New book
Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:42 pm
Michael Alden's kind remarks about my first book, in the area of men's dress, inspired the thought, now being brought to fruition, that there might be room for another book on men's grooming and accessories. Here is a short excerpt, from the next book, in relation to colognes and scents:
'Notes'
The science of perfumery is, because of the tiny amounts of the ingredients used, arguably much more exact than the science of wine, although the jargon used in that is bad enough. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that the production of both perfume and wine can bring profound satisfaction to the human mind and they both depend entirely on a perfect expression of chemical science and art. You might hear perfumers and the cognoscenti talking about 'top notes', 'middle' or 'heart notes' and 'base notes' and, blinded by science, wonder what they mean. It is straightforward in principle: 'top notes' are the most voluble, first scents to strike the senses in a perfume, as it 'develops' on, and evaporates off, the skin. Many good scents (especially complex scents) take many minutes to 'develop' after application. Of course, all applied scents continue to change until they fade away. The 'middle' or the 'heart notes' are the centre of the fragrance, making it essentially, say, an oriental, a citrus, leather, chypre or woody scent (these terms are explained later). The 'base' notes derive from the fixatives used, such as: oakmoss, patchouli, various wood essences, musk, tonka beans, ambergris and vanilla and these reinforce the heart notes. There are also some modern, 'linear' scents that don't have these 'notes', or layers, but just comprise a single fragrance.
Triggers
So far as individuals are concerned, it is well-known that scents trigger memories of: places, people, seasons, events and stir our feelings and conjure up atmospheres: the aromas of: rain on fresh asphalt; new-mown hay; cut grass; warm horse leather; English spring mornings and -
"Daffodils that come before the swallow dares,
And take the winds of March with beauty"…
English autumn leaves and garden bonfires; old colouring pencils in a pencil box; brown paper; excellent cigars; Turkish cigarettes; aromatic pipe tobacco; roasted coffee; ice cream; garden roses and jasmine; old tweed clothes; the smell of cordite from a first good shot in the crisp morning air; the summer sun on sea sand; the smell of burning coal and wood fires - are all strong, clear, first memories from childhood and youth; of things as important to us and as immutable as anything that we have or know; the strong smells of first experience and that is, maybe, why we like perfumes that bring these memories back to us, stir our feelings and conjure up these atmospheres: these are our scents of security.
Types
The major, traditional categorizations of scents are into olfactive families or accords: the Amber-Oriental family has an earthy, ambergris, spice and vanilla aroma and is warm, intense and heady; Citrus-Hesperidia is fresh and contains, predominantly, citrus and fruit oils, especially bergamot, bitter orange and lime; Leather-Tobacco scents include tobacco, honey and wood tars; Chypre (French for Cyprus) might comprise such ingredients as sage, lavender, oakmoss, patchouli, labdanum, bergamot, sandalwood, jasmine, rose and resins and Woody-Fougère (fern) includes sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, lavender, coumarin and oakmoss. There are sub-divisions of all these families but it is beyond the reach of this book to go into those. The main men's fragrances are Citrus-Hesperidia; Leather-Tobacco and Woody-Fougère. We might note along the way that there are also more modern scents known as 'Green', including the scents of tomato leaves and cut grass. Recommended reading for more depth in this whole subject is the fascinating Royal Society of Chemistry's publication The Chemistry of Fragrances.
Major components
There are many staple favourites in the perfumer's workshop-laboratory. Below are a few of the traditional types; a few of these are now synthesised, owing to legal bans on the use of the natural product. Some vehicles render more than one aromatic product; for example, bitter orange renders neroli from the fruit and petit grain from the leaves and twigs and different methods of extraction also result in different products:
And so on...
