Background:

Like Giorgio Armani’s clothing, the designer’s fragrances have an effortless appeal that makes them easy to wear, with an imbued Italian style. In the collection, the Armani Prive perfumes are dark and textured like a Collezione tuxedo jacket. The GA fragrances have a crispness mimicking the razor-sharp tailoring of an Armani business suit and Emporio Armani is a line for the active-sporty man. Recently the brand has focused its energies on producing perfumes for an affluent clientele. The Armani Prive line continues to grow with its most recent addition, La Femme Nacre packaged in bottles made with mother of pearl and an asking price of around 500 euros. Before this, at the turn of the century the brand had its sight fixed on its younger audience. Acqua di Gio had established itself as one of the best selling men’s fragrances to date and Emporio Armani, the brand’s youthful diffusion line was ready to launch a new perfume. The Loreal Group was behind the project with the help of senior perfumer at IFF, Carlos Benaim and in 2001 Emporio Armani White for Him & Her was created. At the time I was in my mid-20s and this was without a doubt the type of fragrance I aspired to wear. Six years after the fragrance was launched its white and blue packaging was given a facelift to become part of (PRODUCT) RED, a line of Armani products that donated a percentage from each sale to help women and children with HIV/Aids in Africa. In 2009, the fragrance began disappearing into obscurity and is now fully discontinued.

Emporio Armani (RED) White for Him

Out of the bottle:

Armani White for Him is a unique fragrance for its time. The year before Jacques Cavalier and Alberto Morillas pioneered the use of oud in Yves Saint Laurent’s M7, Carlos Benaim could be described as a pioneer for this ozonic white musk fragrance for men. In 2001, ozonic notes were not revolutionary, but they were commonly paired with calone and fruit to create watery accords such as Clinique’s Happy for Men and Kenzo’s L’Eau par Kenzo Homme. Emporio Armani’s White for Him steers clear of the water and instead heads for the sky; a blue sky filled with a breeze of citrus peel, rosemary, chamomile and cardamom.  The dry down is a spacious white musk accord that helps to create a fragrance that is as light as a feather.

The Wearer:

White for Him is a clean sporty fragrance, quite the opposite to many of today’s trendy incense/amber smells. If you don’t already know it, you should be forgiven for feeling like you are not missing out on anything. For me it is purely a nostalgic smell of times past. It is the smell of a 2001 nightclub cue with men, freshly showered, about to embark on another weekend of music and vice. A night that will all be forgotten in the haze of the ensuing morning hangover. Today I am wearing it to the gym and occasionally to work. My days of nightclub cues and all night parties are long gone!

Try this if you like:

Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche, Serge Lutens L’Eau, Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume, Narciso Rodriguez Essence

Background:

White flowers add a signature to a perfume that is both loved and loathed. Jasmine is perhaps the most widely appreciated white flower but even jasmine has its share of haters. Tuberose has an even more distinctive signature. Although you can trace its use throughout the decades, it has become a popular note in contemporary perfume with names such as Prada and Mona di Orio creating fragrances centred on the late summer bulb.  Tom Ford clearly wants to stay ahead of the trend launching four new perfumes that walk a floral path less taken. Of the four, for me, it was Jonquille de Nuit that stood above the others in this collection. I love the complexity of green and white florals, from shimmering muguet notes to buttery tuberose accords and jonquil perfumes are rare. But rare does not always translate into popularity. I was the only one in a group of three that liked Ford’s nocturnal jonquil, which is part of the Jardin Noir collection. This quartet of perfumes belongs to the designer’s Private Blend, a range Ford describes as, “my own scent laboratory; it’s where I have the ability to create very special, original fragrances that are unconstrained by the conventions of mainstream scent-making. Private Blend is designed with the true fragrance connoisseur in mind.” Like most Tom Ford perfumes, these new additions aim to be intoxicating, sophisticated and sensual. Jonquille de Nuit is marketed as a unisex fragrance even though it has all of the hallmarks of a classic feminine floral.

Tom Ford Jonquille de Nuit

Out of the bottle:

White and green florals are some of my favourite perfume notes. The trouble I often face is that the short-lived heart notes are augmented with base notes that I have no interest in. Van Cleef & Arpels’ Muguet Blanc is one example of a beautiful muguet accord that is filled with sparkle and movement, but for me, the base notes lead the fragrance in another direction. It is a direction that is skilfully directed, but not the reason why I tuned into the perfume to start with. Jonquille de Nuit is a floral perfume that delivers what it promises from the beginning to its end as it is relatively linear in its evolution. The perfume begins with ozonic green flowers, which Fragrantica.com purports as being cyclamen, a close relative to muguet. This accord is coloured purple with notes of violet leaf and leads to narcissus jonquilla, a fresh bouquet of waxy petals. Further on there is orange blossom that could easily be mistaken for tuberose. The base is built around notes of orris and amber. Jonquille de Nuit does not evolve much further than this. Curiously, it manages to extend for hours in the same way Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino manages to offer a traditionally short-lived eau de cologne in a form that is lasting. Perfect for a day in the sun.

The Wearer:

Jonquille de Nuit is a vibrant fresh floral I enjoyed wearing on my recent holiday. Maybe it was my holiday mindset, but for me, it is a perfume that feels carefree and adventurous. I don’t see it gaining widespread appeal amongst males as it is overtly floral, but men who enjoy wearing such things should enjoy this novel flower.

Try this if you like:

Van Cleef & Arpels Muguet Blanc, Frederic Malle Lys Mediterranee, Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, Cartier Baiser Vole, Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue.

There are often myths that surround the study of perfumery. Some people I have shared my interest with have commented, “Don’t you need a chemistry degree to do that?” and in some instances they are correct. To study at the prestigious ISIPCA perfume school in Versailles a degree in chemistry is a prerequisite. Otherwise generally speaking, perfumers are not chemists. Students of perfumery usually begin studying inside a school of one of the world’s large perfume manufacturers. Successful students are not only required to be accomplished composers; they must also memorize hundreds of raw materials and their characteristics. This style of learning is often tailored to the working environments of large manufacturers such as Givaudan, IFF or Firmenich and students graduate taking up positions within the parent company.

The challenge I faced was to find a learning path that was sufficiently in-depth and designed for perfume enthusiasts instead of industry professionals. Some years ago I enrolled in a distance-learning course with Perfumers World, an organization based in Bangkok. Their system of shipping students raw materials and the coursework is completed online suited my need at the time. This was my introduction to modern perfumery, giving me a basic understanding of raw materials and how to build simple reconstitutions of popular flowers such as rose, jasmine and lily of the valley. After this I knew the next step was some form of face-to-face training.

Earlier this year my online wanderings lead me to an organization in Grasse that offer a 2-week summer school in English. This seemed perfect. Not only would I be learning about perfume with a qualified tutor, I would also be doing it in the historic heart of the perfume industry. The Grasse Institute of Perfumery (GIP) is a division of ASFO-Grasse and has been running since 2002. Annually the school has a small intake of students who live and study in Grasse for a year. While the students are on summer break, the GIP run a series of short courses including programs for English speakers.

I enrolled in their September program with some trepidation, as there was not a lot of information about the course available online and email correspondence with the school had been irregular. Part of the reason I am writing this blog entry is to share my positive experience, which could help those interested in GIP’s English summer school. Our tutor for the two weeks was Laurence Fauvel, a perfumer who graduated from Givaudan’s school of perfumery. GIP facilitators are all working perfumers and many of them come from or have experience with companies such as Givaudan, Mane and Takasago. Not only do you learn standard industry practices, you also get a sense of what the life of a perfumer is like for those that chose to study via more traditional methods. For me, an unexpected pleasure was meeting a group of perfume lovers like myself from all over the world. My student group came from as far abroad as, Alaska, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Russia, France and Switzerland. I even met another Australian, a candle maker from Melbourne.

My morning walk to school from the old town

Grasse Institute of Perfumery

In our introduction Laurence gave us a lesson in the history of perfume as well as a history of Grasse. Each lesson was peppered with Laurence’s own work experiences that she used to illustrate a point in the curriculum and at others times she entertained us with amusing stories that only an insider of this secretive industry could tell. Our first week was dedicated to natural raw materials. Laurence said that for a perfumer, it is important to first understand naturals and then one can move on to synthetics. It was like a scent meditation. As each raw material was presented, we focused on its characteristics and recorded our impressions in notebooks. Laurence shared with us her own impressions and how the material works in formulation. For example vetiver can bring saltiness to a formula when overdosed and cedarwood adds a dryness that you do not find in sandalwood, which is creamier. By the end of week one we had evaluated over 40 raw materials of natural origin. We also analyzed the difference in odour resulting from various extraction methods. The subtle differences between rose absolute and rose oil was something I had not considered; the absolute is a richer long lasting odour that can still be perceived in the base note of a perfume whereas oil extracted by steam distillation has a sharper odour that is more volatile, proving useful in the top and heart notes. Each morning and sometimes in the afternoon Laurence gave us a blind test of 10 raw materials that we had to identify. For me, it was interesting to see how the same raw material could ‘shift’ from one day to another. This is often the case with naturals because they are complex blends of aromas and this can be a reason why perfumers prefer to work with synthetics. Laurence made a comparison between blackcurrant bud absolute and the synthetic Cassis Base 345B by Firmenich. The synthetic is linear whereas the natural is complex and moving.

