Perhaps best known as a villainous protagonist on the silver screen the Spanish actor and artist Ernesto Collado, is a welcoming and charismatic man who inherited a rare talent from his grandfather, the legendary Jean Carles. Carles, of course, was the genius nose who created the provocative perfumes Tabu and Canoe.
After a moment of severe disillusionment with the world of glitterati, Collado not only lost his taste for paparazzi, he also lost his sense of smell…for two years. Until one day exploring the countryside of Costa Brava, he caught the scent of the wild rosemary that grows around the coast of Spain. The raw and herbaceous scent finally broke through his barriers, bursting in his mind, knocking him to his knees, and bringing him to tears. This insighted a torrid affair with fragrance.
Ernesto began diving deep into the world of scent and the land of his birth. Forests, vineyards, and seaside gardens each began to unveil their ethereal magic to him. The more he explored the more he wanted to share his new-found passion with the world. He needed to share the beauty of Costa Brava and the essence of Spain. This prompted him to begin following in the footsteps of his grandfather.
His first formulations were created to be scent experiences and have now evolved into a full-on fragrance collection, though how he has decidedly set himself and his collection apart is his complete dedication to sustainability, a bond with nature and a commitment to leaving the “wild” inside all of his scents.
Most perfumers either use completely synthetic fragrance sources or the extract of a natural essence down to its molecular core, making precise blending possible. Every bottle, every year, smells exactly the same. Ernesto Collado has taken a different path believing that nature isn’t a singularity, and a rose is more than a molecule – she’s so much more than that.
As such, Ernesto and his team handpick as many of the natural fragrance ingredients in the local area and as soon as possible begin the process of tinctures and expressions, usually within the day, something unheard of in the mass perfume industries. By taking the plants fresh and whole, he doesn’t just extract the stem, but the leaves and the roots or blossoms, too, because his goal is to give the full expression of the plant and terroir that it has grown from and lived in. The plant’s life experience is greater than the sum of its parts and the passion of Ernesto needs the nature of the wild to be fully expressed.
It is no small challenge to source the ingredients and still respect the soil that gave it birth. To stay in harmony with nature Ernesto has created a harvesting plan with the organic vineyards in the area to ensure that the plants have not been exposed to chemicals and that they only harvest from one area once every seven years so as not to disturb the flora and fauna, even taking the bees into consideration. He also collaborates with highly sensitive farmers in other regions that respect the same practices that he does when growing and harvesting their oils. Together, this community of like minds are able to create truly unique and special fragrances for the body and home.
At one with the rhythm of nature, harvesting with the moon cycles, counting the days between rainfall. Bravanariz doesn’t just pluck a petal, it writes a love poem from bud to blossom and protects her home at all costs. It’s thoughtful, sensual and wild. And you should be, too.
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