After The Race, originally uploaded by Ronaldo F Cabuhat.

My challenge with Aveda’s scent is experiencing them beyond the spa. Most of the fragrances, as lovely as they are, fail to remind me anything else than a visit to their calmly hair salons. As much as I value their customer service, I rarely need a perfume that reminds me of that. Don’t you agree?

The “Personal Blends” line was created for personalizing their unscented line of haircare and body products. I’ve been a long-time devotee of their unscented shampoo and at one time was tempted to go through the 12-piece array of scents. Out of curiousity and without any intention of adding them to the shampoo (I like most of my body and haircare products to be unscented), I gravitated especially to both of their blends titled Key Element Fire (no. 3 and no. 20). Both stood out as more interesting perfumes that evoke something beyond the aromatherapeutic spa experience at the salon.

Key Element Fire No. 3 is indeed fiery and spicy. It opens with a slightly grassy note, quickly developing into a warm, sensual mélange of flowers and spices: jasmine, rose, ylang ylang, cinnamon and cloves. The base is a little musky and woody, with vetiver as the dominant note but also a balsamic vanilla base that makes it delicious. I’ve been wearing it a lot this summer, and although it reads like a spicy oriental it is perfect in heat. I enjoy it in the oil base (what is called “Pure Fume Absolute) but you can also get it in an alcohol base in a little purse-size spray bottle. I like the quietness of the oil base for this one, and how it stays close to the skin, which makes it feel more personal to me. It is sensual, grounding, balanced and delicious all at once.