Poet's Jasmine

Poet's Jasmine, one of the five fragrances that make up Ineke's Floral Curiosities collection is one of the synonyms for Jasminum officinale - the mainstay household jasmine that has been naturalized throughout Europe through historical routes little known.

Poet's Jasmine opens with a very tame, fruity and light jasmine accord, and hints of tea accents. The fruity body takes over within a few minutes, revealing a summery composition that reminds me first of the candied-flower fragrance of methyl-antrhanilate that is prevalent in Serge Lutens' Fleur d'Oranger; and quickly developed into the amber, ylang ylang and jasmine accord of Annick Goutal's Songes. This phase remains on the skin for an hour or so; and then turns into a skin musk type of scent, the like of the musc and patchouli base that's Crazylubellule and the Poppies' ShanghaiJava Musc & Patchouli. If you dislike the indolic aspect of jasmine, this would be a nice jasminesque scent for you. I also noticed a huge difference between wearing it in cool weather vs the warm weather we're blasted with right now. In the cooler weather it smells more watered-down and distant. I'm happy to report it is much better in the heat, taking on more floriental and dreamy personality.

According to Ineke's website, the notes are:

Top notes: Citrus Fruit, Rosemary, Absinthe, Star Anise
Heart notes: Jasmine, Frankincense, Cardamom 
Base notes: Hinoki wood, Guiacwood 

And it also provides some whimsical images, as always, including this jasmine tea recipe:

"Poet's Jasmine Tea
1 handful freshly picked jasmine flowers and leaves
2 cups boiling water
slices of orange
honey to taste
Place the poet's jasmine flowers and foliage in a teapot, add the boiling water and allow to infuse for about four minutes. 
Remove the jasmine with a strainer, add a slice of orange instead of lemon, and a little honey for added sweetness if you like. 
Serve with a sprig of jasmine flowers and a few bon mots." 

Sweet William

Sweet William, a photo by Diesel [papersnapdragon.co.uk] on Flickr.

Ineke's Floral Curiosities anthology of soliflores for Anthropoligie continues, and the newest flower in this poetic garden is Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus).

I had the pleasure to smell & wear Sweet William over dinner & Kir with Ineke and her husband Bill - and immediately fell for this delicate, spicy, warm yet fresh composition.

Sweet William opens with fresh balsamic peppery notes that reminded me of another favourite - Si Lolita. It is, however, more dusky and violetty than the latter. Carnation accord being the centre of attention, with complementary strokes of ionones, redolent of candied violets and accompanied by velvety cedar (a wink to Evening Edged in Gold, which also had a rich cedar, fruit and spice accord), which give it a purplish hue and a slightly serious, almost regal personality.

The base notes are those of rich woodsy patchouli and powdery musk, which dries down to a clean, dry patchouli and white musk notes. It is not in the least overpowering, but has an incredible staying power and stays on even after a swim and a shower, with slightly berry like musky notes.

Ineke's soliflore treatment is modern, abstract and rather than just dissecting and replicating Sweet William, she's created a stylized impression of this carnation's particularly sweet-spicy-velvety personality (other carnations have a slightly rosy-green aspect that you won't find in here), and create a memorable scent from an otherwise low-key, modest flower.

The notes, according to Ineke's press release, are peach, cloves, cinnamon, cedarwood, sandalwood, patchouli and bourbon vanilla.

1st Artisan Fragrance Salon in San Francisco

It certainly felt like making history at the 1st Artisan Fragrance Salon in San Francisco July 8th, 2012.
The event was a breakthrough on many levels:
- 1st artisanal perfumeries show in North America
- 1st fragrance industry event on the West Coast
- 1st time independent perfumers across North America have gathered up to join forces and support each other in a formal way (there was a lot of informal stuff going on for a while, especially in the West Coast there is a strong independent, artisan spirit, and thankfully most of us see ourselves as colleagues, rather than competitors, and support each other in what is otherwise a very solitary profession).
- Last but not least: Diversity and respect. It was the most diverse, all-encompassing gathering of perfumers of very different philosophies, styles, business models, ethics, approach to raw materials, etc. You could find there artisans who still make their own tinctures the old-fashioned way, measure everything in small batches, and only sell at the own studio or website; some that have expanded to sell into many doors around the world and have grown to the point of needing to have a contract-manufacturer for their line; artisan perfumers who pick a very limited palette - i.e.: only naturals, only botanical ingredients (i.e.: no animal extracts), or even all certified organic, to those who use both natural and synthetics (coined by some as "mixed media"). And somehow, despite all our differences - we not only managed to pull together a very successful event, but also enjoyed every moment of it, each other's company, and the benefits of having a growing, strong and supportive community.


Some individuals worked particularly hard at bringing our community together, and there is no doubt that Yosh took a lot on her own shoulders, in initiating the event and teaming up with TasteTV to create the first of its kind.
Thank you, Yosh!


So, I will start by telling you a bit about Yosh's perfumes and her gorgeous display - each one of the glass mini-cake-covers encapsules one of her scents - the existing line (now with world wide distribution all the way to Dubai and Japan in the far east, and leading retailers in Europe in the West), includes distinctively different perfumes that she originally handcrafted in small batches, and now have adapted to work on the large scale that she does. She still conceptualizes her perfumes, and the flacons of extrait oil are made by hand, including the all-natural Winter Rose (rose and cardamom), Trompeur (formerly know as "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things") and Kismet (which is a mysterious dark floral featuring precious boronia absolute).

There is a perfume for the main seasons or moods - Ginger Ciao (spicy oriental), Stargzer, U4EAHH!, Kismet Sombre Negra, and Omniscent - which is my newly discovered favourite (with sandalwood, aloe vera, ripe fig and tuberose). She also brought some unique scents just for the show - experimental fragrances, such as Lush - a fruity yet tart floral with accents of cilantro - yum!


