Raw materials: honey from Zambia

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about honey, you will find it here.  In the post you will find some historical facts about bees and honey history as well as examples of perfumes that use honey as a note. Today I got some really nice news from Lush about the honey they use so I want to re-adress this sweet theme to add some information.

A team from Lush went to Zambia to visit some beekeepers that work with traditional methods making fair trade honey that is used in the honey shampoo from Lush. The honey is made in the forest around Kabompo River and provides an important source of income for the communities in the area. The honey made here is free from pesticides and herbicides.

Photo from Lush.

Kabompo is in the northwest of Zambia and at the centre of Zambia's remaining teak forests. Beekeeping has been a tradition in the area for a long time and skills as well as hives of grass, bark and hollow tree trunks are handed down from one generation to the other. Beekeeping has turned into a thriving industry with about 3,000 traditional bark hive beekeepers in Zambia.

I like the way Lush communicate about the products, especially raw materials. Here is a film from the team's trip to Zambia. Would be very nice to see more companies highlight their raw material sources more like this, I think.

Weekend in Grasse IV: Gaglewski

Hey, sorry… I had temporary writer’s block due to some over-powering heart drama. But I am back now, and I want to share with you the story of my last evening in Grasse. (How I miss this place and how I felt being in that experience…)

There is a narrow winding long cobbled street in Grasse, Rue de L’Oratoire. Somehow wherever I would go I would find myself in Rue de L’Oratoire. In this labyrinth of Grassesque marvels there is a place I knew I would visit sooner or later. 

Before going to Grasse Institute of Perfumery I had read about Clayton’s adventures there and about his visit to perfumer Didier Gaglewski (in Rue de L’Oratoire 12). It seems many visitors to Grasse feel the need to buy perfume as a souvenir and the local shops cater to that idea in different ways. For me the real treat of being in Grasse was the access to the backstage area of the perfume industry. The fields, the insider information, the lab, the raw materials – but above all – the conversations with people who work with perfume in various ways. If I had an experience like that – and could buy something that would preserve the moment for me – then great, but perfume per se was not the main thing. But then of course a place like Grasse provides gems like Beauty Success where you can find Coriandre and Caron’s Pour un Homme! But back to Gaglewski. This encounter was really a quintessential part of this adventure.

First time I met Didier Gaglewski was when going to dinner with my Spanish friend (and I am sure future perfumer) Inma, Daniela from Fragonard and the lady that they were staying with in Grasse. The lady knew Didier so we introduced ourselves briefly when passing by his shop and said we would come back. After a few days, you see, Inma and I had embarked on an inspiring inner journey analyzing various ways to pursue olfactory paths in our future careers. And monsieur Gaglewski seemed like a very good person to turn to for some advise since he himself started to work with perfumes after pursuing a different career for some time. So a few days later we returned. 

The shop. Photo from Gaglewski.com

Didier generously shared his story with us and we spent a long time discovering his creations, from the ultra-masculine conceptual Cambouis, a humoristic flirt with the idea of a man working on his car and the smells of this, to the soft romantic Aria, a seductive classic über-feminine dream of tuberose and vanilla. I had a different instant crush though… first for the name and then for the smell, the woody Journaliste. No surprise that it includes some of my favorite notes – petit grain, mandarin, ginger, cardamom and tonka bean. The Journaliste is now here in Stockholm with me. It reminds me of the alliance between brain and heart, plans and dreams and of this very special place in Grasse. 

So, on my last day I went back to Rue de L’Oratoire, 12 to say goodbye to Didier and to show him my three own creations from school for some professional feedback. A very rewarding visit since I also had the luck to talk to the customers that came to the shop. I was struck by the great conversations that happened. So far from some of the empty quick exchanges of clichés in department stores. People ask Didier a lot about his background and profession and creations and he answers every person’s questions very genuinely and generously. A young man entered out of curiosity, not really ready for a purchase, but full of questions. It was such a nice conversation to listen to and a moment that captured some of that special thing about Grasse so well – it is a place that loves perfumes and that loves to take the time to talk about perfume with anyone who has a desire to know more. There is so much knowledge in those hills… and so little of the excluding elitism that you find between perfume shelves around the world. 

Scent strips made of ribbons at Gaglewski.

Thank you Didier for sharing your story, time and thoughts. Dziękuję.

"Vous êtes brune, de peau mate.Vous êtes gaie et un peu capricieuse. 

Vous croquez la vie.
Votre rire cristallin ne connaît pas de frontière. 

Vous êtes si près de l'enfance que l'on se demande parfois si vous n'en sortez 

que pour paraître sérieuse, mais l'on sait bien que cela ne durera 

que le temps d'un clin d'oeil."

(From description of Aria on Gaglewski.com)

Once upon a time...

In some moments Grasse can really feel a bit like Fragonard Town. A fairly large part of the old town is dominated by Fragonard's museum and various shops offering not only fragrance but also clothes and linen. My impression is that their business seems to be going quite well.

Of course. And it rhymes.

It is unquestionable that the Fragonard family do take their role as providers of knowledge about the perfume making history very seriously. I decided to save the Fragonard museum for my last Saturday in Grasse and took not one but two tours - one in Italian and one in English. As a former tourist guide and more recently communications and marketing professional I was very interested to see how the guides of Fragonard tell the story, what tools they use and how they incorporate sales into then tour. I also had the privilege of getting some VIP guidance through the range from my friend Daniela who works there.

