Smelly Libraries, Part II: Playtime!

By Marla, the Nerd Girl OK, so you heeded my Yoda-like advice and set up a scent library, right?? Of course you did! Because I promised you could have fun with it, as well as show it off to mystified relatives and friends. (As one of my sisters muttered after seeing my collection for the first time, “This isn’t a normal hobby….”) Here are some ways you can link your ever-expanding library to your perfumistahood. 1. When a new perfume gets a review that intrigues you, dab a drop of each main note on a small piece of blotter paper, or good quality, uncoated and unbleached plain paper or cotton rag. Sniff. Sniff each note separately. For example, you’re intrigued by the newest rose/patch combo. Put a drop of real rose and real patch on a rag square and sniff. Then try the synth versions on another patch, and sniff that. Then try them together. Of course, the actual perfume lemming won’t smell like your combo, but you’ll have an idea of the inspiration for the perfume, and know what real rose and patch smell like together. 2. Try making some famous bases, like an amber (vanilla, ambergris/Ambroxan, labdanum, benzoin), or a modern “cupcake accord” (ethyl maltol and vanilla), or a classic chypre’ with real oakmoss, bergamot, and labdanum. Try a fougere base (warning: they can linger for days)!  3. Just try combining any 2 random substances in your collection. This can be fun, and you’ll discover a few things that are amazing, and some that are…not. 4. Try combining random threesomes- one basenote, one heart note, one top note. Take notes on what you’ve done (“What have you DONE?” Someone nearby shouts….) and what you think about it. 5. When you read about an exciting new note in a perfume, try to find a small amount, and add it to your library. I discovered Paradisamide and Timberol this way.  Some of my favorite basic twosomes are petigrain/vanilla, frankincense/benzoin, and patchouli/orange essence. Just a simple twosome or threesome can smell so wonderful you might just want to add some perfumer’s alcohol, bottle it up, and use it! So for those of you who’ve already been doing this, what have some of your favorite discoveries been?

Smelly Libraries (Part I)

by Marla, the Nerd Girl  I’ve been perfume blogging for 5 years now. I think that makes me either first or at least second generation. I’ve been through all the stages of perfumistahood, and the Jaded Stage was the worst. Would I finally give up my great love, perfume? Did IFRA kill it? Did Sephora? Nah, I went DIY. I went Nerd.  I started a scent library and grew smelly plants, and after that went on for a couple of years, I started to make my own tinctures and perfumes. ACK! I heard that at some sort of professional symposium in Paris last year (Were they snooty? Were they French?), that DIYers were derided as the scum of the perfumed earth. I’m OK with that. I’m having fun. What’s a scent library? How do you make one? How can you, dear reader, DIY? Or, confess, are you there already, skulking about the periphery of Perfume World, growing and making fragrant things for your family and friends? (Yeah, and some stinkeroos, too, that’s part of the fun.  I know there’s someone out there who’s quietly growing a Corpse Flower, Amorphophallus titanum, in their backyard….and it’s not me, I swear, but only because I don’t have access to a parent plant. Don’t you want to tell people at parties that you grow Amorphophalli in your backyard?? I do. Today I’m going to write about scent libraries. In our world, we’re always talking lists of notes. Top notes, heart notes, base notes. So learning the notes is a bit like increasing your writer’s vocabulary. It’s a good idea to know what each note means, and, for the most common, what’s the difference between natural and synthetic versions. How many of us have sniffed a “peony” perfume to find it smells nothing at all like a living peony? Ditto real oakmoss and Verymoss. Both delightful, but they wouldn’t have much in common if they met for lunch. Fortunately, it doesn’t cost much to set up a good, basic library. There are kits out there, of course, but you can build your own for less-and have more adventures. You can start by dividing your prospective purchases into favorite basenotes, heart notes, and top notes. For example, your first wish list might look like this: 1. Base-benzoin, patchouli, oakmoss 2. Heart- jasmine, rose, frankincense 3. Top- mint, verveine, mandarin So that is the core of your newly born scent library. I recommend buying at least 1/8 oz. (about 4ml) of each substance so you have enough to play with. For rose, this will cost a bit, but for something like a mint or lemon, you might go ahead and just buy ½ oz. or more, as it’s cheap and won’t be sold in smaller quantitites. Don’t ignore the synthetics, they are crucial for understanding modern perfumery. I’d recommend a few white musks, Ebanol or Javanol, some Ambroxan, and Iso E Super. They are ubiquitous. The strong may opt for a few aldehydes, but beware, they can overpower the rest of your library no matter how you seal them! Here are some sources that I’ve used over the years and can recommend. I don’t receive anything free or fun from them for putting them on this list, but I wish I did. Eden Botanicals (naturals) Liberty Natural (naturals and raw botanicals) Perfumer’s Apprentice (naturals and sythetics) White Lotus Aromatics (naturals) For storage, I like sturdy portability. The cases that I’ve been most happy with are from Butterfly Express, they’re made in the US, and extremely strong. Again, I get no kickbacks, I’m just a happy customer.  I’ve also seen models where the bottles fit upright into foam slots that fit into boxes, so I’d encourage you to think through how you store and use the bottles, then find the best storage for your actual usage. Make sure that when stored, you can see the label. It’s always best to alphabetize! Part II will be about playing with your new collection….

