Arabian Perfumery for Beginners: Mukhallat, Oudh et al

I have been fragrance consulting for a piece in Condé Nast's Traveler these past few days and it has come to my attention that the terminology of Arabian perfumery, despite its gradual seeping into the mainstream, is still elusive for many. So a few terms are hereby clarified for our readers.

via timeoutkl.com

One of the terms you often stumble upon is mukhallat/mukhallet/mokhalat. The term is rather generic to denote fragrance oil mix in Arabic. Oil form is prefered due to its sensual nature and because oil holds fragrance better. Seeds and leaves are grinded into powder to enrich those oils. Arabian women are increasingly appreciating the convenience of Western-style spray fragrances, emulating the Western ideal, yet there is also the belief those smell a little less beautiful due to the intense alcoholic blast out of the sprayer. It's very common fragrance practice in the Middle East, therefore "mukhallat al...something" is a fragrance oil to be used neat on the skin with X ingredient highlighted. Alternatively you might see the brand's name placed beside the mukhallat term, to denote their own "blend" version. [That said, there IS a company simply named Mukhallat which has an online site selling fragrances of Arabic inspiration].
Mukhallat is not to be confused with attar, which refers to any fragrant essential oil distilled from flowers into a carrier oil (usually sandalwood). So you can have a mukhallat containing attar of roses for instance, but also musk, saffron, oudh, amber (itself a mix)...The variations that distinguish mukhallats are not only the ingredients themselves (i.e. the "recipe") as these tend to tread familiar paths, but also for instance the species of the particular flower used, the origin of an ingredient (such as Omani frankincense versus Somalian), plant or animal based musk, the amber-note recipe, additional oils and the quality and quantity of individual ingredients. It's here important to note that although mukhallat sounds like a mix of all natural essences, in truth this is often not the case.

Oudh/Oud/Aoud (also: agarwood or aloeswood) is one of the most common and confusing ingredients to be featured in Arabian perfumery. Common because there's a significant tradition of using this oleoresin in Middle Eastern rituals, and confusing because so many of the fragrance blends are not based on the natural oud essence for various reasons, as you can see here. Oud/Oudh comes in two commercial forms: den al oudh which is an oil produced via either distilling the wood chips of the Aquilaria tree (a more economical option) or melting a small amount of the resin produced by the tree into a carrier oil. Thus den al oudh can be used neat on the skin as perfume. The pure resin (to be further manipulated for fragrance purposes) is usually referred to as oud mubakhar.

Some of the companies that do quality Arabian-inspired or Arabian perfumery are (in no specific order):
Amouage, Ajmal, Aluwwah.com, Arabian Oud, Al Haramain, ASAQ, Al Rehab, Yas: The Royal House of Perfumes. Rasasi and Swiss Arabian are also credible, if less luxurious.
And of course there are less expensive Arabian fragrant mixes that can be no less beautiful in their own way.

Kati Nescher's Beauty Secrets

"In Paris I have two favorite addresses: Caron for the very feminine fragrances (153 boulevard St Germain 75006 Paris) and Colette for the niche perfumes (213 rue Saint Honoré 75001 Paris). And whenever I am at Cologne I always visit Apropos, a concept store dotted with quite the distinguished selection (www.apropos-store.com). I don't like too loud fragrances. For me a perfume should be fresh, close to my natural scent."

via blog.set-fashion.com

Discover all of Kati Nescher's model-of-the-moment beauty secrets on French Vogue.

Art of Scent at MAD Museum Opens Finally & Pre-sale of Catalogue

‘The Art of Scent’ at the Museum of Arts and Design, delayed by superstorm Sandy by a week, is finally opening. Curated by Chandler Burr (well known to perfume aficionados so that he doesn't need an introduction), its aim is to place fragrance in a vision-free "zone" to be appreciated as pure art.“The fundamental goal of the department [of Olfactory Art],” mr. Burr said during a recent interview at his office, “is placing scent as an artistic medium alongside painting, sculpture and music.” For however “brilliant” or “extraordinary” the greatest scents may be, he added, “they’re not recognized as works of art, and the artists who create them are not recognized as artists.”

A gallery with 12 gently curved indentations in its walls was created by Diller Scofidio & Renfro. "Hidden behind each is a scent diffusion machine: a visitor who leans into the curve will set off an electronic eye, causing the machine to release a burst of fragrance calibrated to stay in place for four seconds, without spreading across the room (made by the German company Scentcommunication)".[source]

The catalogue of the exhibition is scheduled to be sold and ready to ship in about 2 weeks on the Store at MAD site here (check for pre-ordering). The catalogue includes essays on the fragrances, written by mr.Burr, referenced through art movements that correspond to the scents, and will retail for $250 and there are only 1,000 catalogues, numbered, 1 – 1,000. The catalogue will contain 11 of the 12 works of olfactory art that Burr is exhibiting —they haven’t been able to include Chanel N° 5 which will be exhibited in the show nevertheless. Each fragrance is contained in a Spartan 5ml vial of pure taste.

And the works contained are:

01 Romanticism

Jicky

1889

Aimé Guerlain

Lent by Guerlain

02  Abstract Expressionism

L’Interdit

1957

Francis Fabron

Lent by Givenchy and Givaudan

03 Early American School

Aromatics Elixir

1971

Bernard Chant

Lent by The Estée Lauder Companies and International Flavors and Fragrances

04 Industrialism

Drakkar Noir

1982

Pierre Wargnye

Lent by l’Oréal International Flavors and Fragrances

05 Surrealism

Angel

1992

Olivier Cresp

Lent by Clarins and Firmenich

06 Minimalism

L’Eau d’Issey

1992

Jacques Cavallier

Lent by BPI and Firmenich

07 Photo Realism

Pleasures

1995

Annie Buzantian, Alberto Morillas

Lent by The Estée Lauder Companies and Firmenich

08  Kinetic Sculpture

Light Blue

2001

Olivier Cresp

Lent by Dolce & Gabbana, P&G Prestige, and Firmenich

09 Neo-Romanticism

Prada Amber

2004

Carlos Benaïm, Max Gavarry, Clément Gavarry

Lent by Prada, Puig, and International Flavors & Fragrances

10 Luminism

Osmanthe Yunnan

2006

Jean-Claude Ellena

Lent by Hermès

11 Post-Brutalism

Untitled

2010

Daniela Andrier

Lent by l’Oréal and Givaudan

The Intimate History of Chanel N°5

After the catastrophic Brad Pitt No.5 campaign (largely faulty due to the horrendous script), Chanel goes all damage control and employs Marilyn Monroe at their Inside Chanel microsite.

 

The“Marilyn and N°5” video is part two of a larger Inside Chanel campaign that is available at www.inside-chanel.com.

The Perfume of Life Forum is Back!

After several months in absentia, due to the heavy workload of mr.Jeffrey Dame, owner and administrator of the Perfume of Life community, one of the oldest fora for perfume lovers is finally back. You can log in if you're an old user with your old username or you can register if you're new. Check this link and enter Perfume of Life for discussion of all matters related to perfume. It's been missed...