Perfume Roam Ance

Perfumes can be so dreamy and heady sometimes, they make me think happy thoughts... well I have this one bottle of perfume that makes me think naughty thoughts. That might not happen for everyone but I think if you're a perfume lover and you sit to think about it, perfume can give you a fantasy, and conjure such colorful images in your mind you would never have imagined. I'm pretty sure my perfume doppelganger is a helpless romantic, who goes around sniffing flowers and writing poems. The real me on the other hand must be a dramatic perfume lover which was why when I made a list of my favorite romantic perfumes, the name of each perfume on the list was accompanied by dramatic images which my mind associates with the scent of each perfume. After you read the list of  my favorite romantic perfumes below, I would be very happy if you would  share your list with me and the fantasy or drama they conjure.

Here goes...

Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden:  the sugary fresh and citrus scent calls to mind a young sheltered girl whose idea of love and relationship is a fantasy from all the fairy tales she's heard. She is standing with her first boyfriend, giggling nervously in anticipation of her first kiss as he holds her hand and pulls her closer to him, closing the gap between them. Her stomach is flooded with butterflies, her eyes closing involuntarily as she tilts her head and he holds it to kiss her. Her knees buckle under the beautiful current of puppy love.

Romance by Ralph Lauren: A rush of  floral, musk and high tempo citrus sirs up the image of  a Lady. She is much older now, tougher from previous heart breaks, suspicious of overly chivalrous men. She likes him, she knows this. She wants him to kiss her but  it's their third date, she hasn't decided if she'd let him kiss her. The next few minutes would decide. She has tested him in a battle of wits and sarcasm, he didn't do poorly, she has tested him in religious debates and politics, he seems to hold up nicely. He excites her, she's happy with him still she is testing his ego, arrogance and vanity, how he fends will determine if she'd let him kiss her.

Nina by Nina Ricci: the burst of citrus, candied apple and soft warm flowers brings her to mind once again. She's in a  purple silk dress. She is elegant and graceful in her simple hairdo with diamond studs on her ears. Manicured fingers, pink lip stain, silver purse and the sweet smell of candied apple floating around her as she steps out of her chauffeur driven car and enters the restaurant. she is classy but she knows how to feel young and have fun. She lets her heart lead her like a girl  and let her head guide her like a woman. She is confident and she knows she loves the man standing at the table. He pulls a chair for her to sit, and holds on to her hand as he bends on one knee in front of her. She knew he would ask her soon, she didn't know it was today but she knew he would and she knew her answer would be yes. He heart  led her here, her head guided her here, this moment, this scent.

Sensuous by Estée Lauder: warm, woody, balsamic scent, very secretive, you could barely tell its there but its clings to her skin as floats gently in her snow white  gown, carried on doves' wings, pure yet sensual. Her heart is racing, the butterflies are back, her joy is overflowing as she walks  down the aisle towards him, her prince charming. They've been through thick and thin, she'd met a few huntsmen but she'd waited for him and he for her. Now they are here before everyone to start forever together in the embrace of amber, balsam, wood and lily.

 No. 5 by Chanel: It's New Year's Eve, and almost past midnight,  she is standing with the love of her life, his arms around her, his beautiful eyes gazing into hers, waiting for the first second after midnight so he can kiss her and wish her a happy new year.  There's a river below them, a slightly jealous wind surrounds them with chills. She moves closer to him, letting his body warm her as the cool  air  carries  her woody, musky,powdery scent to him wrapping them both in glistening love.

Ange ou demon by Givenchy: She knows him so well as he knows every birth mark in the secret places of her body, every scar every imperfection.  The sweet smell of vanilla , the warmth of aromatic, spicy and woody oils is the scent of making love to the man of your dreams. It's not the first time, it's the passionate love that comes with  knowing each other's body, knowing where to touch, how to touch, when to move in a rhythm, when to stay still, when to dance slowly,  when to stumble when to fall, when to sing and when to moan,  when to speak and when to whisper, when to nibble and when to take a mouth full, when to kiss gently when to eat ravenously.

  

Scent smelling and profiling

I was watching one of those crime investigation shows recently where the police called in a psychologist or psychiatrist to do a psycho analysis or profiling of a serial killer so they would know how his mind worked, what drove him to kill and how to predict his next move or set him up to make a mistake so they could catch him. It was interesting mostly because  I was doing some profiling of my own. I of course was not profiling the strange and disturbing mind of a serial killer, I was profiling the deep and complex characteristics of  different oils and their scents.