Nikki Sherritt (Rebel & Mercury) is a talented candle maker (Gabriel's Aunt) whom I'm very thankful for helping me out with my own candles. Nikki's style in perfumry is as unique and surprising as her candles, only more sophisticated and with even more precious aromatics and twists and turns. Encens Blanc is a smouldering incense underscored with white florals and musk and with a heavenly drydown, and Bohem is an uncompromising tobacco.


Ragna Rostad-Ruffner is a former student, and lives in Shasta. Originally a nurse with a passion for soapmaking, Ragna launched her Divine Life perfume & body care line in 2011. The Dharma Rose Collection launched especially for the salon, and includes:
Dharma Rose Castile Soap, Botanical Mist, Eau de Cologne and Perfume Oil, and guests were also able to catch a whiff of a limited edition Incense Oud Perfume Oil.


Laurie Stern, the sweet lady of Velvet & Sweet Pea's Purrfumery has a way with the bees, cats, flowers and her displays shows it all too well! Every bottle is beautifully packaged and decorated with fabric pansies, ribbons and collectible labels. Her newest creations that launched last weekend is titled "Fleur de Caramel". Yum!

You might also like to know, that Laurie is very passionate about animal rights, and does not use animal materials, or materials that were tested on animals.



Artemisia Natural Perfume , whose creations I've been admiring for as long as I know Lisa Fong (we met for the first time in 2006, but were exchanging samples and emails before that). Eros is a honeyed, musky wine-like rose to die for; Ondine is a serpentine like woody mystical floral; Drifting Sparks is a study in musk; Rayon Vert is an unusual licorice-like fougere built around flouve and licorice mint; Yuzu Citrus is a beautiful, honeyed sweet yet tart citrus with greens thrown in for balance; and the list goes on...

Persephenie
I can't say enough good things about Persephenie, an artist of scent, beautifully textured body products, and also a jeweler and a visual artists. She brought a series of 3 limited edition, pure botanical perfumes with hand-painted labels (!) to the salon, including Snuff, a beautiful leathery-tobacco concoction, and Ocean Siren, which is more floral. I'm particularly smitten with her elegant white-on-black jars and bottles, her Rose Pakka, Linden Blossom Dry Body Oil and Bedouin perfume, which is a beautiful rose-cardamom aphrodisiac. Keep in mind though, that even her "mixed media" only contain about 1% synthetics, so they feel very real, alive and complex (Kildren is a cozy floral gourmand with ginger & amber, Datura an intoxicating white floral, and


Brent from SmellBent (Los Angeles) creates whimsical fragrances that are the olfactory equivalent of pop-art. The scent that grabbed my nose the most was Mountain High from the North by Northwest collection - with fresh cannabis, balsam fir, lavender, vanilla, tonka, patchouli and sandalwood.

COGNOSCENTI
Debuted that very weekend, with perfumes created by Danielle Sergent. They are all very abstract and unusual, and are numbered rather than named (although, each is accompanied by a short scent-description to make it just a little less abstract). My favourite is the tobacco and tomato scent.


Ineke Ruhland & Bill O'Such at Ineke's display at the artisan fragrance salon. Ineke has lots of good news to share this year - and visitors to the salon were the first ones to smell Hothouse Flower (to be released in the fall) and Sweet William and the new travel-size spray bottles in collectible book-shaped boxes (for Anthropologie - to be released around the holidays).


Roxana Illuminated Perfume
is an artist, alchemist and a beekeeper. Her perfume "Q" was part of her activism to preserve Californian wilderness. Chaparral is my favourite of her earlier creations (redolent of Californian sage and a very peppery, dry and desert-like). Unfortunatley, I was unable to smell any of her new perfumes, GreenWitch being one of her most popular and with great acclaim in perfume blogs since it was released (I'm a huge lover of the ocean, and this promises to be just my cup of "tea").

EnVoyage Perfumes
Shelley Waddington's Carmel-based perfumery is a known name in the indie perfumer world, not only for her creations, but also her recent book on natural isolates. To the salon, Shelley brought a few new perfumes, New debuts were A Study in Water (which I was able to get a whiff of during the SF Sniff - it's a ethereal aquatic-floral with notes of green apple and neroli), Chang Chang, Durango, Lorelei and L'Ombre, which were enthusiastically received. Her biggest show hits were Havane pour Homme and the award-winning Vents Ardents.


Sonoma Scent Studio's new perfume: Forest Walk, on which I will touch on my next post, as I was fortunate to visit Laurie in her own studio in Healdsburg the following day (July 9th). More in our next post, which will cover my little road trip to Sonoma with Lisa Fong.

The other artisan perfumers who participated, and whom I wasn't able to take a photo of or smell their creations (yet) are:

Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes
Ellen Covey is an orchid grower, and lives just south of me in Seattle.

40notes Perfume
Miriam Varledzis was involved in the corporate fragrance world before she opened her very own indie perfumery in Portland, Oregon. She kindly helped to organize the perfumers' breakfast, and ended up the one presenting us, together with Yosh (the original presenter had to cancel because of sudden death in her family). Miriam is professional, passionate and eager to help other businesses in advice and consulting about growing their fragrance brand. Unfortunatley, I was not able to smell any of her perfumes (yet!), but her booth and packaging looked lovely!

Sarah Horowitz Parfums
Probably needs no introduction, and her Perfect Veil perfume has cult following. It was wonderful that Sarah was able to come up all the way from Los Angeles and take part in this historic event!

Leila Castle Botanical Fragrance
Also known as the "Green Witch from Marin" - Leila creates natural perfumes as well as body products, greatly inspired by where she lives.

Smells & Bells Organics
Based in San Francisco, and handcrafts their own soap as well.

Parfums DelRae
DelRae Roth commissioned some of the world's best indie noses to design their perfumes; Michel Roudnitska and Yann Vasnier. I love their Eau Emotionelle. The perfumes all have a sophisticated, European air paired with American boldness.

