Victoria: 2669 posts

Today we have our “Recommend Me a Perfume” thread, the first one this year. 2014 started for me with a celebration at home, but for most of the month I have been on the road. When I travel, especially when it’s for work, surrounding myself with my favorite objects is essential for creating a cozy atmosphere. I always pack my soft fleece blanket that folds into a small bundle, miniature rose scented candles, a spray bottle of orange blossom water, and of course, perfume. On the last couple of trips I brought Guerlain Shalimar Ode à la Vanille, which feels caressing and tender.

Bois de Jasmin will return on January 31st. My work and travel schedule is going to be heavy over the next couple of weeks.

I’m also taking time out to do some overdue blog maintenance. Hope that the changes will make your experience here more enjoyable, but in the meantime, please excuse any quirks, especially if you read Bois de Jasmin on your mobile devices.

How does it work:

1. Please post your requests or questions as comments here. You can also use this space to ask any fragrance related questions. To receive recommendations that are better tailored to your tastes, you can include details on what you like and don’t like, your signature perfumes, and your budget. And please let us know how your search goes and what you end up sampling.

2. Then please check the thread to see if there are other requests you can answer. Your responses are really valuable for navigating the big and sometimes confusing world of perfume, so let’s help each other!

To make this thread easier to read, when you reply to someone, please click on the blue “reply” link under their comment.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

One of my  favorite Christmas gifts last year turned out to be Guerlain teas. My friend thoughtfully selected Shalimar and Habit Rouge blends, aware of my fondness for these perfumes. The intense aroma of vanilla and bergamot greeted me as soon as I opened the black tin container of Shalimar. Habit Rouge, on the other hand, was not deliberately scented; the natural aroma of Yunnan tea was meant to capture the leather and citrus nuances of the perfume.

The collection of fragrant teas was created for the perfume house by Constance Braud, the founder of Thés de Constance, and I’ve shared the descriptions in my Guerlain Flavored Tea Collection article. The line is currently exclusive to the Guerlain flagship store on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, where it can also be enjoyed at the new restaurant.

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Peru Balsam is one of the workhorses in a perfumer’s palette providing a solid base note and voluptuous drydown. It’s a resinous material that, depending on the extraction method and provenance, can smell either warm and ambery or smoky and spicy. When you enjoy perfumes like Hermès  Elixir des Merveilles, Serge Lutens Amber Sultan, or Yves Saint Laurent Opium, you’re admiring the complexity of this interesting note.

I have enjoyed experimenting with Peru balsam ever since my early days in perfumery school, but it was only last year that I discovered how it’s grown and collected. The process hasn’t changed much since antiquity and it’s fascinating. I had been meaning to write about it when I discovered something even better. A company, Nobs Naturals, uploaded a video on Youtube showing how Peru balsam is gathered and you can see for yourself what it’s like.

Nobs Naturals provided the following explanation:

“A piece of bark measuring about 36 by 6 inches is removed starting from the lower part of the tree trunk. The tree can be harvested at all heights of its trunk, which can have a height of over 30 meters. The exposed area is then burnt with a torch, and then a piece of dry cloth is placed on the wound to absorb the oleoresin produced by the tree in response to the treatment. After a month and a half the cloth is recovered and the oleoresin is extracted from it by boiling in water for many hours and then passage through a rustic wooden press. The bark removed from the tree trunk is subject to a similar process.”

Styrax, benzoin and many other balsamic-resinous materials are collected in a similar manner.

Extra: Tolu Balsam, Benzoin, Styrax and Other Oriental Balsamic Notes

I love Bollywood movies. The women are gorgeous, the men dashing, the good guys saintly, and the villains so evil that they make Thomas Barrow of Downton Abbey seem kindhearted. And everyone is ready to break out into a song on the spur of the moment. To an uninitiated audience, Bollywood films can seem odd, at best. The philosophy in costumes, makeup and special effects is “more is more.” The item numbers, song-and-dance sequences, are entirely unrelated to the plot. You have to completely suspend your disbelief on the most basic points. But once you’re used to the characteristic cocktail of songs, tears, love, and tinsel, Bollywood fairy tales can be the best escapist fun.

So can perfumes. Recently, when I was enjoying the heady combination of Bollywood and Guerlain Nahéma after a stressful day,  I decided to explore my favorite Indian films through scents.  I selected 10 movies and linked them with fragrances that captured their themes or characters. If you want to get a taste of Bollywood, please read on. Needless to say, the perfumes on my list are as opulent as the Indian cinematic extravaganza.

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On December 10, 2013, the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the French judiciary, confirmed the first judgment of the Court of Appeal of Nancy and its constant jurisprudence since 2006 that perfume is not eligible to be protected under copyright law. The case involved L’Oréal suing a company that made and sold products replicating those of its perfume division, Lancôme. While Lancôme offers Trésor, the rival launches La Valeur and so on. The case centered on the perfume, but the other elements of the products–trademark and packaging–were also touched upon.

In the decision, the court explained that “a form that can be perceived by the senses” (the olfactory sense in this instance) can only be protected as far as it is identifiable with enough precision to be communicated.  It follows then that fragrance, which elaboration process  is not a work of intellect, but rather of technical know-how, doesn’t have a form with these characteristics (identifiable, precise, communicable), and thus cannot benefit from copyright protection. In other words, fragrance is too subjective to be clearly defined.

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