We have a number of leather-bound books in our archives that hold within them the handwritten recipes for some of our most well-known and iconic scents. But they also hold secrets, like the recipe for this bespoke fragrance for Alla Nazimova created around 1914, when she was a young actress on Broadway. We have never released this fragrance commercially in the one hundred years since it was created.
MAREM LEVENTON, AKA "ALLA NAZIMOVA"
Nazimova, born in Yalta in 1879 as 'Marem-Ides Leventon', rose to fame in Stanislavski's Moscow Arts Theater, and emigrated to New York for her Broadway debut in 1906. In 1918, she went to Hollywood to become an iconic silent film actress and a trailblazer of feminine independence. She used proceeds from her acting to create daring independent films and was one of the earliest female film-makers. She was also famed for creating the 'Garden of Alla' hotel on Sunset Boulevard where she lived for much of her life, hosting salons with the intelligentsia of Los Angeles.
THE PERFUME
This perfume tells her story as Rose & Red Currant notes hint at her Eastern European roots, floral and woodsy notes reference the sophistication of New York City, and finally Citrus and Amber echo the freedom, creativity, and adventure of her time in Hollywood. She was known as the star of a thousand moods, and this fragrance is no different - it wears remarkably well as a daytime fragrance with lush florals, and reveals darker tones as a perfect scent for an evening out.
To learn more about Alla Nazimova, visit the Alla Nazimova Society website, under the direction of Martin Turnbull, author of the Garden of Allah Fiction series and a consummate expert on all things related Alla Nazimova.
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