Magnificent (Loathesome) Vetiver

By Marla, the Nerd Girl Chrysopogon zizanioides is known to most perfumistas as Marvelous Vetiver. Or Stinky Vetiver. Depends on whether you love it (like I do), or loathe it (like a lot of other people do). It’s like patchouli-- a whiff of the ubiquitous khus elicits strong opinions! Vetiver used to have its own genus, but botanists decided it was actually close cousins to palmarosa and lemongrass, and it was chucked in with other “oil grass” -pogons. I hope its enjoying its new expanded family. The grassy leaves are pretty much odorless, it’s the roots that are so fragrant (or smelly). They are distilled into medicines and perfumes, woven into fragrant mats and fans that became so popular during the Moghul Empire and Raj in India, and bundled into linen chests here in the Southern US to keep away fungi and buggles. You can even flavor your summer ice water with the roots! The top half, the grass, grows up to 8 feet tall. I’m growing some experimentally here on my sand dune. We’ve got big trouble with storm tide erosion and high winds and we need some special plants to buffer our living zone. Vetiver is being used on the islands to our east as just such a buffer, and it’s working out well. And its deep roots cleanse soils of various pollutants, too. My little pot of about 10 plants is nearly 2 feet high now. Alberto of Agriflora Tropicals, in Puerto Rico, specializes in vetiver, and he’s been a wealth of information on the lovely khus. He’s happy to ship some to anyone who wants to grow it themselves. (Disclosure—I get no commission from Alberto, I’m just a happy customer.) My scent library contains several varieties of vetiver, some fractions and synthetics. They are: 1. Rhus Khus- traditional Indian attar, vetiver co-distilled with sandalwood. The strongest vetiver of the bunch! So strong it’s almost horse-radishy…. 2. Bourbon vetiver- from Reunion Island. Supposedly the finest type, but I prefer the Sri Lankan. 3. Sri Lankan organic vetiver- softer and sweeter, with almost nutlike nuances. 4. Haitian vetiver- earthy and rooty with hints of fruit, the most grounding of the group. Rough and rugged! 5. Vetiverol- there are actually several of these patented out there with varying profiles. It’s usually considered a fraction of actual vetiver, but there’s controvery over whether it can be called a natural ingredient or not. To my nose, it has the simplest, and nuttiest profile of the group. 6. Vetiveryl acetate- a synthetic, a beloved aromachemical of Escentric Molecules (03 is allegedly composed of only this one.) Lighter and airier than the naturals. There are many other varieties out there, and I’m always on the lookout to add more! My favorite vetiver scents are an Indian attar of tuberose/vetiver, Lalique’s Encre Noir (the guy’s version), and the old standby, Guerlain’s Vetiver. Serge Lutens also makes a lovely vetiver potion, and Hove’ Parfumeur in New Orleans has a whole line of the softer, southern US type of vetiver- they even sell the root bundles for your linen chests. They won’t tell me what variety of vetiver they are using, but I suspect it’s a proprietary blend…. What are your favorite vetiver perfumes, types of vetiver, or fractions/synthetics? And if you’re in Zones 8-10, have you ever thought of growing it yourself??

