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Fragrance Friday: Shampure

This past week, I have needed “comfort smells.” To be honest, the American Presidential election and its outcome were shocking to me and I am downcast, to say the least. I have had trouble sleeping and it took several days for me to stop waking up in the morning thinking the whole thing had been a bad dream. I also had a nasty little virus that stuffed up my nose and kept me coughing uncontrollably. I needed aromatherapy!

And something that I have found comforting is Shampure Composition Oil, made by Aveda. Aveda’s website describes it as a blend of sunflower and meadowfoam oils with 25 different plant and flower essences. It can be used as a massage oil for body and scalp, moisturizer, bath oil, etc. and, in the website’s words: it “calms the senses with an aroma with 25 pure flower and plant essences including certified organic lavender, petitgrain and ylang ylang.” That sounded promising, and I have a small one-ounce bottle of it from the local Aveda boutique, as a birthday freebie.

I have been rubbing it onto the back of my hands when I go to bed, so I can smell it while I read before I sleep. The scent is a pleasant blend of herbal, floral and lightly spicy notes. MakeUp Alley says that some of the 25 essential oils are: Rose, Lavender, Aloe, Rosemary, Orange, Eucalyptus, Patchouli, Ylang Ylang, Anise, Fennel, Licorice, Bergamot, Coriander, Peppermint, Petitgrain, Vanilla. The ones I smell the most, in no particular order, are probably the aloe, eucalyptus, orange, ylang ylang, peppermint, petitgrain and rosemary. It reminds me of Miller Harris’ La Pluie, which shares several of its aromatic notes.

And yes, I am finding its fragrance very soothing at bedtime. I do like to wear fragrance at night sometimes, but it can be challenging to find one that is calming enough to support sleep. The scent of Shampure also wafts up nicely from the back of my hands if I’m up reading, and it is close but not too close when I finally turn out the lights and try to sleep. Added bonus: the oil feels great on my skin and my hands are benefiting from the moisture!

So that’s my current regime of election aftermath aromatherapy. I’m sure I’ll be ready for more resilient fragrances soon, suitable for the long period of resistance I foresee ahead. Something, perhaps, by Boadicea the Victorious.

Queen Boadicea of the Britons, warrior leader against Roman occupation of Britain

Boadicea, Warrior Queen

Image from the Brooklyn Museum.

Fragrance Friday: ?
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Fragrance Friday: ?

Usually I post something about fragrance on Fridays here, on the blog I began to remind myself of the many things that make me happy, which is why I called it “Serenity Now.” But this election week, I have no words.  What shall I describe? The scent of despair? The scent of disgust? Our President-elect exemplifies all the behaviors I abhor most: cruelty, greed, mendacity, cowardice, avarice, infidelity … the list goes on and on. I’ll try to post something fragrant later this weekend when I regain some composure, and maybe some serenity.

Image: DarkMedia

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Fragrance Friday: Perfume Tourism in London

I was lucky enough to spend a recent long weekend in London and spent one whole day visiting perfumeries! Many of them were in the charming Burlington Arcade. And yes, I came home with samples, discovery sets and a gift certificate. All the store personnel were friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. I’ll be back! My slideshow is below:

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Fragrance Friday: Future Perfume Tourism
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Fragrance Friday: Future Perfume Tourism

I am so eager to visit Florence! Very few of my European trips have been to Italy, which is surprising as Italy has so much of what I love: gardens, gorgeous landscapes, art, museums, history, language, wonderful food …

And now yet another article to whet my appetite: Perfume, Power and God. Author Arabelle Sicardi describes her visits to perfume palaces such as the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica of Santa Maria Novella, where Catherine de Medici bought her famous perfumes, and the perfumery of Aquaflor, housed in an actual former palace. The photographs of the flower room at Aquaflor are stunning! Of the Officina Profumo, she writes:

If any single place stood at the intersection between politics, god, and perfume, it is this church-turned-monastery-turned-store. From the outside it looks unremarkable for Florence — no baroque detailing, just the crest of Santa Maria on the front. It is all it needs to mark its history. And then you walk inside, and the frescoes summon your eyes up-up-up, maybe sixty feet above you. A fresco of perfumed angels are framed in dark, stained wood. The building and art above you is more than 600 years old. In existence since the 13th century, it still sells many of the same products the Dominican friars once made by hand in the back room.

She traces the connection of the Medici family, through Catherine’s French marriage and patronage, to the very start of the perfume industry in France, specifically in Grasse. I visited Grasse many years ago with my husband, on our honeymoon, and the whole area is fascinating. We visited a couple of perfumeries (Molinard and Fragonard, I think) and were shown the older methods of perfume-making and the extraction of essential oils. However, Grasse is not also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, packed with priceless art. Florence is. And I can’t wait to go there.

