In what concerns the use of perfumes and fragrant unguents or fumigation rituals the path of choice lands us firmly on the land of the Pharaohs, the Eastern Mediterranean and the progeny that follows these traditions into the more recent Arab and Florentine technological interventions that account for the first glimpses of modern perfumery. To Egypt then, for starters.
Frederick Arthur Bridgman (1847-1928) Cleopatra on the Terraces of Philae
If we all have Cleopatra and her scented barge popping into our minds, thanks to pop culture and Shakespeare, at the mere hint of Egypt in relation to fragrances, we're not to blame. Such was the identification of Egypt with perfume production from time immemorial, despite other ancient civilizations dabbling in perfume making in an equal degree, that during Julius Caesar's Roman triumphs, alabastra (aromatic essence holding vials, the term being alabastron/αλάβαστρον in Greek due to the material used to make them, i.e. alabaster) were tossed to the crowd to demonstrate his mastery over Egypt.
Please read the rest of my article on ancient fragrant practices in the milieu of the Eastern Mediterranean (including the references from the ancient writers) on this link on Fragrantica. Part 2 to follow.
Souffle de Parfum, the breath of a fragrance, is the new declination of Shalimar, developed by the house of Guerlain. More than a new concentration (as the poetic name might let you think) it is a flanker fragrance, coat-tailing on a best-selling perfume and offering a new interpretation that smells different; in this case a light floriental.
The latest addition to the classic Shalimar perfumestable is composed by in house perfumer Thierry Wasser and features the following fragrance notes:
Guerlain Shalimar Souffle de Parfum
Top notes: bergamot, lemon, mandarin
Heart: jasmine, orange blossom
Base: vanilla, white musk
The fragrance is available as 30, 50 and 100 ml of Eau de Parfum concentration.
"We’re exploring the country from top to bottom, by car, bus, boat and foot! The landscapes are like nothing we’ve seen before. The mountains resemble wild animals like lions, or tigers, with their long, uninterrupted, muscular lines. Sometimes, the world of myths and all-powerful gods seems to loom up before us, like at the Acropolis. This country is totally fascinating!!
After all that sightseeing, we’ve finally found our favourite spot, mount Pelion! Here, in a remote village called Milies, surrounded by countryside that is barren in parts, lush and fertile in others, dotted with huge waterfalls, we’ve decided to stay for the rest of the summer, and let time stand still. I’ve sketched the village square for you, to give you an idea of where we are.
Every day, to reach the sea, we walk through groves where wild fig trees grow. Heated by the sun, they give off an intense fragrance. I’ve made you a box of souvenirs from this wonderful trip that is coming to an end, so you can share it with us. I’ve put in it a dried leaf from one of the magnificent fig trees, as well as a piece of marble from the Acropolis, a bit of pottery from Mycenae."
Yves Coueslant and Desmond Knox-Leet, two of Diptyque's three founders, were keen travelers. After countless expeditions, they found at last their favorite spot, what Desmond called "the landscape of the soul": Mount Pelion.
On this Mount Pelion, at Melies in Thessalia, they rented a holiday house four years in succession. To reach the sea every day they would walk through a grove of wild fig trees, heated by the burning sun…And thus Diptyque Philosykos and Figuier scented candle came to be.
If I showed you pictures of my younger days as a carefree student you'd be hard to miss one with me showing my teeth and claws in a mock threatening mood under a shrubby fig tree that almost engulfed me in its tentacles. This isn't unusual; we're talking Greece, the land of chaotic vegetation where vegetable patch borders and garden beds are almost unheard of and you'd be hard pressed to find something reminiscent of the ultra-artificial structure of a French style formal garden by André Le Nôtre. The philosophical clash of order over nature and of classical creation myths which place value in the spermatic possibilities ad infinitum is reflected in this small issue.