Week 1: Study of naturals

The daily blind test. Are you tonka bean or are you coumarin?

As part of our study of naturals we visited a jasmine farmer who was picking for Robertet, a local manufacturer that specialize in the production of high-end naturals. Their jasmine absolute can easily cost upwards of 2000 euro a kilo. Although the farmer grew jasmine, Robertet was encouraging him to expand his small crop of single stem tuberoses. Even with this encouragement the farmer had concerns because a harvestable field of tuberoses takes 5 years to grow and if the current trend for tuberose perfumes dies off so does his 5-year investment. Horticulture in Grasse is becoming increasingly challenging. The farmer said his son has no interest in continuing the family business and his jasmine is increasingly more expensive to harvest. In better times the farm could yield 600-700 tons of jasmine a year. Now the demand is much less and Grasse farmers cannot compete with countries such as India and Egypt who can produce at much lower costs and still satisfy the demand with lower quality product. Many of the small plantations are slowly disappearing. Chanel guaranteed the security of its jasmine and rose stocks by buying fields in the surrounding village of Pegomas but without such support, Grasse’s jasmine and rose fields are at risk of extinction.

Jasmine fields in Grasse

Heaven is putting your nose in this basket

Tuberoses

The farmer picked some stems for us. It’s my favourite flower

By the end of the week we began evaluating some classic perfumes from the past fifty years such as Feminite du Bois, Eau Sauvage, Terre d’Hermes, Chanel No. 5 and many others. This gave us an opportunity to begin seeing the raw materials we had smelt in isolation, working in a perfume. This lead to our first formulation lesson. To further develop our evaluation skills Laurence gave us a list of ingredients for a formula she had written. The first was eau de cologne. Smelling each material separately we had to estimate the amount in the formula, considering how diffusive the material was and how much of its character would be present in the formula. This was an interesting task because often the material that has the largest dosage in a formula is not always the material that speaks the loudest. Laurence corrected our estimates and we measured out the formula on the laboratory measuring scales. Later we could adapt and experiment with the formula. Our brief was to stay within the boundaries of an eau de cologne, but bring something new to the theme. I adapted the neroli oil content by adding orange flower absolute and in the base I decided to add the modern dry amber/wood molecule Karanal. I liked my attempt at modernizing this classic genre but Laurence felt I had stretched the cologne concept too far and my creation was more of an eau de toilette. My attempt at a fougere was less successful although one of the accords in my fougere made from Javanol, Iso E Super, Ambroxan and Hedione was interesting enough for me to keep in my notepad for future reference. Using these heavier molecules Laurence advised me to wait a day for maceration to occur before I evaluate my creation.

Week 2: study of synthetics

Messy perfume students!

By the second week we had more formulations to work with and our vocabulary of odours stretched to synthetic molecules. My chypre aimed to be something between Mistouko and Miss Dior and I realized the importance of methyl ionone in the chypre accord. Methyl ionone is a woody violet note that I did not immediately identify in the chypre theme but without it you do not achieve the same vibrant effect seen in the classic chypres of the 1950s and before. Another formula we worked on was a modern aquatic theme similar to CK One. This lead to a discussion on counter-typing and Laurence explained that in large companies part of the job of a perfumer is to counter-type. Gas chromatography can identify around 80% of a perfume’s components. The perfumer’s nose is needed to identify the remaining 20%. Counter-typing isn’t about copying perfumes. Large companies use counter-typing as a way to understand top selling perfumes and should a new client request a detergent or perfume that smells like a current best seller, the creative department know the DNA of that top seller and they can quickly adapt it to their client’s needs. Sadly in today’s fast paced industry this happens all too often and the demand for a quick turnaround of design briefs is valued above creativity.

Our field trip in the second week was a visit to Expressions Parfumees, a company that specializes in creating fragrance for artistic perfumery as well as technical perfumery (paints and gasoline). The company employs a team of 11 perfumers in Grasse who work on a variety of projects. Laurence said that for larger companies perfumers would specialize in working with different bases. One perfumer will specialize in alcoholic bases, another detergents and another gels or lotions. In smaller companies perfumers need to be multi-specialists because a perfume formula for bath oil will be different from an eau de toilette even if to the customer’s nose, they smell the same. At Expressions Parfumees the marketing team is responsible for providing the perfumers with reports on trends and competitor analysis. In perfume they saw an increase in fleur d’oranger notes and a continued rise in the popularity of chypre styled perfumes. This trend of heavier woody perfumes could be attributed to modern laundry detergents, shower gels, deodorants, hair care and cosmetics, which today are all heavily fragranced. By the time a person comes to apply a perfume, they need something strong enough to mask the presence of all these other odours.

Expressions Parfumees laboratory

Laboratory quality testing

Like most perfume manufacturers, Expressions Parfumees keep a library of all its creations. If a brief cannot be answered with an existing idea from the library, the creative team may adapt an existing formula that is close to what the client has requested. Otherwise the perfumers need to build a new idea from the ground up, which increases development time. In large companies perfumers can work on as many as 10 briefs per month. Or the whole team may work together on an important brief such as a new perfume for YSL or another high profile client. A fact I found interesting was that the client does not pay any service fee for creation. The sale of the compound is where the perfume manufacturers make their investment back. Unless a perfume is made in-house as is the case with brands like Chanel, Guerlain and now Dior, the brand never sees, nor do they own the rights to the formula. This remains the property of the compound manufacturer. At Expressions Parfumees the smallest quantity of compound they sell is 5kg and orders can head into a tonnage for multi-national clients. A perfumer’s performance is measured by how many briefs they win and how many kilos of the winning compound are sold per annum. After visiting the quality-testing department we also visited the warehouse where formulas are blended for large orders. Expressions Parfumees use state of the art computerized robots that can mix hundreds of kilos of formula with perfect precision. The only materials that are mixed by hand are precious oils and absolutes.

Expressions Parfumee library of creations

After this field trip our group had come to the last day of study. We finalized the formulas we had been working on and had an evaluation in the school garden where we introduced our perfumes and offered feedback for perfumes made by others in the group. For me, two weeks was the perfect length for the course. Any longer and my mind and nose would have become saturated with information and any less, I would have left wanting more. If you are considering attending a perfume course, what GIP offer is well worth considering. You do not need to go with any prior training; you just need a passion for perfume. And for those that have a basic understanding, I found our tutor was very open to conversing on the side if there was any topic I wanted to understand in more depth. I would recommend this course not only for those interested in perfume making but also for those that want a richer appreciation of their favourite perfume or their perfume collection.

Final evaluation

Future perfumers?

Grasse Institute of Perfumery, in Grasse, France

http://www.prodarom.com/anglais/gip/index_gip.php

Within an hour drive from Cannes is the old town of Grasse, nestled in the foothills overlooking the French Riviera. By the 18^th century Grasse was the centre of the world’s perfume making industry. Acres of land were dedicated to the horticulture of tuberose, orange blossom, mimosa and the infamous jasmine grandiflorum and rose centifolia that is considered to be of the highest quality in the world. The soil and climate in Grasse make it the perfect environment for growing these flowers. Pairing this with centuries of experience and know-how, the resulting essences produced in Grasse make them the most coveted in the world. In World War II when France was occupied by Nazi Germany the Wertheimer family, Coco Chanel’s business partners for perfume, were living in exile due to their Jewish heritage. The partners had Grasse rose and jasmine essence smuggled out of France so they could continue production of Chanel No. 5 in America. They knew that even with Ernest Beaux’s legendary formula, using raw materials from anywhere but Grasse would undermine the product they wanted to sell. They believed this so strongly they risked lives in order to retrieve the precious stock.

Grasse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’ Azur

Today Grasse is a shadow of its former self. Although my guidebook told me the city was recently cleaned up to encourage tourism, the old town’s graffiti ridden walls are barely standing and a little imagination is required to picture the bustling industry that used to go on here over a century ago. A number of the town’s historic brands still exist and they aim to draw in tourists who pass by on day trips. Mollinard, Gallimard and Fragonard all offer tours of their workshops to give tourists an idea of how they create perfume today and how the brand’s forefathers used to extract scent from Grasse’s diverse flora. On display are copper stills for steam distillation and screens lathered with animal fats, used to extract odours from the more delicate flowers by the process of enfleurage. While these workshops offer fascinating tours for those interested in the history of perfume, the must-see attraction in Grasse is the Musee International de la Parfumerie. The museum is situated on the boulevard du Jeu-de-Ballon, a short walk from the town’s main bus station. Designed and built by architect Frederic Jung, the museum opened its doors in 1989 and was given a makeover in 2008. The museum promotes itself as the guardian of perfume industry history and contains artifacts that date back as far as 4000 years.

