Sous le Vent literally means "under the wind", and refers to Îles Sous-le-vent - aka Society Islands or Leeward Islands in French Polynesia. While the agriculture of the island mostly consists of coconuts and vanilla beans; the perfume brings a whiff of cinnamon wind - that I would imagine would come off the Spice Islands combined with a good whiff of good old island of Cyprus - complete with the garrigue scent of Mediterranean hills covered in warm rockrose bushes.

Sous le Vent was created in 1933, and is an angular and rather masculine Chypre. First off, you will smell aromatic notes of lavender and juniper berry. There is some citrusy notes - lemon and also a strong presence of geraniol - could there be geranium in there? The labdanum comes through right away: warm, round, enveloping in contrast to these brisk sharp notes. Rose blooms on the skin, accompanied by the spiciness of cinnamon and carnatnion, and luscious, fruity jasmine which adds space and and a sense of expansion. Like most Guerlain's scents, there is also a hint of iris notes here - but there is no melancholy to speak of: it's more of a sweet, rounded addition reminiscent of violets more than the austere root, as it is paired with the quirky little dragon - tarragon. The flowers and spices together make it smell like suede leather and apricot skin.

There is a recognizable dose of coumarin in there too - perhaps from the classic guerlinade accord (tonka, iris, vanilla); but also from the lavender. The coumarin in conjuction with the lavender gives it a masculine, fougere-like quality. As Sous le Vent dries down, it leaves behind it a rather dry, almost bitter trail of woods and moss - green oakmoss, in a very sheer presence that is due to the removal of atranol (all recent oakmoss absolutes are treated that way - which makes it impossible to have that full-bodied, nearly ambery wine-barrel personality that oakmoss used to have.

Sous le Vent is very natural smelling - so much so that I was shocked when I smelled it at first because it reminded me of Democracy - almost to a T. Although it is very likely to have been altered or reformulated when it was re-introduced several years ago as a boutique exclusive; it has a very sheer, modern feel that was ahead of its time (1933) - one might arguably think the nose behind it is a later perfumer - Edmond Roudnitska - whose signature was that expansive, sheer, light quality all the while maintaining a high level of sophistication and complexity - as opposed to Guerlain's multi-layered baroque style.

I purchased my bottle at the Guerlain boutique on Champs Elysees, and to my dismay, I found out the bottle completely cracked on the flight home - but discovered just in time to transfer all the precious jus to a Boston round lab bottle (not nearly as pretty...) so I still have 100ml of it to enjoy for years to come (and share from time to time...). The box mentioned something about it being inspired by Josephine Baker (also the muse for Bois des Iles). Definitely a departure from today's "celebrity scents": it seems to bring forth more of her inner self; rather than the exotic fantasy image around her professional persona. Very fascinating, especially considering how masculine it smells. I can definitely imagine her as being a true free spirit, that could not care less if her scent is perceived as belonging to a different gender. It smells fantastic, and that's all that matters!

Top notes: Juniper, Lemon, Bergamot, Tarragon, Lavender

Heart notes: Rose, Geranium, Jasmine, Orris Root, Carnation, Cinnamon

Base notes: Labdanum, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Tonka Bean

The past few week were consumed entirely by big projects such as the week long Chypre course (September 19-23) at the studio (and a few other events and projects about which I will tell you in my next posts). I like to start my week with a nature walk, so that students have a direct connection to plants, their aroma, and the many inspirations that come from the rich and beautiful natural world and how they impact all the senses - visual, tactile, olfactory and even the sounds of nature are a strong part of my creative process and I like to pass that passion on to them. Besides, it's always been the students' favourite part of my classes - going out to nature and seeking inspiration, using the techniques they learned int he lab to find, assess, evaluate and analyze scents in real life.

We walked down Robson street towards Stanley Park, where we stumbled upon a rockrose bush, and noticed the smell of it, reminiscent of the cistus oil and labdanum absolutes we encountered in the class (it's probably a different species though, and not as fragrant as the ones growing in the Mediterranean region...).


When we arrived at the Rose Garden in Stanley Park, we were surprised by the beautiful pairing of purplse shiso and heliotrope flowers next to each other. Both are visually appealing with their purples and deep red, and have amazing smells: purple shiso smells practically like a perfume all of its own - very fragrant, floral more than herbaceous, and with a very fruity-aldehydic top notes. Heliotrope smells like piperonal (heliotropin) - which most of us associate with either marzipan or playdoh!





