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Home / SmellyBlog / Tagged: Fall 2010

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Burning Leaves & Salty Waters


DSC04027.JPG, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

October's arrival hasn't diminished my desire to immerse my body in the cold Pacific ocean. On the contrary. Swimming in those salty glacier waters seems to be my connection to both the inner and outer world. The chill of the water is felt in every inch of my skin, each one of them sending a screeching signal to my brain that I’m alive and breathing. I admit, that under 15 degrees Celsius it becomes very painful, but not any less worth it. And the sensation of coming out of the ocean, after struggling for some 10-15 minutes to maintain a healthy body temperature, is like a lesson in the laws of relativity – the air always feels so much warmer… But still not warm enough to not warrant a very hot bath as soon as possible.

October 1st was so warm and dry (relatively speaking, of course) I nearly got a sunstroke… And of course, I had to go to the beach. I went swimming as usual, pretending I’m on the white sandy beaches of Tel Aviv, and that nothing could be more natural than going for a swim. It felt quite normal. Sunsent Beach café was open as usual, serving their usual array of British Columbian beach food. Some people on beach blankets and lawn chairs chatting and reading a magazine. Even the water was pretty normal summer temperature (16 Celsius, that is…). So in I go and breathe in the coldish air floating just above the water, smelling of salt, seaweed, fish, perhaps a little boat engine oil too. I’m almost convinced this Indian Summer is a real summer when it hits me: a smoldering, thick and sweet smoke of burning leaves. A little like Choya Loban, come to think of it. I’m swimming and marveling at this strange scent combination: ocean and burning leaves. Cold air and warm smoke. Wow.


Aromas of Autumn

The following posts will explore the Aromas of Autumn. Rather than pack one post with a collage of conflicting scents, I chose to spread them apart over the course of several days and share with you some of the strange scent combination and fall aromas I encounter in my day-to-day life in the Pacific Northwest.

Fall Escapism: Champaca, Kyphi, Hiking and Chai

I'm burning Kyphi incense tonight, and it seems particularly befitting for the season. I've been "getting back to my roots" so to speak this week as I was teaching my intensive, week-long perfumery course focusing on the Oriental fragrance family. Kyphi is the most ancient perfume in the form of incense pellets - it combines about 16 different resins, spices and herbs, which are bound together with honey, raisins and wine. I made this incense three years ago (in September, actually...). It was burnt in ancient Egyptian temple in the evening, to "banish the worries of the day". And it does just that!

Now that my busiest season has began, I'm already finding it essential to keep my life balanced. Fall's transitions into the school year are exciting but also taxing. And with the market season beginning, I must take good care for not falling into stress-mode because this is going to last nearly 4 months and I am hardly going to have a single weekend off in the coming weeks!

I began making perfumes 9 years ago, when I was a full-time student in an intensive program, and also a very new single-mother. Stress was inevitable, and just as inevitable was me waking up at 5am every morning so that I can get a few moments to myself to burn incense and meditate. It seems like things are coming full circle now and I will be needing to go a similar route: wake up early and make sure my day does not begin with answering emails, or even making breakfast... But with thanking for and paying attention to my breathing. And what better way than burning incense to become aware of one's breath and deepen it?


Hiking or simple long walks in the neighborhood (the West End is surrounded by water in 3 directions, as well as a nearly-natural rainforest of Stanley Park). Morning visits to Coal Harbour always make my day seem promising and exciting, and the water always pops new ideas into my head! And in the evening, a long stroll along the seawall all the way to Lost Lagoon, Beaver Lake or the Rose Garden are a good finale to a day - usually with a companion that can share the beauty of the scenery and reflect on the day that just gone by.

And than, of course, there is tea to warm my hands on that early morning stroll, or lift up my spirits just before the workday is over. Chai tea is special in that it has to be actually cooked in a pot with all the spices and milk - something I hardly ever do on a week day, but reserve for weekends and guests... Or when I decide to go to the Indian restaurant to get lunch instead of cook it myself... Fortunately, there is a really good one right next door and it feels like home there (sort of, except for the giant Bollywood marathon on their big-screen TV).


Champaca Chai, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

And last but not least - here's a one-of-a-kind perfume that is especially appropriate for today: Champaca Chai. The fantasy of this perfume encompasses both the hiking, chai and smoky components that seem to save my mundane life from total disaster... It speaks to my fantasy of an outdoorsy tea ritual, preferably after a long hike on the mountains, and has a soothing milkiness to go with its rustic smoky surroundings. I also find the essence of champaca flower, with its complexity and fruitiness, to be reminiscent of Kyphi.

Top notes:
Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Cardamom, Fennel, Caraway

Heart notes:
Champaca, Jasmine, Coconut, Honey

Base notes:
Black Tea, Budhawood, Clove bud, Tonka bean

Autumn Wardrobe

I woke up this morning to a rainy fall day, which is likely to be followed by weeks of typical gray gloom, forcing me and most Vancouverites to stay indoors more than we'd like to. and while I do enjoy concentrating on my work now that summer's s0-called "distractions" are gone - it can be a little unmotivating to be constantly homebound and listen to the raindrops constantly hit my skylight.

Now is when I bring out my fall wardrobe of scents - richer, warmer and more dense and sensual scents that reflect the mood of the season, and bring to mind the rich colours of the dying autumn leaves - burnt orange, russet red, mustard yellow and golden ochre.

Chypres and Orientals are the staples for the season, and it's nice to have a couple of scents that will make you feel as if you're wrapped up in cozy warm sweater. But you might want something brighter and more cheerful for daytime wear or for days when you're in the mood for something different.

The ultimate scent for fall is of course Autumn, and not just because of the name. It is a fruity chypre - mossy with hints of spice. It reminds me of plum and apple picking season, with some scents of overripe fruit that hit the ground and stayed there. So it's always very appropriate for the season.

Schizm is an unusual chypre, featuring precious white flowers (tuberose, jasmine and orange blossom) the strange, animalic note of cepes, which are porcini mushrooms and a very carnal note that begins both gamey and mushroomy and evolves into a nutty pecan note. It plays on the duality between a harsh woody dryness and animalic-sultry sweetness. A little fickle like the weather we experience in transitional season...

These suggestions are more on the dark side; but you can also brighten your autumn day with a bit of crisper green scents that have some depth, such as in Rainforest.

If you need help building your own customized fragrance wardrobe for fall, don't hesitate to email or call the studio. Wardrobe can be as small as 3 scents (in all sizes - 9ml extraits, 5ml or 10ml roll-ons) and up to 8 scents for the mini-coffret.
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