Christopher Chong of Amouage Talks

Extrait.it is an Italian site I have been reading for a while, because I find their approach and layout quite interesting: They also happen to have all the Italian front coverage (such as the Pitti Fragranza exhibition) and lots of scoops and fascinating videos.
It was with immense pleasure (and naturally a sense of being honoured) I learned through Extrait.it that Amouage's artistic director, Christopher Chong, who has literally taken Amouage to a new level of sophistication and excellence, is a fan of Perfume Shrine! There is a wonderful interview of mr.Chong ~so meaty it necessitates a fork and a knife~ that fuses musical language (so very Italian by nature) and the artistic influences that form the core of his vision for Amouage. Along comes the news of the unisex novel project for 2010 that is called “The Library Collection” referencing the 20s and 30s. The text is in Italian but there are video-clips in English which non-Italian-readers can follow. Enjoy yourselves clicking the link!

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Amouage news & reviews

Frederic Malle Home Collection Scents & Saint des Saints review

"In this new adventure, I have chosen to work with perfumers or noses specialized in fine fragrances, as opposed to those in functional fragrance who would normally work on home fragrances,” says Frédéric Malle, the auteur behind Editions de Parfums and the instigator of several "lines" of fragrances across the market. “A fragrance should become part of life without smothering it. The goal for this new home collection is to embellish the complex alchemy that makes up the odors of our world.”

With imaginative names such as Jurassic Flower (centered on magnolia, which we had mentioned in relation to Malle before) and Coffee Society (the aftermath of a rich dinner) the sparse packaging eschews the ultra-luxe presentation upscale home fragrance brands invest their offerings with such as the rococo-looking Cire Trudon and Ladurée. I see half the bet already won: it's all about the formula, we're left to think! Judging by his Saint des Saints, which I was fortunate enough to smell through an inward connection, the mission is accomplished. Saint des Saints is a holy offering of myrrh incense and balsams (I seem to detect Tolu and Peru balsams, but nothing official is forthcoming now) that is capable of conjuring Caspar in turbaned gear in nano-seconds. I can picture myself reading my beloved books on medieval and renaissance alchemy by the throw of this scent, a blazing fire burning in the fireplace and some fine Napeoleon cognac in my palm. It just seems to condone such an atmosphere, which were it not available it should have been invented.

For this collection Frédéric Malle joined forces with fine fragrance "noses" Carlos Benaïm, a close colleague of the late Dr. Mookherjee (vice-president of IFF), the prolific and bestseller-producing Sophia Grosman, and Dominique Ropion, who has been working with Malle for a long time producing some of the line's most memorable creations. Since of the three only Carlos Benaïm hasn't collaborated with F.Malle before are we to expect the newest fragrance to join the fine fragrance line to be his creation?
The home range encompasses 5 florals, 1 woody and 3 compositions more attuned to orientalised sensibilities. The technology and artistry employed aimed to produce realistic scent “portraits” of flowers and essences for the home, combining head space techniques and natural essences, coming out with ways to emit the aroma as best as possible: that took the form of a candle (with wax especially formulated to aid diffusion, though what I smelled was not super potent), a diffuser (called "fleurs mécaniques" or mechanical flowers), or both. The innovation of the difuser is that it is an in-house development of the Editions de Parfums, a wireless cube that can be recharged with a refill. There is also another innovation available in one scent, Saint des Saints, which is called Rubber Incense: this is the Space-Age equivalent of the pot-pouri sachet that proviencial women put in closets to keep them aromatized; a small sheet of 100% recyclable plastic rubber is saturated with fragrance. The patented Polyiff technique from IFF allows diffusion for years without necessitating electricity or refills.

The Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle Home Collection Scents comprises:

• Un Gardénia, la Nuit by Dominique Ropion (available as a candle and fleurs mécaniques). The gardenia is one of Frédéric Malle’s favorite flowers and this is a rendition following the head space method of Dr. Braja Mookherjee producing a most convincing natural scent. Incidentally the most pricey of the range.

• 1er Mai by Dominique Ropion (candle and fleurs mécaniques). This near-reproduction of the fragrance of a cluster of lily of the valley (muguet) is the result of working with historic formulae (Coty Muguet de Bois, Dior Diorissimo) for the flower along with head space technology.

• Rosa Rugosa by Carlos Benaïm (candle and fleurs mécaniques). The reconstitution of the dry, cold, astringent-like scent of these wild rose bushes which grow on the Atlantic coast was developed by Benaïm “au nez”, just by using his nose.

• Rubrum Lily by Carlos Benaïm (candle and fleurs mécaniques). The ravishing perfume of a full bouquet of lilies which has dressed up rooms since the turn of the century: Floral, green, salty, and very spicy.

