Smells Like Canada, 2013 Edition...

Happy Canada Day!

Last year I did a little post and giveaway for Canada Day, which was spontaneous and completely improvised... Today I'm preoccupied with teaching my Floriental week-long intensive course, so I'll keep it short.

 I'd like to add a few more smells to the growing list of Canadian odours I'm fond of and sentimental about:

Artemisia:
Artemisia is the true (Latin) name of what most refer to as "sage". This sacred plant is burnt by the First Nations of Canada at the beginning of rituals to clear space of all negative energy. I begin with this unique plant as a gesture to the original people of this country and as a gesture for healing for the many wounds that the Europeans have inflicted on them ever since landing in the "New World". The local "Sage" has an overwhelmingly intoxicating aroma (wormwood is the only comparison I can make - and technically it IS wormwood). Tannin, acrid, full of ketones and strongly herbaceous and medicinal-bitter. That should make all the negative stuff go away, for sure. 

Elderflower: 
Elderflowers have became an annual obsession last year, when I made cordial for the first time from flowers I bought at the farmers' market; followed by a few more batches of cordial and tinctures from wild-foraged flowers. Their scent has a unique character, simultaneously fruity-berry-like (cassis comes to mind) as well as honeyed-floral and slightly green. If you missed the foraging season, try buying dry flowers and mixing them with osmanthus. Also, Shaktea's Elderlower Cantaloupe Tea is spectacular (green darjeeling with elderflowers, cantaloupe, rhubarb and other botanicals). It makes a fantastic iced tea as well.

Juniper and Canadian Gin:
Juniper are a quintessential foresty scent that is unique as it is not just a straighforward coniferous scent; but also woodsy and spicy at the same time, with a clean and elegant appeal. 
A few years ago, the most exotic gin you can get was Tanquary Ten and Hedricks' Gin. This week, I was pleasantly surprised to find the shelves at the liquor store brimming with local offerings, including oak-aged gin from Vancouver Island, and this particularly strange number, Ungava gin, featuring arctic botanicals such as Nordic juniper berries, rose hips, Labrador tea, cloudberry, crowberry and an "arctic blend" of secret botanicals. It has a beautiful bright yellow colour, and goes well with elderflower liquor, bitters or cordial to make a very refreshing and Canadian-forest like cocktail!

Red Cedarwood:
Nothing says "Pacific Northwest" better than red cedar (also known as cherry cedar). The oil is hard to come by, and is a little harsh and intensely smoky, but also got some interesting fruity-berry nuances that are not unlike cherries. It also strangely reminds me of the Canadian whiskey, Crown Royal: Burning yet sweet.


Castoreum:
Castoreum is probably one of Canada's most important contribution to the world of perfumery. It goes oh so well with birch, another Canadian tree reminiscent of wintergreen, and that can be produced into "birch tar" by destructive distillation.
 Douglas Fir:
Douglas fir is a uniquely fragrant tree, also special for the Pacific Northwest. Its needles are deliciously packed with vitamin C and can be added to your drinking water for an added tangerine-like flavour, and - vitamin C. In the springtime, pick the new buds that are as soft as silk tassels. Dry them and prepare a sweet and sour citrusy wild tea. It's also wonderful blended with jasmine tea, which reminds me of my perfume Fetish (the perfume features the deliciously jam-like balsam fir absolute).

Rhubarb:
Sliced rhubarb reminds me of the ocean and ozone and it is ever so refreshing with its sour crunch. Also a recent discovery of mine (and I'm sure the plant is not unique to Canada but also is ever so popular all across North America); but to me it's as distinctively Canadian as cranberry and maple.

Tobacco:
Also a sacred plant to the First Nations, Tobacco was used for healing and for the famous "Peace Pipe". It's use in perfumery is limited, but it makes its mark in the Chypre-Tobacco category and in Leathery perfumes. Also will go well with the abovementioned birch.

Leave a comment with more ideas for what smells like Canada (and Native American botanicals of significance), and enter to win a mini of Immortelle l'Amour - which is about as Canadian as it can get, reminiscent of maple syrup poured over hot cinnamon waffles!

Canadian Perfumers: Conversation with Jessica September Buchanan

Canadian Perfumers, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

The following will be the first in a short series of conversations with Canadian perfumers (there are far and few of us). I met Jessica September Buchanan in Grasse in May 2009. It was one of those rare "Facebook moments": I came back from the rose fields, and found several friendship requests from Spanish people I've never met before, and had a message at the front desk from a Jessica, whom I just learned that week was a student who just completed her full year course at the institute where I was attending a week-long course - and happened to be from British Columbia. A rare coincidence.

A day or two later of attempts to bypass the limitations of roaming charges and weak wi-fi connections, we finally were able to make a Skype conversation and arranged to connect in person, a night before my course was over. I walked up to her apartment - the top floor in an old building (well, pretty much everything in Grasse is rather old), met her friend who just took the train in that day from Italy, had a glass of vino, sniffed some vintage molecules that are no longer allowed to be used in production - dabbed some perfume, and left for the party.

It was a barbecue garden party that took place at a perfumer friend of Jessica, who worked at the naturals department of a supplier house. His house was part of a newly renovated compound that used to be an old perfumery with chimney and all. The moment I met him, I realized he was actually a Facebook friend: non other than Pierre Bénard of Osmoart. As well as nearly all 20 or so guests at the parties, who were mostly students from the flavour & fragrance program in the university of Barcelona... Now all the Facebook action made sense!