 

Fragrance Friday: Les Fontaines Parfumees
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Fragrance Friday: Les Fontaines Parfumees

Welcome to the new home of soon-to-launch Louis Vuitton perfumes, plus sibling Parfums Christian Dior (Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior are both owned by LVMH): a restored seventeenth century perfumery in Grasse, France, with the enchanted name “Les Fontaines Parfumees”, or “The Perfumed Fountains.” It joins the previous purchase and restoration by Parfums Christian Dior of the Chateau de la Colle Noire, twelve miles away in Callian and former home of the legendary designer Christian Dior himself. Continue reading →

Fragrance Friday: ROADS
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Fragrance Friday: ROADS

You may be thinking, “yes, yes, I know, you just got back from a trip so you’re using ‘roads’ as some kind of travel metaphor.” Nope. ROADS is, in its own words, “a contemporary and highly creative lifestyle brand based in Dublin, Ireland.” I was able to buy a discovery set of ROADS’ fragrances in the lovely fragrance department of Dublin’s Brown Thomas department store on Grafton Street. I had visited Dublin’s only specialized stand-alone perfumery dedicated to niche fragrances, Parfumarija, where I bought an Ormonde Jayne discovery set. (By the way, Parfumarija is well worth a visit). The delightful sales assistant, when I asked if she stocked any fragrances that are specifically Irish, suggested that I might like some of ROADS’ fragrances and thought I might find them there. Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Demeter Lily of the Valley
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May Muguet Marathon: Demeter Lily of the Valley

And now for something completely (okay, not COMPLETELY) different. From the heights of expensive perfumery and Muguet Porcelaine, to the more prosaic and affordable Demeter Fragrance Library’s Lily of the Valley. I love the whole idea of Demeter Fragrance Library: that they try to capture individual fragrances of everyday objects, places or even weather, and you can combine those into whatever blend you like. From the company’s website: “Demeter was conceived in the East Village of New York City in 1996: a unique point of view about fragrance, a perspective that still remains unique, but that continues to expand. The original mission was to capture the beautiful smells of the garden and nature in wearable form. Consistent with that mission we took the Demeter name, inspired by the Greek Goddess of Agriculture.” Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Premier Muguet
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May Muguet Marathon: Premier Muguet

Premier Muguet by Bourjois is a bit of a mystery. The nose behind it is listed in many places as Ernest Beaux, creator of the legendary Chanel No. 5 and Chanel No. 22, among other Chanel fragrances. Bois de Jasmin has a wonderful post about him, which is mostly in his own words, a magazine article he wrote about perfumery, translated from French. M. Beaux created a few perfumes for Bourjois (a cosmetics house whose early, but not first, owners were the Wertheimer family and which was sold just last year to Coty), including an early favorite and perhaps their most famous fragrance, Soir de Paris,  or Evening in Paris. He is supposed to have created Premier Muguet for Bourjois in 1955, during the same decade when others were creating muguet fragrances like the legendary Diorissimo and Caron’s Muguet du Bonheur.

UPDATE: the master and perfume legend Luca Turin, now blogging on WordPress at perfumesIlove, sent me this information which he kindly solicited from perfume historian Will Inrig: that Premier Muguet was in fact created in 1955 by Henri Robert, the nose behind Coty’s Muguet des Bois, who had recently joined the house of Bourjois-Chanel (they were jointly owned at that point). I have a small bottle of what I believe is the eau de cologne of Premier Muguet, full and in its original box and bottle.

Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: Always in Bloom
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May Muguet Marathon: Always in Bloom

In 2010, the famous Longwood Gardens of Pennsylvania hosted an exhibit called  “Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance”, noted by Now Smell This. It sounds as if it was wonderful and I would have loved to experience it, based on this description and this video:

An intersection of flora, fashion and science, the exhibition will transform the Gardens’ gemlike conservatory into a museum for the senses. Visitors to the exhibition will experience the actual plants and flowers behind iconic perfumes, explore the mysterious power of the sense of smell, discover the unique combination of creative artistry and intricate science behind perfume composition, and have the opportunity to compose a basic fragrance.

Fortunately, we can still experience one small part of the exhibition: Always in Bloom, a fragrance designed by Olivier Polge before he joined Chanel as its lead perfumer, following his renowned father Jacques Polge. Continue reading →

May Muguet Marathon: VCA’s Muguet Blanc
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May Muguet Marathon: VCA’s Muguet Blanc

Some years ago, Van Cleef & Arpels, a French company best known for its high-luxe jewels, released a collection of six fragrances called the Collection Extraordinaire. One of them was the lovely Muguet Blanc. I believe it has been discontinued, sadly, because it is beautiful. The nose behind it is Antoine Maisondieu. The notes are lily of the valley, peony, neroli, green notes and white cedar. The reviews of it at its launch which I have read are fascinating: mostly positive, some absolute raves — like this by Patty at Perfume Posse. Now Smell This had a mixed response, recognizing Muguet Blanc’s beauty and quality, finding it gorgeous but too clean. And yes, it is reminiscent of the cool diamonds and emeralds in the lovely pin shown above.

Van-Cleef-and-Arpels-Muguet-clip-platinum-diamonds-and-emeralds

I love it. Continue reading →