So I Tinctured Some Hyrax Poop (And a Very Weird Prize Draw)

By Marla, the Nerd Girl About a month ago, I received (very excitedly) a package from Sophia in South Africa (African Aromatics). Among some amazing resins was a tiny bag of rock hyrax poop. Within seconds, I had broken open the bag and popped a few grams of scat into perfumer’s alcohol. A few days later, I had the most skankily aromatic tincture ever. Now why did I do that? I have a scent library. I’m even writing an article about it, but it’s too big a project to craft into paragraphs right now, I promise it will meet the Internet soon. Anyway, when I couldn’t obtain certain materials for my library from my favorite suppliers like Eden Botanicals and White Lotus, I started tincturing on my own, in the basement, at night…. Tincturing is actually very easy. I use only dried material, or resins. I gather most of them myself in my travels, and others are sent by marvelous people like Sophia. When I was knee-high to a diatom (now I’m knee-high to a pudu) I kept plant samples, pressed and labeled, in notebooks. This is an extension of that obsession. So I take about 5gm of the material and put it in a 15ml glass bottle. I top it off with perfumer’s alcohol, label it, and shake it around every once in a while for a few weeks. Then I can decant/filter and re-bottle, re-label, and try it out on paper or skin. I’ve learned an amazing amount of olfactory information this way. And of course, the tinctures are great for DIY (yet another article). So what’s the weirdest thing in your scent collection? Nothing has matched the hyrax poop for me, but I’m looking…. The weird prize draw is a vial of the hyrax poop tincture, and something else, as I feel inspired to include in your packet. Probably some strange plant (legal, I promise). Answer the question above and I’ll enter you in the draw. As always, Limette the Angora Bunny will choose the winner.

To Boldly Go….

Mini Reviews by Marla, the Nerd Girl First, I want to express my pride over owning Star Trek Fotonovels. They are awesome, and the cover of my favorite is gracing this article. OK, now on to the mini-reviews. The gracious and tasteful Musette of Perfume Posse agreed to send me some samples of things I’ve been dying to try, in exchange for bits of some of the more unusual items in my international perfume collection. I’ve been having so much fun! Yes, there’s the good, the bad, and the ugly, I love trying them all. Here are mini-reviews of eight. The Good: 1. Beyond Love by Kilian: I don’t think I can call myself a tuberose-hater anymore. No, this really isn’t me, but it’s the most radiant bit of tuberose fabulosity I’ve ever smelled. Calice Becker is a Floral Goddess. Anyone who loves tuberose can buy this perfume and put it in the center of their home tuberose shrine. Incredible work! 2. L’Artisan Parfumeur Batucada: This is summer fun in a bottle. What I really like is that perfumers Karine Vinchon (French) and Elisabeth Maier (Brazilian) have created the quintessential summer beach perfume with a little (drumroll) SKANK. Yes, there is a touch of sweaty, tanned skank in the drydown of this sweet, citrusy aquatic, and that makes all the difference. It’s supposed to be about Brazil, but to me, it’s pure South Beach. 3. Tom Ford Violet Blond: The demure cousin of Amaranthine that would never make out with a mysterious stranger in a dark hallway at a party. I love it, but I’m keeping Amaranthine for evenings…. The (Maybe, Kinda, Not Sure) Bad: 4. L’Eau Serge Lutens: More wearable to me than Aqua Universalis Forte, but why do I want to smell like clean, fresh laundry on steroids? I don’t like doing the amount of laundry that I do, and this perfume gives me nightmares about Zombie Laundry, coming alive, climbing the stairs to get me at night…. 5. Bond No. 9 High Line: Sweet greens without the skank. Very similar to Batucada, but without the fun. Pleasant to wear, no complaints, but why bother? And the Ugly: 6. Le Labo Gaiac 10: I barely smell anything, and what I do smell, briefly, is distinctly unpleasant. No creativity, no artistry, but it costs mucho. Yuck! 7. L’Artisan Mon Numero 10- And who cursed the number 10? Was it IFRA?? This is a not-so-charming mix of apothecary herbs, old wax, and horse liniment. Nice for a barn ambience spray, but not for people. A million light-years from Mon Numero 1, the tap-dancing pear and mimosa, and my favorite of the series. 8. Chloe EdP Rose Edition- Truly the Worst of the Worst. I wouldn’t put a sheet of this in with my laundry. Then again, if it was Zombie Laundry, I would, because it would kill them. So what have you tried lately? Please leave a comment with a one-or-two sentence Mini Review, and make me happy!