Jessica and I remained friends ever since, and we try to meet whenever we happen to be in the same city, which does not happen often enough. I will always remember that night, walking through the narrow and winding stone-paved streets of Grasse - Jessica enveloped in a fine mist of Après l'Ondée
and me with my fresh-from-the-studio Hanami, which I just launched in Los Angeles the previous month. Jessica's love of violet is not limited to classic Guerlains -but is also evident in most of the work I've experienced: ionones are an accent in her Reglisse Noir, and wild violets inspired Fleur No 1.

It is a pleasure and an honour to have Jessica September Buchanan as a guest on SmellyBlog for a rare perfumer-to-perfumer conversation that touches on influences, identity, raw materials, and the long process of birthing an indie brand in a world full of the opposite.
 
Ayala Moriel (SmellyBlog): How did a Canadian nature girl like you end up in the French Côte d'Azur?

Jessica September Buchanan (1000Flowers): Initially I came here with the intention to stay for only one year, while I attended the Grasse Institute of Perfumery.  But then I became quite smitten with the climate and the magic of the place.  Then I also had the dilemma of loving both here and Canada, and feeling somewhat torn as to where I wanted to be. (the true sensation of having a foot in two different worlds). I decided on Grasse, since I thought it would be beneficial for the identity of my business.

Ayala: Torn between two worlds is a feeling I can relate to, being born here but raised in Israel - two completely different environments, from both climate and people's temperament and culture. Do you feel that your perfumery style or themes were affected by the change of scenery?

Jessica: Yes, so you understand completely.  And you chose Canada, rather than your birth country... and I ended up choosing France, rather than my birth country.  There is so much more to learn from a culture other than our own.

Ayala: I was actually not born in Israel, but in Montreal... Being raised there made moving back to Canada feel the same as immigrating, except for the paperwork. I still relate this entire experience as a journey...Over 14 years long, but who is counting? ;-)

When did you start 1000Flowers? How did you pick the name?

Jessica: Initially I started my company in 1998, and it was called Matricaria Plant Essences.  I began with a collection of pure essential oils and several skin care products that I created. (Rain Gel, Mexican Cleansing Grains, and a body oil.)
In 2002, I had a conversation with a Vedic astrologer, and a Sanskrit word kept coming up that translated as 1000 flowers, or 1000 plants, or 1000 medicines.  I was quite smitten with this, and after about a week of reflection, I decided to change my company name.  Soon thereafter, I also incorporated under the same name.

Ayala: That's beautiful and serendipitous - especially with your background of using plants for healing (aromatherapy). And I can't help but asking - are you aspiring to make 1000 perfumes for the line? Or incorporate 1000 of them into your formula? 

Jessica: That is something I've joked about with friends... But I think that may be a bit too ambitious! I think it will remain mostly symbolic in the name... But who knows... We'll have to see how many perfumes I have created by the end of my life!
 
Ayala: What inspires you?  

Jessica: Nature. Love. The sea, the forest, plants, flowers.  Also, certain artists - Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Margaret Mackintosh, for example. I love the aesthetics of design, and find inspiration all around me in that regard. I am also inspired by certain perfumes... It is pleasing to smell creations that are balanced and well-constructed with fine materials.

Ayala: Is it true that you designed your own logo and packaging? How do you manage to do all this alone? And do you think there is an advantage to full creative control, or do you sometimes feel the need to "step back" and let someone else handle an aspect of running 1000Flowers (i.e.: marketing, packaging or even just the bookkeeping)?

Jessica: I originally had a graphic designer do a branding project for me.  We worked closely together and she designed the logo and the round seal that is on my website.  Since then, I learned the Adobe Creative Suite, and simply work within the structures that are already there.  Any photography (on my site etc.) are my own.  I enjoy immensely graphic design and photography.

Ayala: What is your vision for 1000Flowers as a brand and a business? 

Jessica: My vision is to develop the brand, and eventually to open a boutique that embodies the identity visually as well as ethically of what 1000 Flowers stands for.  This includes simple and elegant beauty (black, white and grey), and fragrances (based on precious natural materials), that translate my personal expression of the art of perfumery.

In the meantime, I just launched two new fragrances, and have several more in development.  I am working to expand the collection to offer more choices from the brand for perfume enthusiasts.
I am also beginning to offer the service of fragrance design for other companies. 

Ayala: Tell me more about your upcoming scents! I know that Fleur No. 1 is inspired by the spring and snow melting on the mountains of interior British Columbia. Do you find yourself inspired by your current Mediterranean surrounding? 

Jessica: The two new scents are called Love is Sweet, and Ode for Him. They are actually inspired by a love story.  They are an ode to love... it's a personal story as well as an exploration of love and relationships in general.  I wanted to offer an idea that was uplifting and positive.  The world these days needs more of this.

Ayala: Love is always a relevant topic. And especially at this day and age - I feel many of us need a reminder of the sweet part of it. So many of us are left only with the bitter aftertaste when it ends, or forget to appreciate it if it turns into a long-lasting domestic relationship. Thanks for taking that role!

Jessica: I also got a hold of some real oud, so as much as it is a material that has already been explored in many fragrances, I was inspired by such a magical material.  I decided to create an 'Aromatic oud', so a bit different than the usual themes. I suppose this was the touch of Mediterranean influence in the sense that herbs are such a part of this region. 

Also, I have an amazing vanillin isolate, and fell in love with a molecular distillation of patchouli.  So with these materials that I was in love with, I set out to create two fragrances around them-  a pair.  Therefore Love is Sweet is built on vanilla and patchouli, with notes of violets (natural ionones), and rose. It is quite rich and is meant to be reminiscent of more vintage and romantic fragrances.

