Quick answers
History
Slowdive is a perfume by Hiram Green, released in 2017 and, like the whole collection, handmade in Gouda, the Netherlands, entirely from natural materials. It is a warm fragrance built on the theme of tobacco, one that sets out to capture the mood of the languid afternoons of Indian summer, when the softness of the air is almost palpable.
The perfume evokes the scent of summer flowers and the hum of bees as you seek shelter from the high-summer sun. It opens on fresh, flowery notes of neroli and orange blossom before tobacco flower, honey and beeswax take over. The heart, rich and deep, is layered with touches of dried fruit and creamy tuberose, then settles into a base of warm resins, soft and faintly exotic.
Slowdive holds a special place in the collection : the beeswax that is its signature material is the only animal-derived material used by the whole house, which is otherwise entirely plant-based. Its absolute, drawn from honeycomb wax, brings a warm richness with honey and pollen facets and a waxy dimension that marries floral absolutes and tobacco. True to the slow way of the house, Slowdive is composed in small batches, all-natural.
Olfactory pyramid
The house gives a palette of materials rather than a formal pyramid. The layering below follows the progression described in the press kit and on the official site, from the flowery citrus opening to the resinous base.
The movement runs from fresh floral to warm honey. Aromatic, honeyed tobacco flower completes the flowers and the beeswax, while tuberose and dried fruit enrich the heart before warm resins close the composition.
Olfactory profile
The olfactory profile of Slowdive rests on beeswax and tobacco : a warm richness with honey and pollen facets, a waxy dimension, rounded out by an aromatic, honeyed tobacco flower. Around them, heady orange blossom and fresh neroli light the opening, creamy tuberose and dried fruit thicken the heart, and resins warm the base. It is a dense, enveloping floral amber, as the all-natural perfumes of the house tend to be.
The distinctive signature lies in a material rare in the collection : beeswax, the only animal-derived material in the whole house, which gives Slowdive its characteristic honeyed warmth. The result is a slow, solar perfume, in the image of the Indian-summer afternoons that inspired it.
A honeyed, tobacco-themed fragrance that captures the slow sweetness of summer.
Key characteristics
When and where to wear
Slowdive is a floral amber with temperament, for those who love tobacco and honey. Its honeyed warmth makes it a late-day and evening perfume, yet its flowery opening and solar character also let it evoke, in its own way, the warm season.
Seasonal fit
| Season | Fit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | ★★★☆ | Neroli and orange blossom are bright here. |
| Summer | ★★★☆ | Solar and evocative of Indian summer, though honeyed and warm. |
| Autumn | ★★★★ | Tobacco, honey and resins warm the season perfectly. |
| Winter | ★★★★ | The honeyed, waxy warmth is ideally enveloping. |
By context, it comes into its own in the evening and on the mild days of late summer, and suits men and women alike who love a bold honeyed tobacco.
Similar perfumes
| Perfume | House · year | Why it is close |
|---|---|---|
| Chergui | Serge Lutens · 2001 | Honey, tobacco and hay, the same amber warmth. |
| Tabac Blond | Caron · 1919 | Tobacco and leather, a drier take. |
| Café Tabac | Aedes de Venustas · 2023 | Gourmand tobacco, a honeyed kinship. |
| Montabaco Intensivo | Ormonde Jayne · 2013 | Woody tobacco. |
| Moon Bloom | Hiram Green · 2013 | The creamy tuberose, present here too. |
Common questions
See also
Sources
- Hiram Green · official press kit, "Fact Sheet – Slowdive" (family, notes, key materials, inspiration)
- Hiram Green, official Slowdive page (Eau de Parfum, 50 ml, natural composition)
- Fragrantica, Slowdive entry (2017 release, notes, cross-confirmation)
- Parfumo, Hiram Green catalogue (cross-confirmation)