Then, with our noses up in the air, we proceeded to the South Creek trail in Stanley Park (which connects the Rose Garden to Beaver Lake, amidst the rain forest) - in search for the naturally-occuring sweet Chypre smell of forest undergrowth in fall... Its' a challenge to find that scent in the air, and even more so to pin point its source, but it is there, awaiting those who listen with their noses. It was an exercise in focus, refreshing our olfactory bulb, being open to new and unfamiliar smells in a rather moist and cold environment (aka: not ideal for discerning smells too readily). At some point, we had to close our eyes and go through the path to find that sweet smell of fallen fir needles, red cedar, moss, lichen and rainforest floor...




Our first session in the lab was dedicated to trying to make Oyselets d e Chypre. I searched in vein for an authentic formula or recipe, so I thought I'll use the opportunity to teach my students how to try to make their own experiments based on the recipe I had for incense cones, but using a different gum to bind them (Gum Arabic, rather than the very costly Makko powder - as we had no intention of using these for incense burning, but rather as sculpted potpourri).
We all ended up with sticky hands, fragrant with sage, cassia and labdanum... And with results that were even stickier and had to be left alone to dry for at least a week. Once the water evaporated, these ended up smelling very Chypre-like, in a most authentic meaning of the word - smelling of labdanum and Mediterranean herbs. Warm and lovely.


In the next lab session was dedicated to creating a chypre accord solid perfume. And in the last two days we created chypres in alcohol base, first from a given formula, and than manipulating it into different sub categories from the Chypre families inspired by the forest walk (i.e.: a coniferous chypre or green chypre) or by classic perfumes that the students analyzed in class (i.e.: a fruity chypre inspired by Femme, woody chypre like Mitsouko, etc. ).




Throughout the week, students were given lectures about the history of Chypres, learned about the many subcategories of the Chypre fragrance families with examples both from classic perfumes as well as all-natural perfumes from Ayala Moriel's line to demonstrate how this family can be represented using only natural fragrances. And every morning began with blind-scent-ID-games and studying the raw materials (olfaction and characteristics of each note and a bit of history of the plant as well as the main chemical constituents).



The next intensive week in Ayala Moriel's Foundation of Natural Perfumery course will take place in January 16-20, 2012, and will focus on the Fougere fragrance family. We have limited number of spaces for new students, who will be required to send in a CV with a coverletter to get accepted to the program, as well as enroll in the Perfumery Lab 101 a 2 day lab prep course prior to that week - scheduled for January 11 & 12th (9:00am-3:30pm) and January 13th (9:00am-1:00pm). To apply please email your CV and cover letter to ayala (at) ayalamoriel.com.

This is an article in progress, as I attempt to create a timeline for the Chypre fragrance family. Please add comments if you have information (dates, noses) for some of these perfumes or are aware of other perfumes that I missed here...

Chypre perfumes originated in the island of Cyprus, and were based on labdanum as the most significant and characteristic ingredient. The island is where the remnants of the most ancient perfume factory was found, where local plants such as labdanum, bay laurel, anise, coriander, sage, pine, parsley, almond, bergamot and others were infused into olive oil and distilled to produce perfumes that were supplied to the royalty, nobles and the wealthy in the ancient world (Egypt, Persia and Rome) until 1850, where it was ruined in an earthquake.

The first Chypre "perfumes" in Europe were Oyselets de Chypre - fragrant pastilles molded in the shape of little birds used as potpourri or fumagating pastilles. The first formulations were made of labdanum resin, styrax and calamus (sweet flag) ground and made into a paste with gum tragacanth and than could be sculpted or moulded. They became popular in Europe after the crusaders arrived in the island of Cyprus (in the 12th century).
At the end of the 14th Century Eau de Chypre, the Chypre scent (based primarily on labdanum, and only later on oakmoss was added) became quite popular in Europe. At this point oakmoss was added - some formulas were simple, containing white moss and animal materials such as musk, ambergris and civet; some were more sophisticated and called for oakmoss, orange blossom, benzoin, styrax, civet, almond, cardamom, rose, clovewood, sandalwood and camphor.

Coty's Chypre was not the first of its kind than, not even the first one that appeared in the 20th century as we can see from the numerous perfumes titled "Chypre" at that time:
1909 Chypre de Paris (Guerlain)
1911 Chypre (Forvil)
1912 Chypre (d'Orsay)
1917 Chypre (Coty)
1919 Mitsouko (Guerlain) - Jaqcues Guerlain
1920's Chypre (Sauzé Freres)
1922 Nuit de Noel (Caron) - Ernest Daltroff
1925 Chypre (Chanel)
1925 Le Chypre (Lanvin)
1925 Crêpe de Chine (Millot)
Chypre (Dana)
Chypre (Rigaud)
1933 Vol de Nuit (Guerlain) Jacques Guerlain