Musee International de la Parfumerie

The first section of the museum has interactive displays about the theory of olfaction and the classifications of odours such as spicy, woody, animalic, floral etc. These classifications are presented in the form of an olfactory tree. In an adjoining glasshouse visitors can experience plants responsible for some of perfumes most popular odours.

Vetiver grass

Back inside, the museum corridors wind and turn leading you from one ancient civilization to the next. From ancient Greece to Egypt, the museum curator links these civilizations by three points; throughout history man has used perfume to communicate, to soothe and to seduce.

Egyptian urn 664-332 BC

Aryballos jar for perfume oils

Roman perfume bottle

People of the Middle Ages used perfume as a means to soothe or to heal. The museum documents the life of an apothecary that existed in Grasse around 1475. His inventory of strange pharmacopeia and exotic purchases from foreign merchants gives you an understanding of what perfume during this period would have been like. In the Age of Enlightenment everything was perfumed; bodies, clothing, wall hangings and ornamental vases were all scented. It was believed that disease was spread by air and that perfume was a means of disinfecting oneself and the home from unwanted illnesses.

Apothecary book from 1660

18th century Venetian bergamot wood perfume coffret

Desk of perfumer Jean Carles (1892-1966)

On the lower floor of the museum there is a large space filled with copper stills used for steam distillation, presses for the expression of citrus oils and tools used in the process of enfleurage. Before solvent extraction was invented this was the method used to extract the scent from delicate flowers such as tuberose and narcissus. There are interactive displays that explain the difference between pressed or distilled oil, concretes and absolutes. Motorised machines expel air perfumed with raw materials allowing you to compare the difference between rose oil from Turkey and synthetic rose aromas such as Geraniol.

Enfleurage

Copper stills

Mechanical press

Enfleurage in Grasse

One display I particularly liked was an interactive wall dedicated to lily of the valley. The French call it muguet and it was Christian Dior’s favourite flower. The soft green floral odour has been interpreted many times in perfumes of the past century. Visitors remove metal rods from the wall and each rod is lined with a core scented with different interpretations of the flower. Lily of the valley is one of few flowers too delicate to survive even the most gentle extraction methods. It has to be dreamed into being by the perfumer’s imagination. This means it is open to interpretation and even though there are some standard synthetic materials that have a muguet character, the note has evolved over time as new raw materials were discovered and trends changed. The display offers visitors five lily of the valley compounds from different periods in modern perfume history. The earliest example of muguet on display is a formula from 1900 followed by Muguet 16, the first perfume base for lily of the valley that was created by Marius Reboul for Givaudan in 1908. Reboul utilized newly discovered molecules such as heliotropin, methyl ionone and hydroxycitronellal in his base (a base is a substitute perfumers use if no natural essence exists or as a replacement due to cost or aesthetic needs). Next is Mayciane by Laire, a base created in the 1950s by Chanel perfumer Henri Robert. Robert revolutionized the muguet note with hexyl cinnamic aldehyde and indol nuancing the flower with jasmine notes. The fourth compound is Longchamp Lily of the Valley by I.F.F, which is an example from the 1970s. Adding to Robert’s jasmine touch, I.F.F added a fresh floral quality with synthetic carbinyl notes. The most recent compound is a lily of the valley base created using Headspace, a method developed in the 1980s. Headspace uses modern technology to read the molecules emitted by a fragrant object. This reading can then be recreated in a laboratory and has revolutionised the perfumer’s ability to create photorealism in perfume.

Diorama (1949) by Edmond Roudnitska for Christian Dior with lily of the valley in a chypre style

The museum has an exhibit on modern perfume trends of the past decade. The trends discussed are niche, vintage, urban world and celebrity perfumes. In the past decade, niche (the French term) or artistic (the Italian term) serve a clientele looking for originality through discreet retail stores. The term vintage was first used to qualify the date of wine production. It is a term that has since been transposed to clothing, accessories and now perfume. “Brands reveal a desire to return to their origins by re-editing perfumes as a way to give credibility to their roots in traditional perfumery.” This has brought about a resurgence of classical forms such as chypre, eau de cologne and unisex designs with retro notes such as violet, carnation and iris. The urban world trend the museum presents is measured by the globalization of culture and an awareness of the environment. New generations of consumers are global travelers and they value a brands commitment to recycled packaging and sustainable resources.

After exploring some of the decade’s key milestones, which includes a video of perfumer, Jean-Claude Ellena exploring the Nile River in search of an olfactory story (the result being Hermes’ Un Jardin Sur Le Nil in 2004) the museum opens up into a space dedicated to the history of perfume packaging. The display can only be described as the best collection of perfume bottles I have had the pleasure of viewing. From the 1800s until present day, visitors can see examples of bottles that read as a collector’s wish list of vintage must-haves. Towards the end of the timeline you can also view the process of bottle design from the marketing brief to the prototype and the finished product.

19th and 20th century perfume bottle labels

A wall of oversized factice bottles

And of course what visit to a museum isn’t complete with some souvenirs. While visitors may not find a high quality of perfumed souvenirs in the gift shop, there are some nice postcards and if you read French the gift shop has quite an extensive offering of books about perfume and Grasse history.

Below are a few favourite photos of bottles that are displayed in the museum. While it may sound like a cliche, they don’t make bottles like this anymore.

Jean Marie Farina (1806) Roger et Gallet

Eau de Cologne Imperiale (1830) Guerlain

Candide Effluves (1924) in crystal, Guerlain

Odourantis (1930) Jn Giraud Fils

I was so busy admiring this example I forgot to take a photo of its name plaque. If anyone knows what this is, please comment. I am guessing 1920s or 30s?

Arome Divin (1925) Rallet

Various Parfums D’Orsay bottles by Lalique (1920s)

Champs-Elysees (1914) in crystal, Guerlain

Background:

The word perfume and its Latin root per fumum are filled with thoughts of the ancient world of humans and the rituals they enacted to celebrate life and the divine. Biblical incense made from precious resins and roses of the Middle East, referred to as the flower of prophet Muhammad hold a deeper meaning for men and women, their use in perfumery becoming more than simply the creation of something that smells good but a way of connecting to a spiritual realm. Earlier this year Guerlain launched a series of exclusive perfumes called Les Deserts d’Orient, which celebrate this mystical connection. The line is exclusive in the sense that the perfumes are only sold in select Guerlain boutiques in Europe, the U.K and the Middle East. The collection features oud or agarwood, a wood that has significant value in religious life throughout the Middle East and has now become a popular material used in western perfumery. Over the past two years oud has created a sensation in the niche perfume world to the point it now feels cliché. So why has Guerlain joined the party so late in the evening as the guests are beginning to leave? Guerlain’s Fragrance Creative Director, Sylvaine Delacourte describes the mood with which Thierry Wasser approached the project in her own personal blog, Esprit de Parfum. Wasser, perfumer for Guerlain deliberately took his time. He looked at all the significant launches designed specifically for the Middle East and sought opinions from clients, advisors and professionals before he began work on his own creations. His objective was to create a trio of perfumes that would appeal to men and women of all countries, particularly those in the Middle East, Russia and Europe. Like a party guest who arrives fashionable late to the event and turns heads as he or she enters, Guerlain have certainly done this with their offering of Les Deserts d’Orient. Just when I thought I did not want to see another oud perfume, news broke of this launch and it sat on my to-smell list until I had the chance to go to Paris in September. Although most niche houses proclaim they work with only the finest raw materials, with Guerlain, the statement is evidently true. Paired with Wasser’s undeniable talent you have a recipe for success. When I visited the Maison Guerlain at their historic address on the Champs-Elysees, my inclination was towards Rose Nacree du Desert, perhaps the most commercial of the three perfumes as most people find rose agreeable. When given the choice, I would normally search for something original and unique to add to my collection. Although Rose Nacree du Desert’s oud/rose/saffron combination is not original, the perfume’s uniqueness is its quality. Simply sublime!

La Maison Guerlain, 68 Champs-Elysees, Paris. Les Deserts d’Orient on display

Rose Nacree du Desert by Guerlain

The perfume’s name in Arabic flanks the bottle’s side in a rose gold coloured script

Out of the bottle:

Thierry Wasser personally sourced a Damask rose from Iran and it is seen here for the first time in a Guerlain perfume. This Persian rose lends itself well to the woody accents and complex smoked amber running throughout the base. The perfume begins with lush desert roses and orange coloured citrus notes. I don’t sense a bergamot or yellow Mediterranean citrus fruit on this desert landscape. Wasser’s pearlescent rose is a variety you would expect to see served with Turkish delight. Within minutes the rose turns spicy. Spices usually communicate heat but the temperature of this perfume is cooled by saffron, an exotic spice that pairs so beautifully with rose and oud. Further into the perfume, woods and resins begin to emerge. Notes of myrhh, patchouli and oud wood inspire a camelback ride along an erg of sand dunes. Rose Nacree du Desert provides an oasis of scent. This eau de parfum lasts extremely well owing to the designer’s skilful construction work.

The Wearer:

It has to be said that if you are interested in the current oud trend and you like your oud tempered with roses, Guerlain’s Rose Nacree du Desert is an exceptional example and it is one of my favourites. I enjoy wearing it after dark to dinner or parties. I’ve had a number of women bury their faces in my neck asking me what fragrance I am wearing, further destroying the Western myth that roses are only for women’s perfume.

