Ayala Sender Releases Hanami Perfume Today

by Legerdenez


It all started with a poem: In March 2008, perfumer Ayala Sender was invited along with 14 other leading perfumers in the niche perfume industry to interpret a haiku-like poem by Ezra Pound, “In A Station of the Metro” for a project titled “Perfume In A Poem” Memory & Desire blog. One year later, Ayala Moriel releases the perfume at Blunda Aromatics in Los Angeles, in the 2nd of their 8-part Natural Botanical Perfume Exhibitions. “As I was reading the poem, I envisioned a perfume that is subtle and urbane: flowers and dusty dirt”, says Ayala. She drew on her olfactory experiences in the metro stations in New York and Montreal, and the cherry blossom boulevard in Burrard SkyTrain station, which is the heart of the Cherry Blossom Festival (Hanami) in Vancouver.

“The challenge was to create the feel of concrete, asphalt and metallic surroundings using natural aromatics only”, says Ms. Sender, who used Haitian vetiver, cabreuva oil, French Cassie and Oleander to create the feel of metal, wet wood and concrete. These serve as a backdrop for the cheerful lightweight floral notes of sakura, mimosa and magnolia, creating a perfume that is ever changing, ranging from “sweet floral notes in the sunshine to cool dampness of concrete and steel."

I wish I could have been there for the launch today. To learn more about Hanami click here.

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BIBLE : JESUS — ROSE OF SHARON

The Saviour by El Greco,
1604-1614, El Greco Museum at Toledo, Spain



The song leader stands before the congregation and announces the number of the next hymn. As you turn the pages, you quickly realize that you know the song—"Jesus, Rose of Sharon." But if you are anything like most of the people singing, truth be told, you do not know what the term "Rose of Sharon" means. So, what does it mean?

This may come as a shock, but the phrase is used only once in the entire Bible, and it does not refer to Jesus. In Song of Solomon 2:1, Solomon’s wife describes herself as the "rose of Sharon." From her description, we can see that it is a complimentary term that expresses beauty.


The word Sharon (also spelled Saron) means a level place or plain, and is found in numerous verses in the Bible, including Acts 9:35 and 1 Chronicles 27:29. In God’s Word, the term is used to describe one of the largest plains in all of the land of Palestine. You can locate this valley by looking just north of the city of Joppa on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.


From what we know about the place, the Sharon valley was a fertile plain that was home to many beautiful flowers. Isaiah 35:2 lists Sharon in a context discussing blooming plants and describes the valley as "excellent." Sharon was renowned for its majesty and beauty, but what about its "rose?"


A true rose, like the one sweethearts exchange on Valentine’s day, is probably not what the Bible calls the "rose of Sharon," since these flowers are very uncommon in Palestine. In fact, although no one can say for certain which flower is the actual "rose of Sharon," many scholars think the best guess is the cistus (also known as the rock-rose). The cistus blooms in various parts of the land of Palestine, and in ancient times was known for its soothing aroma and pain-relieving qualities.

No one knows for sure when or why the term "rose of Sharon" was given to Jesus. But some reasons do make good sense. Christ’s healing powers and pain-relieving actions were similar to certain traits of the rock-rose. Is it any wonder that the "Great Physician," Who came to physically heal the sick and spiritually take away the plague of sin from the world, should be given the name of a flower known for its sweet aroma and pain-relieving qualities?

Cistus Creticus "Rose of Sharon": In the season of Bible it produced labdanum in the region of Jerusalem.

Sub-families of chypre - Members of the Chypre Family

http://ayalasmellyblog.blogspot.com/2006/10/members-of-chypre-family.html

The Chypre family is versatile, inclusive, tolerant and embraces many different nuances and variations on the chypre theme. It is, perhaps, the very loose and laid-back attitude of Chypre that is working against them now in the prolonged and painful process of extinction, as the Chypre family adopts bastard chypre-wannabes that do not contain even a drop of oakmoss!
More about that in the future article “The Dawn of Pink Chypres”. This is a sad story… But before we start weeping, let’s see what are the different sub-categories of the large and beautiful Chypre Family!

CHYPRE FRUITY

Heavy with a peach-like fruitiness. Often combine notes of peach, plum and apricot – which highly complement the dark earthy notes and the sparkling citrus notes of Chypre. This division of the family includes trendsetting classics such as Femme and Mitsouko, and also more modern scents such as Y (YSL) and my very own Autumn perfume, which is in fact an Homage to Femme, using natural essences only.