During World War II, this legendary perfume was created
1944 Femme (Rocahs) - original formulation by Edmond Roudnitska

Europe post WWII was swiped by a surge of optimism and renewal with Christian Dior's "New Look" that had its iconic fragrance parallel with the sensual yet fresh green notes in Miss Dior (Originally created by master perfumer and author Jean Carle, only to be later reformulated more times than can be counted... The green notes must have been subcontiously craved because of a need for renewal after the traumas of the war.
1946 Ma Griffe (Carven) - Jean Carles
1947 Miss Dior (Dior) - original formulation by Jean Carles
1947 Vent Vert (Balmain) - original formulation by Germaine Cellier

1953 Jolie Madame (Balmain) Germaine Cellier
1962 Chant d'Aromes (Guerlain) Jean-Paul Guerlain

The 1970's were characterized by perfumes for the career oriented woman - angular, clean, bitter and dry, with soapy tendencies. Green florals and Chypres were among them, including these classics:
1969 Chamade (Guerlain) Jean-Paul Guerlain
1971 No. 19 (Chanel)
1973 Private Collection (Estee Lauder)
1971 Aromatics Elixir (Clinique)
1972 1000 (Patou) Jean Kerleo
1979 Jean-Louis Scherrer
1980 Ivoire (Balmain) - Germaine Cellier

1980's Chypre (Body Shop) - Please comment if you have info about this scent

The 1980's and 1990's marked the beginning of significant reformulations of some of the classic chypres, most likely because of an attempt to make them more appealing to larger audiences and "update" them.
1989 Rocahs (Femme) reformulation by Olivier Cresp
1989 Madame Rochas (Rochas) reformulation by Jean-Louis Sieuzac & Jacques Fraysse
1990 Vent Vert (Balmain) reformulation by Calice Becker

In the new millenium there is a renewed interest in Chypre especially among the niche perfumery houses, with perfumes such as:
2006 Chypre Rouge (Serge Lutens)
2007 Une Histoire de Chypre (Aedes de Venustas)
2008 Les Elixirs Charnels - Chypre Fatal (Guerlain)
2009 Un Rose Chyprée (Tauer)
2009 Priate Collection Jasmine White Moss (Estee Lauder)
Dark Chypre / Chypre Noir (Ava Luxe)
Chypre Fruite (Montale)
Chypre Vanille (Montale)
Aromatic Chypre (Pecksniff's)
Chypre Green (Pecksniff's)
Chypre (Dupetit Natural Products)
06 / Chypre (Patyka)

The early millennium also marked the growing threat on the core natural ingredients that are required for composing the classical Chypres; and the influence of regulatory bodies in Europe and the tightening restrictions of IFRA (the perfume industry's self-regulatory body), resulting in the rise of a new genre of faux chypres that I call "pink chypres". These oakmoss-less fragrances rely on synthetic musks and dry woodsy notes (synthetic or low-cost naturals such as vetiver, cedarwood and patchouli) to create an unsweet effect as a counter-balance to the many heavily gourmand and stickily sweet fruity florals of that decade. These scents were to appeal to a similar consumer group that would have picked classical Chypres if it weren't for the strict regulations. The fact that these new so-called Chypres are relying on synthetic and cheap naturals that are considered "safe" for now in regulatory terms only serves as a proof that this genre is the child of both political and economical circumstances and is the industry's way of directing consumers to buy what they want to make, while constantly butchering classic formulas of yesteryear (often to the point of no recognition). Oakmoss levels being reduced to 0.1% in IFRA's (latest but not last...) 43rd amendment, and the atranol removed to meet regulatory requirements in all oakmoss extracts produced for the fragrance industry today have changed the character of Chypres all around.
Here are some examples of oakmoss-less Chypres:
2000 Agent Provocateur
2001 Coco Mademoiselle
2003 Narciso Rodriguez For Her - Francis Kurkdjian & Christine Nagel
2005 Lovely (Sarah Jessica Parker /Coty) - Laurent Le Guernec & Clement Gavarry
2005 Pure Turquoise (Ralph Lauren) - Annie Buzantian
2005 Miss Dior Cherie
2005 Chinatown (Bond No. 9) Aurélien Guichard
2007 31 Rue Cambon (Chanel) - Jacques Polge - an oakmossless Chypre with an accord of iris and pepper that supposed to substitute for its dry and woodsy character.
2008 Deseo (Jennifer Lopez/Coty) - Ellen Molner & James Krivda

In summary, strangely enough, Chypre is going a full circle - from being based on labdanum as the primary ingredient, to oakmoss being a must in the formulas, and now when this is becoming less and less possible (if wanting to comply with IFRA) - it is being omitted altogether from the modern incarnation of this fragrance family.