Rad Dads: Honouring Fathers Fragrantly on June 19th

The school year is coming to a close, and today I'll be witnessing (and experiencing) a huge milestone: My daughter is graduating high school. Her school years have been an immense journey, and reaching its end is bittersweet. When I think about it, my chest is going to burst from pride when I recall how she was in kindergarten, and how far she’s come. And my heart overflows with gratitude and happiness when I remember all the wonderful people who provided their guidance and helping hands along the way - teachers, therapists, childcare providers and friends - who all became our second "adopted" family here in Canada. It really does take a village...

And then there is always the pinch of regret and sadness, not only about saying goodbye to all these wonderful people; but also remembering all the ones that could not come to celebrate with us, some simply because they live too far away; but others, who one would think should have been there, and don’t even know it’s happening, simply because they chose to disappear from my daughter’s life altogether. Among those somebodies are, unfortunately, her own father, who has been missing out on a lot of important milestones prior to this one, and also with his choice to abandon his daughter made me by default the dad in the family (funnily enough, when asked about my gender, my daughter tends to label me as "man")…

Yet, although my personal experience with fathers is less than stellar, I haven't lost hope. Three of my brothers are wonderful dads and watching them raise their children is a delight (I only wish I could do so more often, and not from so far away!). My daughter was fortunate to have a reliable stepdad who was a supportive and positive influence for the best part of her childhood - and also have been an important contributor to the success of my business: he has designed, maintained and faithfully hosted my websites and sent all my newsletters out till recently. Which brings me to the point that we've launched a new website, wand it is already active on a temporary domain (the switchover is scheduled to take place any moment - and when that happens, the old domain will look the same as this). Please do not be scared of the prices - the default is in CAD, which means the numbers are a bit higher than what you're used to; but you can switch the currency to fit your currency of choice at the top right corner of the new website. 

Lastly, this year I I've met some rad dads, ones that would go to the other end of the earth to keep their children safe and happy; ones that would always put their children's best interest first, and would sacrifice and give them endlessly, just as much as most mothers would in a similar situation. My heart goes out to men like this, especially the rare breed that raises their kids alone like I do, and are also the mom in their family... For these dads I dedicate the following perfumes: 

SUNSET BEACH is a little piece of heaven tucked away in the midst of bustling boat-False Creek and busy traffic on the bridges that cross it. It is that happy place where time stops and the only thing that matter is the tides, currents and basking in the gentle evening sun. Sunset Beach can be anywhere... Mine just happened to be in Vancouver... I invite you to uncork a bottle of this daydream and experience a truly creamy sandalwood perfume complemented by handmade tinctures of pandan leaf and milky oolong tea, coconutty massoia bark and dreamy champaca. 

ORCAS was originally launched for Father's Day 2011, and was a FiFi Award Nominee in 2012. Inspired by the breathtaking scenery of the Wild Pacific Trail, a place where ocean meets forest and whales blow and sing above the stormy weather. Orcas perfume is an innovative all-natural marine woody, a unique combination of scents from sea and seashore. Brisk and pungent citrus and herbaceous notes suggest ocean breeze and tea-like clarity, and an array of oceanic treasures such as seaweed and ambergris meet seashore and rainforest notes.

KOMOREBI is the Japanese word for that beautiful interplay of tree foliage and light. This unique perfume captures the wonderful scent that can be experienced in late summer and early autumn in the Pacific northwest rainforests: It emanates from the sun-dappled fragrant forest floor on those warm days when the sun brings out the sweet smells of redcedar, moss & Douglas fir… 

TAMYA is one of the dreamiest scents in my collection: combining delicate and delicious notes of jasmine sambac, ylang ylang, cassis, bluebells and crocus, white musk, vanilla and cedar. All proceeds from this perfume go towards my autistic daughter's trust fund to save up for her future education and speech therapy. Each bottle you'll enjoy buys her one session. So far we've fundraised $2,908 from all sales of Tamya-related products - just a little less than third of our ultimate annual goal of $10K. You'll be surprised how wonderful it actually wears on a man's skin. Try it!

Additionally, you can support the ongoing Tamya cause by purchasing her very own original acrylic paintings (there is also a growing selection on her Etsy shop). 

Treat dad to some ESPIONAGE TEA next weekend! Lapsang Suchong (pine-smoked black tea), whose smoky aroma and tannin flavour is smoothed by orris root and vanilla bean. Juniper berries add a tad of evergreen, gin-like sparkle. This tea blend is a bold brew that sparkles the imagination and will be fondly remembered and shared, like stories around the campfire.

MASCULINE MINI TRIO is one of our most popular items online, and you can still get it (from the still active "old" website). It's a great way to treat dad (or another important man in your life) to three fragrances he can explore and play with (they can be layered too...). 

Jasmine and Pine

Another gem from the stash of decants I received from Joanna is vintage Devin cologne by Bernard Chant for Aramis (1978). It was a FiFi Award winner that year, which was well deserved. I've never even heard of it, and wasn't really drawn to even trying it before I got on this roll of trying out masculine scents. But when I finally did, I was in for a most pleasurable ride, and a long-lasting at that as well.

Devin is that fabulous meeting point between resinous and green. It may seem familiar to us residents of the 21st Century; but back in the day when green icy florals and soapy Chypres reigned supreme (No. 19, Ivoire, Private Collection) this must have been an original.

Whenever I got out of the rustic village and visited my grandparents in their modern Tel Aviv apartment, I would be treated with the most luxurious bath in my grandmother's best tradition: foam bath in her blue bathtub. Into the warm running water (ours had to be boiled stove-top in a kettle!) into which my grandmother would drizzle generous amount of an acid-green fragrant liquid from an emerald-coloured plastic bottle to create rich lather the consistency of meringue. I would build mountains of this cream on top of my head and pretend to lick it off like ice cream. Naturally, it smelled of pine needles in the most heavenly way. And that fresh-yet-sweet, resinous scent is what the opening of Devin smells like to me.

Its body reveals sweet galbanum resin, which while still green smells unquestionably sweet, and more like a confection than something you would put in your salad (FYI: galbanum oil smells like parsley on steroids), and there is pine-y yet balsamic frankincense that extends the evergreen notes and melds them seamlessly into the obvious undercurrent of amber that's flowing underneath. If you pay close attention you'll also notice there is quite a bit of jasmine hidden in the heart, harmonizing these seemingly unrelated elements of evergreen forest and frankincense and sticky amber. Later on, spicy notes of cinnamon and cloves emerge as well, but they are not obvious at all - they just add warmth, and also an aldehydic lift to the composition. They are rather light in both dosage and character.