Ayala: You keep coming back to these violets!
Regarding oud, it’s overdone marketing wise, but the possibilities are not even close to being exploited from the creative perfumery point of view. I’ve been working on an oud fragrance for years now, that is in conjunction with less-well-traveled notes, and although I’m very far from being satisfied with the outcome so far - it’s a worthy journey to travel. I think it’s very befitting that you chose Mediteranean herbs to go with the oud. It is so popular in Arabia, and the herbs are certainly what characterizes the natural aroma of the region's hillsides - aka garrigue.

Jessica: In regard specifically to the Mediterranean, there are so many things that inspire here.  There are flowers blooming from February onward.  The hills covered in mimosa trees in full bloom, the banks of stone walls covered in purple wisteria (or later in summer, jasmine), the citrus trees in blossom, the wild lavender and thyme....etc etc.  It is quite amazing.

Ayala: I adore wisteria! I just smelled white wisteria recently in my visit to Berkeley. Yuko Fukami brought some to the Perfumer's Afternoon Tea and it's stunning! And I will never forget the wisterias in Versailles's gardens.
Orange blossoms are a great inspiration for me and evoke spring more than anything else (see Zohar). And I'll never forget picking mimosas from the side of the highway to Tel Aviv visiting my grandma. It was her favourite flower.

Now on to a question I'm frequently asked by my customers: What's in a name?
And more specifically - are your upcoming perfumes going to be named Fleur No. 2, 3, etc. till 1000? Or will they be more evocative of a personal story like Reglisse Noire is?

Jessica: I think each perfume wile quite different.  I had thought about doing a series to follow Fleur No 1, yes.  And that idea is still active.  I think each fragrance will be quite different and each will have a personal story.

Ayala: What are the challenges you are facing being an independent perfumer in the French industry?

Jessica: The main challenge is that the French population is not really interested in small, relatively unknown brands.  They are accustomed to, and highly value their own known luxury brands, and don’t really step outside the box so much.  They are quite traditional and do not have the sense of adventure that we have in North America, or even in other European countries for that matter.

Ayala: It's true - and especially on the West Coast, the independence and freedom is apparent in the flourishing and thriving movement of independent perfumers-creators. Some even openly call themselves "underground" or "outlaws" in the sense that they are putting the art first and IFRA standards at the bottom of their priority list. Pretty much the opposite of what's happening in Europe.
How are you planning to overcome that?

Jessica: I am not limited geographically thankfully.  Since I sell online, there is no limit.  However, my niche here in France, is that I am a trained perfumer, and I speak English.  So other opportunities are opening up.



Ayala: There is something to be said about the internet. It gives a lot of flexibility and freedom, and opens up the path to very specialized niche audiences in faraway lands.
At the same time - it’s great to hear that Grasse is opening new opportunities for you locally! What are the other advantages in being in Grasse? 

Jessica: The advantages are of course, direct access to the best raw materials, both natural and man-made.  As well, of course, the reputation and mystique of Grasse is important for my brand.  But I think, in relation to actual sales, my market is not here.  That said, there is endless inspiration here in the form of a real perfume tradition with many perfumers and people who work in various facets of the industry, so that offers a real richness professionally.

Ayala: I want to hear more about new raw materials you found in Grasse! Anything exotic or unexpected? I recently smelled fresh Szechuan pepper essence and eucalyptus absolute and am completely in love! 

Jessica: Actually I haven't found anything really new here... other than perhaps Lentisque absolute- which is a shrub that grows here up in the mountains.  But other than that, the best part is that there are many producers here of the best lavenders, clary sage, etc.  So that in itself is wonderful.
That pepper essence sounds amazing!

Ayala: It is amazing! 
Note to our readers: Lentisque is the French name for mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), from which the gum “Mastic” is derived (used in desserts such as sahleb and ice creams as well as chewing the resin as it to freshen one’s breath). There is also an essential oil and absolute - which is a less-known as a perfumery note but definitely worth the attention: green crushed leaf fresh top notes with resinous-balsamic undertones. 

Do you feel that your perfumes have an identity - i.e.: Are they more "Canadian" or "French"? Are they more "natural" , "modern" or "old fashioned"? (just a few rather generic examples to be able to explain your brand a bit more).

Jessica: My fragrances are a fusion of French (due to my education and approach to creation), and Canadian, (in the way I use and gravitate to high proportions of natural raw materials and am deeply inspired by an awareness of health ‘west-coast style’).  They tend to be more in the vintage direction (again due to the naturals and due to my personal taste), but modern in the sense that I keep them quite uncomplicated.  As my collection of fragrances grows, I think that one will find that my style can be eclectic. Especially with the two fragrances that I am just about to launch.  One is a men’s fragrance, and it is leaning a little more in the modern direction due to some of the materials I have used to accent this effect.  As an independent, it is important to not completely exclude the commercial market if one is to survive.

In a general sense, my style is quite gentle and personal. I like the idea of fragrance staying close to the body and being an intimate experience where the wearer invites others in to experience their scent rather than intruding on others with aggressive scents. 

Ayala: How did your background in aromatherapy influence your choice of materials?

Jessica: My background in aromatherapy gave me an in-depth understanding of the naturals in relation to chemical structure, as well as to therapeutic effect and safety concerns.  I do adhere to IFRA (International Fragrance Association) guidelines, but even more, I keep in mind Aromatherapy safety guidelines, which are in fact, more stringent. 

As well, since I know the naturals so well, that I find them easier to work with.  More and more, I am experimenting with merging the different palettes, and learning the traditional art of modern perfumery integrating modern materials.  It is fascinating to write scent compositions with an ever-growing collection to draw from.  It is a life-long process of learning- and deeply challenging. (as much as it is rewarding).

