Happy Mother's Day!

My mom was always an au-naturelle kinda gal who loved real flowers but not perfume. So she never wore scent, but preferred floral prints instead, and would always pick beautiful flowers to cheer me up and weave a beautiful crown of spring flowers for my birthday. She even put edible blossoms in my salad (nasturtium and wild garlic flowers), and would cut the radishes into flower-shapes to encourage me to eat them. 

Although she never worn perfume - she always loved aniseed tea and caraway-studded breads. So it comes as no surprise that to this day, I associate her with anise and and the enigmatic notes of violets and iris, which I find as soft and mysterious as herself and the midnight-blue crushed velvet she liked to wear. Kinda like what I imagined l'Heure Bleue when I read about it and before I smelled it.

It was only years later that she told me that indeed violets, anise, chocolate and vanilla were her favourite smells (before she lost her sense of smell almost permanently due to chronic colds...). And she also loved the lilacs she picked for me in her first visit to Vancouver (which sadly ends tomorrow...) Years ago, I created Indigo perfume in her honour, and I've put anise, caraway, boronia, violet, carnation, orange blossom, frankincense and amber in it... Now I'm thinking that although I was probably on the right track - I should make her another perfume, and hopefully she could smell it occasionally - with cacao and vanilla absolutes, violets and anise.  

What perfume did your mom wear as you were growing up? Or what scents do you associate her with?

Leave a comment and enter a draw for a mini of Viola, my violet soliflore, a decant of Patricia Nicolai's Sacrebleu and a few other goodies... And - a quick reminder, that today is the last day of my Mother's Day free shipping online event.

Up to 40% Off Thru October 31st

 Ayala Moriel Parfums is offering 40% off on select merchandize to make room for our new branding and packaging:

Roll-Ons:
EDP Travel Size Roll-On 40% off
Parfum Oil Roll-On 10ml 40% off
Parfum Oil Travel Size Roll On 5ml 30% off 
Purse Parfum 5ml Liquid Poetry Collection 35% off

Eaux de Parfum:
Eau de Parfum Splash/Spray 15ml 30% off
Eau de Parfum Mini 4ml 30% off

This sale is good thru October 31st at midnight, or while quantities last.

Coming To My Senses - Double Giveaway

"The thick wine scent of honey, viscous at the back of the throat, lit from within by the flowers it came from and the golden sunlight of late summer" (p.13).

Alyssa Harad's book Coming to My Senses is a wonderful journey of self-discovery through the world of scent, and perfume in particular. Alyssa has a poetic, genuine way with words and that is how she describes perfume - striking a chord yet without ever exhausting the readers like most of us bloggers tend to do. And to my delight - the book is dotted with evocative perfume descriptions that rarely disclose the names of the perfumes she's referring to. This serves two purposes -  not being too commercial (i.e.: promoting any particular brands), and also keeping some mystery going, which makes the book ever more accessible. Non-perfumistas will be able to relate to the descriptions from real life and their own experiences rather than get drowned in technical and commercial details. While perfumistas reading this will be having a blast trying to guess which perfumes are being discussed. 

So let's do just that: I will post 10 descriptions from Alyssa's book, and you can try to guess as many as you can - a task that is quite possible if you're a perfume buff. Naturally, some of them will be easier to guess if you've already read the book (in which case I've added a hint). Lastrly, you can search Alyssa Harad's blog for additional hints (not to mention it's an excellent read!) as she's revealing some of them for the benefit of us who can't stand the suspense any longer.

The person who guessed the most correctly, will win one of 2 books that Alyssa Harad has kindly gave SmellyBlog!

1) "The high, singing scent of lemons fading to the spring green of honeysuckle growing along a creek, and a bit of the muddy banks, too". (p.12)

2) "The scent of night-blooming jasmine, heady and heavy with fruit and a touch of ashtray - the lovers were smoking before they disappeared into the brush". (p.12)

3) "The smell of the air just after a summer thunderstorm - an astonishing scent of trampled grass, broken branches, bruised flowers, and electricity". (p.119)

4) "It was, precisely, the scent of lilacs in passing, a rain-freshened breeze carrying the scent from somewhere down the block, a scent of mercurial spring, made all the more lovey by the cold gray day". (p. 125).