Try this if you like:

Amouage Lyric Pour Homme, Heeley Parfums Agarwoud, Montale Aoud Lime, Juliette Has A Gun Midnight Oud

Background:

Keiko Mecheri is the Japanese American artist behind Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri. I met her briefly in September at Pitti Fragranze in Florence. I had seen her perfumes during my travels around the world but I often brushed over them, mistakenly thinking the range would be too feminine for my tastes. This preconception was perhaps influenced by the fact that her most talked about perfume was the feminine Loukhoum, a gourmand rose inspired by Turkish delight. I had always admired the aesthetic quality of the range, which is presented in a faceted black or clear glass flacon and bakelite cap. Meeting the artist drew me away from the assumption I would not find something for myself and I began to explore her range of eau de parfums. I was one of many vying for her attention that day at Pitti so my question to Keiko was brief. I loved the look of the recently launched Bespoke Collection and I asked her to recommend something for a male client. She talked with me about Cuir Fauve and Vetiver Velours from her Bespoke Collection. Keiko explained the collection contained rare oud wood but she wanted to stay clear of using the word in her perfume titles. I agreed. As beautiful as oud is, the last thing niche perfumery needed was another oud perfume title. Following our chat I looked for her range on a number of occasions as I traveled through Europe and on my return to Australia I decided I would seek out the Bespoke Collection, which can be found in one location here in Australia. Given I have a number of vetivers by other houses; Dior, Guerlain, Frederic Malle, Etro, Lalique, Chanel etc. I selected Vetiver Velours as my first Keiko Mecheri.

Meeting Keiko Mecheri at Pitti Fragranze, Florence 2012

Vetiver Velours eau de parfum

Vetiver Velours encased in lacquered wood

Out of the bottle:

Vetiver is a magical raw material in perfumery. When it is used in large amounts it takes over a composition and becomes a signature for the perfume. Used in smaller quantities it blends well with almost everything and acts as a base note. The plant’s popularity is such that by the mid 1990s 36% of perfumes on the western market listed vetiver as an ingredient. In terms of gender, vetiver works well in both a masculine and feminine setting. For Vetiver Velours, Keiko Mecheri has offered a gender-free vetiver. Here the grass rhizome acts as a bolster for the other materials in her composition. Vetiver purists may cry, “Where is my vetiver?” The vetiver in Vetiver Velours is better appreciated in symphony with other materials. Here it is not playing as a solo artist. Benzoin and woods give Mecheri’s vetiver an oriental, almost amber tonal quality. Rich floral notes are placed at the head of the perfume and spicy notes add contrast. As this eau de parfum settles down, the wearer is left with a sillage of musk, resins and vetiver. Vetiver Velours wants to be a full-fledged oriental but the greener notes hold the perfume in balance, making an interesting tension. More moss and this could easily become a chypre, more spice and less green it would be oriental. Vetiver Velours is a sensual feast that conjures the tactile sense of velvet under fingers. If I had to imagine a colour it would be forest green.

The Wearer:

On men, Vetiver Velours is an interesting choice. The perfume deconstructs classic feminine motifs: powdery musk, flowers and Shalimar-like orientalism. Reworked in a modern way, the perfume is reasonable for a man to wear. Contemporary men may not feel ready to move in the direction this style of fragrance wants to take them, but I can see a gradual pull towards oriental masculines as new releases like Tom Ford Noir, drip-feed the male population one sweet resinous teardrop at a time. Vetiver Velours may not be the first fragrance I would recommend a man to wear, but it is a nice alternative once you have explored the classics or you are a guy that likes to think outside of the box. The range is in limited distribution, which suggests even Keiko Mecheri did not create the Bespoke Collection with the expectation of mass appeal. You have to give her credit for having the confidence to create niche within niche. Although her Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri line is available from a select number of stockists here in Australia, at the time of writing this blog post, her Bespoke Collection is only available in Australia from Libertine Perfumerie (Brisbane, QLD).

Try this if you like:

Tom Ford Noir, The Different Company Bois d’Iris, Guerlain Vetiver Pour Elle, Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut

Background:

Tom Ford Noir is the fourth signature fragrance launched by the American designer for his male clientele. If his first men’s fragrance Tom Ford for Men reintroduced the fashion codes of the late 1970s male through a balanced layering of sporty citrus and masculine woody lichens, Tom Ford Noir skips a generation and reminds me of the masculine fragrances of the early 1990s. This era of masculine scent was signed with oriental notes of spices, woods and exotic resins. Sadly by the end of the decade the style was put to rest by a tidal wave of fresh watery colognes such as L’Eau D’Issey in 1994 and Acqua di Gio in 1996. As a child of the 90’s the first time I smelt Tom Ford Noir my teenage life literally flashed before me. Noir brought back memories of Chanel’s Egoiste, Guerlain’s Habit Rouge, Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium and all those fashion magazines my older sister used to buy with their peel and sniff perfume advertisements. Tom Ford describes Noir as his most personal fragrance yet. He describes a man that is an “urbane sophisticate who the world gets to see and the intriguingly sensuous, private man they don’t”. I can’t help but think of Noir as having a deeper personal meaning for Tom Ford, a man who began his career as a designer and then became a public figure when he reinvigorated the houses of Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci over a decade ago. For me there are many stories you could read from Noir, the violet rose accord has an antique soft-feminine quality and the spicy notes give the fragrance both a masculine and a sensual aspect. Tom Ford Noir is certainly a men’s fragrance that is multidimensional. And like all things Ford, the packaging is super-sexy in its presentation. The dark brown and gold colours; signatures of the house, have been modernized with smoky black glass and silver lettering. Classic yet modern, above all sophisticated, the packaging reflects the scent inside.

Tom Ford Noir ad campaign 2012

Tom Ford Noir 50ml eau de parfum

Out of the bottle:

Tom Ford Noir is offered as an eau de parfum although I find there is still a lot of space between the notes. It is much less compact in comparison to other Tom Ford eau de parfums such as Tobacco Vanille. A rush of spices and flowers quickly overcome Noir’s top notes of verbena and bergamot. The spices include premium Madagascan black pepper oil from Givaudan (Orpur®) and a generous amount of nutmeg; Cacharel Pour Homme was the first men’s fragrance to use an overdose of nutmeg in the early 1980s. Noir’s floral notes are unexpected and add a twist to this oriental composition. A violet-laced Bulgarian rose accord brings femininity to the fragrance whilst clary sage, caraway and Egyptian geranium return the mid notes to a more masculine stance. Ford’s violet accord cleverly connects Noir to other Tom Ford fragrances, which often have a violet theme. The base is made from a beautifully constructed amber accord. It begins to show quite soon after applying the fragrance and grows stronger as the floral notes subside. Noir’s amber is made sweeter with sugary benzoin resin and oppoponax, Indonesian patchouli and vetiver bring masculinity to the heart and base of the perfume. In terms of longevity, Tom Ford Noir stays in tact on skin for around 3 to 4 hours, after which, skin is left with a powdery vanilla veil.

The Wearer:

Whether he is reinvigorating the chypre accord, making leather perfumes wearable or presenting classic vetiver cologne to men as though no one had thought of it before, Tom Ford has a way of making old things cool again. He knows how to make niche ideas accessible to a wider audience. For me, Tom Ford Noir is the easiest gift idea for this coming Christmas. I doubt you will find too many men complaining if a bottle was to turn up in their Christmas stocking. I might even need another bottle before Christmas at the rate I have been using mine.

Try this if you like:

Guerlain Habit Rouge, Guerlain Shamilar, Chanel Egoiste, Chanel Bois des Iles, Yves Saint Laurent Opium Pour Homme, Lagerfeld Classic by Karl Lagerfeld, Diptyque Eau Lente, Comme des Garçons 2

My adventure in the south of France began in Nice, one of the oldest human settlements in Europe. Whilst the old town emits a sense of antiquity, the new town that spreads back inland from the Promenade des Anglais is a compact modern city. There is still a tranquil mood in the streets as feet shuffle along the pavement at a provincial pace and the locals are generally warm and friendly people. As I had to make my way to Grasse my stop in Nice was brief. From Nice to Grasse I had two options; I could take a bus for 1 euro or a taxi would cost 110 euro (Sunday fares attract an additional tariff). Reason told me I should save my money for perfume shopping and before I boarded the Sunday morning bus to Grasse I had all of Saturday to explore the Riviera town for scented treasure.

After a croissant and espresso in the old town, I walked through the weekend market stalls. Stalls were filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs and every conceivable product made from olives. One stall I passed glowed with the purple hue of lavender sprigs, a symbol of Provence. Earlier in the year majestic lavender fields cover the surrounding countryside with their intense colour and fresh herbal scent.

