Jo Malone is spoiling us rotten this Christmas with nifty gifts and sets encased in their delicious waffle-like, chic packaging. Here is the round-up for your ease, take notes:
TEA BOX DELUXE CANDLE COLLECTION A suite of three Deluxe Candles are presented in a stately cream-coloured box accompanied with a silver-plated wick trimmer, candle snuffer and key. The Collection features Eau De Cologne, Parma Violets and Sweet Almond Macaroon Deluxe Candles; each candle includes an engraved Jo Malone Candle Lid. 3x400g for 395 $US
SCENTED TRAVEL CANDLES Add the finishing touches to your home by decorating the interior with the delicious scents of Amber & Sweet Orange, Grapefruit, Lime Blossom and Orange Blossom. Sold individually the travel candles are easy to get anyplace to add an ambience of style, sophistication and warmth in any room. Each Candle is 60g for 35$
COLOGNE COLLECTION The Cologne Collection celebrates the artistry of scent through six colognes in small atomisers in a luxurious box, allowing perfume lovers to get to know the Jo Malone line intimately. The scents may be worn alone or layered to create unique combinations. The collection includes Grapefruit, Nectarine Blossom & Honey, Pomegranate Noir, Sweet Lime & Cedar, Lime Basil & Mandarin and White Jasmine & Mint. 6 sprays x 9ml for 95$
BATH OIL COLLECTION An invitation to unwind via aroma. Six glass decanterswith six different scents to be used alone or in comvination. The collection includes Grapefruit, Nectarine Blossom & Honey, Pomegranate Noir, Sweet Lime & Cedar, Lime Basil & Mandarin and White Jasmine & Mint. 6 vials x30ml for 85$
LIME BASIL & MANDARIN fRAGRANCE CHRONICLE™ The Lime Basil & Mandarin fragrance Chronicle™ is a new idea: Combine accords to the classic rich citrus formula embellished with notes of aromatic herbs and sensual woods to create your very own compelling signature scent. Transform Lime Basil & Mandarin with the accords of Mandarin, Sweet Basil and Amberwood. The Chronicle includes Lime Basil & Mandarin Cologne 30ml, Mandarin Cologne Accord 9ml, Sweet Basil Cologne Accord 9ml, Amberwood Cologne Accord 9ml, all for 95$.
POMEGRANATE NOIR PAMPER KIT The limited-edition Pamper Kit includes Bath Oil, Shimmer Body Powder and Body Crème, all with the mysterious, regal scent of Pomegranate Noir. Presented in the Jo Malone signature gift box the kit includes Bath Oil Glass Decanter 200ml, Shimmer Body Powder with Ultra Luxe Puff 70g, and Body Crème 175ml for 245$
POMEGRANATE NOIR DELUXE CANDLE Combining the sweet, fruity notes of raspberry, pink pepper and pomegranate with patchouli, frankincense and spicy woods, it comes with an engraved Jo Malone Candle Lid presented in a Jo Malone signature gift box. 400g for 130$
PINE & EUCALYPTUS COLLECTION Savor the season with Pine & Eucalyptus, a limited-edition scent from Jo Malone. The crisp aroma of pine is entwined with velvety eucalyptus to evoke the sense of winter. The Collection includes: Bath Soaps 3 x 100g 50$, Bath Oil 250ml 60$, Living Cologne 200ml for 95$, Home Candle 200g for 65$, Luxury Candle 2.5kg for 345$
Available at Jo Malone Shops, http://www.jomalone.com/, Bergdorf Goodman and in select Neiman Marcus and Saks fifth Avenue stores.
Calèche Fleurs de Méditerranée, a variation on the classic Calèche is being re-issued by the house of Hermès for spring 2010. The till now discontinued fragrance, a limited edition in only 2500 bottles from 2003, is being brought back, as a line-up contestant alongside the many lovely variations on the classic Calèche (three of them being Kelly Calèche in all its concentrations of Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum and Parfum; all four versions were composed by Jean Claude Ellena, in-house perfumer)
Hermes presents it as "A voyage in a bottle. Perfume and wind know no barriers: they travel freely through air and over sea. In Calèche Fleurs de Méditerranée, a warm breeze glides over the Mediterranean basin, delicately grazing the fragile white stars of Egyptian jasmine, rustling the skirts of the Turkish damascena rose, stroking the sunbathed blooms of Moroccan mimosa. Calèche, so characteristically elegant, so undeniably classic, reaffirms its femininity with Egyptian jasmine and Turkish rose. The Soie de Parfum of Calèche Fleurs de Méditerranée plays with a daring hint of violet leaf, giving an invigorating tartness to its initially light, fruity scent. Joyously enlivened by a fresh breath of mimosa, it incarnates a youthful fragility, a distinctly contemporary clarity rounded to perfection by a gentle touch of heliotrope and beeswax – an echo of the powdery, honey-sweet note of mimosa absolute'.
