Scent Culture: In Search of a First Fragrance

I receive emails regularly from readers looking for scents from their childhood. It is a privilege to be on the receiving end of these inquiries as they remind me why the sense of smell is so important. Though we are living in a culture that is predominantly visual, the culture of scent is on the rise. The reason is deceptively simple. When the economy cycles down the desire to live an authentic life rises. The image we have of ourselves can no longer be masked by things we aspire to, but cannot afford. We question who we are, where we come from and where we want to go. Taking steps to play an active role in our life story is what the journey of life is all about. Reading JM’s letter offers a glimpse into the powerful process of self-authentication that scent plays in our lives.

“After reading your blog for the better part of a year, I realize that you are the person I should ask for help. Years ago, there was a VERY down-market cologne for men, made by British Sterling, called "Bitter Lemon." It was so down-market, in fact, that it made a suitable gift to a boy as his first bottle of cologne, the boy being me.

Since scent is hopelessly tangled in memory (or is it vice versa?), I have tried to find this cologne without success for years, never caring that if I were to find it at all, it would be on the shelves of a convenience store or pharmacy. I can still remember the feelings attached to it, and even the books I was reading at the time, almost twenty years ago. I've been drawn to citrus scents ever since, especially in the summer, but have never found an analogue.

Do you have any suggestions for available products, now, that might be close?” Many thanks in advance –JM”

I love this letter! JM is sharing a life “first”. People remember their first fragrance in the same manner they recall learning how to ride a bike or tie their shoes. The reason is that wearing scent is a way to express identity and emotion; it’s how we self-authenticate. Fragrance allows us to travel in the past, present or future. In other words, it tells us who we were, who we are and who we want to be. In America hero worship is a part of the culture. There is nothing wrong with being led by people who have achieved greatness, but in truth, we are each a catalyst of greatness in our own lives. Our choices determine the path we will follow and the rest depends on the intermingling of chaos and coincidence. Scent allows us to use the familiar as a foundation with which to explore the unknown. This is not a theory; it is a fact. Try a new fragrance and see what happens as you decipher your feelings and memories.

In his letter, JM shows that he is looking at who he is as an adult (in the present) through the lens of childhood (the past). Though I don’t know JM, I would venture to guess that he is in a period of transition. He is in touch with memory and looking for meaning. If he finds British Sterling Bitter Lemon, who he is today will mingle with who he was as a boy. The result will be an enlightening and comforting insight that he could not discover without his sense of smell.

When we are young we are attracted to things without complication. We do not analyze things we are drawn to because layers of life experience do not burden us; we are simply happy to be in the presence of an object that gives us joy. If you look at this more closely, you will see that love is no different. Perhaps this is why romance is the foundation of many fragrance fantasies.

British Sterling Bitter Lemon was manufactured by Dana. Though the company is still in business, it no longer makes the scent (as evidenced on the Dana Classics website). From JM’s description British Sterling Bitter Lemon sounds like a classic Eau de Cologne with a twist. The best modern interpretation of an Eau de Cologne is Cologne by Thierry Mugler (2001). Cologne was co-created by Thierry Mugler and Alberto Morillas, the renowned perfumer at Firmenich who won the Prix François Coty in 2003.

Cologne has a sparkling citrus character and an addictive musky drydown. The composition includes Bergamot, Neroli, Petit Grain, Orange Blossom, Green Sap, and White Musk. I’ve recommended Cologne by Thierry Mugler to JM and hope that it serves as a foundation for new memories anchored in what is obviously a charming past.

Notes:

Cologne by Thierry Mugler is available at select stores, including Sephora. Sephora is currently offering a limited edition .8 oz. spray at a $28 pricepoint. Demand is high and stock is limited.

Thirst: Ten Ren Plum Tea

Thirst is a basic instinct. It haunts the senses, coloring everything in its path until its desires are met. The craving for drink is linked to the chemical requirements of the body. In summer months we long for beverages that are cool, salty and sweet to replenish electrolytes lost through perspiration and energy that is sacrificed to heat. Drinks that revitalize and quench elicit feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Iced tea has always been the preferred drink of summer, but many are highly tannic or sweet. Ten Ren Plum Tea offers a reprieve from the ordinary while indulging the sense of taste and smell with a memorable aromatic bouquet.

