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Happy Mardi Gras!


Happy Mardi Gras!, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!
I'm so excited to launch my New Orleans perfume tonight, with a gala cocktail party to benefit two New Orleans charities -

1) America's Wetland non-profit organization that works towards saving coastal Louisiana, who is losing land at a rate of 25 square miles per year (!).

2) The Tipitina's Foundation which is dedicated to helping artists recover from Hurricane Katrina and preserving the cultural traditions of New Orleans. Can you imagine a Mardi Gras parade without a marching band?!

New Orleans perfume took a few years in the making - since I watched the film When The Levees Broke (about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina), which really moved me and made me realize that even though the hurricane was over 2 years ago, there was lots more to be done to help the people of New Orleans. That's when the concept was conceived to make a perfume that will help New Orleans. I took longer than expected to complete the perfume (which is why I used l'Ecume des Jours as a temporary fundraising perfume for NOLA), because I've never been to New Orleans in person, and I had to rely on my perfume friends from there to fill my olfactory gap. The rest was left to imagination...

Now that the bottling is done, and there is even a new batch maturing (which I have just blended this morning), AND it's Mardi Gras, after all, which is when I planned to launch the perfume, I think it's the right time to reveal to you what this perfume turned out to be, at long last.

The perfume was carefully orchestrated based on Paula Stratton's description of the scent. It took a long time, and several trials until I achieved the desired results. The challenge was combining the herbaceous notes (basil, rosemary) with the sweet florals (sweet olive, tea rose, orange blossom), bright citrus (Meyer lemon) and last but not least - the scent of decay, decomposition, moss, seaweed and oak trees and cypress that is what makes the scent of New Orleans. The various trials were similar in concept, but quite different in scent. Even though they all had an accord of sweet olive (aka osmanthus), orange blossom, magnolia and rose at the heart, they all had a different mood and personality.

I'd like to share with you a bit of the evolution, as well as Paula and her husband Mark's feedback:

Mod 1 (dated August 21-22, 2007) included brown oakmoss (for a more deeply woody aroma than the green variety), blue cypress, spikenard, seaweed and vanilla. The top included basil, rosemary and lemon.

Paula's reaction: "Number 1 is the most genteel. It's the most feminine, and I catch the jasmine and osmanthus. It's my favourite".

I felt it was a little too muddy and that the basil clashed with sweetness of the floral bouquet and the vanilla. Therefore - mod 2 (created just a week after the 1st mod) was to follow, where there was neither moss, nor herbal notes. I added more violety notes, such as cassie and orris root. Paula observed - "Number 2 would probably be the most popular with the most people. It's lively and reminds me of the drink called a Sazerac".

I felt there was still too much heaviness and not enough harmony there, and waited a few more years before I was really able to create something worth sharing with Paula, in 2010. Perfume creation is a time-consuming process. Not only do the scents really need to mature and marry, but also the ideas need to hibernate, interact with one another, and waiting and patience is the essence of the process... Sometimes waiting for the scent to mature; other times - waiting for the right idea, or the right aroma to materialize. In this case, I had to wait for both. It finally dawned on me in 2010, that what I need to create was not something gloomy and heavy, somewhat aldehydic/old-fashioned chypre with seaweed and other unusual notes; but rather - something bright and hopeful. Which I didn't realize till February 8th, 2010.

I moved on and created a 3rd version, a cheerful, brighter and more citrusy. It still had the original concept mossy and salty, woody vetiver base, sweet Southern Belle floral bouquet at the heart, and citrus and herbal top notes. But it was so much more sheer and harmonious, yet not any less intriguing than the first two versions. The key to this lightness was using cedarmoss instead of the potent oakmoss. I also used an abundant proportion of ambergris, which did not appear in any of the previous formulas. The roses of Turkey, Bulgaria and France were replaced by the luscious and voluptuously sweet tea rose from China, and I also added hints of amber for a hint of sweetness (but no vanilla!), and amyris, for accentuated woodsiness that is a little tropical (Amyris grows in the West Indies, which is the heritage of the Cajun in New Oreleans, so I thought it particularly appropriate). Both Paula and her husband loved this version - especially her husband: "...He liked # 3 the most, repeatedly. And after multiple sniffs, I understand why. It's lively and a man can wear it. I'm picturing Errol Flynn in period dress. ;)"

I was already partial to the 3rd mod. And hearing that it was so warmly received by a man only made more sense of this direction - I felt this scent had to be equally loved by both men and women.

