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Bergamot in Fragrances and in Eau de Cologne: a Match made in Heaven

The use of bergamot in the Mediterranean fragrant waters is something of a tradition, even to this day. My mother, same as lots of men and women in my culture, used to carry a small splash bottle of fragrant alcoholic “eau” in her purse at all times, to refresh her hands or handkerchief during the day with a swift and effective “pick me up” and to even quick-cleanse mine in the absence of water and soap as a small child, thus killing two birds with one stone: eliminating some bacteria from casual contact with dirt and making me a fragrance aficionado ever since!


Although she kept her precious exotic perfumes at home, the bergamot, lemon or even pine-infused eau de Cologne travelled with her, refreshing many a time a weary travelling companion and alleviating a stuffy atmosphere of a couped- up car on a long drive across Europe. The citrus base of such waters has left an indelible mark on my conscious making me hanker after the smell of bergamot as the one cure to prevent nausea. But the history of Eau de Cologne and its inclusion of bergamot goes far, far back...
Although technically neroli (the essence rendered by the steam distillation of orange blossoms) is the prime constituent of an Eau de Cologne "type" of fragrance, bergamot gives it a finishing joyfulness and polish like no other thing.

The most influential scent of the 18th century and the court of Louis XV (nicknamed la cour parfumée due to the dictation of wearing a different scent every day) was Aqua Admirabilis, a composition by Gian Paolo Feminis. G.P.Feminis blended grape spirits (instead of today's undrinkable perfumer's alcohol), along with essences of neroli, lavender and rosemary adding the basic component of freshness, bergamot essential oil, thus creating the first recipe for what would later become celebrated by another name: Eau de Cologne. When Feminis moved from his native Italy to Köln/Cologne, in Germany, his nephew Jean Marie Farina from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo, in Italy, tweaked the refreshing elixir, which then became known by its place of production as Eau de Cologne or more specifically “Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz” (John Maria Farina opposite the Jülichs place) ~the address of the world's oldest Eau de Cologne and perfume factory.

In 1708, Farina had written to his brother Jean Baptiste: “I have created a perfume which is reminiscent of a spring morning following a soft shower where fragrances of wild narcissi combine to that of sweet orange flowers. This perfume refreshes me and stimulates both my senses and imagination...” [1]. In June 1709 Johann Baptist Farina travelled to Cologne where his younger brother Johann Maria Farina had been working for his uncle since 1708. And so on the 13th of July Johann Baptist founded the company G.B.Farina, its production uninterupted ever since. Such was the popularity of the scent that according to records, 3700 bottles were delivered to a total of 39 addresses between 1730 and 1739! [2] Small papier-mâché boxes aromatized with bergamot were used to keep small precious mementos like locks of hair and billets doux wich showed bergamot's already established popularity. So the fragrance of the new "water" delighted the upper nobility and soon became a royal and imperial favourite. The red seal bearing the family crest which appeared on all products was a token of quality and authenticity. The bottles were moreover accompanied by a signed document with directions for use as “Eau de Cologne” wasn’t exclusively for exterior use. It was recommended for dental hygiene, a cure against bad breath and a way of avoiding infectious diseases! A panacea in disguise!
Napoleon Bonaparte who favoured Brown Windsor soap (which included lavender, bergamot and clove oils) used Eau de Cologne by the gallon, going through a bottle a day and consuming sugar cubes dipped in it. The German composer Richard Wagner on the other hand is credited with this quote in his correspondence: “I expect to use one liter of Eau de Cologne per month. Please send me three liters for one quarter so we can see how we manage”
Other Eaux de Cologne, such as the famous Cologne 4711 (Echt Kölnisch Wasser), named after its location at "Glockengasse No. 4711", share the name in common but not the formula. Before retiring, Farina sold the formula to Léonce Collas, while in 1806 Jean Marie Joseph Farina, a grand-grand-nephew of Giovanni Maria Farina (1685-1766), sold the rights to Armand Roger and Charles Gallet in 1862, the duo behind the Roger & Gallet brand [3], who produce the Eau de Cologne Extra Vielle in contrast to the Original Eau de Cologne from Cologne.