5) "And finally, a grapefruit softened with vanilla and patchouli that left clean and bright behind for something dirtier and more interesting". (p. 142)

6) "...a fantasy in black leather, asphalt, rubber, and smoky vanilla".  (p. 142)

7) "The scent rose up all around me in a soft cloud. The sweetness expanded, lush and narcotic. I stood quietly in the middle of it, breathing. Then it roughened with a dusky bitterness that brought me back to myself just enough to open my eyes and begin walking". (p. 164); "Maybe I would leave the flowers in my hair. And I would still have my perfume - that beautiful dream of white flowers, that touch of honey". (p. 204). Hint: It's from Annick Goutal.

8) "This one takes you on a walk by the sea through a cypress forest, and then suddenly you stumble on a grove of lemon trees and just one fig tree, covered in rip figs. It's the perfect thing in hot, humid weather. Just one spritz and you can feel that salty breeze coming in off the ocean".(p.195)

9) "This one smells exactly like a creamsicle when you first put it on, but if you wait two minutes it turns into a rich, sophisticated amber. It's like you  put on a bright orange corduroy jumper and then it suddenly morphs into a little black velvet dress with pearls". (p. 195)

10) "I revisited a smoky incense-and-lilies that I have always wanted to like more than I really do". (p. 222). Hint: it's from l'Artisan Parfumeur.  

So - let's make some guesses! The winner will also receive extra samples/decants of perfumes relevant to the book (which I am not at liberty to disclose until the answers are revealed this Friday).

Monkey Monday: Vacation Mode

Hope you all had a great, long, and enjoyable Labour Day weekend!
I'm on vacation mode till Wednesday and to be honest have absolutely no peculiar scent related anecdote for Monkey Monday! Shame on me!
However, I thought we can use this post to bring up any topics you would like to read more about on SmellyBlog. i.e.:
What should be the next theme for the "Decoding Obscure Notes" series? Some mentioned mineral/salty notes via our Facebook fanpage, and there were some other good ideas floating around there...
Any perfume review requests?
Anything else at all?
I'm listening :-)

Among the commentators, there will be a lucky draw to win a sample collection from Matriarch (Value: $100).

Monkey Monday Winner (Perfume Player?)

Thanks to those of you who commented with your opinions on the verdict for my friend's faux-suitor. The lucky arrows are pointing at semiloner to receive the bottle of Pink Praline by Soivohle. Congratulations - and don't forget to email me your snail mail address!

As for the rest of the story: Based on my expert fragrance advice, my friend decided to scheme a little and for their next date, she sprayed her neck with the Angel sample he's given her, dabbed some Bvlgari Femme on her wrists, and rubbed her chest with l'Herbe Rouge (the most masculine scent I was able to come up with from my collection). He never showed up though to smell this olfactory dissonance, which only proves our theory that he's a player and has his hands stirring in a few pots simultaneously (a great skill for a chef to have, but not a virtue that you want to find in a lover...).

We're still happy to hear your ideas and takes on the subject of perfume infidelity, so please do keep them coming!

Monkey Monday: Miss T's Choice

This Card is Perfumed with Hoyt's German Cologne., a photo by Digital Projects at SDSU Library on Flickr.

First of all: Happy BC Day!
While all of you are back to work, we British Columbians are getting an extra day of summer fun at the beach, kayaking away or visiting Powell Street festival (Miss T and I are yet to make up our minds, but the options are wide open!).

Last week, my daughter came out of her room all smiles and was warning me: "Don't eat perfume!". I noticed an unusual yet familiar scent around her, but I ignored it as I was too busy making breakfast etc.

As I stepped into her room for a moment, there was no denying the fragrance: Oh my - the entire room reeked of perfume! I looked at the funny looking bottled it came from, laughed and asked her to let me smell her perfume; a request upon which she stretched out her wrists in front of my nose, just like a pro... She certainly is my daughter (not that I ever had any doubts...). The perfume is well-made, yet humorous, abstract fruity floral (I can't really pinpoint any particular notes in it, they are all pretty much "made up" but in a good way). It's modern, yet not nearly as disgusting, boring, edible and lame as what most young girls are "supposed" to wear these days. Lastly, it's older than Miss T, but not that old: it was released in the 90's.

It was a happy day for her, that perfume must have put her in a particularly good mood! And the next day, her camp councilor brought a makeup kit for a "style contest" activity, plus her own perfume for Miss T to smell: a fairly recent (though not shiny-new) sweet-woody-musky scent by a rather conservative mainstream North American luxury clothing line. Needless to say, Tamya won the "Best Style" award that week!

