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Ophélia Heeley 2009

7.0 / 10 121 Ratings

A perfume by Heeley for women, released in 2009. The scent is floral-green. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Floral

Green

Fresh

Sweet

Aquatic

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Green notes

Water lily

Heart Notes

Tuberose

Jasmine

Ylang-ylang

Base Notes

Moss

White musk

Ambergris

Perfumer

James Heeley

Ratings

Scent

7.0121 Ratings

Longevity

7.287 Ratings

Sillage

6.378 Ratings

Bottle

7.378 Ratings

Submitted by Seglein · last update on 03/30/2023.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

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Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/01/2012

9Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Coutureguru
237 Reviews

Coutureguru

Very helpful Review 6

Beautiful madness ...

Shakespeare's Ophelia is a tragic character, having gone quite mad after Hamlet's rejection. In her final speech she hands out flowers, the symbolism of which is muddy, having been lost in the progression of history. In the absence of stage direction from the bard himself, renditions of the role as commonly enacted at the present day, have been described as follows:

"Ophelia enters with her hair and whole figure entwined with chains of flowers; and in her thin outer skirt, she carries a mass of them. She advances slowly with the strange light of insanity in her eyes, sits down upon the floor, and plays with the flowers in a childish way, as she sings. Then she arises, distributes rosemary, pansies, fennel, columbine and rue, sings her last song, loiters a moment after her parting benediction, and runs out in a burst of mad laughter." (paraphrased from Wikipedia)

James Heeley's Ophelia takes this imagery to a more carnal level, centering this fragrance around the blatantly sensual note of Tuberose.

"Whereas for Hamlet madness is metaphysical, linked with culture, for Ophelia it is a product of the female body and female nature. . . . Ophelia's virginal and vacant white is contrasted with Hamlet's scholar's garb, his 'suits of solemn black.' Her flowers suggest the discordant double images of female sexuality as both innocent blossoming and whorish contamination; she is the 'green girl' of pastoral, the virginal 'Rose of May' and the sexually explicit madwoman who, in giving away her wild flowers and herbs, is symbolically deflowering herself. . . . The mad Ophelia's bawdy songs and verbal license, while they give her access to 'an entirely different range of experience' from what she is allowed as the dutiful daughter, seem to be her one sanctioned form of self-assertion as a woman, quickly followed, as if in retribution, by her death." (Elaine Showalter, "Representing Ophelia")

As a fragrance, Ophelia is many things to me but most of all a superb rendition of my favorite note in perfumery. Tuberose has such history ... The Victorians forbade young girls of inhaling the scent in the fear they might have a spontaneous orgasm! Roja Dove is sited as saying that Tuberose is really loose, the "harlot of perfumery". If this is the case then I have only one utterance ... 'bring on the harlotry!"

James Heeley has recognized the mesmerizing quality of this flower and softened its power to acceptable levels. This is quite a statement of love from me ... someone who likes their Tuberose bold and brave ... and intrusive!! Ophelia is soft, yet strident ... quite an enigma!!

I very seldom fall for a fragrance at first sniff. Ophelia has bewitched me ... and I MUST have her!!

11/27/2012

8Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

5

Love is in the air...

I should begin this review with a full disclosure: I love tuberose. To some this may seem a disqualifier of me as a competent reviewer of tuberose perfumes. In reality, however, I do not necessarily or indiscriminately adore every single tuberose perfume in existence. Believe it or not, I am not all that keen on either Frédéric Malle CARNAL FLOWER (too vegetal: I am not a Venus flytrap!) or By Kilian BEYOND LOVE (too literal), although I do believe that both Dominique Ropion and Calice Becker are fine perfumers. I also was confounded by Honoré des Prés VAMP A NEW YORK, which sounded as though it would be right up my alley (I love Versace BLONDE, after all!), but somehow fell flat before my nose. Added to that, despite its all-natural pedigree, VAMP A NEW YORK smelled decidedly synthetic to me, in addition to seeming as rough-hewn as a kitchen-produced natural perfume. So you see: I am actually rather picky when it comes to tuberose perfumes!

More in line with my tastes is Heeley OPHELIA. This strikingly composed perfume opens somewhat sweetly (heliotrope? I thought, initially, that it was violet, but maybe there are a few ionones thrown in for good measure...), before the tuberose rears its lovely head. Creamy and lush, with a soupçon of soap in the drydown, this perfume is incredibly seductive without reaching brothel territory. I repeat: incredibly seductive. When was the last time a hooker seduced a client? I rest my case.

But I do agree with my fellow tuberose fanatic Couture Guru when he stresses the voluptuousness of OPHELIA. Imagine FRACAS inverted so that instead of being an extreme self-consumed egotist à la Norma Desmond (from Sunset Boulevard), she became a saint of sorts, whose charitable works consist in spreading free love far and wide--all in good conscience, of course.

That is who Ophelia is to me.

07/15/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Helpful Review 4

Well composed enough to be discussed seriously among fumeheads. Pretty enough to be worn without discussion or too much thought.

The topnotes of Ophelia give that fullness of spring that makes you crave summer. Then it gives you that, too!

The initial notes of muguet and jasmine and their bursting-at-the-seems fresh spring sweetness are underlined by the watery crispness these early flowers of the season have. Moving into its heart, Ophelia sheds a bit of green and takes on early summer in all its white floral beauty. Tuberose and ylang ylang are a leisurely indulgence compared to spring’s exuberance and take Ophelia into the sultry, dreamy phase with a bit of underbelly showing thanks to the indoles.

Fortunately, spring to early summer is the timeframe. None of the prelude to nostalgia that late summer implies. Ophelia’s heart and base give that heightened feel of the endless potential of summer. The wonderful trick here is that Ophelia remains the white/green bouquet composed of all its elements. Even in ‘summer’ mode, the spring flowers remain, if in the background.

