Continuing to reflect on scent leads to an exploration of what I have encountered and then, to actively seeking information and inspiration through books and film.
It’s always a joy to encounter a flower stand. I love to lean in and inhale the scent of individual flowers and the medley of scents in a bouquet. As I think back I realize I have made it a point to visit any and every flower shop I passed. The smell of all the fresh flowers gives me great joy. Sometimes I buy a few flowers wrapped in paper and take them home to photograph them and later, to paint images of them.
Even when visiting an historic site, I will spend as much or more time out in the garden taking photographs of the flowers and plants.
While exploring Fountainebleau we visited the Napoleon Museum inside and snapped a photo of Napoleon’s camp toiletry kit, including cases which may have held cologne. Napoleon was reported to be a fanatic about personal hygiene and is said to have used cologne liberally after bathing, even following a battle. The French National Archives contains an invoice to Napoleon dated October, 1808 for 72 bottles of cologne.
The San Antonio Museum of Art has one of most extensive collections of ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian art and cultural artifacts in the Southern United States. I love to go there and peer into the glass cabinets looking at the ancient jewels and personal implements. The first photograph is of glass and clay perfume or oil bottles from the 3rd century BC. The second photo depicts an Egyptian gray stone bowl and covered jars which would have contained perfume and kohl eye liner. It is absolutely amazing to see evidence of a fascination and appreciation of scent dating from centuries ago!
Further exploration takes us to the streets of Florence, Italy early in the morning before the vendors have unwrapped their carts.
Imagine our excitement to see the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, the world’s oldest apothecary. The apothecary was established in the 13th century inside a church transformed into a monastery. Many of the formulas from long ago are still used today. In addition to toothpaste and shaving cream, there are more than 40 different fragrances produced.
The carvings beside the doorway of flowers and what looks to me like lemons or limes provides a visual preview of the scents inside.
The window display is perfect, including the Italian jars on the top shelves.
All of this exploration of scent leads me to look for films on the topic!
There aren’t too many films about perfumes, but this one is absolutely wonderful. Les parfumes or Perfumes takes us inside the life of a master perfumer who is now only hired by companies who want her to create a scent to cover up an unpleasant smell. She hires a driver to take her to a meeting with a potential client and their relationship begins. I especially enjoyed the scenes where she is using paper strips and various oils to help her create a scent. She travels with a compartmentalized case containing the bottles of essences. Through the film we begin to understand the life of someone whose nose, or sense of smell is their greatest creative and professional asset.
Watching Les parfumes whet my curiosity and my husband discovered we could watch on Amazon online a documentary film by Clemente Beauvais and Arthur De Kersauson titled Nose; The Most Secret Job in the World . The filmmakers traveled with Francois Demachy, Dior’s perfumer for two years as he traveled the world visiting the producers of the raw materials he needs to create his perfumes. Throughout the film we see his determination to use only the best ingredients and to develop lasting relationships with those who produce the raw materials. A very special part of the movie depicts his growing professional relationship and support of the young organic flower growers in Grasse. I admired the courage and confidence of one particular woman who had what was a small rose farm and convinced him she could increase her production to supply him with the best roses for his perfumes. I will never forget the image of her in the field with her fellow growers, all wearing cloth aprons with pouches in the front; gathering robust, floribunda roses and stuffing them gently into their aprons. I hope, one day to visit Grasse, France and see the fields where the flower bases for perfumes are grown and processed. Then on to Kannauj, India, a center of perfumery in India for thousands of years.
In the morning my husband and I like to sit in the wing chairs in our bedroom and have coffee together before we work out. This is another post, but suffice it to say we like to stretch, lift some light weights, and use the rowing machine or go on a slow jog through the hills. While having coffee I like to read blogs and online magazines. I am inspired by what others are doing and often get new ideas as I read. I keep a record of what I notice in a journal kept in a basket beside my chair.
One morning on Veranda.com I saw an article titled, “Perfumer-Inspired Fragrant Floral Arrangements”. The photographs of the arrangements reminded me of Dutch still life. The interview introduced me to a perfumer named Mandy Aftel, who lives and works in Berkely, California. I was intrigued by a quote from her book Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent in which she wrote about the way certain smells conjure memories for us.
Wanting to know more, I ordered a copy of the book and began reading. Mandy Aftel includes fascinating details about the history of perfume. My favorite is the story of Egyptan women who had cones of scented wax on their heads when they entertained. As the day grew warmer, the scented liquid ran down their faces and onto their bodies. She devotes several chapters to key scents and includes recipes for making oil and alcohol based liquid perfumes as well as solid perfumes. I particularly liked her description of solid perfumes which are the consistency of lipstick and contain beeswax. Wanting to learn more from her, I ordered a second of her works,
Scents and Sensibilities: Creating Solid Perfumes for Well Being.
These two books are now at the heart of a new creative interest for me. More about this in future posts!
