I could possibly go into the chemical properties of this aroma chemical. I could tell you how much it costs and all that sort of thing. But I’ve decided to share my love and admiration for it instead. The scent of Ambroxan is unmistakable.

The first time I smelled Ambroxan, I was sitting in my Synthetics class, surrounded by all my classmates who seemed to have the same reaction to the ingredient.

“Whoa! This is goooooooood!”

We were doing the Ambery family that day, and let me tell you, it’s not easy learning that family, only because there are quite a few that smell similar yet different (Cetalox for example.) At one point, my professor Laurence Fauvel said: “the difference between Ambroxan and Ambrox DL is that it is finer”

What?? How can you tell something smells finer? It made no sense to me at the time. In my defense, it was still the beginning of the year. By the end though, I understood what she meant, it was a matter of quality. When you smell a great perfume, with carefully chosen ingredients, all from a reliable and enviable source, it smells better. Quality is something you cannot replace and it is definitely something you can detect.

Ambroxan is one of Firmenich’s babies, related to Clary Sage (sclareol is a by product which is used to synthesize Ambrox if I’m not mistaken) and was first created to replace Ambergris (not in terms of exact scent, but in function), which was becoming rare and exceedingly expensive at the time.

  (courtesy of tauerperfumes.com)

If you’ve smelled Olivier Cresp’s Light Blue, you’ll smell Ambroxan. You will also find it a great deal (that’s the association I made) with Armani Code for Men. The general consensus was that it has a sexy man smell. Really! It’s clean, crisp and has a mysterious depth that is very attention grabbing. It is fresh, woody, long lasting, with a hint of powder. It has a subtle ambery sweetness that changes because it is very non-linear, so it changes with your skin, very much like Iso E Super.

It is used as a base note in many perfumes these days and is quite strong in formulation. Remember when I mentioned Geza Schoen’s Molecule 01? Well, he also made Molecule 02, entirely centered around Ambroxan. I’ve been wearing Escentric 02 for the last month now, as it gets hotter and more humid in Montreal, it just seems to be the perfect fit for whatever mood I’m in.

It’s been all the rage to focus on one or two ingredients in perfume, which is a strange concept considering that perfume is generally ‘supposed’ to be built out of many harmonized ingredients. Schoen has done something new. With that said, many other companies, including Juliette Has A Gun have decided to hop on the bandwagon and do the same (Not A Perfume, using Cetalox instead) I think that once it is done, it shouldn’t be done again. If only to avoid risking over-exposure.The thing is, in perfumery, understandably, imitation is the best form of flattery. But people these days need constant change, so if there is a great idea out there and you find that you want to do something similar, you have to find a way to still make it different. You HAVE to, otherwise, the work will always be comparable.

Ambroxan is used in so many perfumes, more than we think. So don’t hesitate to stop someone in the street if they grab your nose! Ask them what they’re wearing! Also, get a sample of Molecule 02, it’s delicious!  You’ll get to experience Ambrox at it’s finest.

I have had a major crush on Jasmine for as long as I can remember. Everything about this flower intrigues me and I never get tired of her scent. What’s great about our sense of smell, is that it goes right to the roots. It is primal in it’s effect, warping you back into a memory, and Jasmine seems to be one of the scents that has been a part of many of mine.

In the Middle East, there is a greeting made in the morning that goes something along the lines of ‘a morning filled with ful and jasmines’ (ful as I have recently found out is Jasmin Sambac.) I’ve always loved that, it brought the sunshine out, and the people who said it were always people of the land who would say that with unforgettable sincerity. 

The Jasmine flower holds great meaning for many cultures. It is the national flower of India, Pakistan, Tunisia, among others. It is talked about in songs, worn almost every day in some parts of the world, has healing properties and is the epitome of beauty. 

In perfumery, this flower is undeniably treasured. It is not easy to cultivate Jasmine because it has a low yield, meaning you need a lot of it to make a small batch. The most common process of extraction is solvent extraction, mainly using hexane (an organic solvent) to create the concrete. Alcohol is then added to the concrete to separate it and make an absolute. An essential oil is made by steam-distilling the absolute. Both types are used in perfumery and both are damn good.

Also, enfleurage is another process, one which I prefer, because it lets the petals steep and get absorbed by the wax they are placed in. It does take some time though.

You can get Jasmine absolute and essential oils from India, Egypt, Morocco, Grasse (very rare, but if you get a chance to smell this stuff, you will be blown away) and sometimes China.

