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

Chypre series 3: the new contestants

 If we are to talk about New Chypres (also nouveau chypres or "pink chypres" see below), we need to clarify some things. If you're new to Perfume Shrine's Chypre Series, please refer to the following basic articles:
What ARE "chypre perfumes"?
What are the aesthetics of chypre fragrances?
What's the history and zeitgeist of "chypre" evolution?

In our quest for chypre perfumes we stumble upon a peculiar phenomenon: there are scarcely any true chypres getting produced in the last 25 years!! Why is that? The answer is two-fold and fascinating in its denouement.

First of all, there is the matter of ingredients getting replaced and restricted, with oakmoss being the most crucial and prominent one as mentioned before. However surely this is a very recent phenomenon that only lately has seriously affected perfumers and houses into producing fragrances that do not make use of this elusive, wonderfully sensual ingredient. For example it was only at the beginning of the year that Mitsouko begun its journey into its latest reformulation, the one that lowers the oakmoss magnificence into the accountant-minded IFRA guidelines. Perhaps it's just as well that the process is going slowly in those instances so one can stockpile a favourite version/vintage while they still can. Labdanum is also slowly being replaced by other ingredients. Miss Dior, this legendary New Look debutante has had a makeover by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The effect is not quite as endearingly old-fashioned as it used to be. The sister fragrance (or should I say evil step-sister?) Miss Dior Cherie is the new direction in which the pendulum swings.

Nevertheless there must have been something else besides ingredients' embargo at play, influencing trends and production, which we will explore in another installment on the Chypre series real soon.

In the meantime, it might be interesting to note that after what seemed a total eclipse of chypres in releases of late years, there has been a new category of fragrances coming out slowly but surely that although not typical of their family they bear the illustrious label regardless.

They encompass lovely watercolours like Narciso for Her by Narciso Rodriguez, the coquette qui fait la coquinne Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel (classed either as floriental or fruity chypre, leaning more to an orientalised patchouli), the grapefuit laden abstraction of Ralph Lauren's Pure Turqoise , the sexy safron rosiness of Agent Provocateur that might have been at the vanguard of the trend.
These new entries into the galaxy of chypre have been ingeniously coined by Ayala Moriel as "pink chypres", simply because they exude a modern, young and girly air that is a novel take on the old sophistication of a classic chypre.

Michael Edwards, the man who is responsible for the "Fragrances of the World" system is classifying them under the "mossy woods" umbrella as evidenced in the Sephora directory. Oakmoss is mentioned in the introductory note, yet it is distinctly shunning the invitation in several of those listed.

But then how conclusive are fragrance families and categories anyway?

Referenced in the series "Que sais-je?" in the volume Le Parfum Jean Claude Ellena notes:

I've taken part in the perfume classification committee of the Société Française des Parfumeurs, but nowadays I wonder what its use really is. [...]In today's olfactory classifications, I believe that the most valuable information lies in the perfume's date of creation, its name, and the name of the brand that launched it on the market. The date allows us to put perfumes in an evolutionary perspective (as long as we are able to smell them), while product names and brands give us some indication of the degree of creativity involved in each company. (p. 77-78)

(quote copied from Marcello on nowsmellthis)

Clearly this is a renouncement of formal classifications and perhaps a rather elitist streak, one might say, that runs into this 60 year old minimalist perfumer responsible for such masterpieces as First by Van Cleef, Declaration by Cartier, the Hermessences and the Jardin series (en Mediteranee and sur le Nil) for Hermes and numerous others. But then again Jean Claude has a family which cherises aromas in everyday life and sits down to Christmas dinner hiding little aromatic gifts under the napkins. His daughter is also a perfumer, Cecile Ellena, the co-nose of The Different Company. It goes with the territory.

With that in mind, if we choose to take his side, this new category of chypres is worth exploring even though they lack the characteristic bergamot-oakmoss accord that is typical of the classics of yesterday.

So what goes into the production of those modern chypres?