If you're in New York City this December and with an appetite of combining scent learning and fine cuisine, another scent dinner organised by Chandler Burr is waiting for you. The details are:
December 2, 2009 Scent Dinner Two menus, one olfactory, created by Chandler Burr, The New York Times scent critic, and one culinary, created by Fabio Trabocchi, Exec. Chef of The Four Seasons Restaurant.
The Four Seasons Restaurant 99 East 52nd St. (b/t Park & Lex) New York NY 10022 212 754 9494
In the Pool Room. 7pm Business Attire $250 per person, all inclusive
Helena Rubinstein proposed that Wanted "unveils the ineffable and mysterious link that binds a woman to her love, a woman to her desires, a woman to her fragrance". Supposedly the name derives from the advertising phrase "All you've ever wanted" (Yeah, like another PhD, a second summer house, this one on Santorini so I don't end up paying exorbitant prices when there, and my offspring to behave at all times...fat chance I'll get! Anyway...)
The daring muse for Rubinstein's first foray in fragrance in 25 years (last one was the rococo typical of its era Barynia in 1985) is none other than Demi Moore, who I suppose is more daring for her choice of a much younger soulmate than anything else (no offence meant, just pondering on the "dare" factor these days). When all is said and done, more power to her and I have to note I always liked that, despite whatever procedure she has had done, she never plumped up her lips the way so many Hollywood stars do ending up like trouts. In the advertising commercial she showcases her best assets (come-hither eyes, great shape) and does a sexy speak-over with her husky, suggestive voice dressed in a Donna Karan look-alike dress (which if my memory serves me well had been her hit a decade ago).
On the other hand Wanted is daring to the degree that a chicken and asparagus casserole can be described as such: surely a nice combination of flavours, but not unheard of and the only folks who won't touch it with a six-feet pole are small children (and even then...). Likewise Wanted recalls to mind shades of Dolce & Gabanna's The One, in a lighter, more citrusy incarnation, and woodier rather than fruity-orientalised; stepping from the sauna with a lovely peignoir on the colour of cream, all pores cleansed and exctracted (the lily of the valley touches of "scrubbed clean" along with what I deduce are white musks at the base). Magnolia grandiflora is shaping to be the newest iris (i.e. a huge trend) and after a dearth of florals in favour of gourmands, it seems they're getting back with a vengeance, possibly as a result of the mega hit of J'Adore by Dior which also features magnolia. In Wanted it's a fantasiacal accord of woody and creamy-floral facets (a special LMR extraction of ylang ylang) with a radiant dose of sugar spun crystals sprinkled on and an acqueous feel, which was inspired by a stay at Portofino of all places. It's certainly sweeter than Magnolia Nobile by Aqua di Parma. Perfumers Dominique Ropion and Carlos Benaim of IFF figured women who turned to their favourite cosmetics brand would expect a comforting, polished and rather delicate composition, like pampered face cream (similar approach in Eau de Fleur de Magnolia by Kenzo), that wouldn't have any hard edges, nor operatic throw-cushions the way white flowers are by their very nature rendered (and doesn't Ropion have tremendous experience with those!). Therefore fans of apocalyptical awe-inspiring florals will be disappointed, consumers with an eye on wearability will make it popular.
The bottle, designed by internationally renowned French jewels and furniture designer Hervé van der Straeten is elegant and striking in a industrial-sleekness-meets-1er arrondissement-sophistication , although the material doesn't look as luxurious up close and personal. (Or maybe I'm just extremely picky)
Notes for Helena Rubinstein Wanted: magnolia, ylang ylang and iris over cedar
Helena Rubinstein Wanted is available as Eau de Parfum 1.7 fl. oz. for $60/50ml for €70, Eau de Parfum 3.4 fl. oz. for $80/ 100ml for €100 and Body Lotion 6.6 fl. oz., $45; exclusively at Macy's from November 5th and at major department stores in Europe.
Pic of Demi Moore via cosmetic candy, Wanted bottle pic via bwconfidential.com
Come and see falling snow along London's Old Bond Street, rickshaw sleighs, Father Christmas, carol singers, musicians, bell ringers, roasted chestnuts and entertainers in period costume, all organised by the Bond Street Association. You're invited at Ormonde Jayne for a glass of champagne and mince pies on: Thursday 19th November from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm (12 The Royal Arcade28 Old Bond StreetLondon W1T. 0207 499 1100) Bring this invitation along with you to receive a 10% discount on the night or shop online on Thursday the 19th November and receive a 10% discount by entering the promotional code 'NOEL' in the checkout page. Joyeux Noël.