While the sweetness places Devin in a rather feminine territory of amber orientals, there are also other elements that make it also masculine, besides the lovely pine. There is a dry leathery base note, hint of dry, acrid oakmoss, dry cedarwood and phenolic herbs (thyme, artemisia). Compare that with Obsession though (armoise, tagetes), and you'll notice that the two are alarmingly similar not just in smell but also in their notes. The ending note is a smooth, natural vanilla-amber, a surprise for a masculine, and even more so surprising is how un-boring it is. Ambers can easily become flat and redundant. But when true vanilla absolute is used, and some contrasting elements such as dark patchouli (even if in the tiniest amount), this can't be farther from the truth.

Devin is one of those rare things: a masculine fragrance with absolutely nothing about it I do not like.   With so many of them there is a phase I wish I could fast-forward through or skip altogether (the top notes in Polo green, for example, are a bit much and I wish I could lower the volume a bit until the dry down begins to kick in). Each phase in its progression is delectable, yet calling it a crowd pleaser would do it injustice. It's unique and to me seems ahead of its time, a precursor for Obsession (1985) and predicting modern, unusual fragrances that choose to treat the note of galbanum as a rich, incensy or even foody manner rather than the bracing cut-grass and soap that Yohji (1996) and Incensi by Lorenzo Villoresi (1997). Serge Lutens' much later Fille en Aiguilles (2009) has a similar structure, only here galbanum resin is replaced by the jam-like, resinous-sweet fir absolute.

Top notes: Bergamot, Pine, Artemisia, Lemon
Heart notes: Jasmine, Carnation, Thyme, Cinnamon
Base notes: Galbanum Resin, Frankincense, Amber, Leather, Cedarwood, Patchouli 

Old Spice

My grandpa died on my 13th birthday. I was too young to understand that it was going to happen, even though he was sick for about a year prior to that. He was in his early 60s, and much too young to leave us. And even though I still feel that I know him too little, there are certain things that make me feel like I know him quite intimately. There are certain things that no matter how adults try to hide, little children notice and are able to interpret later when they grow up enough to understand what was said, or what was exchanged in glances between overprotective parents or secretive relatives. Old Spice to me is one such key to reach out to these memories and reconnect with his never-dying spirit. 

Old Spice was launched when my grandfather himself was 13 years old. Maybe he worn it for his Bar Mitzvah, though I highly doubt it: life in Israel/Palestine under British Occupation was very frugal.  My grandmother told me that back in those days, his family had only two sets of clothes - weekday work clothes, which were washed and hang to dry every night, and another white shirt of Shabbat. That's it. 

Two years later, when my grandfather was a mere 15 year old boy, World War II erupted. Assisted by his sister, the eldest in the family of boys (like myself) he forged his age to 16 so that he can join the British Army and fight the Nazis and their allies, mostly in Italy. In 1944, he joined the Jewish Brigade and continued fighting Mussolini's fascist army all the while also saving Jewish survivors and refugees who escaped the Nazis, and helped smuggle them to Israel/Palestine and other safe lands.  

I doubt that there was a spare moment for dousing oneself with Old Spice in those days of war, and my grandma's recollection also does not include Old Spice until after they married. So perhaps the saying is true - and if it wasn't for Old Spice, my aunt and my mother would have never been born, and neither would me and the rest of my brothers and cousins. SmellyBlog would have never existed, along with many other things - some good ones and some not so great.  It's really hard to tell without entering a time machine, isn't it? 

But what I do know for sure is that if it wasn't for my grandfather, I would know nothing of Old Spice, or men at all. I remember his bottle of Old Spice aftershave standing in my grandparents' bathroom. I was puzzled by the ship and sails on the bottles, and what does it have to do with spice, anyway? I was just as intrigued by it as I was by my grandmother's flacon of Shalimar, whose faceted blue stopper I would look through at the now-distorted blue world... To a girl who lived in a wild village with a stepfather that looked like Blackbeard himself, and a mom who never bothered to shave her legs or armpits or anything (not that she needs to, really) - the ritual of shaving was truly an exotic thing. 

I would wonder what is that bottle made of (its opaque shiny white glass looked like porcelain to me); how to open that bottle, and years later, when I finally did - I found the scent surprisingly familiar and comforting. It reminded me of traveling to London with my grandparents and visiting ancient ships and museums. It reminded me of sharing a hotel room with them that looked just as the hotel in Charade looks like, and marvelling at how late the light is still out in the summertime. Just as it is now as I type this in another Northern city - in Canada. 

My grandpa always made a point of shaving every time before he visited us, or if we came for a visit. He was travelling a lot, and must have been deeply hurt when as a little toddler I would recoil from his face if he had as much as a day-old stubble.  For a little child this feels quite unbearably rough. He was such a considerate person that he kept this habit even though I grew up and overcame this sensitivity (to some extent...). And he continued to shave for me every time I was allowed to visit him  in the hospital, in that agonizing, tragic year in which he was fighting pancreatic cancer and I was watching my baby brother who is ten years my junior in Tel Aviv all summer. 

Years later, that very brother, who my grandmother says looks so much like my grandfather did  in his youth, inherited the Old Spice bottle from the oldest brother, who inherited it from our grandfather. My little bother was the only one who really adopted that fragrance as his own. And when he ran out, he found more in Canada when he was living with me. He was 21 years at the time, and had worn it deliberately and enthusiastically in every form available – eau de toilette, after shave, body spray, deodorant, soap, you name it. It made the whole house smell like Old Spice and when he went through the whole ritual so to speak we were both sedated by all the clove and allspice in there. 

As I write this, I occasionally sniff my wrists, which are carefully doused with Old Spice's newest packaging (which you can see in the photos). It is no longer a splash bottle, but a spray of the cheapest kind. But I still like it. The writing is all in red, and so is the boat - which is much smaller. But the bottle still manages to stay true to its opaque white design - but not it is most certainly plastic of a creamy white rather than the bluish-grey milky white of yore.  