So - for today, you get 2 chances to win our weekly prize, if you guess either or both perfumes correctly: what my daughter picked to wear to summer camp; and what her camp leader was wearing.

The prize: a mini of Tamya, and a mini spray of Fresh Index Pomegranate Anise.

Isolate Quiz Winner

Thank you to everyone who tried their hand at the isolates quiz this week! You all did a pretty good research job - I'm impressed :-)
Here are the questions again - plus the correct answers:

1) What is the name of the molecule that gives spearmint its characteristic scent?
Spearmint has many components in it, but the most characteristic is l-carvone. The "l" is short for laevo-carvone, or levorotary, which means "left handed" - as the propyl radical C3H5 points to the left. In d-carvone, the right-handed (dextorotary) propyl radical creates the characteristic scent of dill or is a little similar to caraway. The formula for both molecules is C10H14O, but their structure is different, resulting in two very distinctive smells.

2) What's the common isolate for these three oils: Hay Lime and Tonka Bean?
Coumarin. Yes, lime is an unusual citrus in that it contains coumarin!

3) What isolate is used to produce the drug Ecstasy?
No one got this one. You all guessed safrole, which is often the start material for heliotropin - which is the correct answer for this question. Also known as piperonal (whose micromagnetic photo was used to illustrate that post), heliotropin requires special licensing when purchased in the USA. It smells like almonds and vanilla, or cherry pie, and very similar to the beautiful scent of the flower heliotrope. More about the flower at another time!

4) What's a characteristic molecule that's common to orange blossom, tuberose and ylang ylang?
Methyl anthranilate. This ester smells like concord grapes with hints of wintergreen, and is responsible for the sweet-fruity, slightly medicinal aspect of these essences. It's also present in jasmine, but I did not want to mention jasmine as to not confuse you with indole. Indole, by the way, is not present in ylang ylang or tuberose. What gives ylang ylang its characteristic animal scent is another molecule altogether, called paracresyl methyl ether.

5) What does citral smell like? And what plant(s) essential oil(s) has/have the highest citral content?
I made this one too easy for you. I was going to select Geraniol, but knew it would be too confusing. So yes, most of you got this correctly. Citral is a characteristic smell of lemon, although most of lemon is just limonene (generic lemon-orange scent). It's the citral that gives it the sweet "lemon drop" aspect, which is even furthermore pronounced in Litsea Cubeba and Lemon Myrtle. It's also present in large amounts in citronella, lemon eucalyptus, lemongrass, lemon verbena, lemon balms and others - but it is very easily recognizable and dominant in Litsea Cubeba aka May Chang, and in Lemon Myrtle, where it comprises more than 90% of the oil.
Citral is of significance, because it is the starting point of many other natural compounds that would have been very expensive to produce or isolate directly from the plant. For example: alpha ionone, which smells nothing like citral - but has the warm-woody scent of candied violets!

Because many of those who answered correctly have already won more than once on SmellyBlog, the winner was not randomly selected this time, but hand-picked by the editor. Congratulations to BridgetTheodore - you won a bottle of Go Ask Alice by En Voyage Perfumes! Please contact me via email - ayala (at) ayalamoriel.com with your mailing address to claim your prize.

California Stats + Winner Results

California stats, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

Monkey Monday results are finally out! The most favourite oils that were used in my California classes are:
Red Mandarin, Sandalwood, Sweet Orange
Least popular: Lavender Oil & Absolute, Galbanum
Most loved floral: Neroli

The winners are:
A few of you guessed sandalwood as a popular note, so I had to do a lucky draw. Bellatrix is the one who gets the first package of essential oils samples.

LL Graham - who guessed one correct "unpopular" note - Galbanum - will receive a second collection of essential oil samples.

Princess Ellie - who guessed the correct floral - Neroli - will receive a mini of Cabaret.

Happy weekend!

Monkey Monday: Odorous Pets

HUH!!!..I've got a what on my back???, a photo by law_keven on Flickr.

Last Friday I've learned that pets' "body odour" can vary tremendously. I found it so shocking that I just had to share it here. When a friend stopped by the studio with her two tiny and well-behaved chiwawas. They were the exact same size, one male and one female, and probably were enjoying the same diet of raw dog food. But they did not smell like what I always thought of as "dog smell". One smelled intensely of fish - not like it was eating fish, but almost like it WAS a fish. I was so shocked by this discovery that I just had to wait till Monday to bring it up for our silly Monkey Monday post and see what it will bring up here. The other dog did not smell fishy at all, but still was not what I thought of as a dog smell either.