Ayala: Tell me more about your learning experience in GIP. I also recently saw that you're teaching there - how exciting! 

Jessica: The year at GIP was amazing in so many ways.  Technically, the first 3 months were spent studying the raw materials. Then we began to look at actual creation, history, fragrance genealogy, etc.  It was very challenging and I learned a great deal about creation, as well as the industry.  As well, I did 2 internships in large traditional companies (Robertet and Mane), which were incredibly interesting.

Ayala: How exciting it must have been to do internships with these two influential supply houses. You must have learned a lot!

Jessica: As for teaching, I was invited to teach the advanced Natural Perfumery course in summer 2012, as well as a segment of the Level One courses for 2013.  I wrote the curriculum for the advanced level.   I based the course on the Jean Carles method of teaching/learning.  For a 5 day course, it was intensive.

I have also begun to teach a course in ASFO (the training center under the National Association of Fragrance Manufacturers (PRODAROM), that is designed for French who work in the perfume industry who want to learn the perfume vocabulary in English.  The first group to sign up for the course, include people who work in the flavour industry who want to learn more about fragrance, as well as a perfumer who simply wants to improve his english.  Mid-may I will be travelling one day per week to upper Provence to teach the same course in-house to the employees of a company who produces lavender, clary sage, and other essential oils.  I am very excited about this, as I will be able to see some countryside, (it is 3 hours by car from Grasse), and to make some contacts with a company like this directly.
Creating this course is really addressing an important need in this day and age where English is so important. The French are not strong in this language, and since I am trained in France in perfumery, and I speak English as my mother's tongue, I am able teach such a specialized niche course.

Ayala: Thanks so much, Jessica - and wishing you much success with the new teaching projects and the new perfumes!

For those of you who will leave a comment on this post - your name will be entered into a draw for samples of 1000Flowers' Reglisse Noir, Fleur No. 1 and Narcotic Flowers. If you like the descriptions of Ode For Him and Love Is Sweet - you'll just have to splurge on a full bottle (they are both now on special).

Another Forest Altogether...

From wandering in the forests of the Northwest to the jungles of tangled thoughts in my mind, I came up with a new idea. Something for an entirely different kind of forest: the one that some folks decide to grow on their faces.

Beards, I'm afraid to say, are one of my least favourite "things". Some men will even notice a drastic change in attitude if they decide to grow one around me. To my defense, this prejudice is from early conditioning that made me associate bearded men with all things evil. Some of us are just lucky this way...

In the meantime, 75% of the dearest men in my life (read: brothers) have decided to let go of their civilized look and let those wild whiskers grow all over their face, concealing their otherwise very handsome features. Thankfully their eyes are still there shining ever so brightly with religious zeal, and you can sorta make out their smiles too. Phew.

So, making peace with my demons (and with my brothers' rapidly growing beards), developing a beard oil seems like a healthy course of action. It's amazing that my therapist hasn't thought about it earlier. And maybe it will also catch on to the increasingly bearded culture that's prominent on the West Coast.

If you're growing a beard, you might as well keep it healthy and shiny and soft. Plus, now that you put all the manufacturers of razors, shaving creams and aftershaves out of business - you must contribute to the economy with a modified form of consumerism!

Beard oils are designed to take care of both the beard and the skin underneath it. Avoiding phenomenons such as bristly coarse hair, red blotches, flaky skin, and ingrown hairs. That's where beard oil can be useful: hair conditioner won't do the job for softening the hair, plus skin of the face is much more delicate and thin than the scalp. Beard oils are an easy, all-natural solution for conditioning and softening the hair while moisturizing the skin and keeping both healthy.

Fast absorbing oils that are rich in vitamins and anti-oxidants and have emollient properties are the best: avocado oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, apricot kernel oil, sesame oil and the more expensive jojoba and argan oil.

Essential oils that are beneficial for beard care are those which promote healthy growth of hair, while keeping the skin clean and balanced (i.e.: not too greasy, not too dry) and also take care of potneital in grown hairs in the growing-out phase: rosemary, lavender, cypress, lemon, and thyme (ct. linalol), rose geranium and cedarwood.

With that list of beneficial oils, and with my recent obsession with the forest - is it at all surprising that my first attempt at a beard oil formulation is redolent of the woods? It is now already at the testing phases, with 10 samples shipped out to beard-growing test subjects representing equally the hipster persuation and the Jewish faith, with a couple of just plain old bear lovers thrown in for good measure. The first feedback just came in by means of a phone call from an excited lady whose partner has been wearing it over the weekend to much satisfaction of both parties. Both report that it doesn't only work well, but also smells good!

If you like (or grow) a beard, I'd love to hear your ideas of how you'd like it to smell. And if you don't like a beard, I'd still like to hear your opinions too. If you have a beard and would like to be my test bunny please send me a private message. The beard oil will be released sometime in June for Father's Day.

Espionage Hot Chocolate

Espionage Hot Chocolate, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

After a long afternoon of learning how to make fresh pasta with Pasta Famiglia, I strolled over to the nearby Nymph East - the new location of CocoaNymph which opened this fall. It has all the old goodies but in a new fresh location that has great potential - including a regular offering of chocolate making workshops and a growing full-service cafe menu.

For the Hot Chocolate Festival (January 19 - February 14), CocoaNymph concocted a special limited edition beverage that shows Rachel Sawazky's skill and daring imagination: the Espionage hot chocolate, which is infused with jasmine essence and topped with juniper marshmallows. Like the chocolate bar we created together, it packs a punch, surprises the taste buds and stimulates the imagination.