CHYPRE FLORAL ANIMALIC

The most innovative and of all the Chypre family, Chypre Animalic Florals sometime have a leathery, dry effect that may suggest masculinity. Dzing! (l’Artisan Parfumeur) is one extreme example, also bordering on the leather; Agent Provocateur reeks with indole, musk and aldehydic florals; and there is also the classic Miss Dior, originally underlined with sizzling-hot civet base (review of different versions and concentrations of Miss Dior will be posted here very soon), and similar to it is also Ma Griffe. My personal addition to this sub-category is one of my most avant-guarde creations – Schizm, which pairs intense tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine and pepper over a base of oakmoss, cedar and wild mushrooms (which lend the animalic quality).

CHYPRE FLORAL

Originally, these were gardenia infused Chypre. Chypre Florals now contain many other florals as well – such as rose, jasmine, tuberose. Patchouli is added to the base, for emphasizing the floral notes. Here you will find Soft classics such as Le Dix (Belanciaga), the bold American Knowing (Estee Lauder), aldehydic princesses such as Parure (Guerlain) and fragile florals such as Chant d’Aromes (also by Guerlain).

CHYPRE FRESH

Though extremely long lasting, these Chypre feel fresh and radiant and usually have pronounced citrus notes. The sparkling hedionic jasmine and citrus infused Eau Sauvage, Diorella and Le Parfum de Therese (all by genius perfumer Edmond Roudniska) are the beacon after which everybody else followed – including, for instance, Annick Goutal’s most successful and delicate Eau d’Hadrien, Chanel’s brilliant and sparkling Cristalle, and my very own ArbitRary. This category, for the most part, tends to be unisex oriented.

CHYPRE GREEN

These are often the lightest chypre – usually with a leafy-green, at times herbaceous and coniferous notes. Galbanum is one of the most popular additions to green Chypres. These are often border-line with green florals.
These are usually extremely elegant and clean-cut composition, including No. 19 (Chanel), a masterpiece of galbanum, citrus, jasmine, rose, orris, woods, oakmoss and a hint of leather; Ivoire (Balmain), a refined dry composition of roses, greens, moss, and a hint of leather sweetened with raspberry; Private Collection (Estee Lauder) juxtaposing galbanum, orange blossom, rose, jasmine and oakmoss; Chamade (Guerlain), which is also an unusual cross between green chypre and aldehydic floral, with notes of galbanum, hyacinth, ylang ylang, oakmoss and vanilla; Ayalitta, which is an earthy-green Chyprey; and my recent Spring release newest version of Grin, in which the green of galbanum announces the presence of green dewy florals such as freesia, boronia and rose, underlined with oakmoss, vetiver and precious woods.

CHYPRE WOODY

Prominent base notes of sandalwood, patchouli and vetiver add a dry, clean edge to those Chypre compositions – usually (but not always) these are very masculine. Somehow I went almost completely blank trying to find examples for Chypre woody perfumes besides Mitsouko, even though it's not particularly masculine strictly speaking; Agent Provocateur, an unusal Chypre as it is not truly mossy but achieved the diffusive mossy effect by using massive amounts of vetiver and aldehydes; and my own Democracy, which is masculine and somewhat ambery-animalic, and Megumi, which rather feminine and floral.

CHYPRE LEATHERY

Dry, smoky compositions those are dark and masculine. These include the Cuir de Russie pungent-dry leather compositions (Chanel, Piver, Creed, etc.), Jolie Madame (Balmain) which interestingly uses sweet violets as well as generous amounts of moss; Bandit (Piguet), Miss Balmain (Balmain), Yatagan (Caron), Bel Ami, and Caron’s legendary Tabac Blond.

CHYPRE CONIFEROUS

With an outdoorsy scent – these are sporty and refreshing, and usually masculine in nature. Pino Silvestre and Rainforest are the best examples I can come up with at the moment (if you know of other suggestions, please comment!).

Happy Easter.

El Creco
Domenikos Theotokopoulos
"The Resurrection 1596-1600"




































Cistus creticus is bloomed, Easter.