The first lesson in my perfumery course is "How to smell" Sounds funny since the sense of  smell like other senses is supposed to be automatic; you take a whiff of  something , lets say cooking gas,  you say hey, I can smell gas!  Ironic as it is that  natural gas, bottled (in cylinders) as Liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) itself has no smell but what you smell is the hydrogen sulphide mixed with the natural gas by the manufacturer, to give that pungent smell  which helps you detect a gas leak.

I am not an expert in organic chemistry or everyday chemistry  for that matter but I do know so many molecules make up any particular scent and each scent is associated with so many other things in life and even sometimes trigger  emotions, memories, fantasies in different people. Hence the art of smelling is not only an essential first step in the art of perfumery, but a continuous one. " Noses aren't made in a day"

Here is How I profile Scents:


What you need 
1. Smelling strip/ blotter/  unscented tissue or paper towel may work
2. Essential oil or fragrance oil
3. A nice, clean airy space
4. A relaxed mind, shoulders and head
4. Your nose of course
5. A pen and paper or your tablet
6. some adjectives, nouns or other such relevant words in your vocabulary

How to do it/ The Smelling

Breathe in and out, relax enjoy a comfortable position in your nice, clean airy space. Don't fall asleep though or you miss all the fun. 

Get you smelling strip out and put a few drops of your essential oil, fragrance oil or perfume on it. Write the name of the particular oil you're smelling on the smelling strip. 

Bend the smelling strip such that you fingers don't come in contact with the droplet on it and the smelling strip itself doesn't touch your nose, keep it 3 to 4 inches away (safety is key) Don't get it on your skin to avoid irritation.  Don't smell more than five different oils in one sitting so you don't get a sensory overload or olfactory fatigue (Yes, that's a thing) or become ill ( yes, that happens)

Don't inhale deeply, instead, take a short light whiff and move the smelling strip away from your nose. Allow your mind to do all the work processing the information. You can take another whiff  to verify the information your mind is providing and write them down as they come. Don't second guess your mind, just let it all flow.

If necessary,  puff some warm air from your nostril onto the strip to warm up and release other scents you might not have noticed, you can inhale slightly deeper than the first two or three times and make your notes again, The air puffing might be necessary for blends of different essential or fragrance oils.

Take a break, smell again and write again. You can do this even after twenty four hours to help your mind soak in all the information about any particular oil and give you all that information next time you smell that oil. Some oils last much longer than twenty four hours so you can smell them after that until they are faint or no longer there, This will also help you know the tenacity of the different oils.

Questions To Ask Yourself When Smelling/ The profiling

1. What am I smelling

2. what colour is it

3. How strong is it

4.  How does it make me feel or how does it come off to me; happy, sad, crazy, quiet, warm, angry, romantic, glamorous, energetic, childish, ethereal, sumptuous, voluptuous and other adjectives or words in your vocabulary that are applicable

5. What, where and who does it remind me of

6. what does it smell like; fruity, herbal, woody, flowery, aromatic, spicy, earthy,

I have done this a couple of times and it is so much fun just getting to know the different scents. It also helps me decide which oil to combine  with the other to make a romantic perfume and also determine how long i would want the perfume to last.

I get my husband to smell with me sometimes, he can be very helpful when his vocabulary is not limited to soapy, lemony  and yucky.  He sometimes helps me put a word to what I'm trying to say about a scent. A limitation in adjectives and other relative words might get in the way at first but as we go along, these will come more fluently. A nose becomes a master perfumer because he smells and smells and smells and his mind expands and creates connections that most people can't.

One last thing, you don't have to wait until you have all the essential oils in the world before going on a smelling spree! I smell the spices in my kitchen and profile them, I smell fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market, freshly cut grass at someone's lawn(because i don't have a lawn), a bottle of perfume given to me as a gift or the one the stranger beside me is wearing. I smell my husband's skin and his dark curly hair  and my friend's newly born baby.  It's not creepy, I promise! LOL!

Fragrances terms and descriptions Two

I started defining perfumery terms two post ago and its been fun reading about the different elements that go into perfumery, the perfumista slangs and such.  I may not be able to write much today because the other job I have keeps pulling but I didn't want today to go by without touching this base.

