The Red Fruit of Love

According to folklore, if two people share a strawberry, they will fall in love. That is because it is a symbol of love and fertility due to its shape, colour and wealth of seeds on its surface. Strawberries have a deep, symbolic history tied to love, romance, art, and poetry. But they are also a precious note in perfumery, sweet, bright, fruity, and juicy, yet they can go all the way from jammy to green. Whether wild or cultivated, they are a most adored fruit. Here we explore the latest release from Linda Pilkington and her new home scent, Fraise Sublime by Ormonde Jayne. The scent feels like a very personal insight into the creator, so find out more in The Red Fruit of Love

The British strawberry, in season from May to September, brings with it the promise of a freedom-filled summer and all the possibilities that it holds. But across the globe, it has multiple meanings and symbols for both people and in the arts.

For example, in China, dried strawberries are considered a wedding delicacy. They’re believed to symbolise fertility and growth. Some bridal gowns are even dyed pink with strawberry juice to represent the “blood tie” between husband and wife. But in other Asian cultures, they have been symbols of good luck and prosperity.

In Roman culture, strawberries were associated with Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. But in the arts, a very different angle is explored. Strawberries have appeared in countless forms of the arts, including Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy. In the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, strawberries represent fleeting pleasures and temptations. The painting explores themes of sin, temptation, and the consequences of earthly desires

The Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch  Triptych, oil on oak panels Museo del Prado, Madrid

From ancient fertility rituals to art and literature, strawberries have always meant more than just being a fruit. So, what is Linda’s relationship with this fruit?

Well, she told .Cent, that she loves them so much and ate so many of them when she was a child, that she ended up a little sick from them, meaning she had to slightly slow down her intake. She still loves to eat them with fresh cream, and so it is an earthly delight for her. So, how did she choose to explore this scent mixed with such personal feelings?

She chose to explore wild strawberries, as opposed to the cultivated variety. This could well be because the wild species have higher aroma intensities and significantly richer flavours.  It is also much more in the brand’s DNA to go slightly on the ‘wild side’, as The House of Ormonda Jayne is never obvious.

Strawberry notes are synthetic yet rather versatile, often found in floral and sweet gourmand perfumes, and as a note, it pairs well with other berries, yet far too often these scents become a melange of sugar sweetness, but worry not, here is an elegant, sophisticated exploration of the juicy berry.

The opening brings this Strawberry with a bright, juicy, sunlight and playful green tinge notes, but it’s melded with flowers of freesia, waterlily, and fresh-cut grass to heighten and lighten all the fruit’s facets, bringing even a slight green and aqua hint. It is rounded together with the beautiful scent of Ylang Ylang, with her creamy sunshine.

For Linda, this scent is about the utter joy of a summer evening when the sun sits lower and golden as the day draws its final breaths. The garden in its tranquillity offers up its flora and fauna that mingle with the solar notes of the resting sun: Perfect

For this new launch, there are two products on offer: A candle and a diffuser. Offered in different sizes and all the candles are, of course, hand-poured in the UK. Part of the home collection, the containers are delightfully black to clear, ombréd glass.

The romantic profile of strawberries is less about science and more about storytelling and personal experiences. Culture, art, and tradition have played a role in turning them into symbols of love and desire. Now you can turn that passion into a home scent.

Find this new scent, Fraise Sublime, on the HOME Collection for Ormonde Jayne.com

 .Cent Magazine London; Luxury Minded