Indian Jasmine is the sweetest for me, it is slightly more fruity and has a beautiful earthy quality to it as it dries. Egyptian Jasmine is a little sharper, more indolic, (2.5% of Jasmine is made of Indol.) It has a natural green note in the beginning, it is very powerful and very very good. Moroccan Jasmine is more green in general, and has a great spunk to it which I enjoy. Jasmin de Grasse is expensive to cultivate, but is used by Chanel for example. It is rounder, more floral, and has a subtle, delicious honey note. It takes around 700 kgs for 1 kg of absolute, and 1,400 hours of loving, hard work to get it done.

Hedione is in the Jasmine family, an aroma chemical used to enhance floral accords and generally adds volume to a perfume. Many perfumers use it, and a lot of it. I don’t blame them because it does brighten up most accords (it’s also fun to work with because it’s so versatile) Check out the classic, first of its kind (but unfortunately a now-overused accord) Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior originally made by the master himself Edmond Roudnitska.

The Different Company has a beautiful Jasmine perfume called Jasmin de Nuit, which was created by Celine Ellena, the daughter of Jean-Claude Ellena. (Keep an eye on her, she has also created Côte d’Amour for L’Artisan Parfumeur)

Serge Lutens has A La Nuit which features Jasmine as its main diva. Bringing whole new meaning to ‘Queen of the Night’.

It is incredible how beautiful this flower is, girls all over the world have been named after her, lovers swoon at the very thought of her, and memories are made with her in mind because she makes life so much more colourful.  If you were wondering why I keep capitalizing our darling Jasmine, it’s because that’s the respect she truly deserves.

                                                                p.s. There is an annual Fête du Jasmin in Grasse, usually held in August. It’s a wonderful feeling to be immersed in the culture, the whole town smells like it!

There have been countless reviews of Jean-Claude Ellena’s life and work. So this will not be another one of those! Just an encounter with one of the greats.

I had the great honour of meeting Monsieur Ellena while I was studying in Grasse. I can safely say it was probably one of, if not, the most important and gratifying moments of my life. Even though the encounter was brief, and we had a billion questions between the twelve of us, he made a lasting impression.

His advice was simple, concise and intelligent; all the attributes you can find in his creations. We visited his cabin/personal lab in Cabris, about twenty minutes away from Grasse.                                                                       He rounded us up around a table with lazy susan style ‘levels’ where he had all his ingredients in pure form. We went straight into smelling combinations of things we never thought would go together. The magic that comes with creating perfume is that aspect of telling a story, creating that illusion that will stay with you. He told us to focus on the juxtaposition of the materials as opposed to the percentage and/or proportion in a blend.

He told us to understand our materials, know how to describe them perfectly, by using tactile words, figuring out their ‘shape’, their texture, their overall feel. Learn what they give to you and what you can give to them.

Imagination is the most important, you can create the story afterwards, the more free you are with yourself and the use of your materials, the more you will get out of them, and the better the story! He mentioned that he had made Un Jardin en Méditerranée in one week, because he had an idea and went with it. Here he put imagination, innovation and discipline all in one, and did a fantastic job! (shocking? Not so much!)

He goes to the limit of where he can go with his creations. Many of us had a problem ‘finishing’ a perfume, because we were never satisfied with what we made, even if everyone else thought it was great. I think it’s because we just want to keep doing our best. So my friend Ashley asked him ‘how do you know when a perfume is finished?’ He told us that some perfumes are finished, but not entirely, but the way to work with that is to create a connection with each creation. ‘One begins where one ends’ he said, if there were questions left unanswered from the previous perfume, you answer them in the next. It never ends really, you keep going and going, because you never run out of things to ‘say’. His goal is to be light, and to be present, that’s the most important.

I asked him about L’Eau d’Hiver (which I LOVED, almost to the point of obsession) because he created something warm within something cold, which I thought was genius. I wanted to know how he did that, but a true magician never reveals his secrets, but what he did tell me is that he loves to play. A man after my own heart! That is how it feels, when making a perfume, there is such a light playfulness that I thoroughly enjoy, and when he said that I knew I was on the right track. He put emphasis on playing with paradoxes, and to avoid redundancy at all costs.                                                                 Finally, he discussed the importance of sharing. Sharing your love for the craft, what you know, what you want to know. We need to continue to talk and write about perfume, we need to continue to learn.