I often get emails from customers telling me that their favourite smell is their cat's paws. Not being a cat woman myself, perhaps I just don't "get" it - and that's why I think it will be interesting to open a discussion here and hear from you:

1) What your pet smells like (if you have any)?

2) Do you find certain animal smells more pleasant than others?

3) Did you ever notice a difference between two animals of the same species - as if they have body odour just like we do?

Leave a comment and enter to win a miniature of Cassis by Aftelier.

Aphrodisiac Winner (Monkey Monday Giveaway)

Congrats to Michael, winner of our first Monkey Monday giveaway.
You're the lucky winner of:
1) Gabriel's Aunt 2oz Chocolate Bar Candle
2) Film Noir mini
3) Valentine's Greeting Card from Nikki & I that has 2 aphrodisiac recipes!
4) A pinch of my secret love potion: the Ras El Hanout spice that I've hand-blended myself, including many rare ingredients, in just the exact right proportions...

Please contact me via email with your mailing address so I can ship your prize next week :-)
Happy weekend, everyone! See you again on Monday with another great giveaway.

Clearing my Dresser

I'm clearing my perfume dresser from excessive perfumes (so little skin time pour moi). They are listed on Basenotes, but if you're not a member there - here's what I've got and hope to find someone who will love and wear them!
Shipping is
Agent Provocatuer purse size 30ml, beautiful bottle, completely full and brand new (not boxed though as it came in a set of 3) $30
Chaman's Party by Olivia Giacobetti for Honore de Pres - Wonderful smoky vetiver, 100% natural & certified organic (100ml glass bottle, no box, 90% full) $65
Aqaba - 50ml (95% full) in straw box (though it is a bit wrecked), beautiful, classic oriental! $45 *PENDING*
Bond No, 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory travel spray 10ml sprayed twice $20 *SOLD*
Ormonde Jayne Tiare EDP travel spray 10ml sprayed 4 times $20
Something About Sofia (Benefit) 30ml cute & adorable bottle! NIB $15
Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties ltd. edition Lil' Angel 10ml - adorable doll-shaped bottles NIB $15
Ralph Lauren Notorious 50ml NIB $20
Ralph Lauren Notorious mini NIB $5
Jo Malone Grapefruit Cologne 9ml new, full, no box $10
SJP Lovely EDP Shimmer Spray 50ml (90% full), boxed $20
3121 (Prince's perfume) 30ml, 50% full & in box - $5
Vintage!!! Laura Ashley No. 1 stopper bottle 30ml EDT, boxed and worn maybe x4. Beautiful, classy green floral $40 *SOLD*
MoroccanOil Luminous Hairspray Strong Flexible Hold - Brand New, never used 330ml $15
MoroccanOil Glimmer Shine Spray for all hair types BNIB never used 100ml $15
Deseo (JLo) 50ml in box 85% $25
Yves Rocher Monoi de Tahiti body spray 70% full $5
Un Jardin Apres La Mousson dry oil 100ml in box - 98% full $50
Yvresse by YSL 125ml EDT in box 98% full $40

Shipping is $10 for most orders world wide (the larger 50ml or 100ml bottles and the MoroccanOil hair products may be around $12-$15 though)

Email me ayala (at) ayalamoriel.com

Facebook Fan Page Promotion this Weekend!

Become a fan of Ayala Moriel Parfums on Facebook and learn about our special promotion this weekend to receive a gift with purchase when ordering online!

Ankhara Lucky Draw Winner

Thank you to everyone who shared their beautiful summer memories and favourite smells of summer!

Congratulations to commenter no. 5 -Michael Singles!
You won a mini of Ankhara perfume by Liz Zorn.
Please email me your snailmail addy so I can send your prize in the mail this afternoon!

We will have another giveaway next week...

Jasmine in Berkeley - Visiting Mandy Aftel + GIVEAWAY

Just a couple of hours after landing in SFO, I headed to Berkeley, for my long-awaited visit with world renown natural perfumer and writer Mandy Aftel. Peaking through the thoroughly-shingled house, a window offers a glimpse into the world that awaits within: several rows of antique and vintage perfume bottles, beakers and flasks. I knocked with a copper door-knocker shaped like knocking wrist, and Foster, Mandy’s husband, greeted me with a smile. Moments later, Mandy joined him welcoming me with a big warm hug.