Personally, I was reminded of the thick "Shokolada" that Maestro Secundus Minutius Hora poured out to Momo when she visited the heart of time. It's the kind of beverage that makes you stop in your track, contemplate, and savour every moment. Which is the key for happy living!

Visit CocoaNymph West (3739 West 10th Avenue & Alma) or East (4 West 7th Avenue & Ontario) to enjoy a cup of this thick elixir; or buy a hot chocolate making kit to brew at home with your own choice of marshmallows and possibly other addictive additions... I am now planning my 4th annual Valentine's Tea Party and am scheming which is dedicated to broken hearts and tragic love stories. If you have any suggestions for a chocolate brew along these lines (or any other crazy hot chocolate and marshmallow combinations) I'll be most grateful! So do leave a comment! I might just send you an Espionage chocolate bar as a thank you, you know...

Monkey Monday: Living Through The Nose

Vanilla Beans, a photo by Daniel Hurst Photography on Flickr.

My vanilla bean jar broke, and so I had to find another jar... While transferring the bundle of moist beans, their robust aroma clung to my fingers. For hours, I could smell a rich, balsamic, slightly woodsy scent emanating from my fingers. Vanilla is a unique aroma in that it purely positive, always recalling grandma's baking and similar homely comforts and overall goodness. It's hard to think of a way to kill vanilla for me, definitely not the pure extract or whole vanilla beans. But as I was living with vanilla on my palms for nearly a day - I could also smell a hint of what I found disturbingly reminiscent of indole: That substance which is more commonly associated with ripe bodies, human feces and (more positively) jasmine and other heady white flowers.

Idole naturally occurs in a number of things, ranging from bonito flakes, butter, fish, egg, malt, tobacco and rum to white flowers such as jasmine, narcissus and ylang ylang. I'm still not finding much literature suggesting it occurs in vanilla (save for one place that suggests using it in vanilla flavouring) but that's what my nose tells me. 

The disturbing discovery that the eternally comforting scent of vanilla, that single scent with no negative association, might actually contain the controversially-scented molecule of indole made me realize how much I have grown to literally live through my nose. I assess - and immediately cast judgement - on anything I encounter in my life based on scent alone. And this is not restricted to food and beverages alone: I sniff out anything and anywhere, as long as I can breathe in it: dwellings and living spaces, banks, clinics, street corners, corner stores, pharmacies - you name it. I've always been that way, tending to visit friends more often if I like the scent of their home... And I could literally smell danger in my house - i.e. the mood change of my family members - just by smell alone.

After making perfumery my profession - this has become even "worse" of course. I notice every detail when it comes to scents and smells around me, which I personally enjoy most of the time. But sometimes I wonder if it might come across as obsessive or irrational to the "normal" people around me...

The other side effect of being very scent-concious is that a lot of "nice" commercial scents that I used to like or at least enjoy getting a whiff of are losing their mystique once I become acquainted with some of the modern day molecules that dominant them. Scents can seem a lot more alluring when you don't actually know what's in them... On the other hand, my appreciation of more subtle (and more often than never - the purely natural) goodies from tea and wine to fine fragrances has increased ten fold since I began strolling this path. I can now enjoy the muskiness of ambretolide that's whispering through scents containing ambrette seed essences - including some of the more subtle of my own creations (i.e.: Kinmokusei), which now I can enjoy their complexities much more than before. The ionones, which before were only a guess of what they were and how they behaved are revealing more of their beauty to me, including in some of my favourite oolong teas. I can sense the bracing spiciness of clove's eugenol peaking through the innocent looking ylang ylang. And, apparently, I can discover indole in my kitchen.

Have you experienced a heightened awareness related to the sense of smell in daily life that was surprising, disturbing, mind-opening or just plain delightful? How does the sense of smell change your daily life?

Post a comment and enter to win a decant of the ambrette-seed laden No. 18 by Chanel (part of their Les Exclusifs collection).

Monkey Monday: Guess What!

IMG_9041, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.

Guess what's in this photo, and you'll be entered to win a bunch of goodies that I found in my winter travels to Israel: chai rose tea, rose incense and maybe even some perfume if I'm lucky - I still have a few more days here to scout some fragrant surprises.

Merry Christmas!

Selective Anosmia

AJC Itinerary #29 {Verb: Smell} Page 2, a photo by sbpoet on Flickr.

The winter holiday season is fast approaching, and that means a lot of holiday markets for me; which in return means unexpected interactions with random market-goers. This can sometimes mean meeting a very surprising perfume-lover that I would never guess are remotely interested in scent - construction workers or lady truck drivers, for example. Or a stay-at-home mom who used to have a fine-tuned nose until she got a very bad sinus infection and lost her sense of smell for a few years. It was actually around Christmas time, and as she was picking a tree, she finally noticed the smell and cried with delight: "I can smell the spruce! I can smell it!". Everyone were of course weirded out by what we mostly take for granted - but for her she was finally able to enjoy food again (and not over-eat), she stopped putting too much garlic in the dishes she made and became all around a happier person.

But touching stories such as this are more of a rarity. More often than never, market-goers simply glance at my booth in polite amusement, and the moment they are offered to come closer to experience the scents, they would mostly decline. "I can't wear scent to work" is one of the most common reactions (then wear it when you don't work! I feel the urge to reply, but don't...); or "I'm allergic to perfume" is the more common reply. How do these allergies manifest is a totally different question, and more often than never you discover that they are allergic to food, not perfume. But the excuse is convenient. Other times, market-goers are more honest: "I'm not interested in scent whatsoever" is a reaction I heard last week at Porotbello West. Whoa! You are simply going to wipe out an entire sense? Seriously?!