When the well-trodden becomes anew there is reason for joy. If certain white flowers have always seem unatainable to you, if you found yourself avoiding tuberose for reasons too complicated to unfold, all naturals indie brand Anya's Garden has two aces up her sleeves: Moondance and Starflower, two unconventional new fragrances that ~in typical Anya style~ will surprise you!
In the words of Anya McCoy inMoondance "water mint is underfoot as you dance among the violets and tuberose, as apple herb and roses sing softly". The ethereal touch of violets opens with a trompe l'oeil touch of the mint: is it there or isn't it? "This is not the direction toothpaste is going", I said to myself, when testing, as the familiar cold-on-a-hot-tongue feeling of industrial-strength fake mint didn't register. Yet, prompted by my desire to locate it, after reading the notes, I paid more attention and it is there if very subtly: But how strange! It only maxes out the dryad feeling of the woody-orris violets into cool green pistas! Herbal scents are difficult to harness, because they seem to project at a frequency that registers them either in the culinary (lamb chops roast) or the marginally aromatherapeutic: think tisanes and hot compresses. Yet, in Moondance the chamomille reminds one of nothing of the sort. Instead it fuses with the Rose de Mai absolute and the natural alpha ionone isolates (i.e.violet) into a synergistic ritual dance in the forest under, you guessed it, a full moon. Tuberose only hints at its presence, if you're not specifically searching for it, you might not realise that it is delicately weaved in here: its bombastic nature is well-behaved for once, like a loud, overactive child who is mesmerised briefly by the shooting stars into silence, as furry animals watch from a distance (Anya used hyrax tincture and hyrax absolute to render this fuzzy animalic comfort blanket). The general ambience is not unlike Isabel Doyen's creation for Les Nez The Unicorn Spell(which is similarly unisex) and lovers of the latter should definitely give a try to Moondance! My only gripe would be its relatively short lasting power, which means that you could use it on a scarf or ~even better~ a leather band on your wrist (How utterly charming! Why should Kurkdjian have all the fun?)
If your tastes do not run into the timid, but you're set for no-limits throttle, full-on speed, then Starflower is more your thing, and by Jove, ain't it mine! Anya McCoy presents floral gourmand Starflower as "candy flower, dreamy and steamy, almond cherry, chocolate and tuberose bring Mexico to you". A Mexican delicasy doesn't even begin to describe it, as luscious chocolate, allied to beautiful, slightly camphoraceous but oh-so-good-it-hurts patchouli (and possibly a maple touch) tempt the taste buds before the nostrils claim all the pleasure. There is nothing of the sanitised patchouli that mainstream brands churn out by the bucketload aiming at the fatigued nose-velcro of urbanites burned out on the Angel-doused armpits of commuters. This is the spirited love affair of rich essences which do not succumb but to the skillful hands of a certain Miami shores artisanal perfumer. The result in Starflower is oddly animalic, deep, incredibly lasting for an all-naturals perfume, and somewhat buttyric: Indeed a CO2 butter essence is hiding under the narcotically-scented tuberose (rendered into her edible vestige, posing for a screen-test with Marcolini and melting into a pool of cream). Anya reveals: "I first became aware of its use in ice cream from an 18th Century book Encarnación's Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California, and further research showed its use in other sweet desserts. My perfume musings got me to thinking, well, let's see how it would pair with vanilla and chocolate, two other tasty and fragrant offerings from Mexico." I can only say that Starflower should come with a cautionary label attached: "Restrain application or you're seriously risking at having your arms (or other body parts) nibbled on!"
A small precaution if I may would be to sample Moondance before indulging in Starflower, so as not to suffocate the more ethereal into the more full-bodied, much as one would do when tasting wines of different attributes, and cork-off them for a couple of minutes before sniffing (as all-naturals are famous for being too intense to fully grasp at first). Moondance and Starflower are available from Anya's Garden, in parfum extrait ($75 and $60) and an Eau de Parfum ($125 and $100) or $5 per sample.
Anya had the generosity of sending me two ample samples of the expensive scents for a lucky reader, along with those I sampled for reviewing. Enter a comment if you want to be in the drawing!
"If your wife smells of ikan keropok, try telling her in the nicest way possible that she stinks. If you want to see your wife wearing some sexy lingerie “once in a while” (remember what happens when familiarity sets in), go out and buy her something alluring. If you think sex is boring with your partner, you might want to ask yourself what you’re doing about it. After all, it usually takes two. Dousing a fish cracker with perfume will only make it smell like a fish cracker with perfume".