L'Aromatica Perfume
Loreto Remsing is also based in San Francisco, and is a graphic designer - which comes very handy as you can see from her beautiful label designs: minimalist, hand-drawn patterns that are simple yet evocative. Some of her perfumes are 100% naturals, including her newest ones that she brought to the salon: Madrone (inspired by Indian Summer in Northern Carolina) and Bourbon (Inspired by rich oak-aged whiskey).

Some of the perfumers had presentations, and also Alyssa Harad was also there, with her new book "Coming To My Senses", and Felicia Hazzard (Fragrance Belles Lettres blog) - both did presentations as well. Raphaella Barkley from the Perfume Magazine was present the evening before at the perfumers' soiree. It was really a great experience seeing everyone come together like this!


And this is the booth of Ayala Moriel Parfums - I was very lucky to have the artwork match my colour scheme! And was very close to the door with a large sitting area so my guests could relax for a bit after doing their rounds in the entire gallery. It was such a wonderful experience to meet so many familiar people in person after years of email correspondence, blog comments, online orders and mutual Facebook liking.

A nice surprise was to meet Renee Ghert-Zand in person (she wrote the lovely article and interviews about my newest release, Etrog) for the Times of Israel. And Amanda Walker, who came all the way from New York.

I really could have not hoped for a better weekend - the audience was passionate, educated and adorable perfume-nerds, and received everything I brought - including some quirky perfumes such as New Orleans, Espionage, Razala and Treazon - with so much enthusiasm and support. People came after doing their research, and wanted to smell specific things (some of which did not make it into the suitcase - but they will receive samples in the mail). And some were also interested in more perfumery training (thank goodness I had my book for them to browse!). It was so refreshing and wonderful to speak to such intelligent and interesting customers.

Etrog all but sold out at the show, and people had wonderful responses to the new upcoming release - Treazon (aka my killer tuberose, launching 12.12.12). Samples will become available on the website at the end of the summer.

And last but not least, my very personal thanks to:
Alex Sandor for hosting yet another amazing workshop at his space
Christi Meshell (House of Matriarch) for tending to my booth while I was doing my presentation about "Scent, Seduction & Storytelling".
Ross Urrere (Olfactory Rescue Services) for helping me set up, hand out fragrant articles & scent strips during my presentation, and continuing to man my booth and assist me way beyond the call of duty (not to mention coming bearing gifts of incense!). Ross is a fascinating incense and Koh-Doh enthusiast and I've learned so much from our correspondence in the past and am looking forward to meeting him again in other fragrant occasions.
Yosh, for being such a positive force in connecting us all and bringing the best of us, and for connecting me to the right people at the right time.
And last but not least - Lisa Fong (Artemisia) for hosting me (and putting up with me and my oversized luggage...) for a week!

Hothouse Flower

Flower Parade, a photo by yoshiko314 on Flickr.

Ineke's newest addition to her perfume abecadry is Hothouse Flower, which will launch in fall 2012. Inspired by gardenia's finicky and demanding growing conditions, and even more so by its luscious perfume, Ineke brought a plant into her lab in order to study its unique personality and facets.

Gardenia is more known for being a heady, tropical floral (often paired with tuberose, to create a very loud effect (i.e.: Fracas, Carnal Flower, Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, etc.), or more of a sultry interpretation, where its salicilates are paired with darker, lingering notes (Velvet Gardenia, Cruel Gardenia, Vintage Gardenia with Cardamom & Myrrh). Hothouse Flower takes a path that is neither loud nor sultry. Ineke did here what she knows best: craft a beautiful, pretty gardenia that is easily wearable and adorable - but perhaps too pretty for a dark-person like myself.

The top notes are light and etheral, with hints of green crushed leaves and tea. It quickly unfolds into the more fruity aspects, reminiscent of butter and hints of pink bubblegum, as if the gardenia princess wakes up from a salicylic nap, and gives you a naughty wink to remind us of her lineage (Fracas et al) - than rolls to the other side, waiting for her customary breakfast-in-bed to appear.

The wake up calls arrives soon enough, with cool, dewy leaves and the green. Brisk yet resinous notes of galbanum, cypress and frankincense emerge, and take the edge of whatever you might have thought was too flowery.

Hothouse Flower is rather light for the big floral that it represents. It is very long lasting, however, with lingering light floral notes and clean musk and hints of greenery, not unlike the dryout of Balmy Days and Sundays.

Notes (according to Ineke's press release) include rather unusual pairings for gardenia: earl grey tea, green foliage, cypress, absinthe, gardenia, galbanum, fig, frankincense, guaiacwood, musk and corn silk.

* If you purchased a full bottle from Ineke's website in the past, you will receive a sample of Hothouse Flower in the mail in mid/late August. All the more reason for you to get your favourite scent now! And if you're unfamiliar with the line, order their deluxe sample collection, which will also entitle you to a Hothouse Flower sample once they come out in August!

Visit to Ineke's Garden - July 6th

Thursday night, after an afternoon in Golden Gate park with Lisa's family (mostly at the famous Japanese Tea Gardens), I went to meet Ineke & Bill for dinner at Zazie's, where we indulged on grilled Mission figs. As we sat down, I could detect a heady floral note, that reminded me a bit of Ineke's Angel's Trumpet accord. Before short, and way before we could decide what to order, I found myself sniffing a world-premiere of not just one but two perfumes that Ineke will be launching this year. The first one is Hothouse Flower, a green and creamy gardenia which you may have heard of, and was available at the Salon. The second was still a secret, otherwise I would have began my praise before any delay. All I will say for now is that it's absolutely lovely!



