The perfume HORTUS CONCLUSUS TULIPA was created for garden and landscape architect Ronald van der Hilst by olfactory artist Laura de Coninck. It's an exceptional fragrance that pays tribute to his 3 decades of work and residency in Antwerp, but especially to the tulips from his Hortus Conclusus garden in the center of the city. A beautiful enclosed city gem that touches with the special aromas of various flowers and plants.
The perfume was presented to the public in the Hortus Conclusus, where 5,000 tulips were planted by Ronald van der Hilst on Mechelseplein in Antwerp. Laura de Coninck was assisted in the development of this fragrance by Sonia Constant and Chivaudan Perfume, Paris. Visual artist Marcel Lennartz created the layout and imagery around the eau de parfum.
The perfume is based on the intense and warm scent of the wild tulip Tulipa sylvestris, one of his favorite tulips. As far as we know, it is the very first time that the scent of a tulip has been incorporated into a perfume. Added to this are scent impressions of the garden: such as scents of fig leaf, honey, saffron and soil, scent impressions Laura picked up during visits to the Hortus Conclusus.
The ingredients of this eau de parfum are of a very high quality and mostly natural. They chose not to fixate the fragrance as well as the color, which is generally done. This is to minimize chemical additives as much as possible. It means that this eau de parfum has an aspect similar to that of wine: it matures further in the bottle so the scents will become even deeper and more intense. The color will change from green to smoky blue and there may even be some sediment due to the orange blossom extract that has been added. It is like a living perfume. You will notice this when using it: it is as if layers of scents reveal themselves. And the fragrance is very adaptive to the wearer due to its natural character. With each person it develops in its own way. The result is a very beautiful eau de parfum that Ronald van der Hilst describes as a walk through a spring garden with tulips.
Tulip, black elderflower, fig leaf, honey, orange blossom, sandalwood, saffron, vetiver, ambroxan, patchouli
Laura De Coninck
