A perfumer with a house of her own
Sonia Constant has spent her whole career at Givaudan, where she has composed for major fragrance brands, and Ella K is the project where she creates free of a client's constraints. The name comes from an imaginary heroine, inspired by great women travelers of the past such as Ella Maillart, Karen Blixen and Alexandra David-Néel. The house's emblem is a dragonfly that turns into a K, drawn by Japanese artist Senjiro Nakata, and the bottle recalls the shape of the founder's camera.
The Ella K fragrances in our range
The travel fragrances
Poème de Sagano is inspired by the bamboo grove northwest of Kyoto and its filtered light, with citrus such as yuzu and grapefruit, bamboo and matcha tea. The other travel fragrance, Lettre de Pushkar, is dedicated to Rajasthan and to the shores of the lake where roses grow as an offering to the god Brahma, and it pairs spices such as saffron and cinnamon with rose and vanilla.
The Collection K
The Collection K includes Camelia K, which opens with ginger and blood orange, has a heart of red camellia and jasmine sambac and a base of vanilla and patchouli. Musc K is a musk with sea lilies and vetiver that opens on a salty breeze, inspired by the white dunes and lagoons of Maranhão, in Brazil, and Sonia Constant describes it as a clean, salty musk. Set on Lake Como, Orchid K is a vanilla black orchid with magnolia that opens with marshmallow and saffron and closes on incense.
Amber K grew out of the founder's wish to hold on to the scent of skin and combines tobacco, cocoa and tropical spider lily, accords captured with Scent Trek during a trip to Punta Cana, with a base of tonka bean and amber. Myrrh K is built on myrrh, one of the oldest raw materials in perfumery, warm, resinous and slightly smoky, and the house presents it as a meeting of the gourmand and the sacred.
Lettre de Pushkar for hair, too
Lettre de Pushkar is the only Ella K fragrance in our range that comes in two formats: alongside the eau de parfum there is a hair perfume. According to the house, it is a more oriental and sensual version of the fragrance that brings out the facets of Madagascar vanilla absolute. Worn together with the eau de parfum, the house says, it makes the rose stand out even more.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Ella K Parfums from?
Ella K is a French house based in Paris. Its first boutique opened in January 2018 in the gardens of the Palais-Royal, in the galerie de Montpensier, and offered seven fragrances dedicated to travel, including Poème de Sagano and Lettre de Pushkar.
Why is the brand called Ella K?
Ella K is an imaginary heroine, a traveler inspired by figures such as Ella Maillart, Karen Blixen and Alexandra David-Néel. The K in the logo is drawn as a dragonfly, which the house chose as a symbol of metamorphosis, and according to the official website it alludes to the initial of someone dear to the founder.
What is the Ella K Collection K?
The Collection K is the series of Ella K eau de parfum whose names end with the letter K: Camelia K, Musc K, Orchid K, Amber K and Myrrh K. Each one is built around a leading element, whether a flower, musk, amber or myrrh, while the other fragrances are named after a place.
What does Ella K Camelia K smell like?
Camelia K, one of the fragrances in the Collection K, opens with ginger and blood orange, has a heart of red camellia and jasmine sambac and settles on a base of vanilla. The house describes it as an ode to temptation.
Is Ella K Musc K a clean musk?
Yes, Sonia Constant conceived it as a clean, salty musk, with sea lilies and vetiver and an opening of salty breeze. The inspiration is the wind-sculpted white dunes and the turquoise and emerald lagoons of Maranhão, in Brazil.
What inspired Poème de Sagano?
Poème de Sagano is inspired by the Sagano bamboo grove, northwest of Kyoto, where the towering stalks let the light through in just a few rays. The description calls it a "conversation between sky and earth": the grove connects the earth to the sky and invites the visitor to breathe.
What is the difference between Lettre de Pushkar eau de parfum and hair perfume?
According to the house, the Lettre de Pushkar hair perfume is a more oriental and sensual version of the eau de parfum, with the vanilla notes in the foreground. Paired with the Lettre de Pushkar eau de parfum, the house says, it makes the rose stand out more.
What is the Scent Trek technology used by Sonia Constant?
Scent Trek is a Givaudan technology for capturing the scents of a place. Sonia Constant uses it while traveling to record the ones she finds interesting, such as a flower, a wood or the atmosphere of a desert or an ocean coast, and takes them as a starting point for new Ella K fragrances.