Alright.
That's what I would call "Selective Anosmia". You're choosing to be blind.  Or deaf, for that matter. You're blocking out an entire aspect of your life simply because...? Well, in that case, please don't ruin it to the rest of us mortals who like to stop and smell the roses, and enjoy a dab of perfume from time to time. Please don't ruin my world just because you don't care about it. Let's just go our separate ways, and I will wear my perfumes, and you will just choose not to smell them. Then we can all live happily ever after and I might even be able to make a living out of what I love, because "selective anosmiacs" like you won't be aggressively advocating for scent-free world and forcing everyone else to go by their scentless rules. Amen.

Meet Laurax

"Meet Laurax, a not-very-bold, not-that-exciting new fragrance"...

A new study in the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel by Tali Weiss and Kobi Snitz discovered that blending together completely different molecules in identical intensity level produces an odour that is surprisingly lacking in character, and is hardly any different from another blend created with the same principles. "As long as the individual ingredients are different enough, and roughly equal in intensity, whiteness emerges".  

What are the implications of finding such a thing as "olfactory white"? It might help shed more light on how we perceive and process olfactory information (as did the discovery of white light and white did for understanding seeing and hearing). But it might also have some functional implications for perfumers - which to most of us might seem rather obvious: not to put too many things that are too different and unrelated at all in the same perfume, as it can take away from creating a definite olfactory statement.

I'm wondering if the smell of everything, all at once is somewhat like a white noise. It sure is to me, in the mental meaning of the concept - it gives a sense of olfactory calm, with a nondescript mishmash of my workspace that permeates the air of my entire abode and makes me feel at east. Much more so than the "neutral" scent of an unscented home, a space that is devoid of any personality.

How would you imagine a "white scent" to be? Leave a comment and enter to win a decant of No. 18 from Chanel's Les Exclusifs collection.

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: Smoke without Fire

oh, smoking monkey!, a photo by Bread Mouth on Flickr.

Is there really is no smoke without fire?
Last week, I discovered yet another hidden use of fragrance when the fire department came for their regular smoke-alarm tests in my building to activate the dreadful digital monsters with a blast of musk-infested spray. It was perhaps subtle, but nevertheless smelled very similar to a cross between Kiehl’s Original Musk and The Body Shop’s ever so popular White Musk. Thanksfully they were gone in a giffy, just a few moments after the screaming monster was appeased and shut-off (I am convinced they were designed for deaf people who don’t ever cook – because every time I get any action in the kitchen they have to protest!).

While I agree that one should always look carefully into what are the ingredients in the products they use; I must admit that fine fragrances are misguidedly overly targeted and are the subject of far more attacks than they deserve. Even if you use a perfume that contains synthetics, the amount you use (unless you're over using it) is just a little dab on both wrists and maybe the neck too (or spritzes, if you use a spray application). You have control over how much of fragrance you expose yourself to with the fine fragrances (and these are parfums, eaux de toilette, eaux de parfums and eaux de cologne).

In my humble opinion, it is the functional fragrances that are to blame for our over-exposure to toxic aroma-chemicals. Most people don't know it, but almost any product you buy is scented - and this applies not only to body products or fine fragrances, but also to the following unlikely list:
Natural gas (it’s otherwise odorless, and is artificially scented so we can detect leaks)
Plastic products (any and all; including kids' and babies' toys)
Rubber (ditto)
Paint
Tires
Leather goods
House cleaning products
Paper
…and so on...

I wish perfumes were less attacked, because it is also an art form, and because of ridiculous regulations that were designed to make the fragrance companies stronger and richer (that is far more higher on the agenda list than the public safety, I'm sorry to say) - this art form is in danger of extinction now. These we have a lot less control over how much they affect us, because they are everywhere in products we are using.

And that is it for my opinionated Monkey Monday. I don’t anticipate a huge debate as most of the visitors to this blog are perfume lovers; but nevertheless – if you voice your opinion, or add more weird objects and unlikely scented products that surprisingly artificially scented - you will earn the right to be entered into my weekly giveaway. This time around it’s a sample package of solid perfumes by Sweet Anthem – which also has a shop in Seattle where you can buy perfumes made in the West Coast, including Ayala Moriel Parfums.

Monkey Monday BO Winner

Congratulations to Muza, who won the lucky draw for last week's giveaway: a sampler kit of Persephenie's body products. Persephenie makes incredibly luxurious body products so I hope you enjoy them - and their beautiful scents!

Monkey Monday: Stinky Humans

What is your natural body odour and is it really all that bad? Good questions, which is tough to answer in our scrubbed-clean world. What part of our perception of body odour is due to cultural restrictions and norms? And what part of it is true biological/scientific fact? That would be hard to tell.

Unfortunately, most of the instances when we encounter unwashed people, they are not necessarily healthy. Unfortunately, the limited access to hygene and showers is more often than never a side effect of drug/alcohol abuse, and comes with side effects of bad nutrition and other ailments.

For the sake of science - perhaps you might consider this exercise: try to not bathe for a week, and see if you like what you smell... Or you may bathe, but use water only, just as animals would in nature. No soap, detergents, or any man-made accessories that might temper with one's true natural odour. See how you really smell...

According to Avery Gilbert's The Nose Knows, humans are stinky by default. We are better at stinking than skunks, because unlike their enemy-activated stink release mechanism, we stink 24/7. We don't make that great of a meal, and animals would have to be very hungry to consider us as prey... The Jungle Book also alludes to that matter, as the animals mostly have great respect to human's flesh, and it's considered a tabu to eat it (except for the ruthless tiger in the story).