Paula's notes about all three versions I've sent her: "Numbers 1 , 2 and 3 are serious winners. I smell them on paper strips and skin and wonder what did you do which captured thefeeling of walking in NOLA, Charleston or Savannah in September. Bumby cobblestone walks, oaks dripping moss, the maturity of the homes. And a touch of silk...as women and men in waistcoats pass one in the morning".

I kept on going though, to create the fourth and last version on October 12th, 2010. That was when I finally had the missing ingredient which I felt was important not only for the perfume's composition, but also for the authenticity of its ingredients: Meyer Lemon. I just felt that lemon wasn't enough. Besides, Meyer lemon has such a cheerful, bright citrus aroma that it just belonged in this perfume. New Orleans lives on, and it is happy even though there may be some blue notes in its history. It's all part of life and embracing tragedy (not an easy feat, but possible if your love for life is greater than fear of suffering), rising above them like a phoenix - this is what this perfume is all about. The structure of the perfume and its notes portray this, and although you will be smelling the top notes first, I'm going to present them structurally as I was building it upwards:

Base notes - natural forces of the sea and the land:
Seaweed and ambergris representing the force of the ocean
Amber
Cedarwmoss representing decay
Vetiver from Haiti and Sri Lanka for healing and preservation (vetiver roots help to prevent erosion and flooding, and is grown in the area for that purpose)
Cypress and Amyris for strength and dignity.

Heart notes - Southern Belle accord with a little bit of "blue notes":
Magnolia - beautiful and sweet in every way
Sweet Olive (Osmanthus) - sweet and pretty, but with a little bit of melancholy blue notes
Tea Rose,which is very sweet but also has ionone, which is violety and a little moody)
Orange Blossom for pure happiness

Top notes - Cheerful and Ascending:
Hand tinctured Meyer Lemon
Rosemary verbenon - which is sheer, non medicinal and full of life
Mandarin Murcott - an unusually sweet and full bodied citrus notes
White Grapefruit from Israel, which is the best I've ever smelled in my life and is floral and vivacious

And this final version is what you will get to smell tonight at my party, or might need to wait a few days till it ships from Vancouver.

Proceeds (10%) from this scent and all sales at the event tonight will be donated to these two charities, to continue to help New Orleans be the wonderful city that it is. And if all goes well, I am going to visit there this year for Jazz Festival!

And last but not least - you can listen to Mardi Gras music all day today (and to authentic New Orleans jazz year around, from anywhere in the world) via WWOZ 90.7FM!

Related posts:

The Aroma of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans Today
New Orleans Cuisine
Louisiana in September
l'Ecume des Jours & Rebuilding New Orleans
Re-Building New Orleans
When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
Scent for a Drowned City Re-Emerging

Gearing Up to Mardi Gras


Mardi Gras Beads, originally uploaded by jciv.

I'm planning my Mardi Gras party for Tuesday, March 8th.
This is when I will be launching my New Orleans perfume. Those of you who've been following its development on the blog here might remember - the process started in 2007 and it took a while to brew in my head, my lab, and with the assistance of my perfume friends in New Orleans - Paula and Michelle - I'm able to bring it to you this Mardi Gras, even though I'm yet to visit New Orleans in person. I'm planning to go there for Jazz Festival this year though!

The menu for what I hope will be a happily laid back cocktail party is mostly derived from the perfume itself. I'll be serving aromatic nibbles and desserts that are inspired by New Orleans botanicals such as sweet olive (aka tea olive) - in the form of osmanthus shortbread.
Herbaceous rosemary will add a twist to a Southern cornbread recipe, and of course the menu will not be complete without some seafood and cajun appies.

As far as drinks go - there will be also a Meyer lemon hard lemonade, Southern Comfort cocktails, and for the tea lovers among us (me included) - fragrant Magnolia oolong tea.

The Mardi Gras Party is on Tuesday, March 8th from 7-11pm.
We will be serving some Southern finger food, as well as desserts and pastries inspired by the Cajun cuisine and the botanicals used in New Orleans perfume.