It's always been my dream to visit Ineke's garden, which is a source of inspiration to all of her perfumes - and although it was dusk (hence the very poor quality of the photographs, my apologies!) it was very enjoyable and inspiring. The garden is so pretty and well designed (by Ineke) and tended by Bill (who's got the green thumbs). I also got to meet their two adorable dogs, who seem to enjoy the garden as well.

So imagine my delight when smelling the tobacco flower (Nicotiana fragrans - see image above), and discovering all the other lovely flowering plants they collect: Poet's Jasmine
Sweet William (a type of carnation, and the next installation in the Floral Curiosities for Anthropologie), Angel's Trumpet, Osmanthus and Midnight Candy (used in Evenings Edged in Gold), Tobacco Flower (used in Field Notes From Paris), Goldband Lily (Gilded Lily) Honeysuckle, Star Jasmine, Lilac and Heliotrope (appear in After My Own Heart), Magnolia - and, last but not least: inside of Ineke's studio, there was a whole Gardenia bush, which she brought in especially for designing her newest perfume: Hothouse Flower (review of this will follow shortly).


I also was privy to the very new purse-sized atomizers that will be launched by the holidays for "Floral Curiosities" line for Anthropologie. These are beautiful travel-sized interpretation of Ineke's signature bottle, and are encased in a book-shaped box: how very appropriate for Ineke's story-telling style.


Tagetes (Marigold) was strangely the plant that left the strongest impression on me. It was a full-grown bush, and very fragrant. Leaves and flower smelled alike: fruity, like fresh green apples, dabbed with citrus and almost chocolate-like undertones. Quite luscious, actually. It would make a very unusual theme for a perfume, for whomever dares to take it on.


Mock Orange Flower


Datura (Angel's Trumpet), whose accord Ineke replicated and used in her perfume Evenings Edged in Gold, and also the main theme of Angel's Trumpet in the Floral Curiosities collection.

The most precious moment though was smelling the osmanthus, although only very few flowers were in bloom at the time I visited. But it smelled exactly like the incense my friend Noriko brought me back from Japan, which she says is the most dead-on imitation of the real flowers. She was right.


Ineke & Bill at their booth at the 1st Artisan Fragrance Salon in San Francisco, July 8th.

Smells of Summer, or Something Like That... + GIVEAWAY

Linden & Rain, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

It's been a lousy summer in Vancouver. There, I said it. Please don't hate me. July is almost over and we barely had a week and a half of descent weather. It's been rainy, cold, and even felt like October at times.

On the bright side, the linden blossoms are having an extra long blooming season. There are linden trees all around Vancouver, and usually they bloom in mid to late June. This year, they bloom from mid to late July, and probably will keep scenting the air well into August... Linden blossoms and rain... Mmm... And I'm now feeling inspired to work with the Linden Blossom CO2 that I got from Mandy Aftel when I visited her studio in Berkeley in late June. Wait - that was exactly a month from today!

So, no beach pictures to illustrate what should have been a cheerful "Best of Summer" type of article here on SmellyBlog. You'll just have to tough it out with this strange collage of linden blossom branch that I found on a wet newspaper stand last Saturday, as I was getting ready for my Orcas tea party. I brought the branch home to decorate the place, which turned out to be an innocent act of luring ants into my house... They simply love linden trees, and they love everything about my house. I should add "ant killer" (as well as "cacti killer") to my resume.

Even the rhubarb had a super short season (hardly even three weeks...!) so my new love of last summer is all forgotten, in hopes that it will return next year stronger and brighter, with its fabulous calone smell.

Today was the first day I actually sat in my porch and write while burning incense and drinking iced match latter that I fixed for myself instead of lunch. I've avoided my porch for months now, due to the horrific weather AND the roofers constantly scouring the area. There was one roofer peeking through my porch at one point, but I think I managed to scare him away, simply by taking him by surprise...

Thankfully, there were still lilacs (for a very short time) and the peonies this year were as pretty as ever. The roses, on the other hand, don't seem to be doing too well this year... All of these are smells that I've learned to associate with summer in Vancouver. But, alas, as previous summer's memories are replaced by a new summer, for better or for worse - here's how my summer smells like:

Basil, Nectarines & Blueberries - better together, in a green salad.

Wild Salmon, which I've finally succumbed to eating after 13 years of lack-of-sun, abundance-of-rain. I was born and raised vegetarian, but now I eat local fish. And there's nothing better than BC's salmon (the smoked one is to die for).

Pinot Noir and other strange red wines I stumble upon when in Sonoma county. Like the fish, this is new to me, because the only wine I could somewhat enjoy till recently was white.

Sweet Peas, with whom I fell in love all over again after spotting a bouquet in a little antique shop in Graton.

Sugar Peas, which when grown properly (cold, wet summers make for ideal conditions), are the perfect beach snack, all on their own. They have a fragrant crisp green yet sweet smell. Not a substitute for green string beans (a summer favourite that I terribly miss and that have been absent because of the lack of sun and heat in BC to grow them).

Watermelon with Feta Cheese - well, when the local fruit is lacking (the cherries this year - also not so great...) - then there is no choice but to get some not so local fruit, and pair it with creamy, uber-salty Macedonia feta.

Perhaps I will just have to create my own summer, in a bottle... So here's a partial list, which I admit to be extremely biased as it mostly contains perfumes that I made myself, and most of them are more on the greener side (Orcas and Smiling Country and Grin body oil is how you should expect me to smell these days). What else can you wear in a summer with constant April showers?!

The others are made by other perfumer friends/colleagues of mine. In the light of the previous article, my sentiments towards handcrafted perfumes are becoming increasingly fonder.

Fleur No. 1 by 1000Flowers - green, delicate floral that begins boldly with galbanum and surprised with pine bud and narcissus absolute. At its base are quiet musks, moss and the haunting violet of alpha ionone.
But I must confess that even more than Fleur No.1 I was touched by another creation of Jessica Buchanan, which is not officially released except for among friends who are privy to this beautiful, all-natural concoction of white flowers and resinous base. It's very cheerful and sensual - so perfect for those rare hot days we're getting this summer...

