher, and Wind carried it happily across the whole garden.
The whole Mendittorosa garden applauded Little Rose, praising its soft green thorns which didn’t kill the Mint but gave it support to grow. They cheered the Mint too, for supporting Little Rose and chasing all the ants and bugs away, while still remaining true to itself.
As time passed, Little Rose opened one by one petal of the bud deliberately slowly. It was doing this for itself, not to impress other flowers. Its long-lasting scent grew more complex, comforting, deeper, and richer, with a little help of Old Oak and two most prominent passers-by, impressed by its daintiness: Patchouli and Cedar.
Our Rose felt at peace now, never forgetting what it took to get here where it is now, thankful for everything in its path that helped it discover how to use its talent to bloom. It had always felt, deep inside its veins, that it grew right there, in this very lonely spot – for a reason.
This was not the same Little Rose anymore. It has changed, found itself, grown, bloomed, and unfolded the most beautiful flower in the whole garden. Hardships didn’t make it bitter, spicy, zesty, dark, or peppery, oh no!
It became even more gentle when it became aware of its purpose in life, soft and tender like Garden Fairy’s rainbow-colored wings. It wasn’t too sweet or powdery either, brightness oozed out of its every pore.
That neglected corner of the garden was never the same again, and the story about Little Rose&Mint was told to every little sprouting plant, now warmly welcomed with love in the garden, even if coming from its most distant corners.
Little Rose bloomed, changed irrevocably, and this transformation affected the whole Mendittorosa Talento garden, changing the way it looked and smelled. It had found its Talent.
Notes (as listed by the brand) Top: Mint, Aldéhyde C12 MNA, Heart: Rose Oxide, Infusion of Rose, Geranium, Base: Indonesian Patchouli, Oakmoss, Cedar.
– Extrait de Parfum 30%, 100ml.
Talent is the divine spark of light in us, and Mendittorosa Talento is a fragrant ode to it.
The Plum Girl
Elena Cvjetkovic
Photos: Elena Cvjetkovic, Mendittorosa, Pexels
Stefania made me a decant of Mendittorosa Talento at Pitti Fragranze 2019, for which I am deeply grateful because it is a part of her Manifesto NOT to give out free samples. Opinions and feelings are, as always, of my own.
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