Mandy gave me the tour of her lovely home studio, which upon entry had a distinct smell of raw natural aromatics, although not in the least overpowering and my nose got used to it very quickly. I browsed through her beautiful flacons to smell her newest creations – Honey Blossom, which was nominated for FiFi, and smells primarily of linden blossom CO2; and Candide, which is a voluptuous jasmine possessing both depth and light, partly I think because of the beautiful frankincense and the highlights of the natural isolate benzyl acetate (which is a very sheer, bright ester that is present in most white florals – i.e.: gardenia, jasmine, ylang ylang, narcissus, hyacinth, etc.), and even got a whiff of Haute Claire - the new perfume she created during her correspondence with perfumer Liz Zorn on Nathan Branch's blog, based on a contrasting accord of galbanum and ylang ylang.

Mandy has generously let me feast my olfactory bulb on her fascinating perfumer’s organ, featuring not only unusual and at times quirky aromatics (sarsaparilla absolute, for instance) and isolates; but also most rare, vintage oils of years past – patchouli, and twin glass bottles of vintage ambergris tincture and ambreine (an isolate) that came encased in an antique leather box.


I also smelled other rare treasures, such as her tiare absolute, blue lotus absolute (the prettiest I’ve ever smelled!) and the foody sarsaparilla (yum!), and even a rare tincture of musk deer’s pods (without the grains inside, which were scraped away before the pod found its way to Mandy’s studio). The musk tincture did not smell remotely as I imagined it would be – it was more green than animalic to my nose, almost like angelica. I personally prefer ambrette seed so much better, but than I have never blended with musk and it is likely to have an unusual effect beyond how it smells on its own, similarly to how ambergris behaves, which is why animal essences have been in such demand for centuries, and why there is still so much controversy around them. Thankfully, there are alternatives available to today’s perfumers that are sustainable as well as cruelty free and reach similar effects. Perfumers today are using African stone tincture instead of civet and castoreum; ambrette seed instead of musk; and beach harvested ambergris, which does not harm any whales in the process – and of course, mass scale perfumery would use the synthetic alternatives.


We both share a passion for tea, so I was very excited when Mandy brewed a pot of her Frankincense GABA oolong tea. Mandy’s technique of scenting her teas is very different than mine – technically they are “aromatized” with the essences she chooses and blends carefully (where as mine are blends of teas that were often perfumed with flowers, in conjunction with freshly dried herbs, spices, fruit, etc.). I was pleasantly surprised at the delicate, subtle complexity of these scented teas. They were so beautiful and balanced. I smelled all four from their tins (linden blossom, and the jasmine & mint were both beautiful but there was only time for so many teas in one afternoon!). We started with the Frankincense GABA tea – an oolong rich with antioxidants and scented with a tincture Mandy prepared herself of an unusual specimen of frankincense that has a very smooth note. It opened feeling quite citrusy, like a light Earl Gray or Orange Pekoe tea, and the woody notes only peaked out later on as she kept re-steeping the tea. To my delight, when we were done sipping this delicate brew, she prepared her beautiful Ginger & Turkish Rose Tea (also oolong tea), a combination that sounded strange to me when I first saw it, but smelled so delicate in the dry leaf, and just sublime when steeped. Mandy certainly has a knack for surprising scent combinations, and being able to reach a stunning balance with notes that wouldn’t normally pair too easily together.


Isolates seem to be a newly found obsession among natural perfumers, as they open many possibilities with their single-molecule purity – a quality that is so different from the complex essences we work with, often containing dozens if not hundreds of different molecules. It was not difficult to fall in love with some of the isolates Mandy picked for he palate – Benzyl acetate (jasminey), Octanol-3 (rubbery and a little like black truffle), Alpha Ionone (woody sweet candied violets), Methyl Methyl Anthranilate (grapey wintergreen), and anisaldehyde (like heliotropin with hints of licorice and green notes). I bought a few interesting isolates and oils at the end of the visit, and also Mandy generously gifted me with the very last bottle of her Petitgrain Citron, which she describes as possessing the scent of Meyer lemon blossoms!

Time flies when having fun, and sooner than I hoped the visit had to come to an end – after all, I couldn’t be late for the party Yosh Han organized for me… About which I will tell you in the next post, tomorrow!