The high divorce rate in Terengganu (attributed to "body odour, humdrum sex and boring pyjamas") is prompting the local government into approaching big firms to come up with “exotic and sensuous fragrances that can arouse sexual desire.” Mary Schneider on TheStar.com argues that companies surely have been going that exact same route for ages; and that perfume doesn't really change anything in a relationship that has communication or stagnation problems. Does it?Be vocal with your stories!!
In an interview she gives to Brendan O'Connor (a professed lover of scent, judging by his wearing of Chanel Bel Respiro), alongside the watching eye of Steve Mormoris, vice president of Global Marketing for Coty, Kate Moss talks about her newest fragrance after Kate (2007), Velvet Hour (2008) and Kate Summer Time (2009). It's called Vintage to reflect her love for old things "that have stories" and her whole aesthetic.
Hot on the heels of her Some Velvet Morning cover, the Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra song she recorded with Primal Scream, Kate has embraced her love for vintage even in perfumes. For this foray into fragrance collaboration woth Coty she went for the softer side, not her party side, she reveals, reflecting a classier aim. The perfume was developed by Olivier Polge and includes notes of pink pepper, freesia, mandarin, heliotrope, jasmine, almond blossom, tonka bean, vanilla and musk. (notes via NST) One could of course argue that that list reads nothing like Vintage, more like another increment in the vast array of modern compositions. Still, Kate Moss Vintage is a fruity floriental, which according to the writer is "a little bit cooler and less overwhelmingly flowery than some other personality-driven perfumes. It comes in a very cool bottle and the whole package is very Kate Moss. It's the Rolling Stones in the Sixties meets Ladbroke Grove punk meets Wicklow trustafarian. It's an afghan coat and butterflies and a glass of champagne"...
Read the whole article on the Independent.ie clicking here And here is the TV commercial directed by leading British artist and photographer Katerina Jebb, featuring her "scanning" technique. Music is taken from Nocturne Op.9 no.1 in B flat Minor by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. You can call that timeless, for sure!
Photo of Kate Moss via fashionindie.com, bottle pic via shoppingblog.com
It is not unusual to hear the Middle Ages considered as the age of the Great Unwashed or to think that Western Europe had by that time ceased to partake of the pleasures of perfume and aromatic components used for reasons of well-being, aesthetic advancement and spiritual therapy completely. Nothing is further from the truth, which we will try to clarify with this article on fragrance history.
It is often mentioned that the Middle East and Islam in particular were the harbingers of perfumes in the Dark Ages. It's certainly true that during the 7th and 8th centuries A. D. the Arabs engaged in extensive marine commerce with India and China, focusing on spices and aromatics, supplying them to the luxurious courts of the caliphs and the Byzantine emperors. Empress Zoë, in the Christian stronghold of Constantinople, emplyed court perfumers and indulged in fine scents. However we would be mistaken to thus "interpret" the torch-being-held by the Middle East for that time-frame, which would on first thought seem logical because of their scientific advancements (indeed revolutionary in many scientific fields). For example, Avicenna was accredited with revolutionising the plants distillation process by introducing a refrigerated coil, therefore rendering the production of aromatic floral waters and essentials possible for a greater variety of plants, including rose. However archaeological evidence proves that plants were certainly distilled before this time in history and that the tradition had been kept in the west ~as archived through manuscripts, industriously being copied in...western monasteries, of all places!