In fact, we stink so badly that through years of evolution humans have developed complex strategies for reducing their natural scent to a more toned-down, palatable state: we invented soaps and scents to remove our body odours and mask it with that of other, better-equipped animal scents such as whale vomit, sexual secretions of deer and civet cats, and even the aromatic feces of hyrax!
And, of course there are also the more romantic sounding sources such as plant genitalia (aka flowers), and their other organs - roots, bark, fruit and leaves.

In our many years of  distancing ourselves from our real (disgusting) scent, we have romanticized body odour to the point that some of us crave it - though unknowingly, only in its muted states. We tend to think of body odour as this sexy, uncontrollable aspect of our beings, full of irresistible pheromones. There is some of that, true. But mostly - we stink. Honestly, if it wasn't for the healthy amounts of soap to wash the sweat daily, it will build up to a rather ungodly size of oily, rancid sillage (or shall I say silage? The scent would be about as bad...!).

People tend to talk about perfume as an article of pure luxury, an unnecessary addiction, an auxiliary supplement that is frivolous and excessive. I beg to differ. Perfume is necessary to overcome the human stench. Little doses of it are ok, if they are scrubbed off on a regular basis within a human bathing establishment - rituals of which take place for thousands of years in most civilized places. Other animals might enjoy cleaning each other with their tongues. Humans usually recoil at the idea unless the person is smeared with chocolate, or was freshly bathed.  

In less civilized places (i.e.: Europe), perfuming with lavish amounts of Aqua Mirabillis (aka eaux de cologne) would replace the act of bathing, and thank goodness at least they did that in the days of open sewage. These alcoholic-based tinctures of bacteria-combating compounds found in citrus, herbs and spices had a triple-purpose of  masking, deodorizing, as well as disinfecting.

Now, thanks to the rise of both hygiene and perfume technology, humans have gone to the other extreme - where we sport very little scent of our own if at all. It's always tempered by our surrounding, which is highly scented whether if we like it or not. As an aside note - I'd like to mention that unlike the increasingly popular belief that fine fragrances are the enemy of your environment's purity; I believe it is more so the functional fragrance practices of scenting anything from plastics, paints and toys to house cleaning products and laundry detergents that is bombarding our systems with toxic chemicals - not to mention the pollution from cars, factories and industrial farming; multiple-chemical-sensitive people are picking on the wrong target, in my humble opinion).

I hope by now you're not all completely grossed out by our smell... We certainly have some good spots. Our babies smell amazing, for one thing. And body odour is not just one gigantic mass of stench. It can be broken down and analyzed to different body parts and sources of human odours - some of which are pleasant and beautiful. Like a baby's crown and mother's milk; and when getting to know your lover I'm sure you will notice a lot of wondrous scents in secret places. But that should probably belong to another post...

Now, to this week's contest: leave a comment with your thoguhts on the subject - are humans just plain stinky? Or are we too used to smelling "clean"?
Winner will receive a beautiful deluxe package of Persephenie's scented body products in a silk pouch.

Monkey Monday: Fruit & Herb

Strawberry+mint, a photo by TAYMOUR SENBEL© on Flickr.

 I've been fascinated by fruit and herb combinations this summer; and today I've spent too much time on SmellyBlog already sharing the 6 salads that dominated our summer menu (well, we mostly picniced by the beach, regardless of the weather). I'm always looking for more recipes and ideas, and am happy to hear yours: have you been using any fruit and herbs in cocktails, salads, agua frescas or what not?
Comment and enter to win a fresh slice of my 1st batch of Vetiver Racinettes soap!
(More on that tomorrow...).

New Olreans Winner

Congratulations to Ms. Watson, winner of last week's giveaway, which is very special: mini New Orleans perfume which renders the scent of the magical Southern city.

Monkey Monday: City Scents

Rotshield St. Tel Aviv, a photo by Omer Simkha on Flickr.

“Cities are smells: Accra is the smell of iodine and spices. Haifa is the smell of pine and wrinkled sheets. Moscow is the smell of vodka on ice. Cairo is the smell of mango and ginger. Beirut is the smell of the sun, sea, smoke, and lemons. Paris is the smell of fresh bread, cheese, and derivations of enchantment. Damascus is the smell of jasmine and dried fruit. Tunis is the smell of night musk and salt. Rabat is the smell of henna, incense, and honey. A city that cannot be known by its smell is unreliable. Exiles have a shared smell: the smell of longing for something else; a smell that resembles another smell. A panting, nostalgic smell that guides you, like a worn tourist map, to the smell of the original place. A smell is a memory and a setting sun. Sunset, here, is beauty rebuking the stranger.” (Mahmoud Darwish, "In The Presence of Absence" - translated by Sinan Antoon). - Special thanks to Caitlin Shortell of Legerdenez for enlightening me with this quote!

I was quite certain that today's post was going to be "Monday Blues" and ways to beat it: yesterday Vancouver returned to its classic disposition: soaked, dark, contemplative, introspective and completely overcast. It's difficult to see the light through such a thick blanket of clouds; and most of the city's inhabitants seem to be in an ongoing SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder): happy and friendly on the rare sunshine days; but otherwise constantly battling with doom and gloom the remainder 85% of the year, which translates into introversion, inclusiveness and workaholism... Well, at least we get the job done here in the Pacific Northwest! And we do it fast, to keep ourselves warm while at it!

You can only imagine my delight to open the curtains this morning to a glimpse of sunshine that's been peaking among the highrises; and after greeting the school bus and walking down Bute street to visit the Nelson Park Community Gardens - I was noticing the enticing freshness of the sticky, semi-fermented leaves on the brick-paved Bute Square. Such an unusual smell that only comes out after a long dry period that is followed by a day or less of rain (usually when the rain comes to town it stays for way longer...). Delightful, and rare!