The suaveness and complexity of bergamot make it a supreme choice for inclusion in many an aromatic blend, not only for Eaux de Cologne, where it pairs with neroli (the par excellence ingredient in the Eau de Cologne blends), but other fragrances as well. Apart from the classic chypre accord and its ubiquitness in the olfactory family of “mossy woods”/chypres, bergamot adds its magic in a plethora of fragrances from other families as well, both for men as for women. It's especially welcome in leather scents, where its suaveness provides the perfect pairing for the pungent hide notes or bitter greens of quinolines.

Here is a small (by no means all inclusive) list of fragrances in which bergamot is clearly discernible:

Antica Farmacista Alonissos,
Antica Farmacista Mediterranean,
Aramis Aramis,Aqua di Genova Colonia,
Aqua di Parma Colonia and Colonia Intensa,
Bois 1920 “1920 Extreme,”
Boucheron Boucheron femme and Boucheron homme,
Calvin Klein CKone,
Cerrutti 1881,
Chanel Allure,
Chanel Allure Sensuelle,
Chanel Bois des Iles,
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle,
Chanel Cristalle (both EDT and EDP),
Chanel No. 19,
Chanel Pour Monsieur,Christian Dior Miss Dior,
Christian Dior Diorling,
Christian Dior Diorama,Creed Amalfi Flowers,
Estee Lauder Azurée,Etro Palais Jamais,
Fabergé Brut,
Floris Cefiro,
Gianfranco Ferré Bergamotto Marino,
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Orange Magnifica,
Guerlain Cologne du 68,
Guerlain Derby,
Guerlain Jicky,
Guerlain Les Eaux : Eau de Coq, Eau Impériale, Eau De Fleurs De Cedrat, Eau de Guerlain,
Guerlain Mitsouko,
Guerlain Parure,Guerlain Rose Barbare,
Guerlain Shalimar,
Hermès Amazone,
Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade,
Institut Tres Bien Cologne à l'Italienne,
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male,
Jo Malone 154,
by Kilian Cruel Intentions,
Knize Knize Ten,Lanvin Arpège,
Lancôme Cuir (2007 re-issue),Ormonde Jayne Ormonde Man,
Parfums de Nicolaï Cologne Sologne (a citrus explosion with lime and lemon too),
Ralph Lauren Safari for Men,
Rancé 1795 Eugénie,
Robert Piguet Bandit,Sisley Eau de Soir,
Sisley Soir de Lune,
The Different Company Divine Bergamote,
Visconti di Modrone Aqua di Selva,
Yardley Gentleman,
Yves Saint Laurent Y

Sources:
[1]Markus Eckstein, Eau de Cologne, J.P. Bachem Verlag 2006, Cologne
[2]http://www.farina1709.com/
[3]Edwin T. Morris, Fragrance: The Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel. E.T. Morris and Co. 1984, New York.
Pic Gates of Handax, Crete taken by Tsoublekas/flickr
Pic of Risoli flacon of Farina Eau de Cologne via wikimedia commons

Travel Memoirs: On the Bergamot Trail

Sailing on the Mediterranean Sea under the sweltering sun of late summer on a wooden built gulet, rubber-soled feet on parquet decks, scarf on salty-sprayed hair, and the guarantee of sunshine and clear blue waters, is almost an unbearable reminiscence in the heart of winter. Relaxing on deck, wining and dining under the stars in eno-gastronomical matchings to threaten even the toughest dieter’s plan and hopping off to catch couleur locale wherever interesting is the nomadic life I would love to be able to live in full 12 months of the year, if only I could. But snippets will suffice and trailing the route where bergamot ~this prized material for both perfumery and aromatherapy~ abounds, has its own rewards to last throughout the year into the months of cold and dreary.
Bergamot is inextricably tied to Sicily (the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea), the Calabria coast of Italy and the Ionian islands at the west of Greece.
And indeed despite current cultivation on the Ivory Coast in Africa which produced a cheaper product, it is still Sicilian bergamot (and lemon too)which is considered the highest quality in the world ~although it's sad to see the groves now seem erratic and neglected. It's the kind of rich joyous aroma that scents the finest morning Earl Grey cup of tea and gives it its delightful flavour. The fruit of the bergamot is inedible but the peel can be candied into a highly scented preserve which is very popular along the breadth of the Mediterranean; an exquisitely bittersweet marmalade, yummy on rye bread and butter, is painstainkely made by housewives.