9:00pm - the Grand reveal of New Orleans perfume, as well as breakdown of the unusual notes that make it such a unique fragrance.

Tickets are by donation - you can order them online for our suggested donation of $12 at the door. 100% of ticket sales will be sent to charity in New Orleans, and additional donations are encouraged!
In addition, 10% of all sales that night will benefit these two important organizations:
1) America's Wetland non-profit organization that works towards saving coastal Louisiana, who is losing land at a rate of 25 square miles per year (!).

2) The Tipitina's Foundation which is dedicated to helping artists recover from Hurricane Katrina and preserving the cultural traditions of New Orleans. Can you imagine a Mardi Gras parade without a marching band?!

You can support New Orleans' unique culture by attending the event, buying New Orleans perfume online and off-line, and

Tickets can be purchased in advance online at ayalamoriel.com.

To RSVP or for more information about the Mardi Gras Party, please contact: ayala (at) ayalamoriel.com or call (778) 863-0806. Or via Facebook.

New Orleans Perfume


Oak Alley, originally uploaded by Lake Fred.

A little distraction from the Autumn Aromas theme that's been running here in the past few days... But still connected since this is about a perfume that combines both Meyer lemons and moss!

Based on Paula Stratton's description of the aromas New Orleans I have created yesterday the 4th and what may be the final version of what I call for now "New Orleans". After 2 first gloomy mods, I've created a 3rd one that was more of a cheerful twist on the same olfactory themes - magnolia, cypress, moss, vetiver, tea olive, citrus and a dash of herbs. Paula has told me in that "each of the 3 has successfully captured the magic, the mystery of New orleans before Katrina. Each is gorgeous".

But I felt that the last mod was the most hopeful and refined... I also thought that Meyer lemon element was important, even if subtle, in order to bring this perfume into completion. And I had to make Meyer lemon tincture, which I finally did and filtered.

This perfume is bright, mossy, delightful. It has the dryness of woods from the cedarmoss and vetiver and amyris and salty notes of seaweed and ambergris as a balancing backdrop for the floral notes are classically the Southern Belle's favourites (magnolia and tea olive - aka osmanthus). However, Paula's husband liked it a lot and even thought it to be the most masculine of the bunch... I think that if you love New Orleans, even if you haven't been there, you would appreciate this perfume. And gender has very little to do with it.

Top notes: Meyer Lemon, Rosemary, Grapefruit, Tangerine Murcott

Heart notes: Tea Olive, Tea Rose, Magnolia, Neroli, Orange Blossom

Base notes: Haitian & Sri Lankan Vetiver, Cypress, Seaweed, Amyris, Cedarmoss, Ambergris

I was toying with different names, and decided finally to keep it very simple - not NOLA, but New Orleans. After all, this is what it's all about... I would love to hear any of your thoughts though - especially among my readers from New Orleans.

l'Instant: Magnolia and Honey


Magnolia/ Tulpenboom, originally uploaded by Gerard Bijvank.

I strongly resisted l’Instant when it just came out. It just was so not Guerlain. My first impression of it was of an unwanted (yet pretty) step-sister to the other Guerlain scents. Young and inexperienced rather as opposed to the sophisticated style that the other Guerlain scents radiate. Although l’Instant did not win my heart when I finally took on to wear it for a full day and notice its evolution, I did discover a beautiful magnolia scent – the trademark of its creator, Monsieur Maurice Roucel. L’Instant is a Floral. If anybody tells you otherwise, don’t believe them: this is not a “modern oriental”, in fact, it is not even what I would call floriental.

L’Instant is a scent that revolves around the theme of magnolia: sweet and honey like without being cloying (an element which the citrus-honey note supports); Iris to accentuate the fluffy powderiness; and a benzoin-vanilla base to maintain the sweetness as much as possible.


HONEY, originally uploaded by chrissie2003

After application, I instantly recognized something familiar. It took me a while to get it - Tocade! Indeed, the two perfumes do share some striking similarities: both contain magnolia, bergamot, orris and vanilla. Tocade has a lot of roses, and in many aspects this is the main difference between the two. In fact, l’Instant is so similar to Tocade that I am surprised nobody picked up on it before. I will not be surprised if it is a tweaking of the Tocade formula – accentuating the magnolia rather than the rose and being a bit lighter on the powdery notes, with the addition of the new notes – like the crystalline musk and the citrus honey. The two also share in common the clean, crisp synthetic bergamot top note.

