What is it that makes a perfume extra-ordinary?

The world of perfumes is one of the most hierarchical systems I can think of. Not only is the hierarchy there, it is unquestionable and obvious.

As, in this case, it should be.

There are individuals in this world who breathe and dream scents and spend their entire lives searching for new ways to bring out the best in different notes, to create new dances between them, to tell new stories. Individuals who fight against compromise. Who look for the perfect resinoid, rose, vetiver, vanilla, ambergris, nutmeg… These individuals are artists, musicians and magicians.

What you get in a bottle made of someone with passion is special. It’s a Perfume with capital P.

This is my recommendation, when shopping for perfume, go for the best you can find. But it costs a fortune, you say. Well, yes, sometimes excellence is expensive. Not always though, and actually mediocrity can be pretty pricey too if you think about it. Plus you don’t need the biggest bottle, and you don't need 15 almost-perfect perfumes. Take the time to discover what you love and then go for that in the quantity that you can afford.

But what is it that makes a perfume extra-ordinary? What is really the difference?

This is what I look for in my experience, and what I invest in:
- An interesting combination of notes: to create exquisite combinations you need talent, experience and time
- Precision and perfection of proportion: perfume creation is art and science combined, at a very high level. Slight differences in proportions create an entirely different experience.
- High-quality ingredients: expensive ingredients create an expensive perfume. Enough said.
- An interesting experience: perfume is like music. It tells a story and includes different stages. The ability to be able to create and control this is one of the perfumer’s tasks. Some perfumes are a flat sensation. Like a song without chorus and verse. These are the ones to avoid. Some take you through an entire odyssey of sensations during a day.
- Longevity: this is perhaps an individual preference but I do prefer a perfume that lasts from morning to afternoon as this gives me a sense of a fuller story.
- Pleasure: a perfume that is right for you isn’t “difficult to wear”. It doesn’t itch, irritate, distract unpleasantly, make you sneeze or feel thorny. If your perfume does you are using the wrong one. A perfume should feel like an embrace that is like a caress. A little bit tickling perhaps, but in a caressy way.

Isn’t it all in the imagination? No. It’s not. This is real. This is pleasure, creativity, sensation, inspiration and passion at its best. This is Perfume.

Jean-Claude Ellena

The Holy Tears: Frankincense

I am starting to run out of strange animal parts so I will continue on the resin-incense-path tonight with frankincense, also known as olibanum. Also known as the incense of incenses.

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:11)

Frankincence is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes. It comes from Boswellia trees. Four types species of Boswellia are used and each of them give a resin with variation depending on tree-type, soil, climate and time of harvesting. Boswellia thrive in arid, cool areas of the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and India. The finest type is Boswellia sacra, which grows in Somalia, Oman and Yemen. To obtain the resin you cut the bark of the tree which then starts to bleed a fluid that hardens. The hardened resin is called tears.

Frankincense trees are true survivors. They can grow in very demanding conditions, sometimes directly on solid rock in stormy areas. The rougher the conditions, the stronger the aroma. The trees have to be 8-10 years old to produce resin. It seems that there is a declining amount of frankincense trees, partly because of over-exploitation but also as a consequence of beetle attacks. The predictions are quite sad unfortunately so it might be a good idea to stock up on essential oils.

Frankincense is the incense of incenses, and appears in both Bible and Talmud. According to the gospel of Matthew 2:11, gold, frankincense, and myrrh were among the gifts to Jesus from the wise men. It has been used for a very long time, for example it is known that frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula and in North Africa for more than 5000 years. At that time it was known as olibanum. This name is likely to be derived from the Arabic al-lubān which is a reference to the resin being “milked” from the tree. 

Henry Siddons Mowbray

If you should have the fortune to visit Oman, you can go to the excavation of Ubar, a trade center along the "Incense Road", that was rediscovered in the early 1990s.

Frankincense has a sweet, warm, balsamic aroma that is stimulating to the mind. The scent uplifts, calms and comforts and is therefore a natural choice for religious and spiritual ceremonies and for meditation. The tree itself is a symbol of life and carries cultural and historical significance. In Ayurvedic medicine Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata), also known as "dhoop," has been used for hundreds of years for treating arthritis, healing wounds, strengthening the female hormone system, and purifying the atmosphere from undesirable germs. In Indian culture, it is suggested that burning frankincense daily in the house brings good health.

I think frankincense is a good example of our olfactory memories and identities, not as individuals, but as humans. We have used the same olfactory symbols for thousands of years, and we use them to worship in different religions. Scent is cultural, but also trans-cultural. Scents repel, and connect. Scents, like you, like me, are not arbitrary. Being aware of this makes the search for fragrances even more special and full of mysteries, symbols and stories, does it not?

