Having struggled hard over the last few evenings, making concoctions that smell nothing like I want them to, a penny dropped this morning. I had been reading the Secret of Scent by Luca Turin and, in the book Mr Turin goes into great detail about the different chemicals that make up the most famous synthetic perfumes. I also learned about orris butter with it's complex mix of irones and what Luca describes as "it's magnificent, melancholy smell". He says when orris notes are used properly they "exude a frosty luxury which everyone falls in love with sooner or later". I also learned how experienced perfumers and chemists have created rose smells which have none of the heavy oily counterparts found in natural rose extracts. He speaks about transparent florals in a way that makes me want to sample some of these synthesized chemical groups. Instead I get to thinking of new ways of taking the natural essences and brightening them and making them translucent using other natural essences. There is a way, Mandy Aftel has proven that. I found myself thinking, why not use another natural essence to help to draw away the oily heaviness of the rose absolute, which is there, there's no arguing with that. There must be a way to mix naturals so that their shiny bright qualities are shown off and the smell left behind from the destruction of the living plant material is neutralized.The whole thing had me totally redesigning the spring blend I am working on.
First thing I did when I came into my studio this morning was smell the last modification, the 'heavy duty juice', I had formulated last night, it was not any better, although something told me it wouldn't be. Then I sat there contemplating everything I had been reading in Luca Turin's book. I looked at the little vial of the 3rd modification for the top notes of the perfume I am working on. I smelled it. It was just beautiful, light but so short lived. What can I do with this that's not going to kill it.
I thought about the fixative, and the heart.
The theme and inspiration for the blend is spring so I want the delicate spring florals to shine through, miles above the base. I chose ambergris for the subtle yet tenacious watery, mossy, sweetness and ambrette for it's floral muskiness and orris butter hoping it would impart the "frosty luxury" effect mentioned in the book. I thought about spring florals, the primroses, the narcissus, the bluebells and the violets and hyacinth, it seems as though they are delicate primulas or heady lily types.
The delicate primulas show in the top of the perfume, I wanted the heady lilies for the middle, Tuberose and ylang ylang did something that I like a lot.
When it was all put together, it smelled nearly exactly as I wanted. The top notes reminded me of Mandy Aftel's Orchid, and there was no sign of the middle or base at the start, which is a hard enough affect to achieve in my opinion.
The middle came in then with a real blast, like somebody had just opened the window onto a bright field of full blooming bluebells and narcissus. The effect was heady but trailing into a soft bright yellow glow. The base creeps in slowly, like little spring animals sneaking out after dark. The ambergris is subtle but it's unmistakably shiny, it smells of cool rock pools reflecting the full moon. The ambrette is deep and warm, like the underneath of an animals fur, there is no sign of the fattiness of the ambrette seed, somehow it is gone before I get there, exactly as I had hoped. The orris root butter, has been melting slowly and invisibly through the whole thing, giving light and shimmer and sparkle.
You know something not only has another penny dropped, but a perfume has been created.
It deserves a name; Yellow? Avril? Frolic? Let me think about that one. What do you think would suit?
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