Leave a comment with your favourite Aftelier perfume or product, and enter to win a miniature of Aftelier's Cassis parfum.
UPDATE: The winner of our giveaway is Lavanya. Congratulations! Hope you enjoy the Cassis :-)

Note: All the photos are courtesy of Mandy Aftel and copyrighted to Aftelier.

P.s. The visit was on June 29th.

Basenotes High Fibre Giveaway Winner Announcement

Congratulations to Basenotes member Tourbillion, who won the mini-coffret set of 8 scents mentioned in Walker Minton's article High Fibre Fragrances (or How I Discovered Natural Perfume).
Tourbillion won a coffret with the 8 scents mentioned in the article ($360 value):
Rainforest
Vetiver Racinettes
ArbitRary
Bon Zai
Épice Sauvage
Espionage
Lovender
Sabotage

Winners Announcement of 2 Contests!

Hermes Scent Guessing Contest:
The scent my brother picked was Vetiver Tonka!
Although no one guessed the scent correctly, Isa is the winner of the Jo Malone Grapferuit Cologne mini on this contest. Please contact me with your mailing addy for details. You will also get a bonus prize of 2 Hermessence samples :-)

Hybrid Mom Contest:
The winner of the Hybrid Mom contest is Margihealing.
Congratulations! You get to pick which scent from my collection you'd like for your mini-bottle prize.

Purple Dress Giveaway on Chic Galleria

Chic Galleria is holding a giveway of one mini bottle of The Purple Dress perfume. To enter the draw, simply leave a comment here.

What Are You Wearing This Summer?

Happy Friday everyone!
Today is your last chance to enter the draw to win 2 miniature bottles of Jo Malone's Grapefruit Cologne and Lavender Cologne.
Simply comment on the Ultimate Summer Wardrobe post and tell us what you are wearing this summer - and your name will be entered into the draw later tonight.

UPDATE: The winner is Flora. Congratulations!
*Please contact me with your mailing address.

Ultimate Summer Wardrobe - Scents for Every Occasion

This midsummer, I’ve invited a few others of my favourite bloggers to list their favourite summer scents. What started as a simple “top 10” list (we bloggers all love those for some reason, as redundant as they may seem to some of our readers – or not) – turned into a summer guide to what to wear, when and why for nearly every possible summer scenario we could think about. I want to thank all the participating bloggers for being such great pals and joining me on this last-minute blogging project; and for coming up with so many cool ideas for different summer scenarios that requires a matching scent. Special thanks to Gaia for finding this quirky summer photo and for Elena for adding the tagline on the image (I still need to figure out how to do stuff like that on Photoshop – I only know very few tricks there!).

So here we go, scents for (nearly) every possible summer occasion, at least the ones I could think of with a lot of help from my perfume blogger friends. And I would like to hear what you think is missing from the list or what you'd chose for your summer wardrobe. I will have a draw between the readers to win 2 miniature bottles of Jo Malone's Grapefruit Cologne and Lavender Cologne.

A Day at the Theme Park or Fair
I though this would be my toughest scenario to find a match for. But it was the easiest: Sugar by Fresh = cotton candy and lemonade. Just add some butterflies as you scream your way on the rollercoaster and you’re good to go.

Summer Night in the Big City
I’ve only been in three big cities during the summer: London, Montreal and New York. The first I was too young to wear any perfume, plus it rained so much it did not feel like summer). Montreal is mostly remembered for the jazz. And the latter was your expected humid, suffocating polluted summer days and one of my main purposes in the trip was perfume shopping. One evening I ended up with my newly acquired Chinatown. A grave mistake as this is better in cooler weather. But from than on I will always remember Chinatown as my New York City perfume (I bet that would make Bond No. 9 happy). If I were to choose my own way now, I would go with something more personal and close to the skin, something to call my own and identify myself in the big crowds. And in a more quite, less obtrusive way than how Chinatown does it. For the sake of picking one scent I chose Magazine Street by Strange Invisible Perfumes. It starts with a lovely white magnolia note and a sharp contrast of vetiver and develops into a musky skin scent, woody, a tad smoky, and very distinct.