The scent is heavy yet heavenly. Familiar yet fantastic. Comforting yet seductive. What first comes to nose is cloves and allspice. So no wonder why it's called "Old Spice", right? Mystery solved! It's also sweet and carnation-like. A true spicy-oriental of the grand type. Yet there is also something very uncomplicated about it, which makes it so wearable and delicious. For a scent so inherently associated with barbershop and masculinity, it's a bit surprising how much bouquet there is in there. Although it's hardly what I would call "floral" - there is an unmistakable rose, jasmine and carnation at the heart, which really rounds it off. It's also surprising how sweet the base is, complete with vanillin and heliotropin. Really not what we've learned to consider "masculine" in our day and age. Drugstore fragrance or not - some things are simply priceless. The smell of my grandfather is one of them.

Top notes: Orange, Lemon
Hear notes: Carnation, Geranium, Jasmine, Rose, Cinnamon, Cloves, Allspice
Base notes: Coumarin, Vanilla, Heliotropin, Musk

Azzaro

It's been a while since I smelled the original Azzaro and it was almost as familiar as I wished. I could swear the mosses in there have been reduced. But its original, nonchalant Mediterranean charm still remains quite intact. Like Polo, it was launched in 1978, so it is no wonder this fragrance smells so familiar to me, reminding me of freshly shaven men that occasionally crossed my path as a child, and in many ways I believe this very particular scent has become a blueprint in my young memory to what "masculine" fragrances are. It may not have such an important status in North America, but in Europe - Azzaro is still the top selling fragrance for men, so my

The initial blast of lemon and lavender creates a sense of well-being and brings to mind the scents with which men of that generation would douse themselves when they wanted to come across as well-groomed and appeal to the ladies while at it. To a little girl, such scents were not unpleasant, but very foreign and to this day create in a sense the feeling of someone unfamiliar entering a space. This, of course, can be either mean a good thing or a not so good thing. But one thing is for certain: it does draw attention. 

Petitgrain supports the notion of cleanliness with its soapy quality, a mere suggestion here but gives it the unmistakable eau de cologne character. A hint of basil in juxtaposition to these citrus notes and mossy currents underneath bounces off the soapiness. It also creates the classic Mediterranean, relaxed and care-free, summery feel. There is also a hint of anise, which adds mysterious spicy accent, but mostly supports the anethole that is naturally occurring in basil leaf. 

In the heart, there is still plenty of citrus presence - but from lemongrass or citral (the characteristic lemony molecule which sells like lemon-drop and appears also in lemon verbena and many other lemon-scented herbs). And there is geranium leaf - a must for any respectable Fougère, where it adds rounded, fruity yet green freshness and more body. 

All this goodness dissipates within about 30 minutes on my skin, and is being replaced by a strange, slightly acrid balsamic-spicy note, reminiscent of steam-distilled Peru balsam essential oil and some vague spicy notes of eugenol. And for a while, this seems to dominate and all the other aspects that make Azzaro so lovable are all but gone.* But won't you worry: the oakmoss and cedarmoss will make a comeback at the dryout phase, alongside tart, almost citrusy vetiver note and a subtle musk that is reminiscent of clean, freshly-scrubbed-with-soap skin. 

Top notes: Lemon, Lavender, Anise

Heart notes: Petitgrain, Basil, Geranium, Lemongrass 

Base notes: Oakmoss, Cedarmoos, Musk, Vetiver 

* I am quite certain this has something to do either with my own (feminine) body chemistry, or with the reformulation. I'm quite certain this will smell a lot better on a man.

P.s. Anyone know why does the bottle have such an overwhelmingly unattractive design and unappealing, mustardy colour to boot? It seems to have nothing at all to do with the fragrance itself. 

Polo

Long time ago, in a country far away, I was a nanny in a busy household in which both parents had a career in filmmaking and production. I would show up at their place at 8:30 (which was a huge lifestyle improvement for me comparing to the first job, the year prior, which started at 8), and by 9am the parents and older brother were gone and I was left with the adorable one year old I took care of for the day.

It's a privilege to be entrusted with a child's life at such a tender age, not to mention being welcomed into a home like this and become almost like a family member; yet also a bit of an odd situation to be entering a family's daily life in a rather intimate moment - preparing for the day and saying goodbye to each other as they set off on their long day adventures. When I came in everyone were still at different stages of dressing, showering, eating breakfast and so on.

Because, not surprisingly, I was oddly interested in fragrance even back then - I will always remember certain things about their home, including the soap they used (it was Dove - which was a rather exotic thing in the early 90s in Tel Aviv - and for sure the dad brought it back from his many business trips to L.A.). There was also a bottle of Obsession in the bathroom, which he bought for his wife and she never wore (unfortunately, she's really not into perfumes whatsoever) and then there was the green bottle with a horse and a rider holding a strange long stick, clouds of which wafted every morning after the dad shaved.



I've never worn Polo and I can't say I have an intimate connection with it, but I did remember it as smelling good. So with Fathers' Day approaching and me feeling the urge to cover some more masculine fragrances on SmellyBlog - I set on trying it out for two days in a row now. The first time it was only semi-planned: I went to the drugstore to scout for some more cheap drugstore colognes and aftershaves. But I did not find what I was hoped for (Canoe). So I remembered that odd number and decided to try it on one wrist, and Eau Sauvage on the other. The latter was unfortunately a spoiled tester (too much light, folks!) while Polo simply won my heart almost immediately.

It's strong, bold and in your face so I'm glad I was wearing it sparingly. What one smells at first is that wonderful melange of patchouli, oakmoss and honeyed-animatic civet blooming in their warmth. And there is a decidedly leathery undercurrent that makes it really intriguing (and not wanting to scrub it off even though it is rather on the strong side). There are also many other things going on but these are the ones that I immediately pick up. Then as it unfolds on the skin, more fougere-like qualities pop out. Artemisia and other herbs mingle. I read that there are also thyme, basil and marjoram in this - but I can't really pick them out. There is just an overall feeling that is both sunny and warm like the Mediterranean garrigue - but also dark and looming against the leather. There is on one side a very smooth interplay of those rather distinctive elements. It's true that they go really well together in a red pasta sauce, a stew or even on bread with olive oil; but as perfume raw materials all these herbs are rather at odds with each other when combined with so many other perfume-y materials. They just don't like to behave!

