JANUARY-FEBRUARY: NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE

New Year: out with the old, in with the new. It is a human trait to see the beginning of any new entreprise with hope and optimism, although, looking back in time, I am always stunned by this very human ability to believe in change despite all facts pointing to a reality which is unlikely to improve. “The King is dead, long live the King!”

How many times a new reign started with promises of change only to end up repeating the same mistakes and cruelties as the old one? At the same time, it is that very belief that helps people overcome adversity and often makes the difference between success and failure in trying times. It is probably what lies at the heart of every generous impulse, what fuels the creative mind and what makes the brave risk everything for a promise of a better tomorrow.

So what better way to start a new year than to celebrate fragrances that represent optimism and hope. Of course, I acknowledge this is a particularly arbitrary category, how can a scent represent hope and optimism, as these are personal feelings that cannot be “bottled”?  So while it is already a well-established fact that scents are indeed linked it to memory formation (the famous “madeleine de Proust effect” related to an episode recounted in the French writer’s masterpiece: “A la recherche du temps perdu”) these are generally specific to each individual, making it hard to extrapolate universal scent associations.

SCENTS AND EMOTIONS

But imagine, from the fragrance industry perspective, what this would represent, to know that, for instance, the smell of orange is a universal trigger for joy and optimism? Some scientists are indeed investigating whether some odorant molecules are universal triggers for specific emotions, and many experiments have been carried out with that objective in mind. (see for instance the following research paper from the university of Lorraine in France : http://ensaia.univ-lorraine.fr/telechargements/rapport_projet_pro_odeurs_et_emotions.pdf)

Of course, one main stumbling block to identifying universal scent triggers is how culturally and geographically linked smells and emotions are, so what is pleasant in one region and culture might be repulsive in another. According to Ilaria Resta, President, Global Perfumery at Firmenich, one of the leading fragrance manufacturer: “to drive emotion through scent, one solution does not fit all. For example, the smell of durian fruit recalls energy and wellbeing in China, but triggers dislike in the US” (some have compared the fruit’s smell to that of dirty socks!).

I see how this complicates things for companies trying to make a buck, but for me, that’s where the magic happens. In any case, big companies and scientists are hard at work trying to develop models that will somehow work alongside AI to predict and develop scents meant to elicit specific emotions and responses. Of course, we are miles away from the artistic approach to scent creation of the late 19th and 20^th century and this research of scents that are universally pleasing or that elicit a specific response shared by the greatest number of people is, in my view, in part responsible for the supremacy of gourmand notes we have nowadays.

It’s not so much the case of “a rose, is a rose, is a rose” but more of “a cake, is a cake, is a cake”, as sweet notes seem to be a universal signifier for pleasure. Take for instance vanillin (which incidentally is also present in milk, after all, everyone’s first olfactive and “tasting” experience) to name just one of these synthetic molecules used to replicate the smell of baked goods, nearly everyone agrees that it is a pleasant smell, as nature, as well as modern life, have programmed us to identify it as something good. It is therefore easy to see how sweet notes provide a somewhat “lazy” consensus across all geographic and age demographics, in a way that say bitter notes or even floral notes do not.

OPTIMISTIC SCENTS

In any case, back to optimism. As detailed above, the link between emotions and scents is being studied by corporations and people with large pockets and big interests at stake and I am afraid I don’t have any scientific data to back any of my selection today, but I wanted to offer a few suggestions for scents that bring a smile on my face and never fail to make me feel energized.

I will subdivide them in a few categories, as “hopeful” can take various guises:

Citrus scents:

Always sure to boost my energy levels and make me consider the day under a better light. There are many, many citrus scents out there, so I won’t list them all but I decided to highlight the two that mean something special to me: one that stole my younger son’s heart, he refers to it has “his” perfume (now 7, he was only 5 when he first smelled it and fell in love) Mandarino by Laboratorio Olfattivo, and one that represents my youth and that I associate with my time spent in China: Mathilde Laurent’s gem for Guerlain in the Aqua Allegoria line: Pamplune.

-Mandarino by Laboratorio Olfattivo. A creation by Jean-Claude Ellena

Jean-Claude, I like calling him like that…In my head it makes him like my imaginary friend. And to think I was once, in 2022, at the opening of a fragrance exhibit at the MIP (Musée International de la Parfumerie), a meter or so away from him! I was at the time studying perfumery at 5eme Sens and a friend pestered me to go over and talk to him but I assumed he was probably just fed up with people accosting him and I just couldn’t muster the courage, stupid me!

In any case, as I was saying, Mr Ellena described in an interview the key to the scent as being an accord between mandarin and passion fruit. All citrus scents rely on a blend of several citruses, so it’s never a question of just taking mandarin essential oil and diluting in alcohol, and voilà.. In any case, this perfume is quite sweet, hopeful, full of sun and smiles, indeed slightly tropical, and you cannot feel depressed when smelling this. What better praise? I love it. It’s certainly on the sweeter side for a citrus scent and so for me, more of a spring than summer reach.