The typical bergamot top of classic chypres has long been known to be phototoxic, resulting in brown patches on the skin upon exposure to UV radiation. It has been advised ever since I can recall to avoid placing perfume in spots that would be exposed to the sun, exactly because of that. And it has been well-known and accepted for decades. Why it has become such a derisive issue now, which demands the restriction of its use in minute amounts or the clear labelling on the box, is a matter that has to do with complicated legal reasons and the fervent desire of companies to not get entantangled in judicial battles that would cost them fortunes.
Bergamot has thus been shunned for other citrusy and bright top notes that include fresh and slightly bitter grapefruit, sweet mandarin and tangerine (like in Miss Dior Cherie), homely orange in some cases, and even floral essences that marry the florancy with the high volatility and sparkle of hesperides, like neroli or even orange blossom (as is the case in Narciso which uses a synthesized orange blossom that is also apparent in this year's launches for men Dior Farhenheit 32 and Gaultier Fleur du Male).

Fruity notes such as mangosteen (Hillary Duff With Love), lichi, watermelon and passion fruit (Masaki Matsushima Masaki), strawberry (Miss Dior Cherie)and berries (Badgley Mischka) are also appearent, although this might have to do with the overuse of fruity aromas in perfumes of recent launch anyway.
Sweet gourmand touches (caramelised pop corn of Miss Dior Cherie and creme de cassis in Badgley Mischka) might also be attributed to that and not to any desire to revolutionise the chypre notion any further. Which is just as good...

Oakmoss and labdanum have been substituted by grassy, pungent vetiver ~that aromatic root from Java that is the dream of every engineer as it binds itself into substructure; and by patchouli ~that indian bush with the sweet smelling leaves that produce the most potent smell in the vegetal kingdom. The two have been the base accord of almost every new chypre to emerge since 2000 and are going steady in their triumphal marching into perfumery even in seperate capacities. They are tremendously popular notes in both feminine and masculine perfumes.

Often spicy notes, such as coriander (Emporio Armani City Glam Her), or herbal ones, such as angelica, mingle with various musks to accent the murky character of the new chypres. Producing thus oeuvres that although they bear no relation to the old-fashioned intense warmth and powder of their predecessors, they appeal to similar audiences; audiences who have been conditioned to love chypres since childhood perhaps, be it from received memories through beloved family members, or through an appreciation for the unidentifiable character of those Old World sumptuous fragrances.

In any case the future for modern chypres is looking very bright indeed!


Next installement will tackle matters of aesthetics.

Top pic sent to me by mail unaccredited, pic of Narciso bottle courtesy of Nordstrom.com

Chypre series 1: the origins

Chypre...word of chic, word of antiquity. Pronounced SHEEP-ruh, it denotes a fragrance family that is as acclaimed as it is shrouded in mystery. Usually this is the first piece of perfume lingo any self-respecting perfumeholic learns; and learns to pronounce well. It has been many a time that perfume lovers of a rather standoffish attitude have shamed many a sales assistant by mentioning this elusive word in relation to a longed for fragrance. Tah tah...don't be mean...let the poor dears to their advertising copies and come to Perfume Shrine for your dose of perfume mysticism.

French for the Greek island of Cyprus, an island with a tormented history through the ages, chypre came to symbolise a family of scents that took inspiration by the natural aromas encountered in the foliage of its trees and the blood-soaked soil of its land.
The Romans used to produce a perfume in Cyprus that contained storax , labdanum and calamus. It smelled heavy and almost oriental in feeling and it continued to be manufactured throughout the Middle ages in Italy and then in France , with oakmoss as its base.

The discovery of a perfume factory on the island of Cyprus dating from 2000 BC by Italian archaeologists in recent years enriched our knowledge on the subject considerably and brought us into the origins of the fragrant family.
An Italian archaeology team has dug the site of a Bronze Age perfume factory in Pyrgos-Mavrorahi 55 miles south-east of Nicosia (the island's capital), in which some of the ancient artefacts were still intact after the site's historical destruction in an earthquake. The site included a copper smelting works, a winery and an olive press that provided the base ingredient for the fragrances.

The perfume trade originating from Egypt was reputedly massive at the time the Cyprus factory was in production and archeologists deem it highly likely that the two civilizations had firm trading links, judging from their overall cultural exchange. The Cypriots had probably learned a lot from their interaction with the Egyptians.
It is well documented that the civilization of Egypt placed great importance to essences and scents, deeming them worthy of taking to the afterlife, as they have been found in predynastic graves. A royal tomb at Abydos(placed at about 3000 BC) included jars containing coniferous resin mixed with plant oil and animal fats; a precursor to modern solid perfumes.
Not to mention that the first strike in recorded history happened at the time of Ramses III (1165 BC), when workers refused to continue work when their supply of fragrant ointment was interrupted while they worked at the Valley of the Kings! Trully, love for perfume.