There is also pine, which gives it a very distinctively masculine aura, as if to reassure you that all that civet is not going to turn floral on you. As Polo dries down on the skin, more of the dryness that comes out, accentuating the patchouli, and less of the civet notes (which are just this close to becoming as impolite as Kouros). Virginian cedar wood comes to the fore and mellows the more animalic elements, giving them a reliable context for an alibi (just in case someone walks by and suspects them of misbehaving).

Polo (1978) is at once sweaty, carnal, earthy, dirty, fresh, sexy, bold, distinctive, unique yet unmistakably manly. But what I adore the most about Polo is the dry down. Oh, the patchouli and the oakmoss, when they mellow on the skin after hours, and there is a bit of musk to connect them and balance the tartness of oakmoss and the dirty of patchouli. Why did they stop making scents like this for guys?!

Top notes: Pine, Lavender, Bergamot, Juniper, Coriander, Cumin
Heart notes: Carnation, Geranium, Jasmine, Rose, Basil, Marjoram, Thyme
Base notes: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Civet, Leather,  Amber, Musk, Frankincense 

Beyond the Toolbox: Fragrant Father's Day 2012

You're not alone - many people are not sure what to bring dad on Father's Day. Barbecues and tool boxes are great, but for some variety, help dad change around his scent wardrobe and shift gears into summer with something bold, masculine and fun that's like nobody else's cologne.

At Ayala Moriel we have special fragrances for dad, beginning with our new Etrog Oy de Cologne!

Also - the worst form of government, except all other (aka Democracy) is back for limited time only!!!
This masculine ambery chypre is juxtaposes fresh woodsy notes of juniper and bergamot with crisp geranium leaf, over a sensual classic Chypre base of oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum.
Don't forget to put your votes in.

ArtbitRary is a great way to start the summer, with basil, jasmine & lime and hay absolute. The travel size candle is all you need to scent a room and clear all that barbecue smoke out...

Orcas has been popular ever since it was conceived, and was even nominated for the Indie FiFi Awards 2012. Capturing the scent of the Pacific Northwest with notes of seaweed, rosemary, spruce and lime - it will also be available in candles as of next week, packaged in our own custom made ceramic vessels by eikcam.

And for discerning dads with a taste for something different that's all their own, there are one of a kind perfumes such as Incense & Chocolate, Fougère Classique and Vetiver Blanc.

For more ideas, check out my masculine fragrance collection.

Put Your Nose Into Use: Father's Day Fragrance Picking

Dior's Eau Sauvage ad

René Gruau

The following is pretty much a summary of the presentation given at my Espionage Tea Party last week. My apologies for taking forever to put this together... I hope you find it useful and wish you all a happy and fragrant Father's Day!

Since it is Father’s Day today, and I’m sure all of you are just dying to finally get your dad to smell nice instead of getting him a tie, a toolbox or an iPad - the topic of masculine fragrances is inevitable. The thing is – we don’t really know what is it about scents that make them masculine. Somehow, we just seem to be able to tell once we smell them, yet without explanation. Is there truly a gender distinction in fragrance? Or is it just that we were programmed that way? Let’s find out.

The entire concept of gender-specific scents did not come into place until recently. India and Arabia, the two most ancient perfume civilizations that have maintined their olfactory culture to this day, pay little attention to such notions and wear whatever scents they find attractive and appealing, flowers included: Indian men love to wear jasmine, and Arab men have always adored roses.

The Western consumers, however, are obsessed with two conflicting concepts when choosing a fragrance: sexuality and cleanliness. The way this translates into the fragrance industry and the products we smell (or not) is quite fascinating. For example: Western perfumes have been for the most part gender-specific for the past 100 years or so, to the point that the world of men’s fragrance seems to have developed their own jargon, separate from the technicalities and specifications that perfumers normally would relate to. For example: you cannot, under any circumstances, expect to call a product “perfume” and expect men to buy into it. Perfume, as it turns out, is perceived as a completely girly and dainty affair. Men would only buy a scent if it’s called “aftershave”, “fragrance” or as it is most often referred to in North America - “Cologne”: a name that has very little to do with the true meaning of the term – which refers to a very light concentration of fragrance, and usually in a citrus-herbaceous category, intended for used mostly for hygienic purposes – and has direct lineage to the “Aqua Mirabillis” of medieval times.

Technicalities aside, the aesthetics of Western “masculine perfumery” pose an interesting challenge for the perfumer. The palette seems to be so much more limited than that which is “allowed” in feminine perfumes. Therefore, masculine fragrances seem to have reached a certain plateau in innovation that is only occasionally shuttered by original or slightly gender-bending scents.

So let’s break a few myths on the topic:

Myth: no. 1: “If a man wears a perfume designed for women, it will make him smell like a girl”.
Reality: Men (or women) who think that way are forgetting the last yet most important ingredient in a fragrance, which is no other than the wearer’s own skin odour!
Each skin has a completely different scent, affected by the diet and metabolism of the person, as well as their own gender’s pheromone makeup. Men and women have a different body chemistry. Therefore, what truly makes a fragrance “masculine” or “feminine” smelling is the person who is wearing it!

By nature, men have a body odour that is more musky and sharp, and women have a body odour that is more ambery and soft. If the perfumer will try to compare these into specific notes, I’d say that the closest notes to a man’s body odour might combine notes such as sandalwood, costus, cumin, hay, patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss and tonquin musk. A woman’s body odour can be best imitated with notes such as labdanum, vanilla, benzoin, civet and honey absolute.

So, don’t forget that your skin is the real “base” for your perfume, and that what matters is how it smells on it! Be adventurous, and if you like the smell of amber, rose, tuberose or violet - don’t be shy and try them on. They will smell completely different than on a woman. Take my word for that.

Myth no. 2: “floral notes are feminine and are best avoided when choosing a scent for a man”.
Reality: Attributing floral notes (or any notes, for that matter), to one gender or another is for the most part culturally based and once presented to an individual from a different culture, will likely lose its meaning (as in the example of rose and jasmine I brought earlier). If Arab men feel comfortable enough with their masculinity when wearing soft and voluptuous roses, I can’t see any reason why to avoid this note (or any other floral note, for that matter), in fragrances designed to be worn by men.

The following are just a few examples of floral notes in perfumes that could be very “masculine” in character.

