Zurich, January 27, 2011
Dear Mandy,
This year is still young and yet, almost one month is already over. Isn’t it interesting to witness how fast we get used to what seemed new and exciting only a short while ago? This exchange by letters with you has become a welcome addition to my weeks spent working and thinking on scents and beyond. It feels like we’ve been doing this for years.
In today’s letter, I announce my shipment of a sample to you (and Nathan): my take on the Fire Tree centered composition. You will soon find it in your letter box. It is a 1.5 ml sample in my standard sample spray vials that I use to ship samples to clients, too.
It has matured for a while now and it is ready for sharing.
You will see that it is, how shall I put it, remarkably “vintage”, and hence quite unique. I figured that it’s time to share the scent and then start talking about why I did what I did in its composition once you’ve had an opportunity to smell it.
Vintage Coty Chypre bottle: image by Andy Tauer
Thus, I send you here just a few initial remarks. When I started working with the fire tree essential oil, I realized that the leathery, dark and dirty undertones demanded a contrapunto. The fire tree essential oil’s top notes are so leathery and dark that it needs a strong partner to brighten the fragrance. I picked neroli in a “cologne like” citrus accord for this.
And I associated: I remembered what makes a chypre so special. The chypre chord gets its brilliance and its life from a clever balance between a fresh green (Bergamot and flowers) and a dirty, rich brown line (Patchouli, Oakmoss, Labdanum). Of course, modern chypres do not use oakmoss in the same concentration as Mr. Coty did (unfortunately!).
In a sense, in my take on the fire tree centric fragrance, you find the classical, vintage, chypre basic chord without oakmoss: the fire tree essential oil replaces the oakmoss therein and adds a leathery, flowery, woody line.
I will go into more details later, but I would like to tease you and our readers with a few ingredients: a cologne accord with bergamot, lemon and neroli brightens the fragrance’s initial development, adds a gentleman toilet water aspect, and leads over to a green geranium and ylang, supported by rose absolue, with a soft Sambac Jasmine balancing over a flowery woody base where fire tree plays the central role, supported by labdanum and cistus, patchouli, vetiver, tonka and vanilla.
The composition lives by contrasts that build up and resolve again. Concentrated at 10%, it’s amazingly intense and quite unisex. I have waited for a while before daring to send you my take on the fire tree. I hope you will like it.
I send you a fragrant hug, as always with my best wishes.
Yours,
Andy
***************************************************************************************************
Berkeley, January 29, 2011
Dearest Andy,
After the rush of the holidays, I was eager to get back to the work we’re doing together. The still quality of reflection and clarity about the creative process of making perfume has kindled a deep longing to work on a long and delicious writing project. I’m struck by how far away words feel from the experience of smelling and creating with these voluptuous essences, and I remember falling deeply into the process of writing about aromatics and scent when working on Essence and Alchemy.
I have dropped all ideas of creating a leather perfume based on the fire tree oil. I tried, but all of the perfumed arrows I shot in the direction of leather fell to the ground a lot closer to me than to their intended target. I’d started out with that destination in mind, but my creative process turns out not to work that way very often. It’s more likely to follow a path that makes inherent sense to me creatively, a path laid more by listening to the essences and their various facets than by slotting a raw material into an already established form.
Upon completion (after I emerge from my creative trance), the final perfume can then be categorized – “chypre”, “soliflore”, etc.
Fire Tree variations: changing a few drops can have a dramatic effect on color — image by Aftelier
I have an aromatically complex cannabis essential oil that I wanted to try with the fire tree. Cannabis has the woody, slightly bitter resinous smell of a marijuana bud, and I loved the idea of using them together in a perfume. I made seven variations on this theme, bridging the distance between the cannabis (a top note) and the fire tree (a base note). My first thought for the top was to include a mélange of citrus notes, much like your thinking. I tried working these in as a tart opening to contrast with the heaviness of the fire tree: the very suave slightly floral bitter orange, the very round and sweet Mexican lime, and a luscious pink grapefruit.
In the base, I wanted to pair the fire tree with my tobacco absolute, which is very musky and sweet. I knew they would lock together, but that I could “feather” the edges of the fire tree with the tobacco to make it muskier. Beyond this pair in the base, I was torn between some versions with the very fruity and light green cognac and other versions where I tempered the fire tree with the wonderfully powdery, caramel tonka bean.
For the middle, I knew I wanted to use jasmine grandiflorum – I felt that it would fit as a smooth and complex floral at the heart of the perfume. Then I added some warmth and sweetness with pimento berry; its other name “allspice” is very apt because it smells like all the sweet spices (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon) rolled into one without smelling like any in particular — a beautiful modifier for florals. The surprise in the middle for me was when I included some honeysuckle absolute, meshing beautifully with the jasmine and highlighted by the pimento berry.
The result is that I am sending you and Nathan two samples: version 6 and version 7. In version 7, much as I love the cannabis, I was intrigued to find out what would happen if I used black pepper instead. I find it a wonderful essence that functions in perfume much as it does in food, almost disappearing as it brings the other essences into focus and improves the whole.
Chinese medicine flasks with samples of variations #6 & #7 — image by Aftelier
I am looking forward to reading both yours and Nathan’s reactions to the two samples that are on their way to you. I hope they arrive safely; I sent them in these antique, hand-blown Chinese medicine flasks that I found in an antique store and kept for special occasions. I emptied them of their curious herbal remedies shaped into little silver metallic balls. I’m enchanted by the image of Saturn on the label, having of course no idea why it’s there.
Warmly,
Mandy
***This is a continuation of a series. You can find more letters between Mandy and Andy at the following links:
#1): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 1)
#2): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 2)
#3): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 3)
#4): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 4)
#5): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 5)
#6): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 6)
#7): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 7)
#8): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. #8)
#9): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 9)
#11): Letters to a Fellow Perfumer (ep. 11)
{ 3 trackbacks }