Le Serail- olive soap

Nice weekend vegetable and flower market

Lavender market stall

My perfume search began at Sephora and Galleries Lafayette. This led me to Jules by Christian Dior, an eau de toilette that is often praised as one of the great men’s leather chypres of the 1980s. Dior has limited its availability to Europe, perhaps even just France. I could understand the chypre’s popularity after I walked through the streets of Nice and I detected a veil of chypre, which seemed to cover the entire south of France. The chypre family of perfume, characterized by citrus top notes in harmony with woods and tree moss in the base, is definitely the default choice for 50+ southern French women. You can smell some variation of chypre on most elderly women in the streets of Nice. The common default in Australia for this age bracket of women is often Red Door or White Diamonds. My mind very easily makes associations between memories and scent so I had to block my nose on a number of occasions for fear of having my current image of Guerlain’s Mitsouko replaced with an image of these sweet old ladies and their pampered poodles. As nice as that is, it is not the image I wanted for my beloved Mitsouko.

Parfumerie Tanagra on rue Alphonse Karr is an excellent place to visit if you are looking for well-respected classics or you have something different in mind. Their selection of niche perfumes was the best I could find in Nice. Tanagra carry Frederic Malle, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Serge Lutens, Houbigant and the boutique introduced me to the Parisian niche line, Thierry de Gunzburg. Although my French is limited I could see the staff were knowledgeable about perfume. There was an awe and respect in the way they demonstrated the product, it was a mood I found in many perfumeries in this part of France, unlike the boutiques in Paris where employees tend to be younger and the approach is more modern. Both styles have their place, it was just an observation I found interesting.

Tanagra Parfumerie, Nice

On rue de l’Hotel des Postes there are a number of small independent perfumeries. Rose de France has two boutiques on the same block. The product offer is mostly standard issue but shopping here has the benefit of having a more personalized consultation, which may not be offered at Galleries Lafayette or Sephora due to the large size of their businesses. Across the road I found another perfumery called Institut Nogier. The sale sign that advertised 40% discount immediately caught my eye from afar. When I crossed the street I noticed the age of some items in the window and this gave me the impression I might find some vintage gems inside. My hunch was correct and there was a row of Guerlain perfumes packaged in bright gold cartons, a design that was discontinued some years ago. When it comes to consumer products, outdated stock is usually undesirable but for perfume, old formulas can sometimes increase the value of a perfume. Constant shifts in health and safety laws have not been kind to Guerlain who have had to reformulate many of their historic perfumes; not that I think there was ever any danger. I have never heard of anyone having an adverse effect or irritation using Mitsouko or Derby. Most devotees of the original formulas insist the newer versions feel pale in comparison. I fumbled my way through a conversation with the elderly woman who I could tell genuinely enjoyed her work. All I could say to open our conversation was J’aime le parfum antique de Guerlain. She smiled as I pointed to a bottle of Mouchoir de Monsieur. She smiled and replied; yes that one is very antique. Between my few words of French and her few words of English I left Institut Nogier with vintage Mitsouko parfum and Mouchoir de Monsieur.

Rose de France Parfumerie, Nice

Institut Nogier, Nice

Guerlain Mitsouko parfum and Mouchoir de Monsieur

Rue Paradis is a paved walkway with a number of fashion boutiques. On this street Espace Harroch caters to a modern clientele with prêt a porter by Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Jil Sander. Scent hunters will find Diptyque here. Across the laneway, Chanel has a boutique with their Les Exclusifs perfume line and the nearby Hermes boutique on Avenue de Verdun offers their own Hermessence collection.

Espace Harroch, Nice

Chanel, Nice

By Sunday lunchtime I was in Grasse exploring the old town. After a lengthy visit to the Musee International de la Parfumerie, which I wanted to write about in a separate post I made visits to Molinard and Fragonard. Fragonard is hard to miss and I thought if Grasse was ever renamed, the town should be renamed Fragonardville. It seemed that every bend in the road contained a street sign or billboard informing tourists how many meters they were from the closest Fragonard usine.  Grasse even has a Fragonard train that transports tourists up and down the town’s sloping hill. Across from the Musee International de la Parfumerie, Fragonard has its main usine or factory. Attached to the factory, where visitors can follow the process of perfume making, is a storefront that sells the finished product. During my visit, the store was filled with advertisements of Fragonard’s violet perfume; chosen to be the brand’s flower for 2012. Adjacent to the store, Fragonard’s own museum was a fascinating perfume journey. Some of the displayed antiques hark back to a period of haute-luxury in perfume making.

Musee de Fragonard, Grasse

Inside the Fragonard boutique, Grasse

Fragonard distillery

Antique crystal men’s perfume flacons

Antique crystal perfume flacon set

Antique grooming case

At Molinard the mood was similar to Fragonard. There was a museum filled with bottles and archived paraphernalia; a factory tour and a store. Molinard are well known for Art Deco creations that were housed in precious flacons designed by crystal artisan René Lalique during the 1920s and 30s. Habanita is without a doubt one of the main reasons why perfume aficionados descent from the old town to Molinard’s usine on the Boulevard Victor Hugo. I haven’t smelt vintage Habanita and experienced users suspect the formula has been altered over time. To my nose it still smelled great and it was just a matter of whether I wanted a bottle of extrait, eau de parfum or eau de toilette. I tested all three on my skin and decided I preferred the eau de parfum.

Molinard, Grasse

Molinard Museum

Vintage Habanita

Molinard workshop

Habanita 2012

Rene Lalique’s design for Molinard still in use today

Grasse has a number of local perfume stores that carry locally made product. Exploring them all I quickly discovered that although the storeowners were friendly, for the most part, these stores catered to tourists and I found it difficult to find innovative, well-made and qualitative perfumes. The one exception was Gaglewski on rue de l’Oratoire deep within the old town’s labyrinth of cobbled streets. I immediately took to Gaglewski’s masculine scent Cambouis. Inspired by the masculine world of mechanics, the perfume has burnt tar notes yet still retains a transparency unlike many other birch or cade based scents. Cambouis is well constructed and is an artisanal alternative to other more mainstream fragrances revered for their petrol notes.

Perfumer, Didier Gaglewski

Gaglewski, Grasse

Most local residents who work in the perfume industry do not spend much time in the old town. Although it has been cleaned up, the old town of Grasse is still very disheveled. Locals spend most of their spare time in the surrounding villages. A nice getaway is the small village of Valbonne, a short drive from Grasse. Many of the buildings date back to the 16^th century and the village center has some nice antique shops where you can find ornaments and crystal. Fruit shops that meticulously lay out their produce and restaurants serving typical Provençale cuisine surround the square. That night friends and I settled for Morrocan fare after visits to L Olivieroi, an artisan woodworker who creates perfume bottles from wood and La Maison de Charrier. If Astier de Villate is your aesthetic, this designer homewares boutique offers an exceptional range but I advise you to charge your credit card in preparation to shop here.

Valbonne village

Valbonne fruit vendors

L Olivieroi, Valbonne

My L Olivieroi perfume bottle

La Maison de Charrier, Valbonne

Astier de Villatte candles

German potter, Kuehn Keramik

After two weeks of study at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery (GIP) I traveled with a friend around the southern coast. Our first stop was Cannes; the beachside town famed for its annual film festival. Here I was particularly interested in Taizo, a perfumery that came highly recommended by my tutor at the GIP. Taizo is on the rue d’Antibes, one block back from the shoreline. Here, like Tanagra in Nice, I found a foray of niche perfumes as well as some exclusives from the big names. Taizo had the recently launched Giorgio Armani La Femme Nacre in their window; an iris perfume that exists as a numbered edition of 1000 bottles. The bottle was produced in the glassworks of Masnières in the north of France with a layering of New Zealand Mother-of-Pearl. Taizo also carries perfumes by Keiko Mecheri, By Kilian, Frederic Malle, Francis Kurkdjian, Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier and many more. As we were on route to Avignon, I took the opportunity to refresh my memory of Comme des Garçons’ Avignon, an incense perfume inspired by the town’s catholic history.

On the beach in Cannes

Taizo Parfumerie, Cannes

Bouteille Parfumerie (near Taizo), Cannes

Avignon is a charming town 40 minutes drive from Aix-en Provence. Although I managed to find only one perfumery during the afternoon I spent bicycling within the city walls, the charm of Avignon is more about the town’s tranquil atmosphere and of course the Palais des Papes, which served as the seat of Western Christianity during the 14^th century. The building’s inner sanctums must have smelt of burning incense once upon a time and this served as an inspiration for perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour when he created his perfume, Avignon for Comme des Garçons. Imagination is required to envisage this Gothic period and the aromas that it created; today the Palais des Papes smells only of old stone. Beautiful stone nonetheless.

Parfumerie du Palais, Avignon

Palais des Papes, Avignon

Inside palais walls

My final destination before returning to a Paris bound flight in Nice was Aix-en-Provence. I knew this wasn’t the best time to be there as lavender was out of season. I had the fortune of experiencing jasmine and tuberose fields in Grasse this visit, so fortune would need to bring me back to Provence in late spring to see and smell the purple lavender fields.