Rose Geranium - the floral fruity rosy yet minty, green and herbaceous qualities make this note perfect for masculine perfumes, which is why it is used extensively in perfumes from the Fougère family.

Orange Flower Absolute - Great for colognes and citruses of all types, but it can also be used for a more surprising, even a cutting edge oriental masculine fragrance. Orange blossom is often a heart note in tobacco based scents, to add a bit of indolic sweetness, fruitiness and a sparkle to the dry tannin notes.

Jasmine Grandiflorum - sweet and well rounded, widely used in masculine perfumes to bridge between sharp top notes and musky or mossy base notes.

Jasmine Sambac – this variety is more fruity and a tad more green (but in a very delicate way) than the grandiflorum, Sambac is an interesting addition to a men's scent, thought rarely used in Western perfumery.

Champaca - this spicy and heady tea-like and somewhat fruity exotic floral blends seamlessly into masculine compositions, such as Orientals and leathery types. It’s very cost prohibitive which is why you’re unlikely to find it in mainstream fragrances though.

Rose – as I mentioned earlier, rose can be somewhat of a challenge for the Western nose, particularly if trying to use it as a main note. But it certainly has a role in many male fragrances, even if it’s not as noticeable. Up until the late 19th century, it was actually still quite popular in bouquets for handkerchief fragrances for men, including also other soft florals such as violet and iris.

Carnation - a soft spicy floral note that is commonly used in Fougères.

Myth no. 3: “some notes are masculine, and some notes are feminine”.
Reality: As you’ve seen in the previous myth-crushing segment, context is everything. More than individual notes having specific gender, I would say the manner in which they interact with one another and the mood and personality they create is what truly matters. One thing that is true though, is that if thinking of the philosophical terms of what “masculine” and “feminine” mean, we could, perhaps, make the distinction between notes that are “projective” as opposed to notes that are “receptive”. Notes that approach you as opposed to notes that draw you in. This might explain why notes such as citrus, herbs and spices are often considered more masculine and are used in abundance in masculine fragrances (they simply “come and get you”), while other notes – more round and “receptive” so to speak, such as the floral and ambery notes, can be more readily perceived as “feminine”. Still, don’t let yourself forget that what really matters is how all these notes interact with one another. The question you should ask yourself is if the perfume itself “projective” or “receptive”.

For various reasons which I’ll attempt to explain in a moment, the archetypal masculine fragrances of Western perfumery belong mostly to four major fragrance families:

Citrus, Fougère, Woody-Oriental, and the Leather/Tobacco (the latter being a sub-category of the Chypre family – which is mostly feminine otherwise). So, when you smell a scent and recognize an immediate “masculine” character, what you are in fact recognizing is a fragrance family!

There are some historical and cultural reasons for those families being so strongly associated with men’s grooming, as well as some that are founded in the nature of masculine pheromones and men’s natural body odour.

THE ART OF SHAVING
Historically speaking, the art of shaving has a great influence on modern masculine fragrances. The Romans brought men’s grooming to heights that no other civilization have dared to explore before, resulting in a more sophisticated men’s grooming culture, some of which has survived to this day.

Fragrant aftershaves serve the purpose of disinfecting scrapes, cuts and wounds that occur during shaving, as well as sooth, soften and moisturize the skin afterwards. The essential oils of citrus peels, and herbs and spices such as bay leaf, juniper, lavender and allspice have disinfecting properties, as well as softening and conditioning the skin. It is through those associations of men’s shaving and grooming rituals that we learned to associate certain scents with masculinity. For example: Bay-Rum aftershave, which is a spicy concoction of allspice, cinnamon, cloves, bayberry, bay leaves and orange peel steeped in rum has a strong connection to the composition of the classic men’s fragrance Old Spice.

Most aftershaves contain notes such as citrus and herbs, chosen originally for their astringent and antibacterial properties, and later on by association became an olfactory trademark of masculinity, which is most evident in the Fougère fragrance family – which is based on the contrast between herbaceous lavender, musky oakmoss and powdery-soft coumarin; and the citrus-fantasy fragrance family.

FOREST PHEROMONES
There is a reason why woody scents are associated with masculine scents: Sandalwood oil has a unique chemical make up that is quite similar to androstenol – a pheromone found in men’s sweat. But sandalwood is not the only woody notes found in abundance in masculine fragrances – cedarwood comes to mind, with its distinct lumber and pencil shaving aroma. Perhaps we have also learned to associate woodworking with masculinity because most of the manual labour was done by men through centuries? But who cares, as long as it smells good!

Guiacwood, with its smoky and honeyed aroma is also a prominent note in tobacco scents. Other woodsy notes commonly found in masculine fragrances are not necessarily derived from woods, for example: patchouli (the dried, cured leaves of an East Indian herb from the mint family) and vetiver, from the root of a tropical grass which comes in a range of varieties from smoky to clean and nearly citrusy.

SEXY GRASS AND SWEATY CUMIN
Some notes have a pretty literal explanation as far as the origin of their sex appeal, to the point that could verge on the vulgar if it’s not played right. Fresh cut grass resembles the scent of a certain masculine secretion, while cumin resembles the scent of men’s sweat. Both can be very appealing – or repelling, depending on the particular scent they are in and how much you apply.

The fresh cut grass note can be fresh and clean-smelling with a subtext that hints at sexual vigor and fertility yet without sending everyone screaming to the opposite direction… Cumin, with its sweet and musky tenacity, rather than smelling dirty to the point of questioning the wearer’s hygienic habits – will create a comfortable and alluring sense of intimacy.

How To Pick a Fragrance for a Man?

Now to the fun part, and the most challenging of all: how to pick a scent for a man as a gift? This is particularly tricky if you are trying to surprise him, and even more so - if you don't know him very well.

Despite my dislike for making generalizations about large sections of the population, I think it would be safe to say that the majority of men (with the rare exception of male perfumista) won’t readily admit they are interested in scents. It’s unlikely they will wear any fragrance, unless:

1) Their girlfriend (or any other significant female figure in their life) bought them a cologne for Christmas or another special occasion
2) They are deeply convinced that wearing a scent will attract a partner

Therefore, it becomes the women’s responsibility to educate and manipulate the men’s olfactory lives, be it by gifting them with fragrance, or openly commenting on how they happen to smell like.