And then we have the lily. I haven’t seen anyone else note this, but a watery-ambery, raspy lily not unlike the one in DK Gold comes along in the basenotes to take a soft-handed lead. Its watery note suddenly seems like the logical outcome of all the flowers that have preceded it. Here, I assume, is the full Ophelia of Hamlet reference: handing out flowers, then winding up in the water.

I can find what I like in most perfume genres fairly easily. Chypres, orientals, leathers. But sometimes a boy just can’t find a satisfying, gorgeous, huge, white floral. Problem solved.

12/22/2012

8Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

3

There's beauty in simplicity

Heeley Ophelia is heaven-sent. There's something really simplistic yet beautiful about James Heeley's compositions. This glorious, Spring-appropriate white floral is no exception.

The moment I spritzed on Ophelia for the very first time, I felt myself smiling. It reminded me of a lush, green, Asian inspired garden with the soothing sound of trickling water. Fresh jasmine blooms, buttery tuberose and juicy orange pulp hit the skin in a way that can only be described as natural and alluring.

This fragrance has been composed with love, and is worth every penny. It's pure, delicate and romantic, just like the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. It shares some similarities to vintage Diorissimo, in that same fresh and feminine floral approach.

The drydown introduces a wonderful white musk accord, which balances the overall composition. At times it can smell a tad soapy, but most of the time it's smooth and inoffensive. Narciso Rodriguez fans will probably love this musky blend.

I've unfortunately discovered Ophelia in the Winter months, and now I'm really impatient for Spring. I seriously cannot wait to see how well this wears on a warm, sunny day. Ophelia would surely turn a few heads.

This white floral tends to be fresh rather than creamy, and after having smelt many white florals in the last few months, the fresher they are, the better they smell. Ophelia is olfactory perfection to my nose. It is really difficult to fault.

10/04/2014

8Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Palonera
467 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Palonera

Top Review 35

the woman

He had imagined her a little bloodless, pale and quiet and ethereal, like some of those delicate, almost translucent beings that sometimes lay before him on the table in pathology and told him stories of life and death.
What should he have expected from a woman named Ophelia who had chosen John Everett Millais' painting as her avatar?!
Not that he cared much for art, at least not from that direction - it had been a coincidence that he had stood in the Tate Gallery that day waiting for a woman in front of that very painting who...
Well.

He knew that he was making it difficult for them, that he was making it difficult for himself - perhaps he had simply forgotten what it felt like to live, perhaps he had spent too much time in the company of his silent guests.
He did not know.
Perhaps it did not matter - not anymore.

She had been sitting on the bench by the lake, half hidden behind the weeping willow.
He had stopped, hands deep in his coat pockets, breath shallow in his chest.
She sat there completely still, as if she did not know he would come, that they would talk, exchanging questions and answers, glances and perhaps touches, strangers yet no longer strangers.
The smell of the water had risen to his nose, damp and cool and a little dull, mixed with the heavy green of the plants growing nearby.
He knew that she knew he was there, that he stood behind her watching, yet she did not turn her head, gave him no sign.
He had sat down beside her, wordlessly, eyes fixed on the lake, where the white flowers of the water lilies gently swayed on the surface.
Neither of them had spoken, not for a long time, and yet for the first time in years, perhaps decades, he had felt that everything was alright, that it was good what he was doing or not doing, that there was no wrong.
Not here, not today.

At some point, they had left.
It had not taken many words.
He had felt the warmth of her skin, the curves of her body under his hands, her warm pulsating life, which was not pale and not delicate, had buried his nose in her hair and in her scent, her femininity, the salty musk of her skin.
He had forgotten who he was, where he was, where he had been all the time he had not spent with her, with her, Ophelia, whose soft arms held him again and again, while the cool night air brushed over his back and intertwined the scent of the flowers with her skin.
In the darkness of the room, he looked down at her, into her half-closed eyes, which looked so similar to those in Millais' painting.
Ophelia.
Tomorrow he would ask her for her name.
Or the day after tomorrow.
Or maybe not.

More reviews

Statements

11 short views on the fragrance

Marieposa

5 years ago

4Scent 10Longevity 8Sillage

22

12

Ophelia Ward's Blümerant:
Flowers, strong as an elephant!
She stumbled and then fell, oh,
with a splash into the brook.

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Yatagan

9 years ago

7.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

13

Masterfully green and watery tuberose scent that brings entirely new accents to this flower. Not dark and sultry, but floral and bright.

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Jumi

8 years ago

8Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

11

8

Intoxicating nymph dance in a whirlwind of enchanting blooms. Light-footed and strong at the same time. Beautiful!

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Irini

8 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

9

For me, it's a lovely fresh intense lilac scent, simply delightful :-)

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Gerdi

8 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

8

3

Spring freshness, delicate green floral impression! (plus lily of the valley!)
Elegant, warmer finish with slightly salty musk notes!

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Sabce

9 years ago

8

Lush bright floral garden on sunny days in early June: jasmine, lilac already in full bloom, last of the lily of the valley, very authentic.

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Heikeso

7 years ago

7.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

7

2

I'll say it subtly: Fragrant lily of the valley sets the creamy green tone here. Only flower water remains of the tuberose.

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Seejungfrau

9 years ago

8Scent 7Longevity 8Sillage

7

Sometimes pure feminine, doesn’t always have to be dark! Fragrant water lily, juicy leaves. Lily pond, cool, pure. Smell lilac, jasmine, light!☆

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Seerose

10 years ago

6Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

7

1

Instantly intoxicating white florals, slightly aquatic, tuberose upfront, with stinky lily of the valley. Becomes drier, sweeter, creamy-powdery, remains animalic.

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