Honey Blossom by Aftelier - bright, delicate floral focused on the tea-and-honey notes of organic linden blossom CO2.

Parfum Privé by Aftelier - with precious aromatic treasures such as beach harvested ambergris, osmanthus, orange flower and ambrette. I love its muskiness and overall rich roundness.

Le Parfum de Thérèse - basil, jasmine, melon and under-ripe plum - for me there's no summer without this masterpiece by Edmond Roudnitska.

Ineke's Angel's Trumpet from her new Floral Curiosities collection for Anthropologie - if it wasn't for Ineke I would have never paid attention to this curious plant - whose flowers turn into citrus candy heaven only after dark.

Incense Lily by Sonoma Scent Studio* - I understand this perfume has been out of production for a while, but I have a feeling that it will make a come back... Someone at Estee Lauder must have spied on Laurie when they created their Azuree de Soleil, because it's a dead ringer to that. Except that it's hand made with much care and love by Laurie Erickson.

Sombre Negra by Yosh - dark, smoky vetiver at its best.

What scents make your summer? Post a comment and enter to win a mini of Liz Zorn's Ankhara.
Draw will take place on Friday, August 5th.

Feng Shui for the Soul - Visiting Yosh + GIVEAWAY

There is a strange thing in the perfumers’ world: we don’t need any ice breakers. For those of us already familiar with each other’s work, it’s not uncommon for our first meeting to feel like reuniting with a long lost friend. Independent perfumers work in such isolated environment, that we seek each other’s companionship virtually and it is more often than never that before meeting one another, we have corresponded via email and exchanged samples of our work or raw materials in the mail.

Yosh's path and mine crossed when we discovered our mutual interest in spies. We both have perfumes that are inspired by this mysterious world – Yosh with her Ginger Ciao perfume (and fictional character…), and me with Espionage, both of which just so happen to be our best-sellers too! This was a few years ago, and I was thrilled when the opportunity finally struck to visit in San Francisco and that Yosh was not only available to meet me, but also graciously invited me to stay at her home AND throw a perfumers’ party especially for my spontaneous visit!

As soon as I arrived in San Francisco, I headed to Barneys to meet up with Yosh. I had very little time to spend with her, unfortunately, as the trip from SFO to downtown took longer than we anticipated, and also, I had a previous engagement with Mandy Aftel, of which I have just finished blogging about moments ago, so I was in a bit of a rush... We got briefly acquainted, and I got to see her lovely display at Barneys and meet the sweet people who work at the cosmetic and fragrance department there, not to return there until the next day to thoroughly explore what they have to offer in the word of scent.

I didn’t get to see Yosh again till a few hours later, at her home in a beautiful, old San Francisco building. Yosh must be a gifted feng-shui master (knowingly or not – I haven’t asked her), because the moment you enter her home, you feel welcome and comfortable. Just like the lady who inhabits it, it’s bubbling with life and so hospitable and at the same time very peaceful and serene.




When I arrived with Laurie Stern of Velvet & Sweetpea Purrfumery (who picked me up from Berkeley), Yosh’s home was full of perfumers and scent artists, gathered in her studio space around a table with many delicious treats that everybody brought and made, including beautiful salads that Yosh made, pretty red Velvet cupcakes, wine cheese, and Laurie brought an incredibly delicious plum & almond tart, and also gave me this beautiful honey she harvested from her own bees – I swear to you, it tastes a little rosy, they probably feed off geranium flowers!

Oh, and I almost forgot about the amazing homemade limoncello that Laurie brought - she made it from those HUGE variety of lemons that have very little pulp and very fragrant peel, and it tasted as if there was vanilla in it (but there was none - just lemon zest). Needless to say, it was the best limoncello I've ever had.

Among the guests were no other than Jeanne Rose - seasoned aromatherapist and herbalist, pioneer natural perfumer and world renown educator, and fellow Canadian independent perfumer Ineke Rühland and there was also a teacher from San Francisco . It was a fun surprise to meet in person Yuko Fukami from Parfum Phyto, who is who participated with me in the Midsummer’s Night Dream Scent Event, and I got to smell her creation Dreams – a delicate perfume with sweet osmanthus and an overall subtle powdery fruitiness. She also makes Neriko (Japanese kneaded incense, which is similar to kyphi), so our interests are not limited to perfume alone and I’m hoping to see her this week when she’s visiting in Vancouver! Another surprise was meeting artist Bruno Fazzolari
and finding out that he teaches a full term perfume course at the California College of Art.

Velvet & Sweetpea's Honey, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

Ineke brought out no less than four (!) new perfumes that she's working on to show us, and we all marveled at the beautiful packaging design and tried them on. They were all floral and pretty and inspired greatly by her beautiful garden, and quite different in concept than her abecedary collection. And I shared my last few scented chocolate bars and showed my little traveling perfume wardrobe of recent and upcoming creations such as Smiling Country, New Orleans and Oras, and a couple of other scents that won’t be released till 2012. It was a true perfume party, and there were even more perfumers in the room than there were in the party I was at in Grasse in 2009. San Francisco seems to be buzzing with creative independent perfumers that collect scents like bees do with pollen…

And despite the fact that we are all technically speaking “competitors” there was no sense of that word in the air, but the opposite – a sense of community, and one that is very supportive, inspiring and encouraging. We ran ideas about anything to do with raw materials, packaging, marketing and creative process and enjoyed every moment of it. The last of us partied till the wee hours of the night, which seemed almost effortless, despite the fact that I woke up before 3am that day to catch my early morning flight…

The next morning we woke up early enough to get some things done, but late enough to not feel exhausted; Yosh fixed up the most delicious breakfast of granola, yogurt and fresh ripe peach; and than showed me some of her perfumes.