Aromatic bathswere taken, during those dark times, for medical, spiritual or even merely aesthetic reasons with various essences; and in fact the practice was not restricted only to nobility. Herbalists such as Hildegarde of Bingen and the author of Banckes' herbal recommended them. The strong smell of valerian musk and civet were quite popular as well, probably because they had the power to obliterate other offensive smells in the urban environment (which, due to inadequate plumping or garbage collecting, was thickened with the inevitable pong of the living) As far back as the 14th century there are texts mentioning these practices involving water and soap and other scented products:
"Without permitting anyone else to lay a hand on him, the lady herself washed Salabaetto all over with soap scented with musk and cloves. She then had herself washed and rubbed down by the slaves. This done, the slaves brought two fine and very white sheets, so scented with roses that they seemed like roses; the slaves wrapped Salabaetto in one and the lady in the other and then carried them both on their shoulders to the bed . . . They then took from the basket silver vases of great beauty, some of which were filled with rose water, some with orange water, some with jasmine water, and some with lemon water, which they sprinkled upon them." ~Boccaccio's Decameron, 14th century
Scented tablets for perfuming are also documented as being a recipe for olfactory delight:
"Two pounds of rose water and a pound of citrus blossom water, a pound of benzoin and half of balsam, an ounce of amber and half of musk, a quarter of civet [musk]. All together and ground, put it with the water in a flask, and put the flask on the fire over some embers. Stir it with a stick and cook until it reduces three parts [from?] one. And when it is reduced, remove the paste from that and make it [into tablets], if you wish tablets, and if not, keep it thus in paste" ~Manual de Mujeres, anonymous 16th century text in Spanish.[1]
Medieval people also made practical use of pleasurably scented herbs to discourage vermin and protect their clothes and linen. Tansy against flies; mint against ants; wormwood against mice; lavender and southernwood against moths (southernwood was so potent it was called garde robe, i.e. protector of garments); pennyroyal againts fleas and camphor as a general preventive means. By the 16th century there are literally hundreds of recipes for aromatic preparations for perfuming. Tome upon tome contained formulae for aromatizing clothes, linens and personal belongings as well as human skin. Bulleins Bulwarke (1562) includes this formula:
"Three pounds of Rose water, cloves, cinnamon, Sauders [sandalwood], 2 handful of the flowers of Lavender, lette it stand a moneth to still in the sonne, well closed in a glasse; Then destill it in Balneo Marial. It is marvellous pleasant in savour, a water of wondrous swetenes, for the bedde, whereby the whole place, shall have a most pleasaunt scent" [2].
The Menagier de Paris hands down a recipe for drying roses to put among clothes:
"Roses from Provence are the best to put in clothing, but they should be dried, and in mid-August sift them over a screen so that the worms fall through the screen, and then spread them in your clothes."
The same opus also suggests ideas for hand-washing waters for the table (a widespread practice, usually water with rose or violet petals in it or infused with herbs):
"To make water for washing hands at table: Boil sage, then strain the water and cool it until it is a little more than lukewarm. Or use chamomile, marjoram, or rosemary boiled with orange peel. Bay leaves are also good". [3]
In Hugh Platt's Delights for Ladies (1594) there is this formula for "sweet water":
"To make a special sweet water to perfume clothes in the folding being washed. Take a quart of Damaske-Rose-Water and put it into a glasse, put unto it a handful of Lavender Flowers, two ounces of Orris, a dram of Muske, the weight of four pence of Amber-greece [ambergris], as much Civet, foure drops of Oyle of Clove, stop this close, and set it in the Sunne a fortnight: put one spoonfull of this Water into a bason of common water and put it inot a a glasse and so sprinkle your clothes therewith in your folding: the dregs, left in the bottome (when the water is spent) will make as much more, if you keepe them, and put fresh Rose water to it". [4]
And on and on right till the Queen's Closet Opened in the next century...Elizabethans in particular, long before the Victorian "language of flowers", kept scented nosegays terming them 'tuzzy-muzzy' as far back as 1500! (and even older, going by the Oxford English Dictionary)
On the whole, Medieval times are grossly misunderstood by the general public, perhaps due to their unfortunate emphasis on didactical, pontificating religion which seems so backwards to our modern minds: In all reality the people were not as barbarian or underdeveloped as generally thought of! Especially through the Romanesque and Gothic eras people were significantly cleaner compared to the Enlightenment era of the 18th century!
Renaissance is briefly saved by the grace of its profligation of the arts in regard to the general public's perception of bathing and perfuming rituals. Still, it is customary to begin the iterations of perfume history in pamphlets, advertising copy of perfume firms and even serious books solely by the mention of Catherine de Medici and her introduction of Florentine fragrancing methods via her perfumer to the French Court. The latter certainly was the stepping stone to the culmination of Grasse into the fragrant producing capital of Europe but it is not the whole story!
The real reason that a somewhat diminished supply of aromatics and perfumes happened in Western Europe at some point is much more prosaic than philosophical anathematisation of the "corrupt" powers of perfumes: Namely, the loss of the monopoly of the Venetian Republic of the products of the Spice & Silk Route, till then the sole purveyor under gold-sealed agreements with all the powers of the time in exchange for ports protection against other enemies by its mighty fleet. The Mediterranean commerce was conducted principally by Italian cities during the Middle Ages:. Bari, Salerno, Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi reigning above them all, all prominent during the 10th and 11th centuries AD, while Pisa and Venice became the ruling city-states during the 12th to 15th century while conducting the Levant commerce. Acre on the Palestine coast was the most important harbour for scented products ~incidentally the last city in the Holy Land held by the Christians (falling to the Mohammedans in 1291)~, Famagusta on Cyprus, and, Lajazza on the bay of Alexandretta (a junction port for Western and Eastern commerce); they all strongheld the precious commodities which Europe was paying heavily to partake of. However there is an interim between the loss of Venice's might in economic and trade issues (in part due to the Crusades ~which destabilised the status quo in the Eastern Mediterranean, but also brought back copious aromatics to the west~ as well as to the regeneration of the trade by the Byzantins who claimed part of trafficking such precious materials themselves under the Komnene Dynasty) and the discovery of alternative navigating routes bypassing the Mediterranean ~le fin du voyage for the above mentioned ancient routes of the trade with the East~ when the Portugese circumnavigated Africa in 1498 and conquered Ormuz). These factors briefly left Western Europe with a diminished supply of the scented commodities, yet with increased amounts shortly thereafter, by their very fluent nature.