If you are interested in going on a frankincense perfume exploration, here are some suggestions.

Prada Infusion d'Iris 

By Kilian Back to Black 

Tom Ford Amber Absolut, Tuscan Leather and White Suede

Opoponax - from monastery to Meisel

Opoponax, also known as sweet myrrh, grows in particular in Iran, Italy, Greece, Turkey and in Somalia. The herb grows one-third meter to one meter in height. A resin is extracted from the stem by making an incision. The resin is drinkable in liquid but has a bitter taste, and the odor of the fresh resin is supposedly also quite unpleasant. The resin hardens when exposed to air and creates little dried pieces, which is how it is most commonly sold. And here is where the story starts getting more olfactory interesting and pleasant: the dried resin is inflammable and if burned as incense it gives a woody balsamic smell that has been a part of spiritual ceremonies for many, many, many years.  The name opoponax, sometimes spelled opopanax, has its origin in the Ancient Greek word for vegetable juice and healing. 

Photo: getreligion.org

Castoreum

You can see just looking at the word that it has to be something a bit nasty, can’t you? It sounds like a place on the human body that is geographically located in an angle that only very close allies ever visit. 

As we know, the poetic world of perfume would not be so seductive and mysterious without the mysteries and oddities. Just like a perfume wouldn’t. Perfumes that are just easy and sweet are… boring. Just like people who are just easy and sweet can be. And then we have those who use perfumes like Mandy Afteliers Secret Garden (also has natural civet as Mandy Aftelier is known for her use of natural ingredients), Cuir de Russie and Antaeus (of course…) from Chanel or Labdanum 18 from le Labo. 

Castoreum, comes from the castor sacs of a mature North American or European beaver. Both males and females have castor sacs located in cavities under the skin between the pelvis and the base of the tail. Together with the urine, it helps the animal to scent mark and mate. The secretion has a bitter and strong-smelling odor (as if you expected it to smell like roses...). To create the castoreum resinoid that is used for perfumes it is dried, ground and put into alcohol. The dried sacs are generally aged for two or more years for the harshness to go away. The scent it then gets is compared to dried leather.

Castoreum is not only used in fragrances but also in food. You can find it in alcoholic and other beverages, baked things, frozen dairy and ice cream, chewing gum, candy, meat products and gelatin. In Scandinavia it used to flavor a schnapps called Bäverhojt. A few months ago some people went rather ballistic when Jamie Oliver brought up castoreum at David Letterman. Interesting, since quite a lot of parents feed their kids artificial crap without any moral dilemmas. The vanilla ice cream and ”beaver glands ” appear around 2:30.

Ambergris

I know you have heard of amber. The word appears often in the perfume world when talking about oriental fragrances for example. Makes me envision nature caramel. Then you hear of ambergris. I am guessing many of you assume these two are, if not the same thing, that at least linked to each other. A very logic assumption and it seems even the perfume industry sometimes likes to blend the two (on purpose?). They are not the same… And the difference is significant, so my suggestion is that you keep an eye on which one it is that you are going for when looking for a new fragrance. I will definitely do a post on amber soon but tonight it is time for the nastier of the two.

I will admit, I was a bit surprised the first time I googled ambergris. This, for example, is the first sentence that you find if you look it up on Wikipedia:

Ambergris is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated or secreted by sperm whales.

If you follow this blog you might have gotten accustomed by now to the fact that perfume and animal secretions have a lot in common, and accepted that probably you have had both one and two of them on your skin. You have also probably noted that most of these secretions are replaced with synthetic options nowadays. But not always. Perfume houses are not always enthusiastic when it comes to defining whether they use synthetic or natural ingredients but I have heard that for example Creed use natural ambergris. Some people are put of by this but in my opinion, if the animal is not harmed and the synthetic option can be allergenic – then nature’s gifts are definitely my preference. 

Civet

Let’s talk about another one of the animalistic perfume ingredients. Civet. Just like musk its value for the perfume industry lies in its ability to enhance fragrances and prolong the life of scents.

So now to the less romantic part.

Civet, or civetone as it is called at its more refined stage, is a substance taken from an animal called the African Civet - a nocturnal animal in sub-Saharan Africa. It eats most things, including snake and species that other animals find too poisonous to have for dinner. When moving around a territory the civet spreads a fluid to mark it. This fluid comes from the animal’s perineal glands and is the link between this African mammal and the perfume industry.