Address Book:

Tanagra Parfumerie

5 Bis rue Alphonse Karr 06000 Nice

http://www.tanagra-nice.com

Institut Nogier

49 Rue Hôtel des Postes
06000 Nice

http://www.parfumerie-grandjardin.com

Espace Harroch

7 rue Paradis 06000 Nice

http://www.espace-harroch.com

Gaglewski

12 rue de l’Oratoire 06130 GRASSE

http://www.gaglewski.com

Taizo Parfumerie

120 rue d’Antibes
06400 CANNES

http://www.taizo.fr

Starting this month I am adding a monthly post about six things that are currently on my mind. They can be things I have, things I wish to have or just something I currently find interesting.

As my blog generally focuses on perfume bottles I have collected, I rarely get to write about a number of samples that come to me by one means or another. My Monthly Six gives me a place to talk about some of the perfumes or objects I may not end up collecting, but nonetheless they have my attention.

So here goes, my first six, for December 2012:

December Six 2012

1: Quintessentially Perfume

This is the book I am currently reading and it comes from a line of books Quintessentially Publishing LTD have published on a range of topics linked to lifestyle, fashion and art. Their next publication will be called Q Gentlemen, which is a luxury guidebook for the sartorially elegant man. Quintessentially Perfume contains a superb foreword written by Roja Dove and chapters dedicated to the history of perfume, creative milestones, current trends and candid discussions with many of the world’s most influential men and women in perfume today. It makes excellent summer reading for any perfume lover.

http://www.quintessentiallypublishing.com

2: Divine L’Homme Infini

Brittany in the north of France is not an area many would associate with perfume making. But it is here in the resort town of Dinard, creator of Divine, Yvon Mouchel settled in the mid 1980s to create his brand. It began with a chypre perfume for women simply called Divine and has since grown over the past decade into a portfolio of more than eight perfumes for men and women. The house’s latest offering is the masculine L’Homme Infini, which sees perfumer Yann Vasnier return to Divine. The ISIPCA graduate has experienced success with perfumes for Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford and niche house Arquiste. L’Homme Infini is a modern masculine, and although this type of men’s fragrance is growing in popularity after the success of Terre d’Hermes and the trailing Voyage d’Hermes, L’Homme Infini proves it can hold its own ground staking its claim on a beautifully polished oak slab. Resinous elemi and spicy black pepper come first in the composition. This heavy oak wood note in the middle of the perfume is seated alongside cedar, vetiver and traces of oud. The base is balanced with warmer tones of amber and velvety musk. A press pack turned up on my desk recently and I have been sharing samples with work colleagues and friends who all are very fond of L’Homme Infini. I want to give one Australian Facebook follower a chance to share some samples amongst their own friends so read on if this fragrance sounds appealing to you.

http://www.divine.fr

3: Heeley Parfums Sel Marin

James Heeley is another perfumer I highly regard. Sel Marin is the perfect men’s fragrance coming into the Australian summer. Filled with sun, salt and sea air, Sel Marin is a clever layering of citrus, moss, algae and synthetic notes that creates an olfactory snapshot of a summer’s day at the beach. Like L’Homme Infini, it is another courageously creative yet highly wearable men’s fragrance.

http://www.jamesheeley.com

Australian Stockist: http://www.peonymelbourne.com.au

4: Tubereuse Candle by Frederic Malle

Last month in Hong Kong I visited Joyce department store near Landmark. Apparently I missed Frederic Malle by a week but he did not leave without a parting gift for his Cantonese devotees; his latest tuberose candle created by perfumer Dominique Rupion. Carnal Flower is another of Rupion’s creations for Frederic Malle and his research into the odour of tuberose flowers was revisited in order to create this new environmental scent. It features the same tuberose absolute sourced for Carnal Flower. Frederic Malle’s website suggests viewers can appreciate this candle as Carnal Flower without the connecting piece that makes it mingle with skin. Diptyque has been my preferred tuberose candle for nearly 10 years so I am looking forward to burning this new edition over the holiday season. Isn’t New Years the best time to implement change?

http://www.fredericmalle.com

Australian Stockist: http://www.meccacosmetica.com.au

5:  Hermes Santal Massoïa

Before beginning Quintessentially Perfume I finished reading Jean-Claude Ellena’s Diary of a Nose. His writings made me dig out the sample of Santal Massoïa I had received with a perfume purchase at Hermes earlier in the year. True to Jean-Claude Ellena’s form I am finding new aspects to appreciate in this most recent addition to the Hermessence collection. I sat on a sample of Poivre Samarcande for 5 years before I felt a connection to it enough to buy a bottle. Now it is one of my favourite summer perfumes. Santal Massoïa is another complex affair, for me it comes filled with malt and suede. I am still in the process of understanding my feelings for it, but I am enjoying the journey of discovery.

http://www.hermes.com

6: Chanel Fresh Body Cream

A recent trip to the Chanel Beauty store revealed a new product linked to Les Exclusifs de Chanel. Not a new fragrance (1932 will launch in 2013) but a perfumed body product compatible with the entire line of Les Exclusifs. The cream itself is fantastic; it feels great and absorbs into skin without feeling overly oily. Chanel describes it as a “delicate touch of a floral and musky whisper in perfect harmony with each fragrance in the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection.” It is a understated scent of sparkling gardenia, a Chanel signature and crystalline white musk. The scent is so refined I am not sure how valuable it would be beneath some of the heavier Les Exclusifs such as Sycomore or Coromandel; I see it paring nicely with Chanel’s Eau de Cologne or Bel Respiro.

http://www.chanel.com

December Sample Drawer:

If you are interested in putting your name forward for a sample set (4 x 1.7ml) of Divine’s L’Homme Infini, head to the What Men Should Smell Like Facebook page and do the following 2 things:

1: ‘Like’ the page if you haven’t already

2: Click ‘like’ for the Facebook post titled: Divine L’Homme Infini Giveaway

That’s all!

The winner will be drawn and announced December 10.

Due to the difficulty of shipping perfume outside Australia, the winner needs to have an Australian address I can post to. If the winner has not completed step 1 and 2 and/or does not have an Australian postal address, sorry, I will need to draw another name.

The winning name will be posted here and on Facebook as a comment. The winner has 7 days to come forward and claim their prize otherwise a redraw will occur. Hopefully I can find a good home for these samples before Christmas!

Divine L’Homme Infini

Times have rapidly changed in the space of the past decade. I remember speaking to a chemical supplier in Australia some years ago about my aspirations to launch a perfume range and the supplier told me point blank I couldn’t do it, “It’s very difficult, you will fail” he said. Many cultural analysts tell us we are now living in an age of the ‘betapreneur’; a new generation of entrepreneurs that are daring, risk-friendly, small-scale, highly responsive and in continual development.

Emerald Vintners Parfums (EVP) is a new Australian perfume brand that has responded to their calling amidst a rising increase in niche perfumery. Speaking with Brendan and Samuel the brand founders, I could see there has always been inkling towards aromas. The EVP perfumers began their journey in winemaking, a science that overlaps the realm of olfaction much more than one would think.

What I enjoyed about their story was that they were simply a couple of guys, winemakers living in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia and they wanted to share their story with the world through the medium of perfume. Instead of going the normal route of submitting a perfume brief to a marketing team and a perfumer, they learnt to create perfumes themselves.

The result is a newly launched line of three perfumes available at:

http://www.emeraldvintners.com.au

Samuel Eads and Brendan Carter of EVP

Dosage by EVP

Brix by EVP

Baume by EVP

WMSSL: So take me back to the start of your story. What came first in your mind? Winemaking or perfumery?

EVP: We began studying Viticulture and Oenology (Winemaking) before branching out into Perfumery in our second year of study. However, Brendan had some prior experience with the fragrance industry in France. It is though, a prerequisite that budding young winemakers have an interest in all things olfactory prior to commencing studies, so it may be more of a ‘chicken or egg’ situation. We’d like to think perfumery in its widest definition, determined our path to pursue winemaking.

WMSSL: What are the links between winemaking and perfumery, is there any cross over of skills?

EVP: How long is a piece of string?! There are multiple parallels that may be drawn between Winemaking and Perfumery. In fact, for 6 months, we both sat in a classroom learning about Alpha ionone, Beta-demascenone and Phenethyl Alcohol, all incredibly common aroma molecules in perfumery. The ability to create accurate descriptors that reflect the distribution of aroma molecules in a wine, is critical for the winemaker to properly conduct impartial evaluation. The difficulty becomes compounded when dealing with very complex scents, created through the interaction of multiple precursors. To date, this ’cause and effect’ of aroma molecule complexes are largely misunderstood in the wine industry.

This is where we’ve ‘cross-pollinated’ our education with the skills of perfumery, an industry that has spent many generations studying these intricate complexes. Creating scents that do not occur in nature, but reflect a place, memory or emotion. This has drastically complemented our skill set as winemakers. We are now working towards being able to impartially evaluate complex scents in wine and be able to identify what ‘mix’ of aroma molecules, in their varying amounts causes that scent, on the fly. Unfortunately, a GCMS machine can only get you so far. The next step is seeking how to achieve control (emphasise or diminish) these aromas in wine, through viticultural or oenological technique.

