Perfume is Pleasure

“Are you teaching this morning?” I asked my husband, a sometimes Sunday school teacher,  when I heard the alarm clock. “Yes, and I really should have asked you to help me with this one.” Turns out, the book of Esther was up, and interactive scent exercises were part of the lesson plan. I scrambled about for frankincense and a variety of essentials. What would Esther do?

You know the story. Nice Jewish girl saves her people from persecution with good perfume. Highlights of this scriptural tale of redemption: “Before a girl’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics…and this is how she would go to the king…In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem…She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name…Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.”

The instructional catch was sketchy, but adequate justification for our guessing games with incense, fruity woody and floral scents on paper blotters. As it happens, nowhere in the Biblical account does the name of Yahweh explicitly appear but we know he is there, working behind the scenes. By the same token (play along here), all of our scent strips looked identical, but we know they are scented, and clearly unique. God and curriculum designers work in mysterious ways!

I’ve been trying to spit that out for over a year. This week as we sat around The Connecticut Forum, thinking of ways to juice-up Food for Thought, Sandy told us what just happened to food. Read what Mary Eberstadt has to say, or Prudes at Dinner, Gluttons in Bed, by George F. Will. This clears the way for my news.

Perfume culture isn’t just for those who spend their free time debating the virtues of Mysore sandalwood over the Austrailian variety. It is also for the 12 year old from North Carolina who wrote this to me:

“Dear Laura Donna,
My name is Christa. I live in North Carolina. In my science class we are doing a year long project. I chose my subject on perfumery. I know there aren’t really any one or two sentence answers to my questions but i was wondering… how does perfume have different fragrances? what are some main things mixed into it? Any information would really help. You don’t necessarily have to answer those specific questions. Thank You for taking your time into reading this… Christa”

It is also for the woman I called when a workshop was snowed out - you never know what burning questions a student might have. Her husband, when they courted, had warned her off “that smelly stuff you spray on,” and she abstained for 50 years. Now, in his honor, she wanted to know: “Do they make perfume in a lotion or cream?”

Avery Gilbert put it to me this way: It is time to bridge the gap between “perfume island and the rest of smell world.” Stay tuned for perfume edutainment! Start by thinking about all the good things you’ve smelled today, or plan to.

If you are still catching up on food, contact Sandy or any of my friends at the Forum for your tickets to hear Alice Waters, Duff Goldman and Anthony Bourdain with local Connecticut hero/radio personality/author/four-time Forum moderator Colin McEnroe.

What a riot! Just when we were supposed to fade from a long day of lectures, out comes the exuberant Jeanine Recckio, founder of Mirror Mirror Imagination Group. She’s a double espresso, the world’s only beauty futurologist. Jeanine brought us Jessica Simpson’s lick-able scents based on her work in the porn industry. That’s Recckio’s work, not Simpsons’. And by work, I mean…oh dear! Hope you are OK with all of this. Too late to leave the room and no time for seatbelt fastening.

Virtual air, augmented reality, clouds, non-moments, fresh air for sale in fragrance-free zones. Bubble-ologists. Anti-aging flavors. Time-release fragrance injected under the skin and programmed for future delivery. Emotional engineering, sexology, digital pheromones, heterosexual and homosexual fragrances now in clinical trial. Scents to extend the benefits of a three-hour nap so you get the eight-hours of rest you wanted. Living, breathing and scented wall-space. Fragranced germ warfare. Fabrics with ceramic polyesters to generate emotion while regulating sweat. iPod scent play lists. Endorphin-branding.

We all knew the developments mentioned above were on their way before attending Fragrance Business 2008, didn’t we? Oh wait, Jeanine corrects us, we are not talking futures; many of these unbelievable technologies are already in use. Tell us more, Jeanine. A guest post on Perfume is Pleasure?

