We arrived at night, traveling from Iguazú Airport to Puerto Libertad, a very small town in the Argentine province of Misiones. We passed through the one-street town, turning onto a dirt road illuminated only by the headlights of the van. We were deep in the jungle – and then we were pulling into a cul de sac, where the staff of Posada Puerto Bemberg stood in front of reception, waiting to greet and welcome us to their home.
One of the most verdant paradises in the middle of the Misiones jungle near Iguazú, Posada Puerto Bemberg is what remains of a familial estate and yerba maté plantation that, at one point, encompassed nearly 125,000 acres. The land was once owned by the illustrious Bemberg family, founders of one of Argentina’s largest breweries, Quilmes, and it was the Bembergs who, in 1925, with their yerba maté plantation, brought running water and electric power to the Province of Misiones.
Posada Puerto Bemberg ©MRNY
Atmosphere. And history. That’s what is provoked by Emerald Moss, one of the rare-edition fragrances in the Reserve Series by Strange Invisible Perfumes.
Inspired by a shipment of maté extract received by botanical perfumer Alexandra Balahoutis, Emerald Moss is a vibrant and verdant fragrance with lush notes of hydro-distilled maté. The maté is complemented by fresh, organic ginger and temple mandarin fruit grown on Maui, as well as organic Santa Barbara County lavender. A base note of vetiver derives from khus ruh, an essential oil distilled from the roots of vetiver plants that are grown in the Himalayan foothills in India. In addition, a faint essence of rose lingers on the wrist.
©Strange Invisible Perfumes
Founded in 2000 by Balahoutis, Strange Invisible Perfumes creates fragrances from real botanical essences. Balahoutis utilizes 100% certified organic, beverage-grade grape alcohol alongside proprietary blends of ethically sourced essential oils. Blended and bottled in Venice, California, Strange Invisible Perfumes are certified organic, wildcrafted, biodynamic, and pesticide-free. All Reserve Series fragrances are created with custom-distilled esprit de Cognac alcohol.
Not unlike the writing of Karen Blixen (also known as Isak Dinesen) who wrote, “I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills,” Emerald Moss transports you to an exotic land of moss-covered ruins, redolent with the essences of indigenous flora.