There is definitely a market for civet, which has led to numerous civet farms where animals are kept under dubious conditions only to serve as sources of gland secretion. One animal provides the owner with three to four grams per week.

Civet is one of the absolutely oldest perfume ingredients, particularly popular in France. It has a strong odor similar to musk and is used in very small quantities as a fixative that gives the fragrance depth and longer life. Chandler Burr compares it to using whole cream in soups and sauces.

Tonka bean

My plan is to have a few re-occuring topics in the blog, for example perfume searching tips and tricks, famous houses/brands and common - or just interesting - ingredients.

This time - tonka bean.

Dipteryx odorata (known as cumaru) is a flowering tree in from northern South America. Today, the main producers of the seeds are Venezuela and Nigeria. Kumarú is the word for tree in Tupi, in the region of French Guiana. The tonka bean is the seed from this tree. The beans are black, wrinkled and brown on the inside. They smell like vanilla similar to vanilla with a touch of almond, clove or cinnamon. The seed contains coumarin, which gives the seeds the great smell. The taste however, is bitter and eating coumarin can damage the liver.

Tonka beans are banned or subject to restrictions in several countries (for example use in food is forbidden in the US – probably because it affects coagulation). In others (like France), they are used in desserts as a vanilla substitute or to enhance the flavor in nuts or poppy, and in South America it seems it is used to create a specific aphrodisiac beverage. A google session will indicate that there seem to be a lot of chefs around the world who do like to experiment with this bean. And then they also appear in pipe tobacco and…in perfume.

The tonka bean has been considered to have both magical and medicinal powers. It has been used to cure depression, to boost the immune system, to cure snake bites and to treat coughs and rheumatism. The bean has been used for a long time for medicinal purposes among tribes in the Amazon. In occult traditions ceremonies that involve tonka beans are believed to help wishes come true. I also found recommendations to carry a bean in your pocket or bag for courage.

Muscus

Mysk är en basnot förekommer i många, många, parfymer, oftast som "white musk" vilket är den syntetiska versionen. Mest framträdande är den i dofter som hör till orientaliska. Mysk fixerar och förlänger doftens liv samt förstärker vissa andra dofter. Men det är betydligt mer intressant än så...

Mysk påverkar oss hormonellt och känslomässigt. I den mänskliga delen av tillvaron har mysk en del gemensamt med manlig svett (mer om detta i ett mer feromonfokuserat inlägg) och sägs kunna påverka en kvinnas menscykel och förmåga att bli gravid. Kvinnor uppfattar myskdoft som mest under ägglossning. Men det är vanligt hos både män och kvinnor att man inte kan känna mysklukt överhuvudtaget. Få personer både uppfattar och kan definiera myskdoften. De som kan beskriver den som animalistisk, jordig, ursprunglig, ren och alla möjliga liknande lite svårtolkade saker. Men även de personer som inte känner den påverkas rent fysiskt.

Om du inte tycker det är spännande redan så kommer lite mer extraordinära detaljer nu… Begreppet mysk används ursprungligen för en substans som skapas av det som utsöndras från körtlar i typ herrdelarna på myskhjortar. Idag används mysk även som beteckning för substanser som utvinns från andra djur och växter till exempel myskoxe och myskblomma. Men myskens kärna och ursprung är alltså torkad substans från ett manligt djurs manskörtlar. Jepp. Hepp.

För att utvinna myskdoft använder man körteln från det utvalda djuret. Denna torkas och får en mörkt rödviolett färg samt blir mjuk och oljig. Själva ordet musk kommer passande nog från ordet för testikel i sanskrit. Om du är intresserad av att fördjupa dig i detaljerna runt myskutvinningen kan man få ganska explicita beskrivningar av processen om man googlar. Idag åstadkommer man i princip alltid myskdoft i parfymer med hjälp av syntetmaterial (detta har dock endast gjorts sen slutet av 80-talet). Den största anledningen sägs vara etisk eftersom den naturliga framställningen lett till dödande av djur enbart för myskkörtelns skull. Det går att få tag på mysk utan att döda djuret eftersom djuren kan tappa de här körtlarna men det begränsar tillgången att förlita sig på denna metod. En problematisk aspekt är att äkta mysk uppfattas som icke hudirriterande medan det råder viss debatt runt syntetisk.