International Travel / Jet-Setting
This is a tough one. When I travel I don’t like wearing much, and what I usually do “wear” is those little towelettes soaked in some typical eau de cologne. For long flights that’s usually as much as I can tolerate. Or I would sometimes stop at Hermes and put some Eau d’Orange Verte. Such scents help me feel refreshed and a little bit cleaner than I probably am being stuck in a cabin for long hours (most of my flights are to Israel, so we’re looking at least at 14 hours inside the plane). I like airplanes so little that I don’t really want to associate anything with my actual flight. But last time on my trip back from France, on the London-Vancouver flight, I stopped at Chanel before I got on the plane and doused myself with Sycomore. It turned out to be an excellent choice. It’s a scent I already love (so no fear of associating it with airplanes) and there must have been something really grounding and comforting in the vetiver with hints of mastic resin.

Going Sailing
Deseo, with its equal measure of trashy coconut and synthetic fruit and clean-cut modernized so-called “chypre” - it reads more like a fougere to me. It has a hint of that watery-musky base that so many aquatic masculine fougeres have (Cool Water and the like) but at the same time feels warm and confident. Deseo is like a beach scent with balls, and would be my choice for a little wild ride on a motorboat in English Bay.
P.s. I’m such a show-off, you should know that it would be my brother actually riding the boat, and I will be begging him to tone down the speed ;-)

Drive-In Theatre
Not that I’ve ever been to one (yet) so I can only imagine this based on what I’ve seen in all those 50’s movies. I can’t imagine myself wanting to wear a 50’s style scent (read: aldehydic floral) in the summer. So instead I am going for a scent that my brother described as smelling like the interior of a taxicab, and by that I mean pretty much the entire “Vanille” collection from Comptoir Sud Pacifique. Their Coco-Vanille is particularly realistic, as it smells exactly like those little coconut-scented paper trees that are so commonly popular with taxi drivers in Israel. If you want something more wearable, go for Vanille-Abricot or Vanille Pineapple.

Summer Siesta
There’s nothing sweeter than taking a little nap to make that hot afternoon pass faster, and skip straight into sunset. And even better – a nap taken on a hammock in the garden. To me, Sweet Lime and Cedar smells like this siesta: a combination of the jasmines climbing on the pole where the hammock is tied up to, remains of a watermelon eaten on the grass, and of course the fibers of the hammock releasing their scent even more in reaction to the salt from one’s sweaty back...

The Farmer's Market
Philosykos, because green figs is the only thing that will never show up in a Farmer’s Market in Vancouver and I miss them so much!

Summer Garden Scent
Of all perfumes, the one I chose to wear when tending to my summer garden (all pots and planters, mind you – I’m still on the waitlist for the community gardens!) is Chrysalis by Soivhole’. It has a dominant note of marigold (FYI: any amount of marigold is dominant and this one is beautifully done without being too much), and marigold to me read summer! Other notes include Absinthe, cognac, fig and organic butter tincture, jasmine, orange blossom and carnation.

Beach scent
Yes, this subject is very original, I know, but definitely necessary whenever summer is in question!

My all-time favourite remains Azuree de Soleil Body Oil (it’s now called Bronze Goddess but I’m still finishing up my second bottle of the original name). Its mix of vetiver, incense, gardenia and honey resembles a sun warmed skin and it’s not as clichéd as so many other beachy scents. I love it on its own but it also layers beautifully with other scents (meaning: you can wear another scent on your pulse points and they really complement each other). My favourite pairings are Songes and Chinatown.

Rainy Beach Day Scent
But for the sake of changing things around a bit, I have two more scents for the occasion - which is all the more appropriate because it’s the single summer activity I take part of no matter what. You’ll rarely NOT find me on the beach during the summer! I even go jogging on the beach when it rains (that goes for every season though…).

And on a day when it rains and all you can do on the beach is build sand castles or jog along the seawall, there’s nothing better than Turtle Vetiver, which smells like playing in wet sand.

Poolside Scent
Terra Cotta Eau de Sous le Vent is again not really a perfume but technically a tan-enhancing body spray. It also smells wonderfully of gardenia and sun-warmed skin, perhaps with hints of coconut and suntan lotion. I first worn it on a balmy May night at Cannes beach by the Cinema de la Plage, and hope this is the memory that’s going to stick with me. There is more gardenia than sun warmed skin or sand, which is why I’ve picked it as a poolside scent rather than for the beach. It lacks that “dirty” side of sand and salt and oiled skin so I think it will be more appropriate for the sterile fun environment of a pool party.

