Gallivanting through Amsterdam With Nick Steward – Perfume Review & Interview
Perfume can be a wonderful way to travel when you are not able to visit the place itself. A situation many of us are in now. Gallivant has a good range of perfumes based on different cities and one of them is Amsterdam. As I live in Amsterdam it caught my eye. I was pleasantly surprised how well it captures the soul of the city. Here is why it feels like visiting the Dutch capital when wearing the Eau de Parfum.
Gallivant Amsterdam smells like a bike ride across Amsterdam city with golden sun lit canals during Autumn, leading us to the oldest and darkest part of town (near the Red Light district) with Chinese Sichuan restaurants on Zeedijk and Warmoesstraat.
Unusual spicy Sichuan pepper turns Gallivant Amsterdam into an original fragrance like the city itself, hinting to its history of spice trade from the Dutch East India Company. Gallivant owner and creator Nick Steward was very kind to take the time in his busy schedule to answer questions about Gallivant Amsterdam. He explained he wanted to include this lesser known part of Dutch history of the Dutch East Indies (VOC in Dutch) which brought so much wealth to the city.
Amsterdam Eau de Parfum is a compilation of many trips Nick Steward made to my hometown which he knows very well and loves. I have been living in different parts of Amsterdam myself for more than 30 years and know it very well.
In the Eau de Parfum Nick Steward very cleverly shows us different sides (or is it sights?) of this Dutch capital, the cosy warm classic cafes with dark wooden furniture and the darker side in the Nieuwmarkt area (also known as red light district). I am very glad many sides of Amsterdam are shown and it keeps away from only showing the red light district or coffee shops (for marihuana not coffee) as the city has so much more to offer.
The black tulip accord/note in Amsterdam Eau de Parfum hints to light and dark used by Dutch and Flemish painters from the 16th and 17th century. This tulip note was a bit surprising as tulips tend to be scentless except some wild ones. Amsterdam City has a floral side as parks like Vondelpark (shown in the photograph above) are full of flowers during Spring with tulips and other beautiful flowers.
Galivant Amsterdam leaves a warm, light powdery scent on the skin accented by warm resins invoking a feeling of cosines and warmth like staying inside on a cold dark day in November with family and friends drinking hot chocolate and whipped cream, a popular Dutch drink on cold days.
The intention of Amsterdam Eau de Parfum was to show other (lesser known) sides of the city, its different styles of architecture from the majestic 17th century houses on the canals to the typical Amsterdam School style (Jugendstil like) buildings on the outskirts of town, modern Dutch design, cosiness in bars and overall good atmosphere.
I believe the soul of Amsterdam is captured extremely well in this fragrance and an excellent way to experience the Dutch capital while staying at home. The idea of showing lesser known parts of the city is very clear while wearing the fragrance.
Many thanks to Nick Steward to taking the time to talk about Gallivant and Amsterdam.
Disclosure: All photographs are made by Esperessence except the last one from Nick Steward which he provided, the perfume bottle and discovery set I bought before that, was bought by me as well.