HS3

I’ve had Eau de Polder on my short list for much longer than it should have been. It was created by doing focus groups in Mastenbroek, led by the young artist, Birthe Leemeijer. She commissioned perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri, the nose behind the Nasomatto line, to realize her vision. Renate Boere created the packaging, which shows images of the polder on the inside of the box. It’s a gorgeous, earthy scent that starts out as hay and fields, and transforms into a sweeter, sheer, natural (not in the traditional ‘natural’ perfumery sense) scent that doesn’t come across as “perfumey” in any way. The story behind it is just as intriguing as the scent itself. When my birthday got closer, she asked for what I wanted – I gave her my LuckyScent wishlist in addition to a few other things, so I was completely surprised when I opened up this little guy.

You can find a really great, in-depth narrative around the creation and background of the scent here [Behind the Scene - The Smell of the Landscape].

This is from the accompanying papers:

This perfume is the product of a search to find the essence of the Mastenbroek polder – the essential elements that Mastenbroek what it is.

Situated between Zwolle, Hasselt and Genemuiden, Mastenbroek stems from the late Middle Ages and is an archetypal Dutch polder. Straight, narrow roads dissect the low-lying countryside; irrigation ditches reflect the perpetually fluctuating sky; farms sitting atop elevated knolls unfold into the horizon.

Mastenbroek’s residents, primarily cattle farmers who have lived and worked in this polder for generations, actively partook in the Essence club and eventually determined the aromas and scents that make up L’Essence de Mastenbroek.

Located on the polder’s periphery, near the old steam pumping station, is the Essence source. It is here where the bottles are filled, and packaged and where you can refill your empty bottle.

It goes on to tell more about the steam pumping station and directions, etc. One thing I got a kick out of was the additional blurb and “ingredients” listed on a stuck-on amendment at the back of the paper:

This perfume is part of the art project L’Essence de Mastenbroek and has not been dermatologically tested.

Ingredients: Scent extracts, clouds, water, cattle, grass and earth.

Gee, I hope I’m not allergic to real bits of cattle.