I was instantly smitten with Yosh’s newest perfume (launched at the end of 2010), Sombre Negra – a dark, woody and spicy-warm dusky vetiver, accented with patchouli, tobacco, choya loban opoponax oakmoss, davana, pink pepper and mushroom. Experiencing this very “serious” perfume was of course contrasted with Yosh’s sense of humour as she sprayed it on a “moustache” – her funny invention of scent “strip” that makes you look as if you’ve just grown a Groucho Marx moustache every time you smell something…


Than I set off to Barneys by Union Square (the photograph you see is of her beautiful display there, of both her parfum oils in the flacons, and the new EDP spray bottles, which have invisible spray tubes – ever so elegant!), before I headed to my ultimate destination – Sonoma County.

Last but not least - what is your favourite Yosh perfume, or any perfume from the San Francisco perfumers mentioned in this article, and enter to win Ineke's Vol. 2 deluxe sample collection (of her first 5 perfumes).

* Photos courtesy and copyright of Yosh Han, unless stated otherwise.

P.s. All these events took place June 29-30, and recounted after I got safely back to my home in Vancouver :-)

Gilded Lily

Gilded Lily walks the strange path the flickers between spring and fall, modern and old-fashioned. It has the elements of a modern, screechy floral on the one end, amplified with tart ambiguous fruity notes (rhubarb and pineapple) and an earthy, warm and slightly balsamic Chypre. It reminds me of the bright floral chypres Jour Ensoleillé (Sonoma Scent Studio) and Tiare (Ormonde Jayne). But of course, coming from a different perfumer, it has a personality all of its own.

What makes Gilded Lily refreshing is its non-cloying playfulness. The particular choice of notes - sharp, crisp and bright fruity top notes sets it apart from the modern fruity chypre genre. So it makes a refreshing contrast in comparison to the sickeningly sweet berry and cough syrup notes found in the ever so popular "fruitchouli" genre that was designed to replace real chypres. And unlike so many other so-called chypre, it actually has oakmoss and labdanum in detectable proportions. These notes make an appearance about half an hour into the show. There is the bitter-green saltiness of oakmoss and genuine vetiver, and last but not least and quite surprising in comparison to the brisk opening: patchouli and labdanum with a balsamic, earthy sweetness, and a Miss-Dior-like familiarity that is rare in new perfumes.

If it wasn't for the suggestive bright red glass bottle, I would have never thought of rhubarb in association with this. Peppery elemi and acidic grapefruit remind me of the playful Si Lolita that captured my heart last winter. But this never gets quite nearly as gourmand and powdery. They cuts through the sweetness of the lily and add an interesting sharp edge.

The Japanese goldband lily accord at the heart of the perfume is quite subtle, especially considering that it is the inspiration for this perfume. It's fascinating to see this collection become more versatile, with warmer, richer and more natural bases in the last two perfume (see Field Notes from Paris) in contrast to the very light, musk-base of the first four. Between the elemi, the tart illusion of freshly-sliced rhubarb note and the tried-and-true chypre base, Gilded Lily might turn out to be quite addictive... In the far dry out, the labdanum dissipates completely, leaving only the driest and woodiest nuances (oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver and a hint of clean dry musk) to prevail.

Top notes: Pineapple, Rhubarb, Elemi, Grapefruit
Heart notes: Japanese Goldband Lily
Base notes: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Labdanum, Patchouli

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Gilded Lily - New Perfume from Ineke

My friend and collegue Ineke in San Francisco has just informed me of her new perfume to be launched September 2010, titled Gilded Lily. Intrigued by the Goldband Lily of Japan (Lilium aurantium), which is now the basis for many of the modern lily hybrids.

Gilded Lily is a fruity Chypre, with top notes of pineapple and rhubabr, heart notes of goldband lily, and a base of oakmoss, patchouli and amber. I will tell you more about it after I smell it.

Tobacco Bouquet

Any old weed will do, originally uploaded by aussiegall.

Trust Ineke to find a place for bright florals even in a dusky leathery-tobacco. Field Notes from Paris is a study of the tobacco concept from head to toe, leaves and flowers included. This take gives it more of an American character, which is the origin of the plant, no matter how much of it is smoked in Parisian cafes… To me, it illustrates the life of the plant from growing in the sunshine, being harvested, hanging the leaves to cure and flavour, and finally enjoyed as a guilty pleasure once burnt and smoked to the last puff from a fragrant cigar.

Orange blossom is the star of the show at first, bright and with lavender and rosewood side-kicks it’s almost squeaky clean and with a strong masculine reference. Crushed coriander seeds notes are effervescent and floral but add a hint of dirty woodsy spiciness along with roasted coffee nuances. There is also a distinct fruitiness right from the beginning that smells like davana to me, even though it is not listed in the notes. It could very well be the tobacco flower note, which I can't recall ever smelling - but is described by the expert (Stephen Arctander) as having a scent "somewhat similar to carnation with a fresher note, almost fruity".

As Field Notes from Paris develops on the skin, it becomes more warm, woodsy, full bodied and little tannin with notes of dry cedarwood and patchouli, polished by pollen-like beeswax absolute and the pipe-tobacco flavouring note of tonka bean. The tannins become more apparent in the final dry down, as the cure tobacco leaf, leather and patchouli notes take over, sweetened and softened by vanilla bean and the powderiness of the tonka.

Previous post about Field Notes from Paris includes information about the perfume's inspiration and notes. I would only add that this is the most warm and complex fragrance from the line so far, even more than Evening Edged in Gold and it is my favourite next to After My Own Heart. But there are still a few more letters in the alphabet to cover before we get to know Ineke's full potential...

The scent is available directly via Ineke's website.

Field Notes from Paris

Come late September, Ineke in San Francisco is due to launch her next fragrance in her alphabetical fragrant anthology, Field Notes from Paris.