As the scent evolved on my skin, I got occasional familiar whiffs of pleasant memories – one originated in a magnolia body milk splash I had about 7 years ago, and the other was almost identical to a festive jar of lemon-scented honey (citrus honey with the addition of lemon flavour). Citrus honey, by the way, is honey which is produced form citrus flowers, and it usually has a much lighter colour and flavour than other types of honey.

Overall, l’Instant is a sheer and cheerful modern floral; Very pleasant and easy to wear even if not at all sophisticated or complex like most Guerlain scents are. I would take this any time over most of the recent (non-boutique) Guerlain launches such as the Aqua Allegoria line, myriads of other fruity, floral and ambery-floral modern releases, and definitely won’t hesitate to pick this one over Insolence in an instant!

The crystalline base adds a somewhat aloof sensuality and sweetness – that is not unlike other modern orientals and florientals (i.e. the base in Addict, Nu, Kingdom and others).

Top notes: Rosewood and lilac notes, Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart notes: Magnolia, iris, citrus honey with some light lemon and orange blossom notes
Base notes: Benzoin, Vanilla, Crystalline Amber.

Fleur de Shanghai


Forever Magnolia, originally uploaded by Plavi.

Sometimes, it is more difficult to write a review about a perfume you love. But sometimes a thing of beauty does not need any more words to describe it in order to convince one of its beauty. This is the case in Fleur de Shanghai – the most addictive Opium I have ever tried. There is really not much more to say. The notes are simple. The structure is simple and coherent. The scent is simply divine from start to finish. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change a single note about it. So what is there to say about a perfect perfume, whose only flaw is that it is a limited edition? This special one is doomed to become extinct before even having an adequate shelf exposure. A unique flower hybrid designed to bloom for only one season, and than collect dust in a safe somewhere and become forgotten along with hundred other limited edition and discontinued fragrances.

I wish I could say more about Fleur de Shanghai besides that it is beautiful, and state my reasoning more clearly for why this scent should not be a one-season-stand. I would love start up a petition to YSL’s perfume division and beg them to change their minds and add Fleur de Shanghai to the permanent collection. But I am afraid this will be useless, for this scent was meant to be nothing more than a retail success. If Opium hasn’t proceeded it, I am certain Fleur de Shanghai would have gracefully joined other classics in the Perfume Hall of Fame (that, of course, if such a thing really exists in a perfume world where hundreds of new releases happen every season, and classics become discontinued or are altered in order for the big corporations to make more money). Please do tell me if I am not alone in my devoted affection to Fleur de Shanghai.

Fleur de Shanghai starts with lovely notes of mandarins, underlined with the sweet-spiciness of cloves, as cozy as my grandmother’s perfect honey cake. The heart is floral yet light: magnolia petals unfold to reveal their fresh and cool honeyed scent along with a hint of green, and tiny white star jasmine blossoms float around delicately like miniature steps of Asian dancers concealed by their floating robes. A heavy undercurrent of myrrh, narcotic and poetic, is soon unleashed and becomes the centre theme, underlined with just a hint of Saxon moss to keep it dry and balanced its medicinal aspects, and made delicious by coumarin and sheer vanilla – mellow and sweet yet light-weight.

Fleur de Shanghai was love at first sniff. In fact, I loved this summer version of 2005 so much, that I had to stock up. Luckily, my perfume collection is big enough to distract me from its extinct status for most of the year. But when summer comes – I have to wear it very often and seem to never get enough of it. I enjoy re-applying even though it has a great lasting power. It never seems to overwhelm though. Despite its sweet notes, the myrrh and moss make it as refreshing and protective as a rice-paper parasol, Vetiver woven mats and blinds, and pale linen suits. I run out of 50ml just last summer. So I guess I have 3 more years to go if I am counting the other 100ml bottle that I have saved for bad days. I also have Fleur Imperiale, the limited edition for summer 2006 – pleasantly based on myrrh like Fleur de Shanghai, but lacking the unique sweetness of magnolia, which is replaced but a much less significant or authentic osmanthus and apricot blossoms.

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