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News from the Nose: ArbitRary Candle, Vetiver Racinettes and Father's Day

Dear Fragrant Friends,

In this newsletter:

  • Father's Day Celebrations
  • New Arrival: ArbitRary Candle
  • Candle Burning Tips
  • Enjoying Scents in Summer
  • Limited Edition: Vetiver Racinettes

Father's Day Celebrations



Two years ago I was fortunate to celebrate Father's Day with my dad going to the Van Dussen Gardens and enjoying a day outdoors among the beautiful plants. This is where I captured this scene of a child sitting on a tree branch, just like in Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant", waiting to be helped down by someone bigger and stronger.

I was talking to my brother today about scents that reminds him of our father. These turned out to be primarily turpentine and paint thinner. He never wore a fragrance and kept a beard so didn't even use as much as an aftershave by way of fragrance products. This is maybe a bit extreme, but most dads, it seems, would go scentless unless they receive gifts of fragrance. And so this is suppose to be the point where I should have a little spiel in my newsletter convincing you to buy a fragrance for your father. Well, I'll be doomed if that's what I'm suppose to do every year on Father's Day for the rest of my career. I trust that you know what your dad likes, and be it an electronic gadget, hardware or a tie, what will really make him happy is your thoughts of him and spending time together with his children.

So instead of advocating for more fragrance shopping (by all means, go for it if you must...) I just wanted to acknowledge that special day coming up on Sunday June 15th and wish you all a Happy Father's Day. It is a secular holiday that celebrates something that is essential and universally meaningful - parenthood, and thanking our parents for all that they did for us. Aside from that, I highly recommend you read my myth-crashing article titled What Makes a Fragrance Masculine?

New arrival: ArbitRary Candle



Ayala Moriel is proud to present the first perfumed candle in our collection: ArbitRary.

ArbitRary candle is based in food-grade soy wax with pure cotton wick. It has a stunning cold throw that is as refreshing and bright as the perfume itself. It burns with its lovely, refreshing

aroma, filling the room gently with its mélange of basil, lime, lemon
verbena, oakmoss and hay.

Each 8oz candle burns for 50-60 hours and retails for $45. They are now available for ordering and will be in stock next week

In all of our products - perfumes, jewelry, teas and now candles - we put quality, integrity and craftsmanship as a top priotiry. When sourcing production from outside of our atelier, we collaborate with independent artisans who are passionate about their art and value quality and integrity in their business just as much as we do. In doing so, we are committed to creating positive change in our world: we give you the best, pure product we can possibly create and also support like-minded artisans and their businesses. This is our way of creating small change in the way business is conducted around the world.
Our perfumed candles are made with attention to purity, quality and detail: each candle is created and hand-poured especially for us by hand by Nikki Sherritt, the talented and passionate artisan candle maker and the founder of Seattle-based, independent candle company Gabriel’s Aunt. The candle was custom-made especially for Ayala Moriel Parfums, based on the perfume formula of ArbitRary. Nikki and I have been working on adding all-natural perfumed candles to

my line since the fall, and we hope that ArbitRary will be received in the enthusiasm it deserves so that we can create more beautiful candles for you (the next candles are going to be gorgeous!).

Candle Burning Tips



To get the most out of your candle, follow these simple steps:

Safety tips:

- Never leave a burning candle unattended

- Place burning candle away from any flammable materials

- Place the candle away from reach of children and pets; keep matches and lighters away from children as well.

- To avoid large flame, always trip the wick before lighting your candle to the recommended length of 1/8”

- Burn the candle away from open windows

How to care for your candle:

- When burning your candle for the first time, burn it for 4 hours straight, or until there a melted wax pool forms on the entire surface of the candle. This will help avoiding the formation of a hole or a “tunnel” in the middle of the candle.

- To ensure an even burn, always trip the wick before burning, and ensure it is centered.

- Burn the candle away from open windows or drafts to avoid uneven burn and enlarged flame

Enjoying Scents in the Summer

In the heat and humidity of summer choosing the right scent to wear isn't easy. There are many factors that don't work in our favour at this time of the year in relation to fragrance:

Humidity tends to make scents feel heavy and suffocating. Therefore, try to avoid scents that are already heavy by nature, such as concentrated floral perfumes (particularly the more narcotic notes can come off as overbearing in extreme heat and humidity). Humidity strangely carries the scents in the air and at times even amplifies them. They may not stay for long on your skin with all the sweating but while they do they could linger quite heavily in the air, carried by the moist molecules.
That is why I recommend only the lightest and preferably "dry" scents for those unbearable humid days. Notes such as woods and vetiver, as well as citrus and fragrances with only a light touch of spices and very little floral notes if at all. For example: Bon Zai with its dry vetiver and sandalwood; Lovender's captivating fresh and calming lavender, lemon, sandalwood and iris notes; and last but not least Sabotage - a clean, sophisticated and somewhat soapy concoction of vetiver, tobacco and lemon leaves with a hint of pepper.

Heat increases the evaporation rate of scents and so you may need re-apply scents more often during the summer. Traditionally, citrus and light cologne or eau fraiche type fragrances are worn in the summer. These are very light and not long lasting to begin with and the simple action of applying the scent is perceived as cooling, which adds to their appeal. Aside from using your favourite light summer fragrances you may also want to try using simple floral water to freshen up in the heat of the day. Neroli (orange flower water) and Rosewater are widely available in many Middle-Eastern, Greece and East Indian grocery stores and are fairly inexpensive. Decant some into a spray bottle or a mister and enjoy the cool water on your face, neck and arms. Some other floral waters or hydrosols can be found as well - including sandalwood and vetiver. Likewise, floral waters or pure spring water can be sprinkled on vetiver fans to produce a cooling waft of air.