Ineke Ruhland, the perfumer and founder of Ineke Perfumes has studied and worked in France before establishing her independent perfumery in San Francisco. Her "F" installation in her alphabetical perfume collection is nostaligic nod to her days of studying in Versailles and living in Paris. Those who visited the city know that every cafe smells not just of coffee but also of tobacco smoke of all sorts. The notes Ineke used in this perfume to capture the mood of sitting in a Parisian cafe in the afternoon are:

Top notes:
Coriander seed, Orange Flower, Bergamot

Heart notes:
Tobacco Flower & Leaf, Patchouli, Cedar

Base notes:
Tonka Bean, Leather, Beeswax, Vanilla

If you are curious about smelling it - you may be pleased to hear that all purchasers of the current Deluxe Sample Collection Volume 2 from Ineke's website will automatically receive a sample of Field Notes from Paris when it is available. Also, one of the first bottles of Field Notes from Paris will be part of a drawing at Takashimaya during Fashions Night Out on September 10th.

More later closer to the launch.

Ineke's Garden

Angel's Trumpet, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

It was a cold-gray-wet mid-November day in 2007. Ineke and I sat at the Starbucks across from Vancouver Public Library (the main branch, which Moshe Safdie has humorously designed to resemble the Colosseum and give my city an imposed air of culture). This was my first time smelling Evening Edged in Gold and my immediate reaction was that of familiarity. I couldn't quite pinpoint it at the context, so Ineke mentioned the influence of the grand woody-floriental scents from the 90's - Feminite du Bois and Dolce Vita, both with a pronounced cedarwood and fruity notes.

Months later, Ineke kindly sent me a sample of her new opus (by the way - Ineke has a new and beautifully packaged sampler set, with all her 5 fragrances, titled “Volume 2” and meticulously wrapped and packaged in their miniature matchbox-like case within a larger drawer-type box), as well as the three floral bases used in the perfume. Two of the bases are ones that Ineke has created “from scratch” so to speak, using flowering plants in her garden as a reference and inspiration.

Although these floral bases play a modest role in the formulation percentage-wise (the woody and musky notes play a more dominant role here, accounting for more than half of the composition), they sure are what sets Evening Edged in Gold apart from, say, Dolce Vita and Samsara.

The Angel’s Trumpet (aka Datura) base is reminiscent of lilies and reminds me greatly of the lily-and-orange blossom saturated Lys Mediteranee, yet with a far more pronounced lily-of-the-valley note (most likely from Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol and other muguet molecules).

The Midnight Candy base is a lot less floral that I expected it to be and smells very candy-like indeed, and has a dusky, smooth ripe-plum-like texture which goes very well with the more complex, apricoty-osmanthus base (Ineke used both osamnthus absolute and an osmanthus base for Evening Edged in Gold - I have to say I personally prefer the absolute as it is).

The Angel’s Trumpet I’ve taken pictures of (see above) did not have much of a fragrance (at least not in broad daylight). Keep in mind that I've met in in mid-day; according to Bill (Ineke's husband and business partner), it is at night time when the flower releases it's lily-like scent into the air, and the yellow variety is the one to look for (the bush I've found being peach coloured may not be as fragrant but I'm bound to check out if it's still in bloom this very evening).

Midnight Candy is the flower that “stars” in this fragrance’s packaging. Unfortunately, I haven’t smelled it either. Again, according to Bill this finicky dusky flower will only show off its olfactory capabilities on a hot day after 4pm. In a cooler day it won't be as generous sharing its fragrance. I am very curious to hear if any of you who have tried Evening Edged in Gold are familiar with these two fragrant flowers and could “find” them within Ineke’s perfume. I would love to hear from you more about the plant inspiration for this perfume.

Zaluzianskya capensis. Midnigth Candy. (Nattstjerne-balsam), originally uploaded by Tess_.

Interesting Read: Interview with Ineke Ruhland

Visit Basenotes to read an interesting interview with San-Franciscan/Canadian perfumer Ineke Ruhland. Ineke is about to launch her new perfume, Evening Edged in Gold, thus adding the letter "E" to her fragrant abecedary anthology...

While still inspired mostly by her garden (this time the flowers of Angel's Trumpet and Midnight Candy), Evening Edged in Gold is meant to be a heavier and sweeter scent than the spring/summery breeze of the rest of the collection - with notes of Golden Osmanthus, Plum, Angel's Trumpet and Midnight Candy and a base of Saffron, Leather and Woods.

Ineke talks about her inspiration, about her perfumery school, and also raises the question - which perfumes are better, the modern ones or the perfumes of yesteryear? Here is a quote:

"Many perfumers cite travels as their main inspiration, but that doesn’t tend to work for me in a direct sense. When I visit a new city, the first things I tend to see are the botanical garden and modern art museum, so perhaps it does work in an indirect sense. I’m also not big on food inspirations, or using historical perfume references. At ISIPCA, we had the historical collection of the Osmothèque stored in the basement and were constantly smelling the classics, but I always had a hard time getting past the density of older compositions, not to mention the prevalent use of civet! I’m not very sentimental about the past, tending to be rooted in the present in terms of my fragrance preferences. I actually think that perfumers today are much more talented and technically proficient than perfumers of the past, and I’m very grateful that we have a multiplicity of raw materials available to us that didn’t even exist fifty years ago."

I would be very much interested to hear what Smellyblog readers have to say about this. Feel free to share your insights by adding a comment.

Balmy Days and Sundays

The first thing that crossed my mind this morning as I thought of Balmy Days and Sundays was a walk in an herb garden in an early summer morning, picking spearmint leaves, all the while getting my barefeet all wet on the freshly-cut green grass. Only moments later, the kettle is whistling. As the first sun rays hit the concrete floor of my balcony, my feet start drying and warming up a bit, and so do my hands holding a cup of fresh spearmint tisane sweetened with honey.