Despite the constant ebb and flow of the perception of perfume as either a holy commodity or alternatively an unethical, even dangerous, substance through history, it is interesting to note that the dissent to the use of eastern-brought perfumes first arose among ancient Greek society and philosophical circles. The confrontation was poised on the cultural antithesis with the East as a place of unharnessed luxury and ethically-corrupting abundance, tied to their despotic governments: The Spartan values of the Greeks and their strong belief in the freedom of the individual within a law-abiding state, where even the rulers are bound by laws, were considered their cultural and moral supremacy over eastern people and the reason that they had alone remained free from imperialistic attacks (such as the one by the Persians). This is why Socrates said that "using perfume made free men smell the same as slaves" (i.e. a free man is not a "slave" to pleasures and material goods). Few adhered to his words, nevertheless. There was also an economical reason: As the expenses of using pyre aromatics imported by Arabia was so high in his time (so widespread was their use), one of the 7 wise men of antiquity and law-maker of Athens, Solon, had to abolish their use by law. Later they caught on again with a vengeance, especially at the time of Alexander the Great when the fusion of cultures was the vision of the legendary Greek leader.
It increasingly looks like practical reasons are hiding behind any relative diminuation of perfume use in Western Europe in the Middle Ages rather than an ideological aversion to its use. The relationship between man (and woman) and scent is truly indestructible!
Ref: [1]The Manual de Mujeres via Cervantesvirtual, translation by Dana Huffman [2][4]quoted by Jacqueline Hériteau, Potpourris and other Fragrant Delights, Penguin 1978 [3]edited & translated by Tania Bayard
Pic credits: Girl bathing on the Luttrell Psalter from East Anglia c.1325-1335 (via imagesonline.bl.uk) Bains mixtes from The Romance of Alexander c.1388-1344 in the Bodleyan library 264 via home.adelphi.edu, Catherine de Medici attributed to François Clouet via wysinfo.com and Venetian canals via wysinfo.com.
Whenever I break open a big, heavy pomegranate (Punica granatum), admiring the scattering of its brilliant, wine-coloured tangy-tasting seeds, I can't help but cast my mind to the myth of Persephone and Hades, the chthonian deities forever linked with this autumnal aromatic feast. Its name deriving from the Latin (pomum for apple ~meelo in Greek~ and granatus for seeded, resulting in the Italian melograno) reminds us that, like apples, this is another fruit that is forever associated with tales of darkness, corruption, death and rebirth.
In Greek, pomegranate is called ρόδι (RHO-thee) which is extremely close in both sound and sight to ρόδο (RHO-tho, i.e. rose) ~indeed its proud russet colour reminds me of scarlet roses that hide thorns and shadows beneath their flamboyant beauty.
The pathways which introduced pomegranate to the Aegean were the same as the ones that brought the goddess whom the Anatolians worshipped as Cybele and the Mesopotamians as Ishtar (namely what became Aphrodite...). The cult of Persephone however (or Kore or Cora ~young maiden~, as she was celebrated in the Eleusianian Mysteries of ancient Greece along with her mother Demeter, the secret initiatory mystery rites of regeneration at Eleusis) traces a darker path of death and rebirth, the same path that nature seems to go through with the turning of the seasons. While Hesiodus in his Theogony considers her a daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest) and Zeus, other scholars ~among them Gunther Zuntz (1973)~ attribute the cult of Persephone to a continuation of Neolithic or Minoan Earth Mother goddess-worship. Walter Burkert includes that "reading" of this archetype in his definitive Greek Religion (1985). Mythology expert Karl Kerenyi went as far as to identify Persephone with the "mistress of the labyrinth" at the Minoan palace of Knossos in Bronze Age Crete (circa 1700BC)!