Bar-B-Q
If there is one thing I could do without during the summertime is Bar BQ. Being a vegetarian and a perfumer there is not much for me in it: I can’t eat the food. Even the vegetables and fake meats will most likely be covered with meat juices, and I could never see the point of scorching vegetables anyway. Must be something that works wonderfully with meat… And besides, the smoke and the smell are horrific to me. I know I am a minority but whenever my neighbours downstairs Bar BQ (which is pretty much every other day of the week and even more so during the summer) I just want to run away…
So what to wear in that situation? Tough question, because all I try to do than is avoid the smell… Perhaps Giacobetti’s ingenious Tea for Two (l’Artisan Parfumeur), where the smokiness can be mistaken for a cup of fragrant lapsang suchong masked with brown sugar and steamed milk.

The Chinese Night Market
Every year in the summer, for three nights people from all across the Lower Mainland defy the notion of guaranteed bad parking conditions and swarm the Chinese Night Market in search for bargains and Asian street food that can be found nearly nowhere else in town. For such a night I suggest wearing a sheer playful floral, and my choice is Pure Poison. There’s nothing serious about it and the combination of orange blossom and heady tuberose over incense and musk is universally sexy and goes well with sweet crepes, fruity bubble teas and deep fried ice cream. If you are planning on having a green papaya salad, reach for Sweet Lime & Cedar instead.

Best Fruit Salad Scent
Fruit salad scents have been all the rage for over a decade now starting somewhere in the mid 90’s innocently enough with aquatic florals such as Acqua di Gio, Light Blue and so on. Unfortunately, once the aquatic floral craze died out with stayed with fruit salads, compotes and syrups till this very day, which took over most designer and celebrity fragrance releases for women. Only now we finally get to see the end of it (I hope) with some more interesting takes on the subject. Un Jardin Apres la Mousson is a prime example; where juicy cantaloupe is juxtaposed with vetiver, pepper, ginger and coriander, resulting in a fragrance that is wearable, transparent and intriguing despite its simplistic composition.

Summer Meditation
With so many things happening in the summer, and the unlikelihood of saying “no” to all these attractive choices, one could end up exhausted and in much need for introspective down time or meditation. Than I like to burn Buddhist sandalwood incense or fine Japanese incense sticks under my Star Jasmine bush and just sit back and relax on my porch… For such times, there is no better incense summer scent than Kyoto, with its hinoki, musk and mastic notes it is deceivingly light but really quite haunting.

Read on what other excellent perfume blogs have to say about scents for every occasion in summer:


Legerdenez

The Non Blonde

I Smell Therefore I Am (Abigail's List)

I Smell Therefore I Am (Brian's List)

+ Q Perfume Blog

Scent Hive

Savvy Thinker

Moving and Shaking

Bittergrace Notes

Perfume Shrine

Afternoon Tea Party & Private Sale

Join us for an afternoon tea and a presentation about tea notes in perfumery and a private shopping event.

On the Menu:
5-tiered tray of fragrant sweet and savoury refreshments will be served along with Ayala Moriel’s exceptional perfumed teas created for us especially by Inner Alchemy Tea Co. to match selected scents from Ayala Moriel ready-to-wear perfume collection.

Tier 1:
Wild Hyssop mini pita bread Cumin & Hummus Tea-Rolls Wasabi-Cucumber Tea Sandwiches Tomato-Basil Tea Sandwiches Minted Radishes Tea Sandwiches

Tier 2:
Sweet scones with rose petal jam & devonshire cream
Savoury cumin scones

Tier 3:
Middle Eastern semolina pastries with almonds and honey syrup
Brownies
Cupcakes

Tier 4:
Crystallized rose icebox cookies
Fennel biscuits
Aniseed biscotti
Halva cookies
Pistachio-Lime Buttons

Tier 5:
Hand-rolled Flower-Scented Chocolate Truffles
Assortment of Moroccan dried-fruit and orange flower water petitefours

There will be door prizes and a lucky draw for all guests to win a gift certificate for creating your very own signature perfume (value of $550) and other exciting surprises and gifts with purchase.

At 2pm, Ayala will give a presentation about the role of tea in perfumery, accompanied by a fragrance sampling of tea-scented perfumes (including some of Ayala’s own creations).

When:
Sunday, June 14th, 12:00-4:00pm
Ayala will speak at 2pm

Where:
Ayala Moriel Parfums Studio
#314-1230 Haro Street (corner with Bute)
Buzzer #295
Vancouver, BC

RSVP now (778) 863-0806