But the fig itself is antithetical to the northern climes which bred Schopenhauer and Le Spleen de Paris. Dusty or glossy, bitter or sweetish and hazy or succulent, the varied universe of fig scents is winking at us to impart of the joys of the here and now before more sinister thoughts detach us from sensual pleasures. And sensual pleasures are everywhere under the Mediterranean sun where figs are consumed by the kilo, routinely ending a meal with the accompaniment of many savory and creamy cheeses or cooked alongside pork or lamb or even…fish!
fish wrapped in fig leaves by Penny de los Santos for Saveur, borrowed for educational purposes from here
Dried, candied figs are still sold throughout the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean as a delicacy that harkens back to antiquity. Such was the importance placed on them that in classical Athens (a significant trade center for figs) the term sycophant/συκοφάντης (literally “revealer of figs”) was coined for those who snitched on the poachers of figs. As the practice of stealing the fruit was both illegal and highly frowned upon~fig groves being sacred as well as a trade vantage point for city-state Athens~ the practice soon took on a more sinister nuance: If someone had a vendetta against their neighbor they often resorted to blaming them for fig poaching! Thus the word “sycophant” earned a negative and more generalized meaning, that of "lying snitch," a meaning it still retains in Greek! Centuries later the word acquired a different meaning in English (that of "lowly flatterer"), but its etymology reminds us that the natural world surrounding us is not without importance even in such prosaic things as words.
The sharp, bitter green of the leaf contrasts with the milky, creamy touch of the sap of the fruit and the wood of the bark in Philosykos. The coconut note is an important part, not because it imparts a tropical feel (figs grow in the temperate zone) but because the young fruit sap contains a sensitizing "milk," a lactonic note. Coconut is also lactonic, i.e. milky-smelling in nature, hence the inclusion more realistically brings to mind the fig tree burdened with its succulent-to-be load. The milky note isn't a random thing, nor has it escaped attention through the ages. The classical Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis writes in Deipnosophistae how rural populations were making cheese out of milk by curdling it using the twigs and leaves of the fig tree. It is even described in Homer's Iliad!
For all those reasons Philosykos is very dear to me and I was overjoyed to see this beautiful homage to this truly iconic fragrance.
See the presentation/sketches/photos on this link .
To celebrate 25 years in business, niche fragrance brand Parfums de Nicolaï is launching Musc Monoï, inspired by the scent of Ambre Solaire sun products. “For many years I have been in love with Ambre Solaire oil,” said Patricia de Nicolaï, the firm’s owner, founder and perfumer.
The amber-coloured juice comes in the firm’s usual tall, elegant bottle with a gold cylindrical cap, and costs £108 for 100ml or £36 for 30ml from de Nicolaï boutiques worldwide and the firm’s website. De Nicolaï, who is president of the Osmothèque perfume museum in Paris, is a descendant of the Guerlain family. She trained at ISIPCA and helped to develop Lancôme’s Trèsor while at Quest before founding her own firm in 1989. Parfums de Nicolaï has since produced 48 fragrances.
quote & press via Patricia Mansfield-Devine, Rennes
Cologne was invented in 1709 by Johann Maria Farina, who wrote to his brother: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain."
'Actually, colognes are very traditional perfumes in a very low concentration. Let’s put it that way. They were invented about 200 years ago in Cologne, Germany, as a reaction to the very heady, animalic scents that people used to wear. Before that, perfumes were loaded with natural musks and castoreum, so when colognes were invented it was like a breakthrough. It was the first time that people were wearing light, refreshing fragrances that were not supposed to last for days, but were just there to be enjoyed in the moment. And, of course, back then colognes were all natural and they were basically composed using an overdose of citrus oil like lemon or bergamot. They were combined with some clary sage to give an interesting twist, and also with lavender to give an herbaceous contra punto. Americans might not know what colognes really are, but I think there’s also a misconception of what a cologne is in Europe, too. It probably is because the generation of perfume lovers today were so influenced by marketing. And we all have male friends who call their fragrances “cologne” even though they’re not cologne concentration—they’re eau de toilette or eau de parfum.' ~Andy Tauer
What I wrote about Le Cologne du Maghreb when it first came out back in December 2010:
'It is a classical cologne, with a woody baseline chord, "a firework of natural citrus notes, exploding into expensive sparkles, on a background with ambreine and cedarwood from the Moroccan High Atlas".
Like all colognes it is not made to last but it is a fragrant joy, living in the moment, leaving you with the finest veil of woods on your skin.
Ingredients: Citrus essential oils and absolutes (such as lemon, bergamot, clementine, mandarine, grapefruit, orange blossom absolute, neroli oil), rose absolute and oil, cedarwood, ambrein, cistrose and much more.'
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