It’s my day off, and once the grass dries a bit, I will lay on my back on the grass and let my closing eyes gaze at the warm of the sun. The grass is humming with secret activity: little ants carrying their loot to the nest, bees above hoarding the honeysuckle nectar, and an exhibitionist butterfly poses right in front of me showing off its graceful white wings.

Balmy Days and Sundays is a particularly charming green fragrance, as it combines the the effervescent sparkle of greens alongside a calm warmth. The minty notes offer this contrast on their own, but also the choice of sweet florals paired with grass (rather than the traditional and often cool and sharp jasmine and rose paired with galbanum and orris that are usually found in green compositions), adds to the experience of a summer garden: refreshingly luscious and sun-warmed, a sensual delight to both eyes, skin and nose...
Balmy Days and Sundays starts with a "B" and is the second installation in Ineke’s ABC’s (or a chapter in her olfactory book, if you will).
This is purely a scent for those who love gardening and everything about it, and having met Ineke in person, and learned that she does indeed love gardening, the first two perfumes in her collection make even more sense than ever: the lady likes everything fresh and

Balmy Days and Sundays opens with the sweet greenery of fresh-cut grass and sweet warmth of mint, moves to a heart that is a heady floral (I smell mostly freesia and lily of the valley, but the perfumer also lists honeysuckle, rose and mimosa). The base is somewhat powdery with musk and moss, and like After My Own Heart (and the rest of Ineke’s line), is subtle and clean, yet in a non-sterile manner (think the musk of Lovely). The top notes and the heart notes definitely steal the show here.

The fragrance notes, according to the perfumer’s website, include:

Top notes: Freesia, Leafy Greens, Grass
Heart notes: Honeysuckle, Rose, Mimosa
Base notes: Chypre Accent, Musk

I am not usually in the habit of using the “marketed” images of fragrances (which are too often imposed and pretentious) but in this particular case I think the images so accurately portray the scent, and are so non-pretentious, that I feel it is necessary to use them to give an accurate picture of the perfumer’s intentions, and the same goes for her own words to describe the scent – the little poems or stories that accompany the packaging – from the outer box (and website) to the actual bottles, which is printed with lovely delicate details, words and symbols. When the perfumer-creator is the one responsible for every stage of the process, you get results that are not only stunningly beautiful, but also genuine. And that makes all the difference to me, not to mention that in this case the perfumer is a perfectionist who has an utter sense of visual and conceptual aesthetics besides her olfactory sensibilities.

I may not see the same garden in my mind as Ineke's, but the olfactory impressions and visual and tactile connotations are crystal clear. The mood of a sunny garden is created here, and you just need to step into your own favourite when you smell it. I am very curious to read the next chapters in Ineke's book...

P.s. if you liked Herba Fresca, you are most like to enjoy this one. But also, if you liked some things about Herba Fresca, but found the grass notes there too harsh and the base too chemical, you might find that Balmy Days and Sundays is a more mellow impression of a summer garden (minus the intense citrus notes of Herba Fresca though).

After My Own Heart

I spent the weekend in Jerusalem, and on my Friday’s twilight stroll, I found a bush of lilac in full bloom. The scent of fresh lilacs is dreamy yet also awakening with its subtle green twig nuances. The delicate aroma of the lilac branch I picked ealier, as well as my reunion with my lilac-lover friend Zohar made me crave a spritz of Ineke’s After My Own Heart.

Ineke’s perfumes, unlike their longish titles, are minimalist and calculated. The lilac-bouquet named After My Own Heart is an alphabetized representation of the emotion of longing and romance: a burst of lilac flowers, twigs and all, softly brushing against a blushing cheek in an anticipation for caressing kiss. A promise of love, the buds of passion invoked by hints of indole (I detect distant jasmine and cassie here...) and the luscious juice dripping off freshly picked raspberries. As the crushed twigs and rubbed petals lose their freshness, they make room for rosy and powdery accords, gradually sweetening into a dry out of musk, vanilla and heliotrope.

Lilac perfumes, and particularly ones that capture the imagination as well as the scent of these delicate flowers are sparse and few. Lilac absolute, if it can at all be obtained, is not at all comparable to that of the fresh flowers. Therefore lilac perfumes relay heavily on the use of synthetic compounds that reconstruct the aroma of the fresh living flowers, usually by the means of the headspace technique*. The challenge with lilac as with other flowers that don’t yield themselves well to distillation is to create a genuine impression of the flower that does not feel too artificial and imposed. I’ve smelled this happen with Olivia Giacobettie’s En Passant, where the lilac is chilling, powdery and reminiscent of the blooming twigs and crushed leaves on a foggy day. Ineke Ruhland’s After My Own Heart gives lilac a different interpretation, less abstract and aloof than En Passant. It’s a romantic, dreamy lilac, creating a fleeting yet sensual presence of petals, powder, fruit and musk.

I'd like to conclude with the "transcript" of the little poem in the image above (from Ineke's website):

After and before
Today and tomorrow
Sand becoming a wave
What was it I saw at the top of the world
as I fell asleep last night?
I tried putting lilacs in your dreams
You smiled in your sleep
I hear your words like the wind
whispering in my ear
the most enchanting words
after my own heart

* According to Bojensen.net, nowadays, lilac is often produced with the headspace technique. (E)-ocimene is the most dominant in the makeup of the scent, yet it is the furanoid terpene aldehyde , AKA lilac aldehyde, benzyl methyl ether,
1,4-dimethoxybenzene (hydroquinone dimethyl ether) and indole which give lilac is characteristic odour. The other important odorants which give lilac its characteristic smell. Benzyl methyl ether has an intense fruity-etheral scent which is reminiscent of the top notes of ylang ylang. Lilac headspace also contains minute amounts of anisaldehyde, 8-oxolinalool, cinnamic alcohol and elemicin.

** To read another review of After My Own Heart, visit Legerdenez