When it's really hot, I particularly enjoy wearing ArbitRary, with its citrus-herbal notes of basil, lime and verbena; Fetish, bursting with grapefruit, mandarin and rhododendron; and Charisma, with its exotic green-tea, osmanthus and spearmint notes.

Limited Edition: Vetiver Racinettes



Last year, I have conducted an intensive Vetiver Series on SmellyBlog. Aside from articles about the odour profiles of vetiver from different regions, traditional and medicinal uses of vetiver, and reviews of vetiver-centered fragrances - I have shared my own experiences in creating a series of mods for my very own vetiver perfume. One thing lead to another, and after 4 different vetiver versions (Vetiver Blanc, Wilde Vetyver, Vetiver Noir and Vetiver Rouge) - I have finally arrived at a destination that I have never quite planned to find - my very own signature vetiver scent: Vetiver Racinettes.

Vetiver Racinettes was born out of two forces: my curiousity to study this intriguing and versatile note; and a deep need that I can only describe as therapeutic at that time, which lead me specifically to that essence. The result of this vetiver journey is a perfume that contains all of the elements that I've ever loved in the vetiver scents I've tried, as well as my own conclusions from my journey in the route of vetiver. It has the warmth of earth and firey spices and at the same time - the coolness of clay and vetiver curtains sprinkled with water; the medicinal dryness of herbs and grasses and the luxurious tenacity of woods; the sweetness of tarragon and earth with the bitterness of coffee and mud.

Top notes: Black Pepper, Fresh Ginger, Cardamom, Kaffir Lime Leaf
Heart notes: Haitian Vetiver , Nutmeg Asbolute, Coffee, Spikenard
Base notes: Ruh Khus, Indonesian Vetiver, Vetiver Bourbon, Attar Mitti, Tarragon Absolute, Cepes

I had difficult time deciding when to release Vetiver Racinettes; and after consulting with all of my "sniffing bunnies" I have arrived at the conclusion that the summer would be the best time of year to appreciate the calm coolness that it brings while also accentuating the extremist attitude this scent has. And so Vetiver Racinettes is now at your service, as a limited edition for summertime.

Happy Father's Day!

Warm regards,

Ayala

Happy Father's Day!


A Father's Love...., originally uploaded by cowgirlrightup.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads, pappas, abbas and babbas etc. reading SmellyBlog!
And also to those who don't. Hope this day is amazing for you all that your kids got to spend some fabulous time with you.

Here is a song dedicated to a father that was wroth listening to. And below is a post about what makes a scent masculine, especially for today.

Father’s Day in the VanDusen Gardens

I noticed that while Mother’s Day was pretty much all over the place in blogs (about perfumes or otherwise), Fatehr’s Day is not as popular a topic… I happen to be spending most of father’s day, surprisingly, with my own father. Which is quite unusual, as he lives all the way in Montreal. Along with my boyfriend, he was patiently dragged along the beautiful VanDusen Gardens, while I was admiring the flowers and even taking some elaborate botanical close-ups for my upcoming new website (which will be featuring images of the individual note for each perfume).

Well, just like mother-child relationship, the relationships between children and their fathers have never been too simple. On the other side, the bond between father and child is not as obvious as the nurturing physical/emotional bond between mother and child. It requires a lot more investment to compensate for those lost 9 months…

Beginning with the metaphoric exile from the Garden of Eden, and followed by modern day stories such as Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant and Nagib Mahfouz’s The Children of Gebelaawi the archetypal Father have been more severe, intellectual, judgmental and emotionally distant than the archetypal Mother, which is the merciful and nurturing - at times to the point of sacrificial.

So, to all fathers who actually have the guts and the courage to put the time and tremendous emotional investment to bridge the 9-months gap and reach out to their children once they are born - despite busy careers, wars, vengeful mothers and spouses, emotional blocks and whatever excuses and unfortunate life circumstances that has often left children fatherless – I dedicate this little virtual stroll along the garden paths, and hope we could all return to the Garden of Eden at least for a few moments in each and every day in our life.

Amongst my favourites, this garden includes a maze, a Mediterranean garden, an herb garden, peony garden, Zen meditation garden, a little bamboo forest, and a soul-refreshing abundance of bodies of water such as streams, lakes, ponds, water fountains and a waterfall.

The VanDusen Gardens are tremendously beautiful, and like most well-designed (and maintained) gardens, they provide their visitors with an interesting insights into one’s life, besides the obvious pleasure of the beautiful sites, fresh air and fragrant plants. Gardens encompass elements such as water, flow, structure and drama that make one connect to their very own inner self as well as ancient archetypes. The most repeated theme in gardens is, I believe, an attempt to create a Paradise on Earth. This is the secret behind Bahai gardens, but reaching tranquility as in the Zen gardens is, at the core, the same concept.

I will be re-visiting VanDusen Gardens again this summer, this time on my own, not only to take more photos and catch up with all the trails and gardens I missed – but also for further meditation on the concept of Paradise on Earth, which is something I believe can be condensed into a bottle and be worn as a perfume.
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