ÇaFleureBon Best of Scent 2025: Wit & West Caldera Flower
The Wit & West Reserve Collection Perfume Caldera Flower has been named Best Natural Perfume 2025 and recognized 2X as a Top 10 Best Perfume of 2025 by the esteemed fragrance website and blog, ÇaFleureBon. What a perfect way to close out 5 years of Wit & West, as we celebrate our anniversary this month!
Excerpts from each of the ÇaFleureBon Best of Scent 2025 Articles Featuring Caldera Flower:
Best Natural Perfume of 2025: “This decision was particularly difficult; ULTRA smells exactly the way you describe it, but I chose Wit & West Caldera Flower. Perfumer Whitney Swales was inspired by Caldera, the river that flows through the Baru National Park in Chiriqui, Panama. Caldera Flower is a study in both place and natural materials. It opens with bergamot and ginger before blossoming into a tropical bouquet of gardenia, magnolia, neroli, and ylang‑ylang. Ms. Swales deftly combines the finest floral absolutes with hand‑tinctured vanilla and surrounds them with ambrette. Small batch perfumery at its best.” Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief, ÇaFleureBon
ÇaFleureBon Top 10 Perfumes of 2025: "Inspired by Whitney Swales and her husband and Rob Westendorf’s time in Panama, Caldera Flower is a study in both place and natural materials. A bright opening of bergamot and ginger moves into a white‑floral bouquet at the heart. The star is the gardenia absolute, which in less skilled hands might be overpowering, so Swales paired it with magnolia and neroli to showcase the flower in a way that was translucent and sparkling. I close my eyes, I can imagine standing beside the Rio Caldera, listening to water over rocks and the distant calls of birds, the humid air carrying the scent of tropical blooms. It’s this olfactive storytelling combined with balance and technical precision, that makes Caldera Flower deserving of Best Natural Perfume and one of my top ten fragrances." Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief, ÇaFleureBon
ÇaFleureBon Top 10 Perfumes of 2025: “Caldera Flower is a memory poured into a fragrance. Step into paradise, the air bright with bergamot’s zest and neroli’s ethereal sweetness, ginger teases. Creamy gardenias joined by airy magnolia and sensual ylang-ylang cascading like nectar. Sandalwood grounding with warmth and the soft, fruity musk of ambrette complete this fragrance, culminating in a comforting, intimate finish.” Sandi Lundberg, Senior Editor, ÇaFleureBon
Read the full articles from ÇaFleureBon featuring Wit & West's Caldera Flower as a Top Perfume for 2025 and Best Natural Perfume for 2025:
Best Fragrances of 2025 (Michelyn Camen and Ermano Picco) Part 1 - ÇaFleureBon Perfume Blog
Top Ten Perfumes of 2025 (Michelyn Camen and Ermano Picco) Part 2 - ÇaFleureBon Perfume Blog