Each bag of Ten Ren Plum Tea is beautifully packaged. Dark plum-colored accents on the top and bottom of each wrapper accentuate a watercolor image of six plums on a branch contrasted by a soothing mauve background. The wrapping is cool, fluid and sensual to the touch. A slight perforation at the base of the wrapping simplifies the removal of the tea bag, further delighting the senses.

Smelling the tea prior to infusion one can detect aspects of Dried Plum, Blond Tobacco, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Berry, Raisin, Apricot, Black Tea, Salt, and a hint of Woody Citrus. All of these flavors are present in the tea when it is drank cold, but there is also a distinct mouth feel that arrives at the finish; the telltale sweet, tart and saline notes of a Chinese Preserved Plum. Though there is a limited list of ingredients on the box one can tell that hibiscus and licorice create the gentle sweet and tart effects.

Ten Ren Plum Tea is part of the company’s “Herbal Spice Tea Series”. At $7.90 for a box of 50 or $3.45 for a box of 20, it is an affordable sensorial luxury. Online availability varies, but the New York City outpost of Ten Ren is always well-stocked. Ten Ren Tea is located at 75 Mott Street. Phone: 212.349.2286

Notes:
Use four bags of tea to make one quart of iced tea.

Royal Paulownia: The Perfume of Spring Along the Hudson

When May roses begin to perfume the air violet blooms burst forth on Royal Paulownias that grow along the edge of the Hudson River. There is no time to mourn fading purple lilacs when the trumpet-like clusters of Paulownia tomentosa release their fragrance. Their scent reveals a riverside terroir that smells ozonic, vanillic, powdery and almond-like. The fragrance is most prominent when dusk arrives. That is also the time when people who never look up at the towering trees recognize the source of their olfactive pleasure. Few people, however, know the folklore behind these trees and how they became naturalized in the United States.

Paulownia tomentosa is also known as the Empress or Princess Tree. The genus Paulownia is named in honor of Anna Pavlovna (Paulowna by Dutch transliteration), the daughter of Czar Paul I. In China it is customary to plant an Empress Tree when a baby girl is born. The maturity of the tree and the girl coincide. When she is eligible for marriage the tree is cut down to make a wedding chest. The presence of an Empress Tree near a home is considered good luck as it is said to be favored by the mythical Phoenix who is drawn to its branches. In Japan, if a Paulownia drops its leaves early in the season, it is considered bad luck. During World War II the United States dropped paper Paulownia (Kiri) leaves on Japan that included ominous propaganda meant to play on the "bad luck" folklore attached to the leaves of the tree.











In the mid 1800s Chinese porcelain was transported by train in the United States. The materials used to pack these delicate objects were Paulownia seed pods. Each pod contains up to 2000 small-winged seeds and resembles a giant pistachio nut. Some seeds escaped during transit while others were released at their destination and carried by the wind. It is likely that Chinese porcelain making its way down the New York Central Railroad is responsible for the Paulownia trees along the Metro North Hudson Line.

Though Paulownia tomentosa is considered an invasive species that escaped cultivation it possesses a delicate nature and is particularly sensitive to weed killers and pesticides. It can also tolerate high salinity and drought. This makes portions of the Hudson River shoreline ideal for a tree that can reach up to 15 feet in one season and 30 feet in three years. When Paulownias are in bloom their scent is carried by the wind along the Hudson River, perfuming the shoreline and mesmerizing anyone fortunate enough to participate in a landscape that includes them.

Givaudan's Roman Kaiser analyzed the scent of Paulownia tomentosa flowers in 1995. When Glass Petal Smoke asked him if there was a little heliotropin in the mix Kaiser responded with scientific precision, “This heliotropin related note is mainly generated by the interaction of the main constituent hydroquinone dimethyl ether with beta-ionone including derivatives and methyl cinnamate. Methyl benzoate, methyl salicylate and methyl 2-methoxybenzoate round this accord off.” