A few years ago, we moved back to Downtown, and I’ve been chasing that high ever since, leading me to create Los Feliz - a narcotic combination of Jasmine (both the Grandiflorum and Sambac varieties), Ambergris, Osmanthus, Pink Peppercorn, and Honey. It’s sweet and musky and dries down to a rich caramel. On some, it’s juicy and floral while on others it is more peppery and musky.
Los Angeles is an enormous, expansive city that can be isolating and lonely for newcomers who haven’t yet found their niche, their people, or their places. I lived here for 3 years, unsure of how long I could wait to find my place as a Canadian with no driver’s license. In that time I lived in many different neighbourhoods, visited friends in burroughs I had no idea existed, and had seen, in awe, extravagant mansions through the windows of taxi cabs. Looking back now, 10 years later, I still hold Los Feliz in a very special place in my heart.
We had an adorable 1920’s townhouse-style apartment, with two floors and an enormous rose bush outside the windows with sills large enough to sit on and watch the hummingbirds flit about as the sun soaked in through the afternoon. We were a short walk away from Griffith Park, where we would hike up to the Observatory on Sundays and take in the view of the city.
There was so much that I loved about Los Feliz, but the part that remains ingrained in my subconscious is the smell of Kenmore Ave on a late summer evening. The magnolia trees in full bloom, and most importantly, the heavy, heady aroma of the jasmine lining the sidewalks hanging thick in the air. It would make me dizzy and happy, like the first sip of champagne.