Juhi, Motia, Sambac, Sampaquita: What Do You Call Jasmine? (And a Prize Draw)

By Marla the Nerd Girl Jasmine, my favorite flower, comes in lots of different packages. My poor Maid of Orleans sambac jasmine died when Hurricane Irene brushed us last summer. They are not terribly easy plants to grow on windswept dunes…. So I’ve given up gardening with jasmine, but I keep wearing it. There were rumors in the scientific community a couple of years ago that certain components of jasmine were proving to be strong antidepressants. Some drug companies apparently are researching those compounds now. I’m not surprised, but if I’m gloomy, I’m going to put on some real jasmine absolute, not take a jasmine pill! The two most famous varieties of jasmine in perfumery are Jasminum grandiflorum (the sweet one) and Jasminum sambac (the skanky one). Sambac is also known as Sampaquita, or Motia. (Though motia can also mean any kind of jasmine in India and Pakistan.) Jasminum auriculatum is also well known in India, and is making its way into perfumery here. It’s also called Juhi, and has a more balsamic and herbaceous profile. Sambac has a deeper profile, with more indoles, hence, the skank. Star jasmine, also used in perfumery, is not jasmine at all, it’s a dogbane, so I’m leaving it out, though it’s awfully pretty. IFRA’s 43rd amendment put severe restrictions on the use of actual jasmine. The technocrats are worried that someone, someday, might come out in a rash from it and sue everybody. Labs have some interesting synthetic jasmines, my favorite being Sampaquita by Givaudan. It’s very pretty, though it has little in common with actual jasmine sambac. Utterly de-skanked, every bit of earth has been removed. On its own merits, though, it’s lovely, airy and sweet. The synths are “clean” florals. The vast majority of IFRA-compliant perfumes use the synthetics, so when “jasmine” is a note, think synth. I’ve met some people that love synthetic jasmine but loathe the natural. So be careful and clarify when someone says their favorite floral is jasmine before you buy them perfume! I like my jasmine straight up and natural. I have several bottles of absolute, and a few attars. My favorite is an Indian grandiflorum from Eden Botanicals. And of course, a number of famous perfumes in vintage format are loaded with real jasmine (some from Asia, some from Grasse), and if kept properly, they’ll last decades. Natural perfumers and many indies are committed to using real jasmine, so I seek out their creations to sniff. Bellyflowers Perfumes just came out with a new potion called Blue Jasmine that I like very much. It pairs every jasmine I’ve mentioned with lotus and ylang ylang; nagarmotha and blue chamomile give it an unusual zip. Blue Jasmine has that ancient Indian attar vibe in spades, though I find it easier to wear than some of the shamamas. To my nose, it’s warm, grounding, and earthy. This is not a well-kept jasmine from a Lucknow garden, but wild jasmine growing in damp earth in a primordial forest. Bellyflowers is giving away a 3ml sample of Blue Jasmine to interested readers. If you want to be in the drawing, please leave a comment about your favorite type of jasmine, either from the garden or the perfume bottle.

Perfumistas and Their Loved Ones

By Marla, the Nerd Girl OK. I rave about new batches of vetiver from wherever. It’s organic! It’s an SCO2! I love Norlimbanol. I hate Safraleine. I wear combinations of molecules that are so intense, so bizarre, that I occasionally offend hyenas (my least favorite sentient being). It’s Valentine’s Day this week. Maybe I should give my partner the best gift I can think of…a day off the olfactory wheel?? My DH loves strange odors and actually likes beta testing my peculiar creations, and dutifully sniffs the additions to my ever-expanding Scent Library. He’s a Nerd Guy. He loves Music. So I listen to his new Arabo-andalusian rebab recording, rave about the new oud solos he’s found (yes, it’s a lute-like instrument as well as a perfume), and listen to him playing the shakuhachi on weekends. I love it! I can barely play 3 bars on my recorder, so he’s my hero. He says he’s learned a lot about the least-used sense from me (olfaction). OK, so he hates Angel. Life goes on. I hate Puerto Rican Rap. We continue. We learn. How does your perfumistahood meld with your key relationships?? Will you give the people you love most a scented, or unscented, gift this Valentine’s Day?