My male clients are dear to me not only because they are so rare, but also because they have sensibilities about the olfactory world that are different than women’s. In my upcoming tea party I aim to educate my men to take their olfactory life into their own hands, and dare to wear what they like. But for the rest of my clients (admittedly, mostly ladies) – why won't you try to pick a scent that has the potential of captivating your man’s imagination and appealing to his own sensibilities. Men, even if they don’t admit it as readily as women, enjoy and appreciate scent very much, if they are only allowed to believe that it’s important and not overtly self-indulgent!

But how could you tell what they would like?
Part of it is intuition, and part of it is logic. People tend to be drawn to similar types of scents, aromas and flavours in real life, many of which can be found in natural perfumery!

The following tips will give you ideas about how you can gather information about a man’s olfactory preferences, without asking them too many questions. If you know the person for a long time, this might be easier. But if you don’t know him, a quick look around his home and taking notice of his favourite foods and which drinks he orders at the bar might provide you with just enough sufficient information.

When ordering food in the restaurant – does he tend to order spicy or aromatic foods, or is he simply a “meat and potato” kind of guy? If he likes spices, mostly likely he will also enjoy fragrance that incorporate them, e.g.: Spicy Orientals such as Opium, Habit Rouge or Épice Sauvage. If his palate does not seem as sophisticated, you may just want to go with a “safe” classic fragrance from the citrus or Fougère family, i.e.: Azzaro.

If he likes to drink gin and tonic, see how he likes a scent with juniper berries or citrus, such as Arsenal; or if he likes scotch, he probably will also appreciate Espionage’s peaty and full-bodied malty qualities, or enjoy something smoky, e.x. Bvlgari Black. And for the coffee lover – there are quite a few gourmand type fragrances with a pronounced coffee notes, such as Yohji Homme, Thierry Mugler's AMen Pure Coffee - or how about an exotic dermitasse of Finjan, a dark-roasted Turkish coffee scent?

And if you have a chance to spy on his house, see what you find in different rooms about scents and products he uses without raising suspicion.

In the kitchen:

What’s in his spice rack (if he’s got one)? What Herbs does he like to cook with? What kind food or drinks does he keep in his fridge? For example: if he likes herbs such as basil or oregano, it’s likely that he would also appreciate an aromatic Fougère that incorporates these notes, or a citrus with a sprinkle of herbs. If he likes fruity soft drinks, he might also enjoy a fragrance that has a hint of fruit or berries.

In the bathroom:

This is probably where he keeps all his grooming products, fragrance included (although I wouldn’t count on these to determine his personal taste! Like I said, these were probably chosen for him by a girlfriend in high school that thought it was very sexy, and now he’s just stuck with it for life, as well as all his future girlfriends, wives, daughters and granddaughters…). But it’s very likely that the choices he makes about innocent and less indulgent scented products such as shower gel, hand-soap, shampoo, soap bar etc. may give you a better insight into his true scent preferences.

Favourite Father's Day Scents

Munich Airport - Terminal II, originally uploaded by yushimoto_02 (having a longer break) [christian].

Happy Father’s day to you all – fathers and grandfathers and everyone that celebrates with you. Check my newsletter for some fatherly thoughts for the day. For today on SmellyBlog, I decided to make a list of my favourite manly fragrances.

I haven’t tried nearly enough masculine fragrances, especially when comparing them to all the “feminine” scents I have tried. However I do have a few favourites and Father’s Day seems to be a good time to mention them – as well as a few significant males in my life.

1. Eau Sauvage
Always at the top of my masculine scents, Eau Sauvage is THE classic men’s fragrance there is. It was perfectly made by Edmond Roudniska and the combination of spacious hedionic jasmine with mossy base and herbaceous-citrus top notes is unbelievably gorgeous. I can’t think of any man in particular that I’ve known that worn it, but it always brings a sense of familiarity and recognition when I smell it.

2. Old Spice
An old-time classic and my grandfather used it regularly, but if you think it’s “too old” think twice; - my 21 year old brother adores it and wears it with passion in every form available – eau de toilette, after shave, body spray, deodorant, soap, you name it. It makes the whole house smell like Old Spice and when he goes through the whole ritual so to speak we are both sedated by clove and allspice.

3. Yerbamate
Rich, bold and green - this fougere has something quirky about it even though one of my customers claims it smells exactly like Canoe by Dana (that can be had for a fraction of the price). I have nothing to compare it to (Canoe pops up in drugstore only once in a Christmas-y blue moon) but I’m all the same curious.

4. Egoiste
With its soft, creamy sandalwood, Egoiste is the masculine answer to Bois des Iles and you really need not be selfish to enjoy it – I’m sure those around it will appreciate it too. Beware: Egoiste Platinum has nothing to do with it besides the name. Unfortuantley, it is not available in Canada – at least not on the West Coast.

5. Bel Ami
Bel Ami is dressed up entirely in leather like a hardcore fetishist, yet manages to conceal all that with its well-mannered attitude and elegance that has become the signature element in all the perfumes that come from the house of Hermes. I don’t smell it often on people around me, and I wish I did.

6. M7
Without being either particularly masculine or feminine, M7 is just different from what is out there among the thousands of department store fragrances. And that says something. It’s woody and sweet and although not exactly as oud-y as I would have liked it to be, it is a good way to get initiated into the secret society of oud admirers. If you’ll stay there long enough you may get to smell the real musty animalic wood. I think this would be my youngest brother’s next fragrance gift from me, since he’s always been fond of woods (Tam Dao and Dior Homme have become staples in his collection).

7. Cool Water
I’m just as surprised as you are to find this in my list of favourites or at all mentioned on SmellyBlog. . Just for reference: I used to compare Cool Water to a jacuzzi spray cleaner back in the day. Sometimes it’s all about the context, and even the most common, overly used and most synthetic cologne of them all can smell like a special perfume on the right person. I am fortunate to have had that experience and now I am quite fond of it – even though you won’t find me calling it a masterpiece anytime soon.