Where did I stop the last time? O yes, Aldehydes!  Next up  Abelmosk

Abelmosk is an aromatic plant with yellow flowers and crimson centre also called ambrette or  musk mallow usually cultivated for its flowers and  seeds which yields a sweet, floral, woody,  musky  oil often used in perfumery and aromatherapy. Some people believe it is helpful in reducing anxiety and acts as an aphrodisiac.

Absinthe: Liquor  distilled from herbs like wormwood, anise,fennel, angelica and hyssop.

Acacia: different shrubs and trees  belonging to the mimosoideae  of the fabaceae plant family.  Elena Vosnaki  has a beautiful article on Acacia on her blog; http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2012/05/perfumery-material-cassie-mimosa.html

I will share more later, hopefully, soon. Have a lovely week!

Scented name and ghost

Elemi

I met someone recently (sort of met), he had one of those interesting names that make you ask questions like what does your name mean? I wanted to ask him so badly what it  meant but I didn't want him to read my curiosity as interest as he had already made a few statements I found very shallow and sexist so I kept my mouth shut and tuned myself into the universe of sweet, glorious scents.

 I was thinking about a perfume my uncle had given me many years ago, I can't remember the name but for days now, the scent seems to hunt me. I could still smell it after a long shower. I figured it was in my head, maybe I miss my uncle, maybe there's a perfume phantom out there and its come for me. I figured it was no use telling anyone about it, their reaction wouldn't be pleasant and someone might succeed in finally convincing me that I have an obsession for perfumes; a love is never as creepy as an obsession. I've always believed the relationship between perfume and I is pure love.

 The guy with the interesting name said something and touched my arm. "Next customer" Apparently the attendant had called the next customer"me" twice.  I walked to the attendant, leaving the s guy in the "next customer" spot.  I remembered I hadn't told him my name because he had done all the talking the whole six or so minutes he was behind me on the queue and I had only uttered two words; Elemi? which was my only response to: It's so hot outside, I would say it's as hot as you but you would wonder how I can tell you are hot seeing that I can only see your back but I am sure your face is just as hot as your back or maybe even hotter. My name is Elemi.

Elemi? My mind went to work, where had I heard or seen that before? O yes! during my compilation of perfume terms, I had discovered Elemi- the gum from canarium tree. I wanted to ask if he was named after the fragrant gum but like I said , he was  offensive and I didn't want to encourage him. Besides, it could have been a native name that had nothing to do with the fragrant gum.  I know what you're thinking; because I think in perfume, I hear in perfume and see in perfume. You could be right, you could be wrong. 

The only other thing I said was "Thanks" after he woke me from my trance to respond to the attendant.  I probably wouldn't have remembered him after that but for his name and the phantom smell that is yet to leave me.

I wonder, has anyone had that? A smell that just won't go away?

fragrance terms and descriptions.

Have you ever passed by someone or something and caught a whiff of their  fragrance and then you go to a perfume store or you try describing the scent to someone and you kept drawing blanks?  It’s happened to me a couple of times. It so frustrating!  I still can’t seem to find the words to best describe what I smell.  

I  know a lot more than I did last week but I figured since we are on this journey together, my little knowledge is worth sharing. Besides, I promised I would do a post on perfumery terms. 

WARNING!

This might get very long and sometimes confusing but if you stick with me just a few more  minutes after you have rolled your eyes into your forehead or involuntarily scratched your head more than once, you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel…no, you’re not dead, you just became enLIGHTened! Here goes…

Absolute:  Absolute is derived from a solvent extraction process. During this extraction process, plant materials are immersed in solvents like hexane to form a thick substance called concrete. The concrete is then mixed with alcohol to release the oil. The alcohol solvent is then removed by subjecting it to very low temperature distillation, after which remains the Absolute. Solvent extraction is used for plants that are too fragile for distillation or would not yield their essence easily. Delicate flowers like jasmine, narcissus, tuberose, rose and orange blossom are often rendered in absolute form. Absolute is the purest form of an essential oil and is a little closer to the scent you would get from smelling the flower.  

Accord: Accord is a combination of different essences (scents) to create a totally new and unique essence or fragrance, like mixing red and blue to make purple. Each essence loses its unique identity lending it to all others to form the accord which becomes an entity on its own, a base from which many fragrances can be created. For instance a chypre accord which may be used as a base for rich floral perfumes, could be built around bergamot, oakmoss and labdanum.

