Bravanariz means 'brave nose' in Spanish and the subtitle 'smelling wild' after their name indicates exactly what perfumer Ernesto Collado Sala does which is to literally capture the natural scents of the untouched landscape during his walks in north-east Spain. He then makes 100% natural and unfiltered perfumes. The scents are derived from gathering and harvesting actual plants, then distilling them, and having the formulation rest for 20 days. As these are 100% natural, unisex and are designed to capture a landscape in an olfactory experience.
There are three olfactive landscapes in the collection and they represent the three most characteristic landscapes of the Empordà (an area in the province of Girona in the northeast corner of Catalonia) where they are based: mountains, plains and the seacoast. In each case, they formulate the product using only the plants that give each place its characteristic fragrance, as well as the associations and emotions it awakens.
For decades now, the Baix Empordà has been a richly-appointed tourist destination, where many urbanite Barcelonans have their second residences. In contrast, the Alt Empordà is wilder in character. Its condition on the border with France and greater vulnerability to the mistral wind of the tramontana makes it rougher around the edges and more extreme. It has much more character, and that is where Bravanariz has its base. The fragrances are their personal interpretation of the wildest side of the Alt Empordà. The three fragrances, Bosc, Muga and Cala suggest an olfactory journey, from the humid forests of the Albera Massif and the Salines Mountains, following down the Muga River across the plain, and over to the rough coves of the Cap de Creus peninsula.
Bosc is the scent of cooling mountain fog. In Catalan Bosc means "woods" or "forest". They ask, what does winter in the mountains smell like? There is something just under the surface in winter. Something scandalously silent, intimate and warm. Winter is where the beginning begins. At Bravanariz, winter smells like Bosc. Bosc represents and IS the smell of Pyrenees.
Dead beech leaves, juniper, oak moss and ferns. Plant transpiration and a shelter for wild animals. The forest incites fear, mystery and attraction at the same time. Bosc encapsulates the enchantment of the Salines mountains and the shadowy slopes of the Bassegoda, where the Pyrenees begin to show their teeth and the tramuntana wind tousles the lush blanket of foliage.
Some local plants used to formulate Bosc include oakmoss, juniper, rosemary, mastic, pine and sweet orange. It is an eau de parfum, edp. (Very important: shake before use, since it has not been filtered in order to preserve all its natural properties and its complex aromatic richness.)
Bravanariz Bosc Reviews
The Sniff: Underneath the citrusy opening there are layers of green, wet woods and dense vegetation. The pine shows itself, bark-like with hints of sweetness, the oak moss has a green and almost leathery tone, and the juniper studs the scent with little herbal nuances. There’s a dampness too about the fragrance, not really an invigorating shower of rain, more the dampness of ground which hasn’t seen the sun for a while, of earth which is kept saturated by the branches of the trees, murky and fecund. The facets of the fragrance do very much feel like the layers of a forest canopy. The wonderful thing about Bravanariz though is that this doesn’t just feel like the layers of vegetation, it really is the layers; overlapping, higgledy-piggledy, non-conforming to any urbane sense of neatness. In wearing the scent you are thrust into this tangled underbrush with no compass or map. For some this may feel disorientating, unstructured, but for many it will be an exhilarating adventure. We found ourselves very much in the latter camp, and yearning to be out in the wild.