Coincidentally, enormous jars capable of holding 500 litres of olive oil were also uncovered in the cypriot dig, reconfirming theories of the trading links between Cyprus, Greece and Egypt.

According to "How to make perfume":

People in those ancient times held perfumed oils and ointments in great esteem, not just for their daily bathing routine or to impress each other. More importantly, these people in ancient lands would not have conducted their burials and ceremonies without the presence of perfumed resins, fragranced ointments and aromatic oils. Tracing back the origins of how to make perfume to the second and third centuries BC has been helped tremendously by the remarkable discovery of the industrial perfumery in Cyprus.
While some modern ingredients are much more advanced, Chypre perfumes are known for their bergamot and mossy properties, consistent with the findings at the Cyprus perfumery. Also present in the bottle fragments were traces of myrtle, laurel and cinnamon.

Indeed among the aromas found in the cypriot remains were those of cinnamon, laurel, myrtle, anise and citrus bergamot. These components are those detailed by the Roman writer Pliny (AD23-79), who described the composition of various fragrances in his encyclopaedic Historia Naturalis and confirm that the ancients were composing fragrances of great sophistication.

As Ayala Moriel, herself a perfumer, so savantly mentions in her blog:

We know about chypre scents being made on the island as early as the 12th century. They were made primarily of labdanum resin and mixed with other local aromatics from herbs and flowers. Oyselets de Chypre (Chypre Birds) were formed from a paste of labdanum, styrax and calamus, mixed with tragacanth*. The perfumes in those old days were burned as incense and the birds decorated and scented rooms. It wasn’t until the 14th century that oakmoss was added to these pastilles. A book from 1777 provides perfume formulas for two chypre compositions that included oakmoss as well as civet, ambergris, musk and various resins and plant aromatics, including rose and orange blossom.

(*Tragacanth? Learn what it is here).

The main ingredients of a Chypre in modern times are generally considered to be oakmoss , patchouli , labdanum, angelica or clary sage , with the addition of floral middle notes such as rose-jasmin and a bright, fresh, lightly sweet top note of bergamot or even lemon.

The natural ingredients used had remained unchanged for thousands of years until the introduction of synthetic molecules after the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th.

This is how François Coty, born Joseph Marie François Spoturno in Corsica, envisioned his iconoclastic Chypre in 1917 which opened the way for a legion of scents on its trail (especially during the mid-40s up to the mid-60s) catapulting the "chypre fragrance family" with its many sub-genres and famously inspiring even Guerlain when producing his iconic Mitsouko perfume.

In fact, while perfumes remain elitist and limited in distribution right up to the First World War, Coty's "Chypre" breaks with tradition in 1917 by proposing the first perfume for the masses which will encounter an exceptional public reception

(from Musee de Grasse)

It is worthy of mention in passing that Coty believed in the democratization of scent and used witty marketing to his advantage:

"Give a woman the best product you can prepare, present it in a perfect flask of a simple elegance but irreproachable taste , and sell it at a reasonable price, and you' will witness the birth of a big business like the world has never seen".

[Coty had a fascinating biography as you can see here, but I digress.]

Back on point, the basic chord in a classic chypre however is always bergamot-oakmoss-labdanum. Whatever other notes the sites/guides mention , those must be in there for it to qualify as a "classic chypre", a true descendant of Coty's Chypre from 1917. Especially do NOT confuse chypres with ambery perfumes, parfums ambrees in French, which are really "orientals" in perfume taxonomy. Modern chypres are a different animal, smelling quite different than classic chypres, so the issue is tackled on the above linked article. 

The reformulation of classics brings us to the controversy that has erupted about the restrictions in the use of natural oakmoss by the indystry; but more about that in another installment of this Perfume Shrine series...

Read on the rest of the Chypre Series on Perfume Shrine following the links:

Part 2: chypre fragrance ingredients and formulae

Part 3: "nouveau chypres" or modern "chypre" fragrances

Part 4: chypre perfume aesthetics

Part 5: chypre perfume chronology and the zeitgeist

Part 6: masculine chypres

Part 7: chypre fragrances time forgot

Top pic of Troodos forest park in Cyprus courtesy of european-foresters.org and pic of vintage Coty Chypre from artsuppliesonline via Ayala Moriel