–Pamplune by Guerlain in the Aqua Allegoria Line. A creation by Mathilde Laurent (now Cartier’s in house perfumer)

I had this fragrance in the late 90s/early 2000s and then I must have finished my bottle and never repurchased it. After being out of my fragrance collection for over 20 years,  I bought it again two years ago at a duty-free and whoosh ..all of a sudden I was back in Beijing’s sweltering heat, in my twenties, listening to music, probably Sheryl Crowe or Cat Stevens or something like that, on what must of have still been a “disk man” (remember those, anyone over 45? After the walkman and before the ipod, what a trip! Totally impractical, as the disk kept on skipping…).

Fantastic. Fantastic in the heat too. It captures the bitter, sulfuric aspect of grapefruit, without trying to hide the spikier aspect of the smell. It’s pungent enough to cut through humidity and heat, and zesty enough to make it refreshing, unlike citrus scents that choose a sweeter route like Mandarino. It’s like a Campari orange if you like. Bitter and fresh, with personality and decent longevity. At perfumery school, when discovering raw materials in Grasse I came across a specialty base material called: “Citroasis 184040,” manufactured by Firmenich. It was literally like smelling Pamplune and smelling it convinced me to go looking for the scent again…

Floral Scents

–La Chasse aux papillons, by l’Artisan Parfumeur. A creation by Anne Flipo

I love the name. Ok, it’s a bit fey and corny but what of it? And the scent is just so pretty. So in theory, not really my kind of scent, I like scents with more of an edge now, but who can resist such guileless charm? If it were an advert, it would be one of the 1980s Timothei Shampoo commercials, with a very blond lady dressed in a white summer dress walking through fields of flowers. That’s the vibe. No dark forest in the background, just joyful flowery sunshine.

Not really a flower-shop style fragrance either, like for instance Pleasures by Estee Lauder, but more of an ultra-feminine white floral (orange flower without the indols, linden blossom, banana-like jasmine and creamy tuberose) and musk perfume. Like a colourful Faliero Sarti shawl for spring nights, enveloping and delicate.I make it sound boring but really it is gorgeous. When I feel upset with the world, I just smell it and think: after all, tomorrow is another day! (PS: not so keen on the intense version l’artisans has come up with, a bit brasher, it has lost some of its delicate aura)

–N°5 L’Eau by Chanel. A creation by Olivier Polge

So there is no need to present Chanel N.5. I won’t bore you with who and when and how, etc.

L’Eau is really the 2nd of the N.5 flankers (if you don’t count the differences that exist between EDT, EDP and extrait) made in an attempt to keep this venerable scent relevant to modern consumers. L’Eau Première, the first one, has, as far as I know, been discontinued. As is often the case, perfumistas and the wider consumer market had a different reaction to the scent. The first gave it a lukewarm reception, finding it too far from the original scent, while people a little less invested in the perfume world seem to embrace it, seemingly thinking: “finally I can wear a piece of history while not smelling dated”. I think it’s fair to say that this version is farthest from the original perfume.

It’s like the ghost of Chanel N. 5 and I don’t mean this in a bad way. It’s full of citrus, has lighter florals, less aldehydes and amber notes, no woods and moss but lots of musks, so it is no longer an aldehydic floral chypre and is closer to a floral cologne really. Let’s face it, it’s N. 5 on a quite strict diet and without its shoulder pads.. But something in its bright, citrusy, musky freshness that signals clean laundry, new beginnings and whiteness, appeals to me and gives me hope.

Green Scents

-Le Jardin du Poète, by Eau d’Italie. A creation by Bernard Duchaufour

The green entry of the list, and one that I have a lot of time for. It’s green without being harsh or bitter, which a lot of people associate with this category of scents, specially from the 70s. It’s more of an aromatic herb-and-citrus garden really, with sweet basil notes that resemble Chanel’s Paris-Deauville’s scent and a blast of mandarin and grapefruit, followed by a crisp pear note that is not listed, slight aquatic notes, (so there is a pond in the garden), fresh grass and a slight breezy attitude.

Nothing like the uncompromisingly bitter Vent Vert by Germaine Cellier or even Jacques Polge’s Bel Respiro by Chanel (EDT), both of them quite heavy on the galbanum. If you want to compare it to something, I guess it would be closer in spirit to Antoine Lie’s Green Spell by Eris and some other scents he made for Trudon (Aphelie etc.) or some of the Aqua Allegoria line by Guerlain. It’s lovely, easy to like, makes me think of a spring garden and sunny days to come. After all, spring is the universal symbol of hope

Let me know what scent makes you feel hopeful…

Talking about hope, I will leave you with the iconic poem by Maya Angelou, which was adapted into a beautiful song by Ben Harper in the late 90s.

Still I Rise (Maya Angelou)

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise, I rise, I rise.