He was sincere and honest, telling us if we aren’t satisfied with something we’ve made, all we need to do is start over. Keep everything you’ve created, you never know what you will need it for next, could be a good starting point to work another formula; a good reference. Or it could be your timeline, you can look back on it and see where you were all those years ago.

Soleil by Fragonard.

Let me tell you a little story. About thirteen years ago, my parents decided to take my brother and I to France. My aunt had lived in Paris for many many years and it was time for a visit. We ended up going to the South shortly afterwards. We visited Nice, Biot (a little town not too far away, known for glass-making) and Grasse. The rest as they say, is history.

We visited the Fragonard factory where my mother bought me my first perfume. A teeny 10ml vial of Soleil. The sun has been an important symbol in my life; I have always loved being by the sea because the sunset had an undeniable power over me. I prefer heat to cold (Montreal in the summer is out of this world, totally worth sticking out the cold months for) and when I was much much younger, at kindergarten, each child had a locker with a symbol, and mine was the sun.

I have truly never forgotten the scent of Soleil. It stuck with me for years and felt like it was meant to be on my skin. I kept coming back to it as my go-to scent.

Around three years ago, I graduated from university and was not satisfied with what I had graduated with. So I read, and I read a lot. One of my best friends decided to share Jitterbug Perfume with me, and it changed my life. I then proceeded to read The Alchemist, which just further proved that there was something better out there for me. I ended up getting another bottle of Soleil in the mail, and everything just clicked!

How could I remember a moment like that so clearly, even though it happened so long ago? I remembered the Jasmine, the Wisteria, the beautiful Rose and the fresh Lily. I was brought back to Grasse instantly, and so, I decided to go back, find myself and pursue my new-found yet undying love for perfume. 

It is a definitive floral, but it has such depth that it really does bring sunshine into my life. I feel instantly better when I wear it, so it’s a no-brainer to make it the perfume of the week, and personally; my signature scent.

It is hard to find Fragonard products across the pond, but there are ways to get them online. Out of all their perfumes (and maybe I’m totally biased) Soleil is the best one. It is an accurate depiction of the South of France; vibrant, colourful, beautifully golden and full of life. Many people believe it is a generic scent, made for the mass market, with no definite single note. I actually think that the unity within the ingredients makes it that much more special. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

Soleil is an Eau de Parfum, with above average sillage and great tenacity. Who doesn’t love that left-over-on-your-clothes smell? This stuff lasts!

You can find it on www.fourseasonsproducts.com (that is where I prefer to buy it)

Or if you ever get a chance to visit Grasse, the Fragonard Museum and factory are a must see.               

I want to bring about more awareness to the individual materials used in perfumery. It’s important to understand the level of skill it takes to create a perfume. Every ingredient is there for a reason, and things change once you drop something else in the mix (so.much.fun)

Cassis Base (345B) is my all-time favourite material. It cannot be found in nature in its entirety as it is a base (although you can find natural blackcurrant absolute in it.) This means that it was man-made, a specialty by Firmenich to be exact, there are a couple of others: 345F, 345L. It has medium tenacity and is usually a middle note when used at 10% dilution. It’s often paired up with Bourgeons de Cassis/Blackcurrant Bud Absolute (or as we like it call cat pee; this stuff is strong, but with one drop, the whole blend is different.) It is also used for tropical and/or fruity accords and blackcurrant reconstitutions.

To me, it smells like sunshine. I instantly perk up. There is a hint of guava; something tropical. It is strong, slightly green, and fresh.

I’ve found the perception of this particular ingredient funny because most people smell black currant right away. I don’t. I smell mangoes. Wonderful, fresh, slowly softening green mangoes. That scent takes me back to my grandparents’ garden in Egypt where my grandfather grows mangoes almost every year. It’s the scent of vivid parts of my childhood.                                                                              As soon as I discovered this, I started using it everywhere, and I mean everywhere! My fellow students at GIP would always know something was mine because they could smell the Cassis Base. I figured if I loved it so much, I could somehow do everything with it. ‘Maybe it could be my signature!’ I thought to myself.

It was even fun to play around with. I would get excited when I knew it was coming up next in my formula. You know that feeling when you’ve just heard a song, or you haven’t heard that particular one in a long time, and all you do is play it on repeat? Yeah, that’s it; Cassis Base was and probably still is a delicious addiction. But alas, the time came to learn that I needed to branch out, and so I now look fondly at my last vial, trying to savour its last drops, so I can use it for something that will knock everyone’s socks off!