• Jurassic Flower by Carlos Benaïm (candle and fleurs mécaniques). A unique floral fragrance centered on magnolia thanks to top notes which resemble those of citrus fruits. A subtle lavender aspect and the sweetness of peaches complement this very natural smelling freshness.

• Saint des Saints by Carlos Benaïm (candle and rubber incense). The work that Dr. Mookherjee did to record scents included the analysis of his favorite places such as Indian temples which lead to the creation of this mystical fragrance.

• Coffee Society by Carlos Benaïm (available as a candle) This candle attempts to recreate that ephemeral odor of the living room after the end of a Parisian dinner, several dishes and the delicasies that accompany that demitasse. Among the perfumes of the home collection, this one most resembles a fragrance that is to be worn.

• Russian Nights by Sophia Grosman (available as a candle). This simple yet rich fragrance has notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, iris and sandalwood producing a soft spicy ambery oriental. It was designed to embody the suave warmth of long nights in Russia, although I imagine it has more to do with the cozy feeling of a log-fire room than actual nights in the great outdoors.

• Santal Cardamome by Dominique Ropion (available as a candle).The scent of sandalwood has become something of the far-reached Avalon for perfumers these days due to restrictions to its harvesting resulting in substitutions with sandalore. The Malle team came upon a chord of harmony of sandalwood cardamomthat compliment each other in a woody blend of raw attraction.

Frédéric Malle Home Collection Scents will be available in F.Malle's boutiques (at New York City and Paris) starting November 2009 as well as Barneys stores, and online at EditionsdeParfums.com in December 2009. Prices for candles between $85 and $150, Rubber Incense $105 for 5 pieces, and Fleurs Mécaniques $380 with one refill included in the price. Each scent refill surplus costs from $70 to $100.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Frederic Malle news & reviews, Myth Debunking: Scented candles cause cancer? The truth.

some info/prices via press release and Fragrantica, pic via osmoz

Le Labo Fabrice Penod interview

Le Labo is known for many things, among which is the numerotical labeling (each perfume is named according to the number of ingredients as well as the main material), their ultra-hip site, their clinical approach to packaging and sales assistants as well as the "of this minute compounding", and their reluctancy to hand out samples (because they're not "fresh enough" if you can believe it).

Time Out Chicago (I simply love those Time Out guides!) happens to have an interview with Fabrice Penod, co-founder of ultra-hip brand Le Labo (The other founder is Eddie Roschi). In it he discusses memory, desire and Proust (well..) with some funny "translation language" (that's what I call it) and some contradictions. Still there are his "strong memory of a fig tree my grandmother had in her backyard, so it’s emotional for me every time I smell that", the "idea of making people more sexual with our perfume than without it", how Oud 27 is very "dirty", the explanation of their city-exclusives fragrances and the (news alert?) upcoming Chicago exclusive scent.
But perhaps the most lovely line of the whole interview is borrowed from a well-known Italian designer he was working with: "Elegance is not made to be noticed. It’s to be remembered". Bravo!

Read the whole article on Time Out Chicago by Jessica Herman.

pic by fashionpulsedaily.com

Contest Time

Too many things to jungle left me with no ready post today. But since autumn is approaching so fast paced, I had an idea for a little contest: Write a short paragraph about what autumn means to you in terms of smells, what is your favourite aroma to signal the coming of autumn and why it resonates with you and the best one (judged by me) will win a good bag of several upscale samples including Divine, Lutens, Amouage, Neil Morris, etc. etc.
Submissions valid till Sunday midnigh.
Good luck!

The clip comes from the 2004 Greek film "Weeping Meadow" (Το λιβάδι που δακρύζει) by Theo Aggelopoulos, for me the quintessential autumnal director. Music by Eleni Karaindrou.

Eggplant: Colour and Aroma of the Season

Eggplants (or aubergines as they're also known in the UK, the word derived from from the Arabic al-baðinjān) are a summer delight at the farmer's market and in my kitchen: Their varied colours and shapes (long and more rounded, in an endless spectrum) are sorely tempting, almost pleading with me to buy a few of each as I pass through the open-air market stalls with my basket in hand. One variety's really dark purplish colour almost resembles the shade of my hair in the sun and had thus always attracted me.
The exotic genus of Solanum melongena, part of the Nightshade family with its dangerous reputation, bears something of the dark attraction of India and Pakistan where the plant originates from; and also some distant relation to other solaceae plants such as the tomato and the potato. The little seeds inside the eggplant fruit, containing nicotinoid alcaloids (related to tobacco) burst forth with a bracing bitterness which is testament to the power of the human mind to find beauty in difficulty and hinder. Now that eggplants are still sticking around a little while longer, before the first frost makes them only available through the hothouse (not my choice if I can possibly avoid it!) this post is trying to capture the last rays of sun on their glistening, slick backs and bid them farewell till next spring.