8. Bvlgari Black
Smoke, rubber and tea are hardly anything that one would imagine would go well together, let alone in a perfume. Bvlgari Black proves that darkness can be warm and cozy even with the strangest elements, and it has that addictive lapsang suchong tea note that echos the tea notes present in most (if not all) Bvlgari’s fragrances. It would make a perfect scent for my oldest brother, Yotam, who is particularly fond of the scents of gas stations and

9. Poivre Samarkand
Another favourite of my peppery brother Noam, it just smells incredible on him and in fact on all the people that I have come across smelling. It turns up more frequently that I would expect on the Latin dance floors which can be a relief in more ways than I can explain (compensation for lack of sense of rhythm is one instance).

10. Guerlain’s Vetiver
A very non-perfumey fragrance – Guerlain’s Vetiver is clean, fresh, citrusy and classy. It can be embraced by nature lovers and fragrance lovers alike, and can please both the country mouse and the city mouse – not to mention both sexes. If my second brother Yohai were to wear a fragrance again, I imagine it to be something like that.

11. Terre d’Hermes
A new discovery for me, and since vetiver is taking a very fond spot in my heart, I don’t feel ashamed of having two of this category here today. It is balanced, elegant, edgy, universal and still masculine enough to want to smell on a man.

12. L’Herbe Rouge
This is my quite personal interpretation of the scent of a man. Of course I have a history with it by now, and it’s too long to be told now. Ironically, it does make me travel in time just like the book that inspired it is all about. Now it belongs to a man of my past and a great love. And when I smell it that bittersweet longing for someone I lost creeps in and makes me wonder if I should ever let a man close to me wear my own fragrances. It is particularly dangerous to seal chapters of my life with my own perfumes.

Happy Father's Day

1951, August, Nieuwvliet, father & son R, originally uploaded by docman.

Happy Father’s day to you all – fathers and grandfathers and everyone that celebrates with you. Check my latest newsletter for some fragrant-fatherly thoughts for the day. For today on SmellyBlog, I decided to make a list of my favourite manly fragrances, which I will post later today as I'm planning to spend as much of the day outdoors as possible. With the 4 (or is it 5?) festivals in town it's going to be a difficult decision making day ;)

News from the Nose: ArbitRary Candle, Vetiver Racinettes and Father's Day

Dear Fragrant Friends,

In this newsletter:

• Father's Day Celebrations
  
• New Arrival: ArbitRary Candle
  
• Candle Burning Tips
  
• Enjoying Scents in Summer
  
• Limited Edition: Vetiver Racinettes

Father's Day Celebrations

Two years ago I was fortunate to celebrate Father's Day with my dad going to the Van Dussen Gardens and enjoying a day outdoors among the beautiful plants. This is where I captured this scene of a child sitting on a tree branch, just like in Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant", waiting to be helped down by someone bigger and stronger.

I was talking to my brother today about scents that reminds him of our father. These turned out to be primarily turpentine and paint thinner. He never wore a fragrance and kept a beard so didn't even use as much as an aftershave by way of fragrance products. This is maybe a bit extreme, but most dads, it seems, would go scentless unless they receive gifts of fragrance. And so this is suppose to be the point where I should have a little spiel in my newsletter convincing you to buy a fragrance for your father. Well, I'll be doomed if that's what I'm suppose to do every year on Father's Day for the rest of my career. I trust that you know what your dad likes, and be it an electronic gadget, hardware or a tie, what will really make him happy is your thoughts of him and spending time together with his children.

So instead of advocating for more fragrance shopping (by all means, go for it if you must...) I just wanted to acknowledge that special day coming up on Sunday June 15th and wish you all a Happy Father's Day. It is a secular holiday that celebrates something that is essential and universally meaningful - parenthood, and thanking our parents for all that they did for us. Aside from that, I highly recommend you read my myth-crashing article titled What Makes a Fragrance Masculine?

New arrival: ArbitRary Candle

Ayala Moriel is proud to present the first perfumed candle in our collection: ArbitRary.

ArbitRary candle is based in food-grade soy wax with pure cotton wick. It has a stunning cold throw that is as refreshing and bright as the perfume itself. It burns with its lovely, refreshing

aroma, filling the room gently with its mélange of basil, lime, lemon
verbena, oakmoss and hay.

Each 8oz candle burns for 50-60 hours and retails for $45. They are now available for ordering and will be in stock next week

In all of our products - perfumes, jewelry, teas and now candles - we put quality, integrity and craftsmanship as a top priotiry. When sourcing production from outside of our atelier, we collaborate with independent artisans who are passionate about their art and value quality and integrity in their business just as much as we do. In doing so, we are committed to creating positive change in our world: we give you the best, pure product we can possibly create and also support like-minded artisans and their businesses. This is our way of creating small change in the way business is conducted around the world.
Our perfumed candles are made with attention to purity, quality and detail: each candle is created and hand-poured especially for us by hand by Nikki Sherritt, the talented and passionate artisan candle maker and the founder of Seattle-based, independent candle company Gabriel’s Aunt. The candle was custom-made especially for Ayala Moriel Parfums, based on the perfume formula of ArbitRary. Nikki and I have been working on adding all-natural perfumed candles to

my line since the fall, and we hope that ArbitRary will be received in the enthusiasm it deserves so that we can create more beautiful candles for you (the next candles are going to be gorgeous!).

Candle Burning Tips

To get the most out of your candle, follow these simple steps:

Safety tips:

- Never leave a burning candle unattended

- Place burning candle away from any flammable materials

- Place the candle away from reach of children and pets; keep matches and lighters away from children as well.

- To avoid large flame, always trip the wick before lighting your candle to the recommended length of 1/8”

- Burn the candle away from open windows

How to care for your candle:

- When burning your candle for the first time, burn it for 4 hours straight, or until there a melted wax pool forms on the entire surface of the candle. This will help avoiding the formation of a hole or a “tunnel” in the middle of the candle.

- To ensure an even burn, always trip the wick before burning, and ensure it is centered.

- Burn the candle away from open windows or drafts to avoid uneven burn and enlarged flame

Enjoying Scents in the Summer

In the heat and humidity of summer choosing the right scent to wear isn't easy. There are many factors that don't work in our favour at this time of the year in relation to fragrance:

Humidity tends to make scents feel heavy and suffocating. Therefore, try to avoid scents that are already heavy by nature, such as concentrated floral perfumes (particularly the more narcotic notes can come off as overbearing in extreme heat and humidity). Humidity strangely carries the scents in the air and at times even amplifies them. They may not stay for long on your skin with all the sweating but while they do they could linger quite heavily in the air, carried by the moist molecules.

