Deep in the southwest of France in the village of Gaujacq lies camellia country. It is a wet and cool region where rain falls throughout the year; where the summer and winter temperatures are balanced; and where the soil is deep and the winds are described as almost non-existent. Wedged an equidistant of 50 kilometres between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees mountain range, this part of France receives roughly 1,000 millimetres of rain each year - around half the amount that Singapore experiences annually. All these conditions are ripe for camellia plants to thrive.
A member of the tea family, the plant - which bears lush flowers with folds of silky petals in colours ranging from creamy white to blood red - is in fact not native to the region. Rather, it is indigenous to eastern Asia in countries such as Japan and China, as well as southern Asia, where they grow from the Himalayas to the Philippines. It was only in the 17th century that the plant arrived in France via the ancient Tea Road.
As of last count, there are between 100 and 300 recorded species of camellias in the world, as well as more than 3,000 hybrids. The hardiness of the plant is even more fascinating: Its flower blooms in full glory during winter - when most plants go into hibernation mode - and its petals and leaves are not ravaged or affected by frost or water.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Female Singapore.
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This story is from the June 2023 edition of Female Singapore.
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The Party Edit
Club-appropriate hits from the Resort 2025 collections
She Calls The Shots
Since The 2000s, Rihanna Has Been Making Dance Floors Work, Work, Work With Her Infectious Electronic And R&b-inflected Pop Hits. For Another Side To Her "Queen Of The Night" Persona, There's Her Role As The Latest Face Of Dior's J'adore Perfume And Its Accompanying Campaign Film. Shot By Her Long-time Friend Steven Klein, It Features The Barbadian Baddie Striding Through The Gilded Halls Of The Palace Of Versailles Dripping In Gold. Here, She Shares More About How The Famously Feminine Fragrance Embodies Celebration.
GOOD VIBES
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THE VIPS
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THE NIGHTS
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THE SOUNDS
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A Not So Common Scent
For the first time, the singular house of Hermes has launched a chypre perfume fragrance type known for its complexity and dualistic nature a that comes in a first-of-its-kind bottle, no less. Keng Yang Shuen finds out more about Barenia, Hermes's latest scent that hit stores recently, from the brand's in-house perfumer Christine Nagel.
Strange Love
The six names in this story create wildly different works that tend to blur the boundaries among disparate disciplines. All have little in common except one thing: a certain wondrousness and sense of curiosity that inspire audiences to look at familiar things anew. Keng Yang Shuen reports.
The artist
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spirited away
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