READing Your Style: Scent on a Journey (Part 2)

In my fashion, perfumery is a beautiful craft, and after watching the 2nd installment of BBC's Perfume series, 'Bottling a Memory', one is able to understand the esoteric art of creating fragrances. What I find so interesting about perfumers is that their craft involves having a deep understanding of something that is essentially invisible. Can you imagine having so acute a sense of smell that you can memorize, distinguish, and understand how to mix raw materials that have the power to evoke euphoric memories? Think about it, when we smell something good, you have a break for a moment, and unconsciously our minds record what that scent made us feel like. Perfumers understand that relationship, and that emotional connection between scent and memory. 

For me, I can look at a dress, or bag, or shoe that has no label, and distinguish by its details and construction who and where the dress was made. Like International Vogue Editor-at-Large, Hamish Bowles, I can look at a dress and say what region a dress was made, or whether it was made in the 18th century London, or America during the Edwardian Period. Perfumers make similar distinctions between the way things smell. The few chosen students who are selected by the school of the global leader in the fragrance industry, Givaudan, have to memorize over 500 raw materials and learn how to mix them by dissecting the chemical elements and core contents of a blend of scent notes. Using their noses, they have to figure what elements will translate into something that  can be worn, and smell alluring on the human body. Essentially, with fragrances, people want to experience "transport"; transport to what in our minds is most beautiful with out any visual stimulation. Transport to a beautiful memory. Knowing what aroma chemicals exist to create a scent of lasting impression requires a poetic sensibility towards chemistry, and the imaginative nostalgia of the human experience. They are what is needed to inspire the memories of the future. Continuing from the 1st Part of READing Your Style: Scent on a Journey taken from the November 2013 issue of InStyle, the next type of fragrances they teach us about are spicy scents.

WHICH OF THESE AROMAS ATTRACT YOU THE MOST?

Earthy Woods OR Vanilla OR Deep Incense

*Earthy Woods: 

DO YOU PREFER A PEPPERY, A POWDERY, OR A WARM FINISH?

PEPPERY:

Bottega Veneta 'Eau Légère

Musk, oak moss, and pink pepper craete a robust base, though a whiff of light gardenia emerges too.

POWDERY:

Krigler Oud
Sumptuous 75213

Woody notes mix with amber, cinnamon, and vanilla, producing a sensual fragrance that could easily be worn by a man or a woman.

WARM:

Christian Dior Gris Montaigne

The aroma of moss and patchouli brings warmth to the skin; jasmine and rose add a feminine touch.

*Vanilla: 

HOW SWEET DO YOU LIKE YOUR PERFUME?

SWEET:

Intense by Dolce &Gabbana

A delicious confection of fig and vanilla that remains sophisticated thanks to orange flower and tuberose. 

SLIGHTLY SWEET:

Guerlain Shalimar Ode à la Vanille

Delectable caramel, cocoa, and vanilla are balanced by floral jasmine and earthy iris.

NOT SO SWEET:

Diptyque Eau Duelle

Grounded by intense amber and spices, the vanilla doesn't smell a bit cloying.

*Deep Incense: 

DO YOU LIKE THE SCENT OF FLOWERS?

-If you DO like the scent of flowers:

Terry de Gunzburg Ombre Mercure

Iris, jasmine, and rose, play as big a role here as patchouli and vanilla.

-If you DON'T prefer the scent of flowers:

Tom Ford Sahara Noir

The combo of frankincense and wood accords makes for an unforgettably exotic experience.