Hive Mind, a perfume by Redolescent:
Fresh honey drips from combs at the height of a balmy English summer, as worker bees fill the air with their rhythmic hum. Refined and sophisticated, this fragrance oozes luxury and a classy, gilded warmth.
The idle trickling of moments is inconsequential, your eyes drifting across the cloudless sky above as you sink back into unmown barley. Hive Mind settles you into the earth and connects you to the workings of the natural world.
On the skin, waxy notes, cedar wood, jasmine, and lemon temper the heady sweetness, giving depth and grounding the scent. A perfume for the most special of occasions, and days when you want to bask in a golden glow.
“Beekeeping is something I had wanted to do for years, particularly since undertaking a project on social insects at university. I am as much interested in the conservation efforts and pure learning that beekeeping provides as I am in actually getting any surplus honey. However, beekeeping takes time, money, and land (or understanding neighbours!) so it wasn’t something I was able to do until 2020. I managed to join my local beekeeping group before the pandemic, and finally took the plunge late that year. I now keep them near to Hardwick Hall, an Elizabethan country house in Derbyshire.
Something that struck me in my time training, and then with my own bees, was how distinctive the smell of my gloves were after visiting the bees. So I started working on a ‘fantasy imagination’ of a hive, as opposed to a photorealistic version. Conveniently, my hive is made of cedar, a common perfumery material, and beeswax absolutes are available (albeit expensive!). Then came the honey, and finally the idea of the pheromones within the hive. The ‘locating home’ pheromone smells quite lemony to humans! There is another pheromone used which smells like banana but that signals danger and promotes stinging, so I avoided that one!
The importance of bees for our own survival cannot be understated. There are a number of diseases and pests (before considering our own use of pesticides!) which make wild bee colonies unlikely to survive. Beekeeping allows for closer monitoring of the health of bees, the ability to control and treat these diseases, and will inevitably boost the number of pollinators in our ecosystems. If the drone leaves, prepare for winter…”
The cap for Hive Mind is a considered reconstruction of a WBC Hive, an iconic feature of the English countryside. From the landing board at the front, to the gabled roof, every detail has been considered. You will notice, when holding the cap, that the sides have a wood texture applied, and even the joints at the edges can be seen. A little sculpture in your hand!
"I genuinely couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist the first time I wore it!" Thou Shalt Not Covet Blog
Size: 50ml
Strength: Eau de Parfum
Notes: Queen’s Pheromone (Lemon & Ginger oils), Neroli, Jasmine, Honey, Beeswax*, Cedarwood.
Our naturally coloured fragrances may stain clothing.
(*) The ingredients used to create the beeswax note do include real beeswax, Cera Alba, and so is not vegan friendly.
INGREDIENTS: Alcohol Denat, Parfum (Fragrance), Isopropyl myristate, Propylene glycol, Benzyl alcohol, Benzyl benzoate, Benzyl salicylate, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalol
