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Tea, Wine & Champaca Absolute



Nirmalya Originally uploaded by shubhangi athalye

Champaca absolute is one of the most complex natural essences, and despite its immense beauty, not an easy one to work with. Especially this is the case when the flower is intended as the star of the show. It’s density and potency sometimes get in the way of revealing its beauty. It also poses two additional challenges – from a commercial point of view: it is neither affordable nor particularly understood or favoured by the Western world. Champaca is a note that is much prized in its country of origian – India – but only recently has begun to cross the East/West border and be featured in select few Western perfumes. And even than, it doesn’t always receive justice.

My impression is still a bit divided when it comes to this new interpretation of champaca in the Tom Ford Private Blends collection. Like Linda Pilkington’s Champaca there is rice-steam and subtlety of tea to it underneath it all, which I find both very suitable and complementary for champaca absolute. Interestingly, from all the rice-steam fragrances I've experienced, this one delivers the feel the best despite the fact that it is not "supposed" to do so (judging by the list of "notes" released by the company); also, there is no synthetically musky dry down to get in the way of enjoying this unusual floral.

At the same time, it is way fruitier than champaca absolute is, which make the name a bit misleading. Perhaps the flower in full bloom portrays more of this fruitiness, typical of its sister the white magnolia; but the effect takes away from the rarity of this perfume as it brings to mind too many typical fruity florals. Thankfully, this common effect is not dominant and for most of its duration on the skin, Champaca Absolute delivers that rare thing – a subtle big floral. My first thought when wearing Champaca Absolute was - "this is how I would have wanted KenzoAmour to smell", which goes to show you how much of a prettified champaca this one is.

There is much of the exotic in here, from banana-leaf wrapped steamer rice and tea to the large golden petals of this admirable magnolia, dipping slowly in warm plum wine. The scent lasts well beyond expected, and is only a tad overbearing for a few minutes in the beginning (at the fruity-floral phase). While it does linger on clothes after it departs from the skin – it is actually a pleasant surprise to find it there, like a sweet memory of Malaysian food enjoyed the evening before in candle-light. It is just a little too pretty and little too simplified for champaca, but if that would make the West understand and appreciate champaca more - perhaps it is a good thing.

The notes include top notes of: Tokaji wine (something I’ve only heard about when reading about the Baron von Münchhausen’s adventures in Turkey), cognac, bergamot and davana

Heart notes of: champaca, broom, Phantomia orchid and night blooming jasmine

Base notes of: vanilla, amber, sandalwood and marron glacé (candied chestnut)

I would say it starts off like plum wine (perhaps the Tokaj and davana, which is a boozy smelling type of artemisia), continues into magnolified-fruity champaca with the addition of rice and tea like notes (perhaps this is the starchiness of the candied chestnuts) and boils down to vanilla and a woody amber. It is semi-linear though, as the changes are not that dramatic and it generally keeps its original shape throughout.

P.s. First it was Velvet Gardenia, and now the newest addition to Tom Ford’s Private Blends proves my lack of integrity. It just occurred to me yesterday that the ferocious ad
was really making fun of men who like porn, rather than being demeaning to woman. Isn’t that a convenient way to get around the bush?


Champaca Flowers vs. Nag Champa Incense


Michelia champaca details, originally uploaded by Amethist.

There is often confusion betweenchampaca flowers and the Nag Champa incense. A current project that involves the champaca as a note engouraged me to both look into the matter, as well as sample a few different champaca essences, and further deepened my intrigue by champaca. I hope you’ll find the following information useful.

Michelia Champaca, also known as “golden champaca” or “red champaca” is a flowering tree from the Magnoliceae family (magnolia alba is another species used for its essential oils in perfumery – from both the flowers and the leaves). It is native to India, Java and the Phillipines. Traditionally, Indian women would wear the buds behind their ears until the bud will open up and release its own scent.

Champaca is also related to Star Anise, and its scent in a way shares the spicy characteristics of star anise as well as the floral-fruitiness of magnolia. Unlike white magnolia, which is peach-like and very light, champaca has a penetrating, smooth and rich aroma that is reminiscent of tea, spices, and a floral note that is often compared to orange blossom. I personally think it is so unique it cannot truly be compared to orange blossom at all. Stephen Arctander describes champaca as similar to guiacwood (a waxy, smoky, tea-rose like wood from South America), yet at the same time mentniones that it is also used to adulterate champaca and therefore is not a very good way to describe champaca… I feel that until champaca is experienced, it is really difficult to describe it or imagine it.

I have experienced various champaca essences, including Champaca CO2, Champaca Absolute and Champaca Concrete. The champaca absolutes I have sampled varied a bit, one being more fruity and reminiscent of magnolia, and the other being more full-bodied, spicy and wine-like. In both cases they were intensely warm and rich but not in overpowering way. There is something really soothing and exoticly elegant about champaca in my opinion. Champaca CO2 is similar to the absolute, but with a less complex presence, and it feels a bit flatter, thin in comparison to the other essences. The lasting power and intensity was not to my satisfaction, but if combined with white magnolia and champaca concrete it creates a lovely champaca profile. The champaca concrete is by far my favourite, having a rich, complex tea-like undertones, a sweet body note, and minty-herbal-spicy overtones.

Those who are familiar with the Nag Champa incense may find champaca scent to be somewhat similar. The reason being that Nag Champa incense incorporates halmaddi, a grey, semi-liquid resin taken from the Alianthus tree, which smells very similar to champaca flower.

The champaca flowers may have been used in the traditional recipes for Nag Champa, but I doubt that any champaca flowers would be found in the myriads of champaca joss sticks that are sold at a very low price across the world. Considering that the going price for champaca absolute is between 3,000-5,000 a kilo, it seems very unlikely. The price is predicted to go only higher, as development in India is booming due to the growth of the high-tech industry there, making land more and more precious. Farmers of exotic oils in India are going to be asking for a much higher price for their fragrant goods to justify not selling their lands.

Because of its price, champaca is rarely used in mainstream perfumery. I have seen it mentioned as a note sporadically, i.e. in Calvin Klein’s Euphoria (can’t say I’ve noticed it though…), and in Patou most recent Sira des Indes. It is also found in a couple of niche fragrances, such as Commes de Garcons Guerilla 1, and of course the infamous Champaca by Ormonde Jayne. But it is most dear to natural perfumers, and I believe it is there where you will find the most intriguing use of champaca, as in the smoky Tango by Aftelier, or the sultry exotic beach scent Fairchild by Anya’s Garden. Over the course of the next few days I will do my best to review these perfumes.

*Many thanks to Christopher MacMahon of White Lotus Aromatics who shared with me his knowledge about Champaca and its current position in India.
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