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

Andy dreams of finding a fragrance that smells of jasmine tea.  

In concept, L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Thé pour un Été sounds like the perfect perfume for a tea lover like myself. Created in 1995 by Olivia Giacobetti, Thé pour un Été is meant to evoke the experience of sipping an icy glass of jasmine tea on a hot day. Unfortunately, my experience of repeatedly trying this perfume has felt more like sweating it out in the sun, still waiting for that glass of iced tea to come my way.

Soon after applying Thé pour un Été though, I am quickly reminded of its more interesting older cousin, Bulgari’s Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert. Where Thé Vert seems fresh and original, I don’t find nearly as much creativity in Thé pour un Été, which embellishes a familiar green tea accord with citrus, gauzy jasmine, and crisp herbs.

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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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Elisa plays Scheherazade with her 10 favorite oriental perfumes.

Come winter, you will find me in orientals almost exclusively. An oriental is a fragrance with an emphasis on amber, that fantasy accord of resins and vanilla, often accented with spices, woods, soft florals, or candy-like gourmand notes. Both the phrase and the fragrances remind me of an oriental rug: dark and rich, ornate, intricately patterned, dense but soft.

Orientals tend to be heavy with long-lasting base notes, so they’re perfect in winter, when you want a scent to envelop you all day with comforting sweetness and warmth. Here are my ten favorite oriental perfumes that get me through the cold, dark days of winter.

Flower by Kenzo

The name suggests “floral,” but under the violet and rose lurks this perfume’s true character: a powdery vanilla musk with opoponax that feels plush and white, and seems to sparkle especially when it snows.

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