WMSSL: This is an interesting point. I visited M. Chapoutier in the Rhone Valley last year and they had us tasting wine and matching it to perfume samples. I found it intriguing how a peach could end up in a bottle of wine, but your explanation puts it all into perspective; winemakers use their perfume vocabulary to interpret a molecule that naturally exists in the wine, connecting it to something in the world, the person reading the label would understand. Is the way you evaluate wine very different from the way you evaluate perfume?

EVP: Well we use the same equipment! It’s very similar. Winemakers are often given some strange looks when evaluating wines, describing them by similar scents (Strawberry, Mocha, Violet). Then we often get asked whether these things are actually in the wine. Surprisingly, the answer is ‘kind of’. If someone smells bruised apple in their wine (often in Riesling/Gewurtztraminer/Aged Semillon), they’re usually smelling beta-demascenone. This molecule also happens to occur in high concentrations in the airspace around an actual bruised apple. Human beings are all ‘wired’ the same, it’s simply a memory-descriptor-molecule association. This is where perfumery seems to have an edge on winemaking, because perfumery lends itself to an impartial evaluation of the building blocks of scent, as opposed to the ‘this reminds me of’ loose evaluation in the wine industry.

Of course, evaluation of fragrance and perfume has different logistics, you consider different notes, and specify right through the dry-down in fragrance. There are also different mediums, ethanol as a carrier solvent, oil-based, solid perfume, candles…or (one of our favorites) infused agar wood chips! Different delivery methods achieve different goals.

Regarding wine, you also need to consider the palate, which allows you to jump the wine up a few degrees in the mouth, and aerate it, causing a different spread of volatile aromas to be detected retro-nasally (the passage from the back of your mouth, to your nose, passes the olfactory bulb). Do yourself a favour and find yourself a really strong mint (Fisherman’s Friend), hold your nose whilst putting it in your mouth. Swirl it around for 10 seconds, taste anything? Let your nose go whilst keeping the mint in your mouth…fragrance IS flavour. Evaluation of fragrance allows us to better understand flavour too!

Furthermore, the design of the glass also impacts how the volatiles are detected, and at what concentration. Have a look through the Riedel catalogue, different glasses for different styles/varieties of wine. This is comparable to choosing what sprayer, the dosage and the atomisation we use in fragrances. The delivery method is paramount.

WMSSL: I have heard a number of sales people sell perfume on the premise that the perfume will work with a person’s body chemistry and magically change to become the buyer’s own individual scent. I think this is where your comment on different delivery methods comes in to play. I’m still not a believer that a perfume will change based on it’s wearer. I prefer to see it from the perspective that perfumes are complex things, filled with many facets. Different delivery systems and vessels, i.e skin, bring out different facets creating the illusion the fragrance has changed… some one is simply observing the perfume from a different angle. What motivated you and both to join forces and create a perfume range?

EVP: When we first began exploring the world of perfumery, it became apparent that we stumbled across a way to convey our experiences and memories in fragrance-form. It was the purest form of olfactory artistic expression. We get one chance a year to use our noses to directly impact the quality of wine (sometimes two times a year if you’re lucky). We get to challenge our noses on a daily basis, in front of a perfumery organ.

One of the overarching concepts in wine is to be able to convey a ‘sense of place’ in the resultant product. Have the wine speak of where it comes and set it apart from wines from other areas. This is a very difficult thing to achieve, and some of the best wines are great expressions of their place (Henschke’s Hill of Grace, Wendouree, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti – La Tache). The French know this as ‘Terroir’

We found that we could express our sense of place, the Adelaide Hills, with reverence and inspiration from wine regions around the world, in fragrances. The chief motivation for our Inception Range was to challenge ourselves, and also showcase our beautiful part of the world. It has helped us really understand our own ‘Terroir’ and how to properly express it.

Now, we’re drawing on other, more artistic expressions for other fragrances in the pipeline!

WMSSL: Terroir, what a great concept for a fragrance! Tell me about Brix, Baume and Dosage. What do these perfumes say and how did you envisage them being appreciated by their wearers? Did you have a target audience in mind?

EVP: First and foremost we believe that scent, by nature, is unisex. We’ve tried to avoid masculine vs feminine with our fragrances. Although there are some scents that may fit the stereotype, we certainly wish them to be enjoyed for the scent primarily, and its artistic expression.

Brix really conveys the experience of walking through the citrus trees in the Adelaide Hills, during a summer’s day. This is the area that Sam grew up in. Brendan had spent a lot of time on the Amalfi, around the Isle of Capri, inspiration was also drawn from the Citrus trees of this area, something that one of our favourite fragrance houses, Carthusia, also utilise. We really wanted to create a citrus with a confectionary, almost caramelised feel. We were thinking ‘limoncello’ on this one. Sweet, yet sharp. We really envisioned this as a morning scent, to be enjoyed before going to work, perhaps in the office, fresh yet not offensive. It is a bright scent with intensity.

Baumé was inspired by brisk strolls through the cherry farms in the Adelaide Hills in a springtime morning, whilst the mist diffused through the blossoming branches. This scent was our ‘statement of intent’. Not fitting into any individual ‘mould’ or ‘category’ of fragrance, our aim was to scientifically approach the concept of sillage in perfumery. We studied the chemistry behind the creation of sillage in various perfumes with an aim to create a ‘sillage monster’, whilst still conveying the specific experience we were targeting. This required much re-blending, as the creation of sillage can often come at the detriment of the perfume’s attaque. We’re envisioning this enjoyed before a day out in the woods, frolicking along the seaside or taking an open-top drive through the Alps. It’s a scent of adventure. Of all the fragrances, this lends itself to a ‘feminine’ category, being a stronger white floral.

Dosage was inspired by autumn in the Adelaide Hills, the late blooming florals, the deeper amber-like intensity indicated by the yellow-orange of the surrounding woods and the natural musk generated by the elevated humidity. We find that in many parts of Australia, the changing of the seasons goes by unnoticed. The Adelaide Hills is one of those places where spring and autumn seem to drag on, and on. We wanted a fragrance that conveyed the intensity, of colour, of fragrance and substantivity of this particular season. We see this as being appreciated by the middle-aged male, in the evening of a cold, wet night, coupled with the warmth of a cigar and the vanilla-drive of a fine scotch. The musk also lends itself to a more refined mature woman. This is a true unisex scent. We’ve had all demographics go for this fragrance, even some we never considered!

WMSSL: It was certainly an ambitious project. From the point of creation, this I am sure was no easy task to do. Were there any technical challenges that arose during the creation phase and if so, how did you overcome them?

EVP: Absolutely, being one of the select luxury perfumers in Australia, we’re faced with issues of sourcing ingredients, packaging, processing equipment etc. There are also issues of quality control. In many cases, we simply had to pay the premium to get things from Europe or direct from the source (UAE, Egypt etc).

There’s also issues of knowledge base, being winemakers didn’t necessarily qualify us as perfumers. It just gives us a sound chemistry background in sensory science. The logistics of artistic fragrance creation are much more complex than any chemical concept. The only way to overcome this is through numerous trials undertaking a scientific approach. This is precisely why it has taken almost 2 years to craft three individual scents.

Baumé was a prime example of how we utilised our chemistry background to emphasis a single perfumery concept. This doesn’t necessarily mean we were creating something that was appealing to a consumer, nor did it come close to conveying our emotions and experiences. Much time was spent on Baumé to ensure we were achieving our original goal.

Then there are all the logistical challenges that every perfumer has: Atomizer size, dosage rate, regulatory guidelines, skin type, universal acceptance of scent quality. The list is seemingly never-ending. It certainly helps to have a mate side-by-side enjoying the trials and tribulations with you! I think this is largely why there are so little dedicated perfumers, it’s a big job following a fragrance from concept to final product.

WMSSL: To be this driven to complete the project I am sure you must have had a point of reference. Have you always had an interest in perfume? Are there any perfumes or perfumers you identify as influential on your style as a perfumer?

EVP: We believe that you have to have some interest in the olfactory arts before possibly wishing to pursue a four-year degree in Winemaking. We certainly had an interest in perfume and fragrance. We were even attuned to the broader sense of fragrance in the world around us; food, wine, the natural world etc. As inspirations, we’ve always enjoyed the works of Jean-Claude Elena (the Citrus King in our books), Maurice Roucel (Confectionary Genius), Ben Gorham’s Minimalist Style and Andy Tauer for his non-conformity.

WMSSL: How would you describe your style at this point in time?

EVP: Expressive and Classic. Although, we’ll be ‘mixing’ it up in the near future!

WMSSL: Are there plans to launch a men’s fragrance?

EVP: Not to be contrary to our previous statements regarding fragrance as a naturally unisex concept, we are releasing a very ‘masculine’ scent in the next two weeks! A limited release, only 40 signed bottles named ‘Terroir’…a frankincense, earthy, oak moss-drive enveloped with cedar and vetiver!

WMSSL: Sounds earthy indeed! What should men smell like?

EVP: Confidence in Honour. Any scent that inspires this in a man, is a scent worth wearing. Be it Rose, Lavender, Oudh or Oak Moss.