(foto Steve Kazlowski)

Myskhjorten kommer ursprungligen från Tibet där man anser att mysk råder bot på lite allt möjligt. Medicinsk användning av denna minst sagt speciella substans har förekommit i Kina i minst 1500 år. I Sverige har man talat om mysk sedan mitten på 1600-talet men det är lite oklart när mysken kommer till Europa. Det verkar som om att det tog några hundra år av myskobservationer på andra sidan jorden innan man vågade sig på närkontakt. Man vet dock att mysk ingick i en gåva från sultan Saladin till Östroms kejsare i Konstantinopel. I slutet av 1200-talet dök mysken upp som handelsvara i Venedig. Cirka ett hundra år senare omnämns mysk i engelska och franska texter och anses vara en lite märklig vara. Man pratar om läkande effekter men också om svårigheten att transportera den eftersom lukten påverkade andra varor på samma fartyg, t ex de värdefulla teerna. Mysk har tillskrivits medicinsk effekt i många olika kulturer och använts för att skydda mot pest, bota såväl cirkulationssjukdomar, infektioner i luftvägarna som melankoli, lösa kramp och fungera som afrodisiakum. Den har även använts som insektsmedel – och smakämne i sötsaker (dock i miniminimala mängder).

Mysk är, säkert delvis med anledning av det lite speciella ursprunget, en mytomspunnen vara. Den måste också hanteras med stor försiktighet eftersom den påverkar doftblandningar även i mycket små doser.

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Musk is a basenote that can be found in many perfumes. It is most prominent in oriental fragrances.  It extends the fragrance's life and can reinforce other ingredients.

Musk affects us hormonally and emotionally. It is associated with male sweat (more on this in a pheromone focused post coming up) and is said to affect a woman's menstrual cycle and her ability to become pregnant. Women perceive musk more during ovulation. It is however common that men and women can not detect musk at all. In fact rather few people both sense and can define musk. Those who can, describe it as animalistic, earthy, primitive, clean etc.

Musk is originally derived from glands of a male musk deer an the very word musk comes from the word for testicle in sanskrit. Today it is also extracted from other animals and plants. If you are interested in the details of musk extraction some googling will provide you with rather explicit descriptions. Today, the musk used in fragrances is usually synthetic. The main reason has been said to be ethical since the natural production has caused extensive killing of animals. This is in reality not necessary as animals can rub the glands off so that they drop on the ground. But finding these glands is very time-consuming of course... A problematic aspect however is that natural musk is perceived as non-irritating to skin, while there is some debate concerning the synthetic kind.

Musk deer are originally from Tibet where musk is viewed as a remedy for a bit of everything. In China it has been used for medical treatments for at least 1500 years. It is a bit unclear when musk came to Europe but it is known that musk was part of a gift from the sultan Saladin to the Emperor of Eastern Rome in Constantinople. In the late 1200s musk appeared as a commodity in Venice. Musk was appreciated because of its healing effects but also a bit of a problem in terms of logistics because the smell affected other goods on the same ships, such as the valuable tea leaves.

Musk is one of the most mythical and interesting ingredients in perfume. It is powerful, controversial... It also has to be handled with great care as even small amounts have strong effects on scents.

Körtlar och the dark side

Parfym och parfymprat associeras ofta med tjusiga vackra saker. Det är blommor hit och det är nektar dit och det är glamour och stiliga herrar med glänsande muskler och fladdrande tyger. Eller Rupert Everett och dekadens. (Ok, Rupert var ett tag sen men vissa har lite svårt att släppa YSL-annonserna). Hursomhelst är det ofta en ganska elegant nivå på det hela och när du hör någon fråga efter parfymer som innehåller specifika ingredienser så är det ofta just de trevliga sakerna. Men de bästa parfymerna har något betydligt djupare, mörkare, primitivare i sig... om än bara ett liten tunn slöja.

Precis som du.

Jag ska ägna några inlägg åt att titta närmare på några olika ingredienser. Några alldeles ofarliga blomblad och frön. Men också lite mer märkliga saker som gör saker och ting mer intressanta. Om några dagar kommer ett inlägg om något sådant.

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Perfume and fragrance conversations often revolve around glamorous beautiful things. Flowers, nectars, exotic spices, memories... glamorous and handsome gentlemen with muscles and flowing silk dresses. Or Rupert Everett and decadence. Either way, it is often a rather elegant discourse and when you hear someone ask for perfumes that contain some specific ingredient, it is usually the pretty stuff like vanilla and this or that flower. But just as in life, it is not that interesting if you only get roses, ruffles and tennis coaches to feed the soul. The best perfumes have something much deeper, darker, more primitive in them... even if only a thin veil of it.

Just like you.

I'll spend a few posts looking more closely at some different ingredients. Some harmless flower petals and seeds. But also a couple of more remarkable things that make things more interesting. In a few days, a post about something about one of these. Glands and stuff.