Patchouli & Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli by Reminiscence : Perfume Reviews

by

http://fragrancebouquet.blogspot.com/2009/03/patchouli-inoubliable-elixir-patchouli.html

Patchouli:

Affectionately known as the “soul of Reminiscence”, Patchouli is the brand’s “flagship fragrance”. As I have mentioned in a previous review, to me, the particular brand has a lovely neo-hippie essence, and this feeling is both confirmed and underscored by their choice to place Patchouli as their central perfume. Offered in a clear bottle adorned with a girly smattering of stars, the cinnamon-colored juice too is closer to the hippie potions of the ‘70s than most modern interpretations of the note. Itself created in the ‘70s, Reminiscence’s Patchouli still manages to smell rather airy and playfully French, despite its retro feel. According to the official website, it completely lacks top-notes, but I find this rather hard to believe: spray Patchouli on your skin and you will find a boozy top accord of beautifully fermented grapes (akin to the scent of grappa) and light citrus notes that lend the fragrance a lovely vintage feel. As the top notes flutter away, the patchouli note takes over, but not once does it come on too strong. Its presentation throughout the development is always in tandem with the supporting notes, creating a soothingly soft blend. Cinnamon has the honor of the first dance, and together with the camphorous character of the patch, their twirling motions become slightly dizzying. This is not a metaphor! Two analgesic-related scents at once and I can’t help but get the impression I am being under the influence of something. Soon, the spiciness is toned down in favor of sweetness: the ambery base notes start showing through beautifully, lending the fragrance a soft yet very clearly discernible balsamic profile. Most salient is the sweet, round scent of tolu, only marginally tamed by the bitter resinous character of labdanum. In the drydown, the patchouli turns into a hushed whisper, leaving the very addictive sandalwood-vanilla blend to take over. The drydown is probably my favorite stage of Reminiscence’s Patchouli, due to the creamy, musky sweetness it imparts on the skin. What I absolutely need to mention before moving on to the Elixir, is that if you hate patchouli because of its headshop/indian-jewelry-cum-bead & fabric-store associations, this is probably not the right patch scent for you. It might be a soft scent, especially if you apply with a light hand, but it smells exactly like the sweet blend of amber-patchouli incense burnt in headshops. The sharpness is missing, but you can liken its scent to what you’d find if you buried your nose in one of the colorful fabrics sold there, just to find layers and layers of burnt incense smoke which has drenched the fibers. Although I can appreciate the particular scent for its playfulness, its balance and the way it showcases each note, I have to say that it is definitely not for me.

Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli:

“…and this one is for serious patchouli lovers only” the owner of the little jewelry boutique informed me as she handed me a sample of the Elixir, looking at me critically, no doubt trying to size up my patch love meter. I remained unblinking, open smile frozen in the grinning grimace of a terrified chimp. Regaining my composure, I decided to distract her equally unblinking avian stare by pointing to the bottle. “It is a beautiful bottle!” “Yes it is, it is a bit more expensive than the original, but well worth it to serious patchouli lovers.” …Seriously, the woman will NOT let go, she knows all about me, she knows I only recently started liking patchouli, she knows I am still exploring, she is soon going to kill me! (pause) …How will I come back here? I love her shop! I love the jewelry. (pause) Run now, consider later, I thought to myself as I made my exit as graciously as possible under the circumstances. Back in the comfort of my home, I eagerly ripped the gold-foil packet to reach the promised contents within. Surprisingly, the juice of the elixir is lighter colored than the original, the hue of light flower honey. Originally launched in 1970, the same year as its sibling, Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli was reissued in 2007. My first instinct upon spraying it is to go “Mmmmmmmm”: A full on pure, high quality dark chocolate cloud rises from the skin upon first contact. This stuff is rich and magnificent! Soon, the sumptuous oriental opening reveals glimmering facets as its soft core is cut through by a bright metallic tinge which lends it an air of luxury. The patchouli core at the center of this perfume is earthy and moist, while at the same time prickly, teasing the senses like long, playful fingers. In many ways, it feels like this is a heavily amped version of the original: I smell the very same notes that I did before – cinnamon, sandalwood, the beautiful amber blend of tolu and labdanum… Yet still, despite the obvious recognition, despite having found the match in the patterns, my senses still insist this is a very different perfume. Where Patchouli wore sandals and a colorful woven vest, Inoubliable Elixir wears YSL flats and a crisp tailored jacket. Where the original wore a playful smile, the elixir wears a naughty grin. Absolutely yummy and potent, this deep smelling, slightly medicinal dark blend keeps inviting me to re-sniff my wrist every few minutes. While it isn’t my favorite patchouli by far, this luxurious composition has something mysterious that keeps attracting me back for a little more. Until my sample finishes at least! Definitely sniff worthy - this will probably hit all the right spots for certain patch lovers. Both perfumes come with their own ancillary products. Patchouli has its own deodorant, shower gel, body lotion, candle and “satinee” body oil, while Inoubliable Elixir Patchouli has a matching, ultra-luxurious body cream, dressed in the same gold-foil outfit of the bottle.

http://fragrancebouquet.blogspot.com/2009/03/patchouli-inoubliable-elixir-patchouli.html