That is why I recommend only the lightest and preferably "dry" scents for those unbearable humid days. Notes such as woods and vetiver, as well as citrus and fragrances with only a light touch of spices and very little floral notes if at all. For example: Bon Zai with its dry vetiver and sandalwood; Lovender's captivating fresh and calming lavender, lemon, sandalwood and iris notes; and last but not least Sabotage - a clean, sophisticated and somewhat soapy concoction of vetiver, tobacco and lemon leaves with a hint of pepper.

Heat increases the evaporation rate of scents and so you may need re-apply scents more often during the summer. Traditionally, citrus and light cologne or eau fraiche type fragrances are worn in the summer. These are very light and not long lasting to begin with and the simple action of applying the scent is perceived as cooling, which adds to their appeal. Aside from using your favourite light summer fragrances you may also want to try using simple floral water to freshen up in the heat of the day. Neroli (orange flower water) and Rosewater are widely available in many Middle-Eastern, Greece and East Indian grocery stores and are fairly inexpensive. Decant some into a spray bottle or a mister and enjoy the cool water on your face, neck and arms. Some other floral waters or hydrosols can be found as well - including sandalwood and vetiver. Likewise, floral waters or pure spring water can be sprinkled on vetiver fans to produce a cooling waft of air.

When it's really hot, I particularly enjoy wearing ArbitRary, with its citrus-herbal notes of basil, lime and verbena; Fetish, bursting with grapefruit, mandarin and rhododendron; and Charisma, with its exotic green-tea, osmanthus and spearmint notes.

Limited Edition: Vetiver Racinettes

Last year, I have conducted an intensive Vetiver Series on SmellyBlog. Aside from articles about the odour profiles of vetiver from different regions, traditional and medicinal uses of vetiver, and reviews of vetiver-centered fragrances - I have shared my own experiences in creating a series of mods for my very own vetiver perfume. One thing lead to another, and after 4 different vetiver versions (Vetiver Blanc, Wilde Vetyver, Vetiver Noir and Vetiver Rouge) - I have finally arrived at a destination that I have never quite planned to find - my very own signature vetiver scent: Vetiver Racinettes.

Vetiver Racinettes was born out of two forces: my curiousity to study this intriguing and versatile note; and a deep need that I can only describe as therapeutic at that time, which lead me specifically to that essence. The result of this vetiver journey is a perfume that contains all of the elements that I've ever loved in the vetiver scents I've tried, as well as my own conclusions from my journey in the route of vetiver. It has the warmth of earth and firey spices and at the same time - the coolness of clay and vetiver curtains sprinkled with water; the medicinal dryness of herbs and grasses and the luxurious tenacity of woods; the sweetness of tarragon and earth with the bitterness of coffee and mud.

Top notes: Black Pepper, Fresh Ginger, Cardamom, Kaffir Lime Leaf
Heart notes: Haitian Vetiver , Nutmeg Asbolute, Coffee, Spikenard
Base notes: Ruh Khus, Indonesian Vetiver, Vetiver Bourbon, Attar Mitti, Tarragon Absolute, Cepes

I had difficult time deciding when to release Vetiver Racinettes; and after consulting with all of my "sniffing bunnies" I have arrived at the conclusion that the summer would be the best time of year to appreciate the calm coolness that it brings while also accentuating the extremist attitude this scent has. And so Vetiver Racinettes is now at your service, as a limited edition for summertime.

Happy Father's Day!

Warm regards,

Ayala

Happy Father's Day!

A Father's Love...., originally uploaded by cowgirlrightup.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads, pappas, abbas and babbas etc. reading SmellyBlog!
And also to those who don't. Hope this day is amazing for you all that your kids got to spend some fabulous time with you.

Here is a song dedicated to a father that was wroth listening to. And below is a post about what makes a scent masculine, especially for today.

Father’s Day in the VanDusen Gardens

I noticed that while Mother’s Day was pretty much all over the place in blogs (about perfumes or otherwise), Fatehr’s Day is not as popular a topic… I happen to be spending most of father’s day, surprisingly, with my own father. Which is quite unusual, as he lives all the way in Montreal. Along with my boyfriend, he was patiently dragged along the beautiful VanDusen Gardens, while I was admiring the flowers and even taking some elaborate botanical close-ups for my upcoming new website (which will be featuring images of the individual note for each perfume).

Well, just like mother-child relationship, the relationships between children and their fathers have never been too simple. On the other side, the bond between father and child is not as obvious as the nurturing physical/emotional bond between mother and child. It requires a lot more investment to compensate for those lost 9 months…

Beginning with the metaphoric exile from the Garden of Eden, and followed by modern day stories such as Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant and Nagib Mahfouz’s The Children of Gebelaawi the archetypal Father have been more severe, intellectual, judgmental and emotionally distant than the archetypal Mother, which is the merciful and nurturing - at times to the point of sacrificial.

So, to all fathers who actually have the guts and the courage to put the time and tremendous emotional investment to bridge the 9-months gap and reach out to their children once they are born - despite busy careers, wars, vengeful mothers and spouses, emotional blocks and whatever excuses and unfortunate life circumstances that has often left children fatherless – I dedicate this little virtual stroll along the garden paths, and hope we could all return to the Garden of Eden at least for a few moments in each and every day in our life.

Amongst my favourites, this garden includes a maze, a Mediterranean garden, an herb garden, peony garden, Zen meditation garden, a little bamboo forest, and a soul-refreshing abundance of bodies of water such as streams, lakes, ponds, water fountains and a waterfall.

The VanDusen Gardens are tremendously beautiful, and like most well-designed (and maintained) gardens, they provide their visitors with an interesting insights into one’s life, besides the obvious pleasure of the beautiful sites, fresh air and fragrant plants. Gardens encompass elements such as water, flow, structure and drama that make one connect to their very own inner self as well as ancient archetypes. The most repeated theme in gardens is, I believe, an attempt to create a Paradise on Earth. This is the secret behind Bahai gardens, but reaching tranquility as in the Zen gardens is, at the core, the same concept.

I will be re-visiting VanDusen Gardens again this summer, this time on my own, not only to take more photos and catch up with all the trails and gardens I missed – but also for further meditation on the concept of Paradise on Earth, which is something I believe can be condensed into a bottle and be worn as a perfume.