Aldehydes and Vintage: My Love-Hate Relationship

by Marla, the Nerd Girl What exactly is an aldehyde? And what makes a perfume, vintage or new, aldehydic? Aldehydes are organic compounds that contain a carbonyl group that’s bonded to a hydrogen atom; the general formula is RCHO. They can be naturally derived (from citrus peels or clary sage, for example), or completely synthetic. Formaldehyde is a lower-weight aldehyde, and, as we all remember from high school biology class, has a truly disgusting odor. Paraldehyde is a hypnotic drug. Big, fat aldehydes, however, can smell really good. At least to some people. Turns out different people perceive perfumery aldehydes differently (shock!) and what smells delightfully effervescent and fruity to some can smell like burnt wax and diesel fuel to others. So if Chanel No. 5 smells repulsive to you, don’t blame yourself, it’s just your DNA…. There’s been a resurgence in aldehydic perfumes. An aldehydic perfume is one where certain aldehydes (those with a particular “waxy/fatty/rosy/fruity” character) take center stage, as in No. 5, White Linen, or Femme. Many of the perfumes of the 50s and 60s were Aldehydic Extremes. Now I’m seeing some indie perfumers, like Andy Tauer and Laurie Erickson, highlight these aldehydes in perfumes like Miriam and Nostalgie with a lighter touch and a deft hand, and I’m very pleased. Aldehydics tend to make us feel a little more “dressed up”. They are (generally!) perceived as mature, upscale, sophisticated notes. You don’t wear aldehydics with unwashed hair, in an old jogging suit, schlepping the kids around in the SUV, or digging trenches in the backyard. They are “little black dress” perfumes, and are usually regarded as special. I know that my 50s/60s vintage perfumes will find their moment on those rare occasions I go to a concert, opera, or special dinner with my DH. When I wear them, someone near me will certainly comment, “My, don’t you smell posh!” When I’m not in the mood, they smell too sharp to me, too firmly tethered to a bygone era, and I pass them by with a wrinkled nose. Then a month or so goes by and I just want to smell like the aptly named Ma Griffe (My Claw), Bakir, or Replique again! It’s a love-hate relationship I particularly relish, and so I’m glad to see these lovely gems, the aldehydes, in modern settings, crafted by artists I respect. My modern aldehydic faves are Champagne du Bois (Sonoma Scent Studio), Serge Lutens’ La Myrrhe, and Shiseido’s original Zen (the black bottle, just reissued and as good as ever). And I’m dying to try Miriam and Nostalgie. How do you feel about aldehydics, old and new? And which are your favorites?

Nerd Girl Guesses What’s Hot for 2012

By Marla I don’t read fashion mags, I don’t visit the catwalks of South Beach, I don’t go to Paris much anymore. So who am I to guess perfume trends for 2012? Ha! I’m going to do it anyway! Here are my educated guesses about what we’ll see more of in perfumery this year. Please leave a comment telling me your top guess for a trend, OK? 1. Roses everywhere. I love a good rose perfume, and I’m guessing Her Old Fashionedness is going to make a big comeback this year. 2011 put a lot of us through a Cuisinart, and I’m guessing we’re thinking more about our grandparents, who also went through such times, and what our grandmas grew, which was roses. Roses are comforting, and roses are strong. Bring on the rose! 2. Leather and Cowboy-type notes. Smoke, sweat, hyrax poop. You get it. No more Mr. Clean. Hurray! 3. Travel sizes and variety sets. Perfumistas have been pleading for these for years, and just last year, a few started to appear. I’m guessing we’ll see more, but that might be wishful thinking on my part. 4. More food/perfume pairings for both perfume and gourmet goodies. There has been a lot of exciting crossover lately, and I think it’s just the beginning. 5. Weird scented objects. Like your phone, your toothbrush, your shoes, and your sunglasses. Well, why not, right? OK, your turn? What’s coming down the pike?? And which way should we run???