 

Enfleurage Süskind-style.

The Fragonard factory tour is really well-designed. There are only guided tours, no walking around on your own, so anyone who visits is more or less guaranteed to leave with more knowledge. During the tour the guides use pedagogic graphics, scents, interactive moments and go through rooms that really give the visitors the feeling of getting a backstage perspective. Very well-organised all this. The tour ends with an olfactive test where everyone guesses what notes can be found in some of the fragrances offered in the gift shop. Very clever.

Enormous raw material bottles to smell during the tour - fun!

Étoile - a nice fresh fragrance that I ended up buying.

At entry level there is the obligatory history of perfume exhibition. In comparison to the one at the International Perfume Museum next door this one is lighter and more focused on objects. I like them both, as I wrote in an earlier post I found the International Museum very informative and ambitious. In both places there are some truly exquisite objects to admire. After these two collections I am now rather obsessed with antique perfume flaçons... Especially 19th century. I leave you with some favorites of mine from the Fragonard collection.

If you see something like this at an auction do please let me know?

Stay summer stay

Speaking of scents and their power to let us travel in time... If you, like I, live in the northern hemisphere you're probably also starting to notice the temperature falling and the days getting shorter. My vacation was more than a month ago and the tan is long gone. I use any possible way to keep the feeling of summer with me, because there are still sunny days sometimes - even if one is in the office!

This is what I do, scent-wise to hold on to the summer feeling for a few more days. Nothing advanced. But it works for me so it might work for you too!

- I drink a lot of infusions made from fresh summer herbs. I love a cup of tea and a blanket in the autumn but the earl grey also gives me a november feeling. So my summer version is to use fresh rosemary or verbena leaves and some honey or cocoa sugar. Not only does it taste great, the smell is fresh and uplifting. But try to find fresh ones, you need the right-now-ness, dried will be like "remembering".

Lemon Verbena

- When I travel I almost always bring a perfume home because it will remind me of that journey and of that summer. Using this fragrance gives you just enough of that still-away-feeling. If you didn't get a new perfume this summer then maybe you used one more than others. Wearing that will bring some of the summer moments closer.

- The summery perfumes... There are a few safe classics that inevitably sing olfactory arias about sand and sandals to your brain... Neroli di Portofino and Bronze Goddess are two of the most well-known. For a more discrete effect I like to use what is left of sun screen lotions from the summer. Somehow there always seems to be an amount enough for 2-3 weeks more left. Using these lotions as moisturizer (which post-summer office-schocked skin really needs!) gives a soft scent of summer that stays close to the skin.  Be careful however when you wear summer/vacation scents at work since that is also the feeling that you will send out to people around you - so don't smell like a day on the beach for important work meetings! It is not a very authoritative or reliable signal. Use your nice medium sillage elegant fragrances for those days. But for more off-stage days, evenings and weekends - indulge in summer scents for a few more weeks!

Amsterdam

I am planning a trip to beloved Amsterdam. Haven't been for two years. Will be hanging out spending money at Skins for sure. But anyone got any other olfactory recommendation? Let me know, thanks a perfumillion!

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Scents of Poland

I have infinite amounts of scent memories from my childhood that are linked to Poland and my grand mother. From the smell of chicken broth when she opened her window as she saw us arriving by car from the airport - to the Lancôme powder in her handbag. My Poland is a Poland with so many olfactory codes and sentimental signs that go through my nose straight to my soul.

This summer I am spending some time in Sopot and the surrounding area. A place where my mother spent childhood summers and where I have been as a child as well. And so many scents... The fish restaurants by the sea, the corn, the grilled little cheeses "Oscypek" that you can buy as street finger food - and my favorite smell... Gofry. A kind of waffle that you can buy every ten steps, you get them with cream or ice cream, berries, chocolate what have you... I don't eat them but the smell of them that covers the entire coast in a soft vanilla embrace... It's divine. And then there is the pop corn smell by the beautiful outdoor cinema at the pier, the fruits, the homemade soups and pierogi, and the perfumes that leave a trail after all the dressed up people at night.

Oh, and today... the most amazing one. Driving to Krokowa there was this scent outside in the infinite woods. So poetic and so gentle. Sand, sea and warm pine trees. It smelled of innocence, eternity and fairytale.

My beloved Poland. How much you offer all senses.

Skins, Amsterdam

There is no limit to my love for Skins in Runstraat (11) in Amsterdam. The combination of my most beloved city, this street AND this store is almost more than I can handle. Everyone in the store is charming, professional, skillful and assist you on your perfume quest with total knowledge and understanding. Last time I was there I bought a limited edition by Kilian and got so lost in fragrance conversations I almost (really...) missed my flight home. I have run across Schiphol many times, but never so happy and great smelling.

The selection of brands and products in the store is exquisite. You find your favorites, limited editions, suprises and new unique discoveries. I love love love Skins in Runstraat. Go there if you can. And if you can't - enjoy their excellent web shop. Also love that they have Swedish Byredo which makes my nose proud of being from Sweden.