Because Raffaele Ruberto’s products and skin care advice have taken at least a decade off my looks? Maybe on account of the bio-active organic ingredients so richly concentrated that high-end celebrity skin care types want to buy him out, dilute the formulas and Still make money? No. Because he sources organically and generously donates profits to reforestation and other environmental efforts? Try again. Do we care because mod.skin products deliver premium results at prices you would never expect? True, but not the answer I was looking for. Tired of guessing why mod.skin products are news here at Perfume is Pleasure?

Because they smell good, silly!

I love the Samurai Scrub. Forget the complexion enlivening enzymatic effects, turbo charged by spherical jojoba beads that do not micro-gouge your face like other harsh abrasives. Focus simply on the transporting essence of geranium, long known to aromatherapists for its anti-depressant effects. Geranium is a soothing gift to our nerves and emotions.

Another favorite is the Alchemist’s Mask. Yes, I watched a woman complaining of roseacea transformed from ruddy to sallow by her facial with the mask. Though becoming “sallow” is not a big sell for olive-skinned types, is comes as great news for the unwillingly pink. What I love most about the mask is being transported to the great outdoors. Linden, birch, lavender, rose hips, chamomile, wheat grass. When the mask is activated and applied, you are in a sunny field of wheat. Richly vegetal, earthy and clean, nutritious. You know it is good skin nutrition by the smell.

While the Daily Re-Vital Cleanser (a cedar, lavender, white grape and chamomile treat), Samurai Scrub and Alchemist’s Mask deliberately create spa experiences with their scent. The mod.skin moisturizer and face and eye serums are very low-key in the fragrance department but not on functional benefits. Mod.skin founder and developer Raffaele Ruberto is too mod.est (so I should leave the puns to my father-in-law?) to advertise the serums as an instant face-lift in a jar - but just listen to his clients rave. Models hip to the serums would not think of doing a photo shoot without first sculpting the look. Mod.skin adds no scent for its own sake - you just get the glorious smell of natural ingredients chosen for their skin treatment benefits. My olfactory delight is an accidental by-product!

The only thing I love better than smelling perfume is talking about perfume!

As a professional fragrance educator and coach in a world that says: “You’re a what?!” I must infuse cyberspace with my presence. The mission: Paint my solution to the big problem - Consumers Lack The Language of Scent - on the canvas of the Internet. Normally, I would contain myself to perfume, home fragrance, scent marketing and the like.

Social networking (code for online marketing, but in a friendly, personal way) is new to me, but my future depends on it, I am told. In a prior corporate incarnation, I looked with disdain on “reply to all” and other mass broadcasts of information that could and should have been delivered discreetly from one individual to another.

Now, compelled by the advice of people who know, as well as by the gut sense that I can no more successfully resist this than I did voicemail, I am nominally “on” Linked-in and Facebook, but not yet “up” on either.

For the record, I’ll twitter over my own dead body. Maybe I take myself too seriously. “What are you doing now?” they ask me. A fabulous woman and new Facebook friend reports that she just had oatmeal for breakfast and I cheer. High fiber. Filling. Great protein in a carbohydrate. Astounding cholesterol-lowering properties. I write a private e-mail to commend her and offer my exhortations to carry on in her pursuit of a healthy diet. Would no sooner post this on her Facebook wall than report my plans to head for the bathroom. That was a week ago. Today another new Facebook friend and respected real friend announced to the world that she was off to make a batch of granola. What a coincidence. I, too, made granola today! But is it news? Two oatmeal posts in a week? This seem to be a thing.

I am having a change of heart. Oatmeal is important.

But Oatmeal’s importance is as a grain of sand on the beach when compared to that of coffee. Perfume is pleasure and coffee is the best smell in the world. Some of you have heard me profess oakmoss to be my very favorite smell, maybe even on TV.  Either I’m lying or I have more than one very favorite smell. Please comment on your very favorite smell(s).

Bois de Jasmin, great perfume blog, lists Givenchy Very Irresistible for Men as a fragrance with a coffee note, well, mocha, actually, but don’t hold a little chocolate against them.