The earthy, tangy and bittersweet aroma of eggplant had been my initiation rite from childhood onwards to the mystique of "grown up food" and its acquired taste delights. Luckily for myself my father loved his "meat and potatoes" meals which ~quite contrarily, as any church boy can tell you their family is probably atheist~ had the amiable effect of making me love just about anything apart from meat and potatoes from a very early age. Mother was bragging at elementary school meetings how I consumed my vegetables and legumes not only with tolerance, but actual glee! Aubergines especially were among my very favourite, an unusual trait for a child, as the vegetable is bitter by its nature. But my mother was savvy to exquisite kitchen arcana that involved little tips to be divulged at a later date: One of them is she used to salt them meticulously before broiling on the stove making the roasting aroma of eggplant one of the most beloved and nostalgic pangs I can feel in my heart of hearts even now. The whole house was aromatized by it and coming back from school I knew there was melitzanosalata on the table (aubergine paste, basically, although "salata" means salad in Greek); it's still one of my favourite goes-with-everything accompaniments on the table (Just try to resist spreading on roasted fresh bread and then we can talk). She used the pulp of the roasted eggplant scooped out with a spoon to prepare it, some crumbled feta cheese (the salty flavour again rounding off the bitterness admirably), a couple of teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil and a little finely chopped fresh garlic and blended them in a hand mixer. It was utterly delicious!

We also used to mix the roasted pulp with fresh Greek yoghurt, the paste/dip becoming a bit blander, for when there was another spirited, fiesty dish on the table and we didn't want them to antagonise; or prepared melanzana alla parmigiana and the French classic ratatouille niçoise for when we were hungrier. My grandmothers customarily prepared a main course with aubergines originating in the Near East: Either Imam bayildi (a Turkish dish literally meaning "the imam fainted", infered by pleasure of course, in which eggplants are roasted in the over, cut in half in olive oil, covered with lots of chopped onion, chopped garlic and tomato slices on top until they sweeten) or the classic moussaka with its sautéed eggplant and tomato-sauce-minced-meat layers under the thick, golden crisp béchamel sauce . I make Sicilian involtini myself nowadays. But la crème de la crème of aubergine dishes in my opinion is the Levantine baba ghanoush (بابا غنوج bābā ġanūj), a similar to melitzanosalata paste of light brown shade with so dense a smoky aroma that it is as much hypnotizing to the senses as the sound of a flute is to a cobra. I certainly can't put the spoon down!

According to the Arabs, who first brought eggplant to the West during the early Middle Ages and indirectly gave it its botanical name, "If your future wife can't prepare aubergine 50 different ways, reconsider marrying". (The info comes from Janna Gur's Book of New Israeli Food which is excellent) In Morocco and Lebanon, people eat them fried up along with hummus made from chickpeas and tahini, spreading on small pieces of pita bread. I very much liked this version and am recommending it to you as well.

Recipe for Fried Eggplants with Hummus

You will need four-five purple eggplants, preferably the long, slender variety with white and purple stripes. Also olive oil for frying and all-purpose-flour, a little salt and pepper and 1 cup of soda water for battering. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare and makes enough quantity for 3-4 people as a side-dish.

1.Put the olive oil in a pan, it should be about two fingers deep and bring it to a frying temperature. (Test it for readiness by sticking a piece of the vegetable in it, if it sizzles, it's ready. You want it to be really, really hot so the eggplants don't absorb too much oil but form a crust immediately)
2.In the meantime peel the eggplants taking care to leave a thin stripe of the peel every inch or so and cut them to pieces: I prefer to slice them or cut them in small cubes about an inch thick.
3.Mix a cup of all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper and a cup of soda water in a deep plate and lightly cover the pieces/slices of the eggplant.
4.Fry them until they turn dark golden, they should be a little crispy but not darken too much. They tend to absord a lot of oil, so drain them on a plate lined with kitchen paper for a while.
5.Salt them some more and serve hot with hummus sprinkled with roasted pine-nuts and some pita bread to bring out all the humble, earthy elements nicely.
If you don't have a reputable Middle-Eastern deli in your area or have the inclination to make hummus from scratch, here is an easy and quite decent recipe.

As an epilogue, no matter how utterly lovely and intriguing I find the smoky aroma of roasted eggplant, I have been searching for it to no avail in some form of a scented product (Have you been successful? I need the feedback, if you have). Perfumers might not have succumbed to its charms yet, nor have home fragrance producing companies, probably because they think that its peculiar scent is not attuned to the sensibilities of western societies who associate smoky with campfires or electrical wire troubles and not indoor fun activities. Still, I am throwing the idea on the table and hoping that the tanginess and earthiness of this dark, slick beauty will find imitators soon.

Pic of eggplants via elements4health.com, pic of frying eggplant by Elena Vosnaki