Dear Readers,

I thought I would take the opportunity whilst most of you are busy catching up with friends and family over Christmas lunches and dinners to redesign What Men Should Smell Like. Apologies in advance if some of the features you are used to on my site are not currently functioning.

I will be back in the New Year with a new look that I hope you will find engaging and fun!

Happy festive season and I look forward to another year of fragrant journeys.

Clayton

My Monthly Six post was put on hold last month due to my blog redesign. If you have moved houses recently you will know how time consuming it is to pack your life away into boxes and then unpack it again at the other end. Moving blogs across cyberspace is a similar thing. Changing service providers, shopping for a new theme, learning how to use the new theme and then reformatting content and resizing images is a little bit like choosing a new neighbourhood to live in, finding a vacant house and then unpacking all your boxes to see where your belongings fit. Things are back to normal now, although I’ll admit to having a few messy boxes left to unpack. For now I am hiding them in my blog’s basement away from readers’ eyes!

For my February Six I have brought together six items that are currently top of mind. I am writing this post from New Zealand so you will notice that some of this month’s selection has a distinct kiwi flavour, or perhaps I should say odour.

1: Pohutakawa Honey

Due to strict laws prohibiting travellers from bringing foreign honey into Australia, I only enjoy New Zealand honey here in ... Read More »

This post is part two of Jordan River’s Valentine’s Day series. Follow him through time and across three perfume blogs to read the full story.

Part 1 – Futuristic Lover – the making of a neo-perfume

Part 2 – the story continues below…

It is Valentines Day 2024.

Jordan: Kia Ora, Clayton – I’m breezing through to see your perfume organ; 800 amber bottles, I want to smell them all! And in your fridge more amber bottles, 5ml, all labelled, and decanted from your FBW’s; what a great reference library. Clayton, I am making a perfume for my one untrue love. Back in 2012 you made a New Zealand ambergris tincture. It has become well known and I was wondering whether two drops could complete Futuristic Lover, the perfume that I am making for my one untrue love?

Clayton: Two drops are all that are left. Hmmm. No. Yes… Okay. If you have all the ingredients, let’s blend the final perfume.

Jordan: Excellent. Here is the Quantum Unicorn Accord from Luca Turin, and a shimmering synthetic rose accord from Lucas in Poland. While the juice macerates lets check out the Afghan Rose harvest from way back in 2010. I wish I had taken up Lucas’ offer ... Read More »

For women, haute couture remains the pinnacle of sartorial indulgence. For men, the bespoke suit serves a similar purpose. Over the past century men have sought out the expertise of master tailors in London’s Savile Row to create suiting that is made-to-measure. The term ‘bespoke’ originated in Savile Row when cloth was considered to ‘be spoken for’ once a client had made their selection with their tailor. Vienna does not have the same reputation as Savile Row but the Austrian city has a long history of men’s tailoring. Amongst the names associated with Viennese tailoring is Knize. Josef Knize was a Czech master tailor who settled in Vienna in the mid 19th century. His company passed hands and by the 1920s, the Knize name was a global symbol of bespoke style amongst men who were accustomed to such services. Around this time, Ernst Dryden was hired as Knize’s chief designer. He reworked the house logo making reference to the English game of polo, a symbol of elegance for the designer. Soon after he launched a line of men’s colognes, the most popular was Knize Ten- ten being to the highest handicap in a polo match. Legendary perfumer Francois Coty and ... Read More »

This week I visited a Gucci store with a friend. They had a small display of the brand’s latest perfume, the unisex Gucci Museo Forever Now, a fragrance that was authored by a Florentine perfumer I interviewed in 2011, Lorenzo Villoresi. Naturally I was eager to sample the collaboration as I am a fan of Villoresi’s work and this was the first time I had seen the artisan perfumer commissioned by a large commercial brand like Gucci. My friend asked me when was the last time I purchased a Gucci fragrance for myself. I thought for a moment and replied, “actually, I haven’t bought anything since Tom Ford left the brand.” Although I admire the work of Gucci’s current creative director, Frida Giannini, Tom Ford brought a magical sense of freethinking to Gucci. At a time when most brands were following the pendulum away from the rich, ultra masculine style that had dominated men’s perfumery in the 1970s and ‘80s, Ford reinforced the necessity of this style with the fragrances he was directing. The result was ahead of its time and a substantial risk when a majority of other brands were mimicking Giorgio Armani’s highly successful Acqua di Gio. Tom ... Read More »

Christian Dior’s Eau Sauvage is arguably one of the most important 20th century fragrances in men’s perfumery. Created by perfumer, Edmond Roudnitska in 1966, Eau Sauvage is an innovation of its time and the string of copycat fragrances, which followed, can be used as a measure of its importance. Dior continued to shape men’s perfumery through successes such as Fahrenheit (1988) and Dior Homme (2005). Although the brand’s recent focus has been its exclusive Couturier Collection as well as some olfactory renovations to its existing lines, it is exciting to see a new men’s edition, a 2012 reinterpretation of Dior’s 1966 classic. Even if it is a reinterpretation or flanker, as the online perfume community refers to this type of fragrance addition, Eau Sauvage Parfum has an individual voice that deserves appreciation away from the shadow of its infamous parent. This is the third time Christian Dior has reworked Eau Sauvage. The first was during the 1980s; an extreme version was created that boosted the original’s aromatic and mossy aspects. Dior’s master perfumer, Francois Demachy created a fresh leathery version in 2007, soon after he joined Dior, having spent most of his professional life at Chanel with Jacques Polge. Now ... Read More »

Hello everyone. You may have noticed that until now, Twitter is something I have avoided. I guess my main objection was that I didn’t want to use Facebook and Twitter as vehicles for pushing out the same information that I posted on my blog, so that they were simply signposts, directing traffic to my blog. I wanted each platform to have its own unique voice. Last year when I created my Facebook page, it was to create more dialogue with readers and share photos that didn’t require a dedicated blog post. So with some advice from friends and fellow bloggers, I have found a place for Twitter in what I do, making it different from the blog and my Facebook page.

Now you can follow me on Twitter, which is where I will take you behind the scenes of What Men Should Smell Like, give you updates on the posts I am working on and the people I am meeting throughout my travels. It is the place where I will share links to online content that I think will interest you and dare I say, if you have ever wanted to know more about me, I think Twitter will be me ... Read More »

A well-packed bag can make a world of difference to a holiday or business trip. There is nothing more frustrating than having to empty out a suitcase at the airport because that one thing you need right now is hidden right at the bottom. There is also a fine balance between not packing enough or taking too much and being that person at the airport who is performing a balancing act with numerous bags slung over each shoulder, holding up the security screening queue. I travel a lot for work and with experience I have become more efficient with the way I do it. I’m currently on a three-week work trip and I thought for my Monthly Six post, I would share a handful of tips that could make your next trip away, a little bit easier. Particularly if you are a perfume collector, nothing kicks a trip off on the wrong foot more, than opening your bag at the hotel to broken glass and your favourite perfume is everywhere.

Pictured: Profvmvm Santalvm, a sandalwood scent I collected on a trip to Rome. Every time I smell it, it reminds me of my summer holiday in this ancient city. Santalvm is a masculine ... Read More »

Leather has enjoyed a revival in perfumery, partly due to niche perfumers that have enjoyed using leather to tell their stories over the past decade. For L’Artisan Parfumeur ‘s Dzing, Olivia Giacobetti uses elements of leather to create an olfactory image of a gypsy circus, of animals and warm hay.  In Puredistance’s M, Roja Dove creates an olfactory image of an Aston Martin’s fine leather upholstery. The use of leather notes in perfumery is deeply seated in history. Grasse, the historic centre of French perfumery was once a major supplier of tanned hides used in France and Italy’s burgeoning leather goods industry. Perfumery flourished here during the 18th century when the trend of the perfumed glove was at its peak. Due to high taxation of leather and shifting trends at the end of the 19th century, Grasse’s leather industry declined but perfumery flourished. When modern chemistry changed the way perfumers worked, Grasse embraced the change and with over a century of know-how, the small town that overlooks the French Riviera was at the forefront of early 20th century perfumery. It was at this time a determined Coco Chanel visited Grasse seeking help to create her first signature scent, which would ... Read More »

I did have one more Scent Adventure to publish after I returned from Europe last summer but the story was put on hold after some other priorities took over. I recently came back to my half-finished story and this is the posthumous recount of my scented tale from October 2012.

By the time I finished traveling along the Cote d’Azur, summer was already showing signs of its annual retirement and Paris offered me a cool hand in reception when I arrived from Nice. After two weeks of study at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, it was time to make the gradual journey back to Australia. My route would take me to Paris and on to London before boarding a 24 hour flight to Sydney.

In Paris, I stayed with a close friend from New Zealand who is now living in London. We used Airbnb to find a cozy apartment in Le Marais, at the heart of Paris’ 3rd arrondissement. Airbnb is a great source of accommodation, allowing you to feel like you are living in a foreign city instead of living out of a suitcase in a hotel. Our apartment was typically Parisian with a large centre courtyard and a resident gargoyle, ... Read More »