That smell of freshly rained pavement in the first rays of morning sun; sticky semi-fermented leaves of some unruly maple that's oozing honey and sticks to everyone's shoes - reminded me vividly of Tel Aviv in the early fall: completely unprepared, I'd find myself in Rotshield boulevard in a violent rainstorm - that although lasts as briefly as a run through the length of the boulevard, just enough to get me in to my first boyfriend's (to become husband) apartment... The boulevard is party paved and partly covered in sandy terracotta earth, street cat's excrement and an abundance of bat's favourite - semi-fermented sycamore fruit that has turned into a black marmalade spread lavishly along the boulevard.

And I could not agree more with Darwish's observations of the various cities he summarizes in a few scents: each city has a definitive odour, often comprises of several random characteristic smells (be it from food and other manmade odours - and malodours - created by city living, juxtaposed with the natural surroundings and unique vegetation that was chosen by the city's carefully designed - or uncalled for - flora and fauna). And indeed, "A city that cannot be known by its smell is unreliable". Which is precisely what Vancouver has been to me from the moment I arrived here, one terribly rainy October day (which lasted a month). Though it's not true that I did not recognize any scents, they were by no means lingering in the air. The city's only distinctive smell greeted you when entering someone's fungi-infested wooden home. And that was a common scent that takes years getting used to.

Likewise, it took me years discovering Vancouver's hidden olfactory treasures - privet hedges in bloom at the beginning of each January; plum cherry blossoms' savoury, bittersweet aroma that are reminiscent of coumarin and sweet red beans; the subtle salty kelp and boat motor oil that is dispersed in the air on the rare days when the city is above room temperature... You really know you know the city when you can sum up its smells with such vivid clarity. I feel I can only do that well with cities I actually lived in or visited more than a handful of times - so let's try:

Jerusalem is the smell of bus exhaust mingled with fresh spearmint and parsley bundles, dusty cobblestone and freshly baked bagels with sesame.

Tel Aviv is the smell of rusted fences, sweat, fermented sycamore fruit and sand impregnated with too many cat visits.

Akko (aka Acre) is the smell of fish on ice, brine, rahat loukum and chickpeas cooking.

Vancouver is the smell of fungi-infested wood, wet leaves, kelp, jet fuel and plum blossoms.

Victoria is the smell of stale tea leaves, English roses, expensive soap and moss-covered stones.

Montreal is the smell of metal and cement in the metro, rain-covered raspberry, ripe Bartlett pears, pink lotus flowers and almond croissants.

San Francisco is the smell of live honeysuckles and angel's trumpet, and nag champa mingled with cannabis smoke.

As you can tell, I'm getting worse and worse at this the more further I stray from the familiar... In other words - I need your help! Please leave a comment below, and enter to win a mini of the only city-themed perfume I've ever created: New Orleans. I never visited there (yet!!!), but I created it based on the city's native's description of it and the feedback from NOLAns was that it is very accurate.

P.s. Monkey Monday winner from last week's giveaway is yash - who wins a sample package from House of Matriarch.

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 (What Summer?)

Thank you to all who participated and shared their summer scents and sensations. It was so much fun reading your comments and my only hope is to have more dialogue on SmellyBlog (regardless of giveaways...). It's really nice to know that people are actually reading the content I put together for hours on end ;-)
Congratulations to melou, our Monkey Monday winner for this week's giveaway!
You will receive a copy of Ayala Moriel's Foundation of Natural Perfumery course handbook. And I might just have to throw in a sample of Treazon since I know how much of a tuberose lover you are!

Monkey Monday: Best of Summer 2012

Please comment on the post from Sunday if you wish to enter our weekly giveaway!
Winner will receive a copy of my Foundation of Natural Perfumery course handbook.

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: Player - or Scent-Slut?

Long Island Soccer Player makes amazing play, a photo by soccerlimagazine on Flickr.

As promised last week, I was going to tell you the story of my friend (who brought me a sample of Angel). So, we met at the beach and she was telling me about this guy she went on 2 dates with. On the 2ndn one things got a little steamier, and she couldn't help but notice that on top of the colgone on his neck (Armani Code - kinda fruity woody-oriental that she could recognize from the 1st date), and on his wrists (A*Men - delicious coffee, patchouli and cocoa), there was a very familiar scent all over his chest too...
It took her a few moments to figure out what cause an olfactory cognitive dissonance - and an ever so slightly sense of mistrust:
The perfume of questions, which she first thought might be Jean-Paul Gautier's Classique (the one in the feminine torso), was non other than the rosy-violet sweetness of Bvlgari pour Femme.
In other words: The man could have very possibly just been in the arms of another woman (which can be hardly considered infidelity in this context; but still...). Or: he was a scent-slut and was trying on all kinds of smelly things on...

When she humourously confronted him about it (after all, no girl wants to come across as "jealous" on the 2nd date. We're in year 2012, after all!), he went on about how he just met this lady friend who works at The Bay (and who, fair enough, let him try A*Men and was generous enough to give him a bunch of more Angel samples to give to all the other ladies he's trying to get involved with). Supposedly, according to his robust theory, his friend is a big woman and gave him a big hug, which doused his shirt with Bvlgari Pour Femme; and later when he stopped to drink from a water fountain, the scent further penetrated his shirt to cover his chest...
End of story.

And now I'm passing the ball to you: Do you think his story is true? Is he a player? Or just likes to douse himself with very strong perfumes (and/or strongly scented women)?
I will tell you what my friend decided later...

Among the commenters, there will be a lucky draw on Friday (promise!) to win a bottle of Pink Praline by Soivohle'.