Aldehyde:  Although there are many aldehydes used in perfumery and they don’t all smell the same, often I hear people describe it as fatty, soapy, fizzy, fruity and sparkly. I'm not quite sure how it all fits since I haven’t had the opportunity to smell all the different types of aldehyde. However, based on my studies, aldehyde is a type of organic chemical, often used in perfumery. The chemical that gives cinnamon its unique smell and vanillin which is a major component in vanilla are both aldehydes. Of course those two smell nothing alike and cannot be describe as soapy or fruity. However, the aliphatic aldehydes would fit those descriptions perfectly. They have this citrusy or floral scent and sometimes, woody or pine scent. Although aldehydes were made popular by the ample amount featured in chanel No. 5, there is hardly any fragrance in existence without some amount of aldehyde in it.

I shall stop here today, one day, we shall get to Z!  Until then, let me know if there is any fragrance term you would like  to add even perfumista slangs!

first drop to genius

I had decided earlier on to do a post on definition of perfumery terms in response to a friend's question on what is fleuressence but that will have to wait because this message is very important; I made my first perfume!

Yes I did!

I  was really nervous after  I had completed the"mix"  I  had wondered if the outcome would smell so bad I'd have to soak my lab in  air freshener to rid it of the stench I would have unleashed. 

I like dark, deep , mysterious  and sensual perfumes  so, that was what I went for.

No,  I didn't get a dark mysterious perfume but I did achieve the sensuous with what I now call musk arrogance .... Yes, I have named my first perfume.

I started with oak moss, added drops of wood, musk, rose fleuressence and completed with  vanilla but the musk in between  has drawn them all in to create this powdery, sweet but strong sensuous scent that has an eternal sillage. It's been on my skin for hours and I can still smell it.

Of course I had to put it on my skin!  For one second, I had this  irrational fear that it would be so corrosive, my skin would burn.

Fortunately, my bravery and curiosity compounded by a tinge of  vain arrogance or call it optimism in my creation quickly dispelled the fear.

Besides who else would be my guinea pig? Definitely not my husband who still can't enjoy the beauty in a musk scent.

The first thing  he said when I put my wrist to his nose was " isn't this that awful perfume your friend gave you?"  I would have bit his  nose off if he didn't quickly add, "it smells better now" just before I told  him I made it.

He has potential, that husband of mine. Musk arrogance does share that sweet powdery scent with Les Nereides'  fleur poudree de musc without the preceding faecal top note.

 Anyway if  I am to judge by the tingly sensation on wrist, I'd say I still have a lot of work to do, no one wants to wear a perfume that lasts forever but burns a hole on the wrist. I'll  let you know  if my wrist survives the day.

 I also have to figure out how to make the juice all bright and shiny like the commercial ones.

 For now,  I am basking   in the warm sensuous glow of musk arrogance. 

Enjoy your week!

Male musk deer secretes a substance called musk which attracts its female. The deer is endangered because humans love that musky scent. I believe animals have the right to life just like we do. Thus no animal was hurt in the production of musk arrogance.

Past and present scents

I was excited last month when my perfume kit arrived. It was the first time in my life I had ordered something online ALL by myself and got it delivered to Nigeria, not  sent  to some address abroad and then shipped here but really, from the supplier straight to Nigeria. Where in Nigeria and how the hassle I went through to get my goods home is another story for another day. 

My special perfume kit  had arrived, the world was at my finger tips! I was going to make fragrances that  no nose had ever smelled! It was going to be glorious, my name everywhere, people talking about my invention that has hit the world by storm... I hadn't decided on the name to call it yet but whatever name it was, it was going to be just as earth shattering as the perfume itself. It was going to smell like ... well nothing!

I opened the lesson notes that came with the kit and the first lesson was, everything smells like something. Every scent you could think of falls under one category or the other... that was a bummer because it meant making the perfume the world was yet to smell would be impossible unless it smells like a unique combination of different scents(notes) the world is familiar with. Ditto!

Little things seem nothing, but they give peace, like those meadow flowers which individually seem odorless but all together perfume the air. Georges Bernanos

The second lesson was the first step to making my own perfume; "smelling." 