Trekking over the villages my heart aches a bit from the echo of Grecanic (Griko or Katoitaliótika), linguistic remnants of the time when Sicily and Calabria were called Magna Graecia (Greater Greece) because of the numerous villages that survived from the colonization of the Greeks in the 5th century BC. So many relics, so many conquests have left their indelible mark on this austere place…
The history of Sicily has frequently seen the island controlled by greater powers—Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Hohenstaufen, Catalan, Spanish; yet periods of independence, as under the Greeks and later as the Emirate- then Kingdom of Sicily- are also part of its multi-hued fabric. Since antiquity, the Sicilian landscape has hosted the cultivation of groves of Hesperidia trees, specializing in growing the sweetest lemons in the Mediterranean; cultivations interwoven in many facets of the Sicilian lifestyle.
The Garden of Hesperides according to classic Greek mythology belonged to Hera, Zeus’s wife and the Hesperides (Ἑσπερίδες) were nymphs, the daughters of Hesperus (God of the Evening Star, from whose name Vesper derives), who tended a blissful orchard in the far western corner of the world.

The peaceful place was either located near the Atlas Mountains in Libya, or on a distant island at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean, while Sicilian Greek poet Stesichorus and Greek geographer Strabo state that the orchard lies in Tartessos, at the southern edge of Iberia. In that garden a grove of immortality-giving “golden apples” grew. Those were planted from the fruited branches that Gaia (mother Earth) gave to her as a wedding gift when Hera married Zeus and the nymphs were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally plucked from it themselves. Hera also placed in the garden a never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon, as an additional safeguard. The eleventh labour of Hercules consisted of being ordered to steal the golden apples and bring them to Argos, Greece, although Athena later returned the apples to their rightful place. But in a strange course of events the mythological name Hesperide came to be applied to the golden fruits that came from the east, oranges, and ultimately to the entire citrus family!


Native to China and Southeast Asia (with mentions in the Nan-Fang Ts’ao Mu from the 4th century BC) and encompassing hundreds of variations, citruses were brought to the west by the Arabs through the Spice Route during the Middle Ages.
Sicily (and Spain, to a greater extent due to the longer Arab conquest) thus became centers for the cultivation of hesperidia. During the 14th century, the spice and precious metals trade was the origin of wealth for the city-states of Italy, Venice and Genoa, until the battle at Chioggia in 1380, when defeated Genoa succumbed to a new reality: monopoly of the trade by the Venicians. Often Venetian galleys intercepted easterm caravans carrying wares at Aleppo, Handax or Alexandria, transporting the loot to European artisans. Among them, citrus fruits, only much later prized on board for their ability to fight scurvy.

One version of bergamot’s etymology attributes the root to a Turkish word meaning “Princess Pear”; another, after a small town in Italy where the oil was first sold. But it is Christopher Columbus who is said to have brought bergamot oil from the Canary Islands back to Spain and Italy. The bergamot tree (citrus bergamia) is the result of cross-breeding a lemon (citrus limonia) and a bitter orange tree (citrus aurantium). Classified as a citrus, the plant originated in tropical Asia but found an excellent breeding place in Sicily, Italy and the Ionian islands. Bergamot trees grow up to 16 feet tall, producing an almost pear-shaped, yellow fruit that is highly aromatic, similar to lemon, smaller than an orange. It was once called the Bergamot Pear Tree, not be confused with "false bergamot" used to aromatize Oswego-tea and derived from the plant Monarda didyma, a type of mint indigenous to the New World. Italian-conducted research indicates that bergamot oil relieves fear and anxiety, lifts the spirits, combating depression and calms anger by balancing the activity of the hypothalamus. Bergamot oil with its optimistic ambience evokes feelings of joy and acts as a confidence booster. Bergamot essence is easy to render, as are most citruses. I still recall how transfixed I was as a child scraping my nails on a bergamot or a lemon and being left with hands that almost dribbled with the bitter-tasting sour oil which scented them for hours on end. Cold-pressed /expressed from the rinds of the sour green fruit, a pale emerald-hued oil results, bergamot essential oil, possessing a refreshing lemony-orange smell, complex and with flower accents, yet also a subtly sweet balsamic undertone that makes it pliable to numerous uses in perfumery. The main chemical constituents in bergamot oil are limonene, linalyl acetate, nerol, and linalool; all are substances antiseptic and astringent with a fresh facet. The one constituent which might be possing a certain problem is bergaptene, a photosensitising agent, which has been under the radar of recent IFRA restrictions, although since forever the advice on putting fragrance on is not to use it on parts about to be exposed to the sun.