I believe Jean-Claude Ellena used Cassis Base in YSL’s In Love Again, a fruity-floral. And it smells fantastic!! It’s fun, it’s bodacious, and it’s sunny! People loved it too, it did very well around the time it was launched in 1998, as a limited edition fragrance. Apparently the same juice has been brought back to the market as of 2004, but with a different bottle. Surely due to it’s gorgeous scent and its undying popularity. Baby doll was released afterwards to sail on its success, using the same top notes (pink grapefruit plays a big role here) but in my opinion, it paled in comparison.                                                                   

Every time I smell this material and this perfume, I feel good. Perfect outlook for the upcoming spring/summer months if I do say so myself!

Idole de Lubin.

I haven’t been very familiar with the other Lubin creations, but I’m working on it! This particular fragrance is not for everyone, and I’ve been seeing a lot of ‘meh’-like attitude towards it.

I personally love it.

1. I can’t make the association without thinking of my dear friend Ashley who loves amber (she also has Idole in her collection)

2. I’ve never been to Zanzibar, or Madagascar, but it’s part of the dream to do so. This brings me a step closer. Not because of the notes composed, but by where it takes me when I wear it. I find that Idole has this rich quality, one which somehow smells like life. I smell experience, there is heaviness and there is lightness. Perfectly blended; telling a story.

That’s all thanks to Olivia Giacobetti (who’s actually the creative director at Lubin now.) I find her very crisp in her creations. She’s made a ton of stuff for L’Artisan Parfumeur, so I’ve been lucky enough to smell one after the other.

3. How cool is that bottle?? Serge Mansau did a fantastic job of bringing the perfect colours together to enhance this scent.

Even though this is a masculine perfume, many women, including myself enjoy it thoroughly. There is a bitterness that is perfectly in harmony with the rum notes. Sometimes I even get a hint of coca-cola (and I LOVE it, super sweet+super salty=BANG!)

It’s comfortable, it’s layered, and it’s soothing to the point where you feel confident to wear it as a woman. Just because you feel like you have more substance somehow, there’s more than what the eyes can see, it’s what the nose can look for, find, and appreciate.

The notes are as follows:

Rum Absolute, Saffron (yay!), Bitter Orange, Black Cumin, Doum palm (the fruits sort of taste like gingerbread) Smoked Ebony, Sugar Cane (delicious), leather and sandalwood.

I got my sample from Luckyscent, but this is definitely on my wish list. I can’t wait to have it be part of my collection soon!

Feminité du Bois. A Queen of the Classics.

Created in 1992 by Pierre Bourdon and the amazing Christopher Sheldrake of Serge Lutens.

This perfume has been reviewed many times over, it’s been tremendously popular because of it’s first-time use of a high level of cedarwood. It is also a total masterpiece.

It has had quite the journey, since it was first created as a Shiseido product then moved over to become a part of the very special ‘Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido’ collection. Unfortunately, it’s scent has changed since it’s inception, probably because of the IFRA standards. It’s intensity, especially in terms of the level of woods, has changed, it’s slightly softer and has a hint more of musk (It’s still damn good though)

FdB is a very ‘in the moment’ type of fragrance for me. It’s linear, which in the industry, means that it has many facets that you can smell at once, that it doesn’t change from top note to base note in that usual order. It’s a good, strong block of scent in a way. I find it very existential actually, as soon as you put it on, things sort of stop.

Why? Well, it’s such a complex fragrance, yet it’s easily understood, for me anyway. I have so many memories of the Middle East and this perfume brings those back. It’s got its deep woods, it’s fruity plum note, the hint of violet that blends with your skin so perfectly, sometimes you forget it’s there. I get so enamored because I feel instantly more feminine, more confident, that I somehow have more substance. It’s ironic considering that this was one the first perfumes to carry a strong wood note which was mostly used in masculine fragrances.

I find it commands a certain amount of attention but not to the point that it overwhelms the wearer or anyone else. The woody facet is brought out by an aroma chemical called Iso E Super (is that the coolest name for an ingredient, or what?) It doesn’t necessarily smell like much, like a mix of woods really, nothing specific, but when used with natural woods for example, it brings out its best qualities.

So go check it out, if only to know what it smells like, I promise it’s worth it. This is one I’m going to keep going back to, no matter what. Feels good to have it be part of my collection.

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