What bride does not want to smell wonderful on her wedding day? Artfully selected fragrance is a great way to start a new life and to share something personal with bridesmaids and wedding guests. Brides at the Grace Ormonde Grand Bridal Show loved the choice of fragrance matchmaking services for ready to wear scents, perfume parties and exquisite custom scents designed note by note, just for them. All-natural options, of course! Environmental scenting is another way to personalize a festive event - I scented the Grand Bridal Show with green tea and lemongrass.  See lauradonna.com on Grace Ormonde’s site for 2009 Platinum Vendors.

Official Grace Ormonde Grand Bridal Show photographer, the talented Matthew J. Wagner,  shared this photo with me.

Not an aphrodisiac? My stuffing? I beg your pardon! There is nothing that makes me want to rush off to the bedroom (to sleep) like four or five servings of my beloved stuffing. I personally opt out of dried cranberries, walnuts and other items fine in the context of fruitcake. Of course I respect the creativity of those who improvise, and will certainly eat! My own blend: A few bags of unseasoned bread cubes are the vehicle for about 250 times their weight in onions, celery and only slightly frostbitten sage and rosemary, some thyme, lots of black pepper, drippings, salt and schmaltz (this is chicken fat, no offense to you turkeys).

There once was a woman from Granby
Who knew just how good stuffing can be
When jasmine and rose
Became dull for her nose

uh, oh… Help!

She chopped onions, then more
‘Till tears flowed out the door
Then said: _________________________

Please finish the limerick with your comments.

(click “one response” below for the valiant rescue - all blogs should have such friends)

I remember when it was enough to do sheetrock, add paint, furniture, rugs and drapes. At that point, you considered your building to be fully dressed. I also remember typewriters and telephones that didn’t take messages for you. Come to think of it, I remember when you couldn’t type any old string of words into Google and…

But I stray from the topic of indecent exposure in public spaces. This isn’t about naked people, it’s about naked spaces. Go downtown, to your favorite resort, casino or theme park and smell the chocolate or fresh laundry. So you thought it came from the merchandise or the goodies grandma was cooking in the back? Uhn, uhn.

Avery Gilbert, psychologist, smell scientist and entrepreneur devotes the Zombies at the Mall chapter of his new book, What the Nose Knows - The Science of Scent in Everyday Life to this issue: “Nasal persuasion is happening everywhere.” MGM Grand in Las Vegas has up to nine scents going around the property all at once. At its own peril, Starbucks switched from fresh-ground to vacuum-sealed coffee. Something was missing from the consumer experience and sales slumped. Another Classic Coke story - Starbucks reversed course.

Marketers know that smells are a direct route to emotional connection with consumers. But is it true that all good smells will promote commerce? Gilbert explains “the congruency problem.” Female students purchased more satin sleepwear in a lily of the valley scented experimental setting than they did when a sea mist spray was deployed. We want to connect what we see with what we smell. Scent must convey meaning related to the product or service for sale. The success of scent campaigns to encourage people to stay in a store longer, perceive the goods as trendier, or try a new product, according to Gilbert, depends on style, taste and culture. He comments that “marketers need a Nielsen rating for the nostrils.”

What The Nose Knows is chock-full of cultural, psychological, and smell-ogical insights conveyed in zesty, flowing prose. Avery Gilbert’s style is erudite yet warm and friendly as your favorite uncle. Enjoy a great read extending far beyond the topic of this post!

Other good books dealing in scent marketing are: Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age, by C. Russell Brumfield and Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands Through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound by Martin Lindstrom. Raise your hand if you remember The Hidden Persuaders, by Vance Packard.

Oh, you want to know the notes? In her address to Fragrance Business, 2008, Sue Phillips, President of Scenterprises, Ltd. reported that hotels, casinos and retailers are using these notes and blends to delight their patrons and brand the experience: linden, green tea, geranium and cedar, ginger and white tea, bergamot and jasmine, lavender and sage, and hyacinth.

Sue suggests that businesses consider building materials, archictecture, colors and geography when considering a scent theme. Most importantly, she adds, the target customer mood must drive fragrance development.