Bergamot and its uplifting aroma is traditionally paired with materials with citrusy nuances, such as lemon, coriander or orange blossom; rosey shades such as geranium or palmarosa; aromatic herbs/trees such as lavender, cypress or juniper; and flowers such as jasmine, ylang ylang and violet. Its alliance to erotic labdanum and darkish oakmoss (often with some inclusion of patchouli) creates the classic chypre accord, to which we have devoted a whole Series. But its wondrously influential use in simpler fragrance-waters hailing from Europe cannot be ignored!

To be continued...

The joyous spirit of hesperides matches the uplifting mood of this lovely Italian song which will surely brighten your day!



Song "Vanità di Vanità", written by Angelo Branduardi from the 1983 picture "State Buoni, Se Potete" directed by Luigi Magni. This film depicts the time and life of Filippo Neri.
All pictures © copyright by Elena Vosnaki/Perfumeshrine

Olfactory Revolution at Sisley: new fragrances

New things are brewing at Sisley, to be uncovered this coming April. According to Osmoz: "Cosmetics and fragrance brand Sisley will be launching a collection of 3 eau de toilettes {sic} christened Eau de Sisley and bearing the numbers 1, 2 and 3".

While pondering on the strange numerotic tendency among the new collection, it's not an exagerration to say that everyone in the fragrance-playing game is eager to launch a line-up collection of fragrances in similar bottles from pioneer Serge Lutens to Tom Ford private blends, Armani Privé and Guerlain L'art et la Matière collection. But Sisley had been going on a snail's pace comparatively issuing just 3 fragrances in 33 years, which is roughly one new scent every decade! Those were the initial tomato-leaf green Eau de Campagne in 1976 by Jean Claude Ellena, the rich perfume-y chypre Eau du Soir in 1990 and the more piquantly youthful fruity chypre Soir de Lune in 2006.

The new line-up has been given every bit of attention possible: "The bottles are graced with a cap designed by the Polish sculptor Bronislaw Krzysztof and come in attractively colorful packaging. As for the juices, fans of green scents, spices, aromatic herbs and chypre accents will be thrilled. Although the presentation is fairly feminine, the juices themselves turn out to be perfectly unisex. Eau de Sisley 1 is a somewhat woody citrus-green chypre; Eau de Sisley 2 is an aromatic chypre with a sparkling green opening; and Eau de Sisley 3 is a piquant-mellow ginger rose that will thrill fans of Japanese cuisine. The price comes at 100 euros for 100 ml (3.4 oz.)".

Pic via Osmoz.

Perfumer Palette Training Programme by Cinquieme Sens

Cinquième Sens, the Paris-based with a NYC branch perfume-training organisation, is now offering a 3-hour training called “The perfumer pallet” , a short and comprehensive olfactory training allowing you to acquire, develop, or structure your olfactory skills. The program is aimed at enthusiasts and potential employees in the field alike and includes:
- Smell test
- Olfaction and emotions
- Chinese portrait of an odour memorisation tips
- Description of the Perfumer-Creator's organ
- Introduction to natural and synthetic raw materials
- Explanation of the olfactory pyramid

There are also some extras promised such as
- A fun learning module
- A short module (3 hours), adaptable
- Increased awareness of olfaction and the profession of perfumer when hiring or promoting an employee

Next session is scheduled for March 11th at 274 Madison Avenue Suite 1804, between 39th and 40th streets, New York City. Inquiries on availability and prices by tel: 212 686-4123