In ancient writers she is the parthenogenic daughter of Demeter, recalling shades of other deities who sprang through an immaculate conception, such as Athena and Jesus. The philosopher Plato on the other hand calls her Pherepapha (Φερέπαφα, from the Greek words φέρω ~to bring~ and επαφή ~touch) in his Cratylus, "because she is wise and touches that which is in motion". The Romans took the name from the Greco-cities of the Italian peninsula southernmost extremity as Proserpine (Προσερπινη, Proserpinē) and borrowed her cult as Proserpina. It is under that guise that Persephone inspired the artists of the European Renaissance, when classical antiquity was revisited with a vengeance. It is enough to cast our eyes to the paintings of the Great Masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli to admire the pomegranate into scenes of sunset-drenched beauty.
But perhaps the most popular myth concerning Persephone, the one that ties her with the autumnal crepuscule into winter and the flamboyant pomegranate, is the one about Persephone's abduction by the dark prince of the underworld, Hades or Pluto, brother of both Zeus and Poseidon: "As she was gathering flowers with her playmates in a meadow, the earth opened and Hades, god of the dead, appeared and carried her off to be his queen in the world below. ... Torch in hand, her sorrowing mother sought her through the wide world, and finding her not, she forbade the earth to put forth its increase. So all that year not a blade of corn grew on the earth, and men would have died of hunger if Zeus had not persuaded Hades to let Persephone go. However, before he let her go Hades persuaded her eat three seeds of a pomegranate, and thus she could not stay away from him forever. So it was arranged that she should spend two-thirds (according to later authors, one-half) of every year with her mother and the heavenly gods, and should pass the rest of the year with Hades beneath the earth.... As wife of Hades, she sent spectres, ruled the ghosts, and carried into effect the curses of men." (source: Encyclopedia Britannica) The pomegranate became her inextricable tie with the world of the dead, the somber world of shadows. In a patriarchal reading of the myth, the abduction becomes the motif of marriage, the submission of the primordial female to the male, reminding us of the comparable survival of that theme in the Abduction of the Sabines tale by the Romans. The demise of the earth-worshipping of the mother goddess in the now industrialised city of Eleusis, near Athens, is what inspired the Greek composer Manos Hatjidakis and Greek poet Nikos Gatsos to come up with this ritualistic lament named "Persephone's Nightmare" (sung by Maria Farantouri); its somber introductory bars of music a homage to the fragmented ancient classical Greek music:
"There, where mystics joined hands reverently on entering the sacrificial site, now tourists throw tab ends and gaze at the new oil refinery. Sleep Persephone in earth's embrace, to this world's balcony come out no more"
It is no coincidence that in today's Greek culture the offerings to which all participants partake in the Christian Orthodox memorials of the dead still consist of agricultural products, in the form of a sweet named κόλυβα (KO-lee-vah); made of boiled shredded wheat, cast sugar, various nuts and raisins and indeed ...pomegranate seeds! A small pagan homage to Persephone who sealed her fate by tasting the fruit of the underworld. It is assumed that like her, the connection of the dead with the living will be possible. But it's also a reminder of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, the pomegranate being a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and his resurrection, finding its way into religious decoration liturgical vestments and hangings as well as art, such as this Madonna of the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli. In a reverse case of exorcising the spirits of the other side, another Greek custom enacted on New Year's Day, demands that the first person to step into a home bringing the tenants luck (what's called ποδαρικό from the Greek word for foot, πόδι) crashes a ripe pomegranate with their right foot: the scattered seeds are respresenting the flooding of good things to come. Like the Qur'an says, pomegranates are among the good things the merciful God creates!
Fragrances with pomegranate notes are delightful for this time of the year when the fruit is in season: From the darkish, mysterious Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone and the arrestingly unusual Grenates by Keiko Mecheri with its angelica running thread, to the more standard-fruity-juicy Euphoria by Calvin Klein and Tropical Punch by Escada, pomegranate scents run the gamut all the way to the incensy Melograno by Santa Maria Novella. The lists includes Moschino's Couture, the elegant Ferré Rosé, Tocca's subtle Touch and the spicy-cuminy oriental Aziyadé by Parfum d'Empire . Others yet reference the scarlet beads as grenadine: In Baby Doll by Yves Saint Laurent it is married it to complimentary bittersweet grapefuit, in Ma Dame by Gaultier it's used as a neon accent in a flashy composition and in Heiress by Paris Hilton, well...it alludes to her cocktails sipping activities, I guess.