NJS
'Notes'
The science of perfumery is, because of the tiny amounts of the ingredients used, arguably much more exact than the science of wine, although the jargon used in that is bad enough. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that the production of both perfume and wine can bring profound satisfaction to the human mind and they both depend entirely on a perfect expression of chemical science and art. You might hear perfumers and the cognoscenti talking about 'top notes', 'middle' or 'heart notes' and 'base notes' and, blinded by science, wonder what they mean. It is straightforward in principle: 'top notes' are the most voluble, first scents to strike the senses in a perfume, as it 'develops' on, and evaporates off, the skin. Many good scents (especially complex scents) take many minutes to 'develop' after application. Of course, all applied scents continue to change until they fade away. The 'middle' or the 'heart notes' are the centre of the fragrance, making it essentially, say, an oriental, a citrus, leather, chypre or woody scent (these terms are explained later). The 'base' notes derive from the fixatives used, such as: oakmoss, patchouli, various wood essences, musk, tonka beans, ambergris and vanilla and these reinforce the heart notes. There are also some modern, 'linear' scents that don't have these 'notes', or layers, but just comprise a single fragrance.
Triggers
So far as individuals are concerned, it is well-known that scents trigger memories of: places, people, seasons, events and stir our feelings and conjure up atmospheres: the aromas of: rain on fresh asphalt; new-mown hay; cut grass; warm horse leather; English spring mornings and -
"Daffodils that come before the swallow dares,
And take the winds of March with beauty"…
English autumn leaves and garden bonfires; old colouring pencils in a pencil box; brown paper; excellent cigars; Turkish cigarettes; aromatic pipe tobacco; roasted coffee; ice cream; garden roses and jasmine; old tweed clothes; the smell of cordite from a first good shot in the crisp morning air; the summer sun on sea sand; the smell of burning coal and wood fires - are all strong, clear, first memories from childhood and youth; of things as important to us and as immutable as anything that we have or know; the strong smells of first experience and that is, maybe, why we like perfumes that bring these memories back to us, stir our feelings and conjure up these atmospheres: these are our scents of security.
Types
The major, traditional categorizations of scents are into olfactive families or accords: the Amber-Oriental family has an earthy, ambergris, spice and vanilla aroma and is warm, intense and heady; Citrus-Hesperidia is fresh and contains, predominantly, citrus and fruit oils, especially bergamot, bitter orange and lime; Leather-Tobacco scents include tobacco, honey and wood tars; Chypre (French for Cyprus) might comprise such ingredients as sage, lavender, oakmoss, patchouli, labdanum, bergamot, sandalwood, jasmine, rose and resins and Woody-Fougère (fern) includes sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, lavender, coumarin and oakmoss. There are sub-divisions of all these families but it is beyond the reach of this book to go into those. The main men's fragrances are Citrus-Hesperidia; Leather-Tobacco and Woody-Fougère. We might note along the way that there are also more modern scents known as 'Green', including the scents of tomato leaves and cut grass. Recommended reading for more depth in this whole subject is the fascinating Royal Society of Chemistry's publication The Chemistry of Fragrances.
Major components
There are many staple favourites in the perfumer's workshop-laboratory. Below are a few of the traditional types; a few of these are now synthesised, owing to legal bans on the use of the natural product. Some vehicles render more than one aromatic product; for example, bitter orange renders neroli from the fruit and petit grain from the leaves and twigs and different methods of extraction also result in different products:
And so on...
NJS
So, do we have a date yet?
), time seems to pass ever faster and January is not that far off. Moreover, living in Latin America may not increase one's patience but it does induce a sense of resignation to a certain amount of delay! I have always been struck by a favourite dictum of an elderly Hindu that I used to know: "Life is about resignation, my friend" and, although I was reluctant, in my youth, to believe the truth of this, more and more I can see that resignation and surrender, while trying our very best in the teeth of all that seems to oppose us, is the only way through. After all "man appoints and God disappoints", so until the book is actually distributed, I should be cautious in promising its arrival in January, or even at all!
I am an admirer of those rare fragrances that manage to carry a good amount of fresh and ethereal top notes all the way through to the base notes.
--ooo000OOO