 The kit consisted of twenty six bottles of  different fleuressence labelled  A to Z to help the perfumer's apprentice (not beginner, please) like me, easily remember the different categories of scents, form association with them and smell them with my brain not my nose.If that sounded confusing,then you're welcome because soon it shan't and it will be thanks to my exploits on this adventure you have decided to go with me.

The first bottle A contained the Ali-fat-ic category fleuressence, Aldehyde. I shall write my thought on that some day but the second which is the reason for the long story above was B- for Ice berg.

B- for IceBerg- cooling notes. The smell of my past in a bottle! menthol! methylated rub, trebor, dusting powder, tom-tom,  sprint gum, nico sweet(black sweet in transparent red wrapper) all that smell brought back memories of prickly heat and being covered in dusting powder, chewing an unhealthy amount of sprint gum after winning several packs during a  7UP promo, buttermint and nico were the candies we spent our Herbert McCauley coins on back then, we bought those things in packs for one Naira. I broke the Number one rule of smelling, for nostalgia, I inhaled deeply, again and again, holding the paper strip to my nose.

It occurred to me then;  why in the world would I want to make a perfume that smells like nothing! why wouldn't I want to make a perfume that makes me feel like running in the rain and coming home to my mum's warm arms, where she had rub for my chest and dry clothes ready so I didn't catch a cold. The scolding always came after the first cup of hot cocoa  never before and the smell of rub lasted until later into the  night when I fell asleep.  I'm not saying I intend to make a perfume that smells like Vicks inhaler, I mean a perfume that makes someone nostalgic. 

What smell would trigger that nostalgia for you. Please share, I'll be happy to read them.

Perfume we hate but love

Fleur Poudree de Musc Les Nereides for women

My very good friend visited last year and he brought with him a "beautiful new release from a niche perfume house" at least that was what the sales attendant told him.

 I was thrilled. Being a perfume lover for me means the few seconds before you open a bottle of a new perfume, especially one you haven't had the chance to read a review on,is the most sensational, it feels like you are about to be serenaded with an offering; like smoke sent up to the gods of ancient times. Aye, as I pulled off the gold cap on the square shoulder bottle, stretched out my arm so I could see my wrist, sprayed and poised my nose to inhale, exhale, relax and breathe ahhhhh(sigh) like one would after the first sip of cool water on a hot dry day.

 I couldn't believe my nose ! or was it my brain.  My body stiffened and my nose cringed as the scent  hit my olfactory palettes. Fleur poudree de musc opens with a smell I can only describe as faecal. I put it down instantly but declined my husband's offer to throw it in the bin. "that is the most disgusting thing I have ever smelt in my life!" he said as I put my wrist to his nose.

I decided to keep it. I was fascinated by the boldness of the perfumer and all the many people who would wear this proudly as their signature scent. I wanted to take it with me on my perfume journey so I kept it in the drawer. Once in a while I would spray it again, hoping my reaction was exaggerated the first time, it would be different.  It was the same. Recently, my perfume voyage got me looking into the world of skin scents, animalic and musky scents and  the light of knowledge illuminated the beauty that this strange perfume could offer.

 I sprayed it one more time and decided to wear it all day even if it meant not hugging anyone.  I wanted to get to the bottom (the dry down)of this perfume. My very supportive husband wished me a sarcastic good luck and shrunk when I tried to hug him. I put my nose to my wrist every ten minutes or so, waiting for the transformation.

Forty five minutes into sniffing myself like a dog, Fleur poudree de musc transforms into this soft powdery scent that is quite delicate yet strong with the muskiness that seems to hold it together. It doesn't transform into something magical that would gain a popular appeal especially with a very young person or someone who loves flowery and fruity perfumes but it does awaken some carnality within someone who gets it. I understood the spirit of the perfume then, it was human in our au naturelle state with no sweet flowery masks but it was still warm and pleasant, even sensual especially to a nose that gets it.

Stepping Out

I  am embarking on a personal journey, an adventure into the olfactory universe. I will be posting many of my discoveries, musings  and ramblings here, I invite you to join me. Who knows, you might develop a passion of your own or accidentally fall in love with a perfume or  a particular scent. You might even discover how the world smells you. You might be inspired to leave a fragrant trail for the next generation to find or remember you by. You might even get to teach me the way of the nose or point me in the direction of where the alchemist and the perfumers are born and made. Come with me as I take my first step into the beginning of the life I've always dreamed of.

Scentfully yours,

TL