Today pomegranates are cherished for their complex textural and aromatic nuances ranging from the peppery to the lightly tangy all the way to the nectarous sweet and for the bright juice they bring into several recipes: One of these embodiments takes the role of grenadine, the name of a fruit syrup popular in Gallic cultures, originally made from pomegranates (the French word for pomegranate being grenade), used as a cordial and in numerous cocktails as well as in a number of Iranian recipes. Hence also comes the name of one of the most majestic cities of Spain, the regal Granada! One of the most delicious uses of pomegranate syrup in cooking is in muhammara, a roasted red pepper, walnut and garlic spread consumed in Turkey and Syria, while the Azeri people of Goychay, Azerbaijan devote a whole festival to the fruit's charms drenching them in wine and dance.
If you want to try pomegranates in an easy and aromatically titilating dish, I recommend you my personal recipe for Pomegranate Seed Salad:
You will need some young lettuce leaves (preferably bought when it's very cold so they "hold" and are crunchy), a peeled apple (I prefer Starkins), a heavy pomegranate, extra virgin olive oil and aceto balsamico di Modena. Chop the apple in small pieces, wash and cut the lettuce leaves in thin slices in a plate and sprinkle over the two the pomegranate seeds, the ensuing juice that drips from the fruit. Finally drizzle the whole with olive oil and balsamico to your taste. Serves 2. Extremely yummilicious, visually welcoming and quite filling! Bon appetit!
Pomegranate photo via and painting of The return of Persephone by Fred Leighton and Madonna with the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli, all via Wikimedia Commons. Photo of Pomegranate Seed Salad by Elena Vosnaki (click to enlarge)
We are hosting a giveaway of two full bottles of CK Free, the newest Calvin Klein fragrance, courtesy of their promo company. Simply enter a comment you'd like to be included and we will pick two winners. (Contest is reserved to US residents, only*)
If I were to review the brand, Calvin Klein fragrances have gone through an arch, I notice: from the provocative/innovative (Obsession for men and for women, CKOne and CKBe, last one my personal pick for great visuals and nice musk scent) to the mainstream (Contradiction, Euphoria, Crave, CKIn2 and their respective progeny), all through the surprisingly nice (Truth). These are seperate continents with nothing but vast expanses of water to separate them: There is no cohesive glue sticking them together, no matter how acute your Magellan abilities are. Simply put, there is no single "Calvin Klein style"(no Calvinade, if you please) which makes every one of them something of a bet when choosing. I have noticed that Europeans have a higher regard than Americans for the brand, probably due to the syndrome of "no one's a prophet in their homeland", which is interesting to think about. Then again they did combine innovation and surpreme marketability in their CKOne more than a decade ago, got to give them that, I suppose. Since Calvin has disassociated himself from the house the path has been taken from the off-piste to the middle of the road.
The newest CKFree is a guy's scent for guys who don't really want to be edgy or provocative, just smell nice and fresh in the "just showered" sort of way with a splash of cooling spicy/gin&tonic accent in there. There is also a microscopic smoother woody element, which is completely inoffesive. If you're after an office scent or a gym scent or a scent for whatever activity will have you around other guys who want to smell nice and are appreciative of that quality on their peers, then you're set.
The scent is fronted by model Jaime Dornan (who also starred in Dior commercials, I'm reminding you) and well...with a face like that, one can recite off the telephone book and someone somewhere is going to pay attention! (Good choice marketing & advertising team guys!) I wish they'd go back to the agent provocateur visuals which we had celebrated in our Advertising Series here, though...Oh and nice packaging from what I see.
More information clicking here (the playlist includes such classic favourites as It's a beautiful day by U2 and Freedom by George Michael ~all with the word "free" in the lyrics in there, someone was toiling on Lyricsfreak for this). In classic high-tech age mode there is also a Twitter page, for those interested. But the catch in my humble opinion is this feature on the website which allows you to see the best places "to live free" via Google Maps.
Notes for CK Free: Top: Thailand star anise, jackfruit, absinthe, juniper berry Heart: suede, tobacco leaves, coffee absolute, South African buchu Base: patchouli absolute, oakwood, texan cedarwood, costa rican ironwood
*NB the bottles will be sent to winners directly from the company in the USA and not myself, as I am stationed in Europe.
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COLOGNE COLLECTION The Cologne Collection celebrates the artistry of scent through six colognes in small atomisers in a luxurious box, allowing perfume lovers to get to know the Jo Malone line intimately. The scents may be worn alone or layered to create unique combinations. The collection includes Grapefruit, Nectarine Blossom & Honey, Pomegranate Noir, Sweet Lime & Cedar, Lime Basil & Mandarin and White Jasmine & Mint. 6 sprays x 9ml for 95$
POMEGRANATE NOIR PAMPER KIT The limited-edition Pamper Kit includes Bath Oil, Shimmer Body Powder and Body Crème, all with the mysterious, regal scent of Pomegranate Noir.
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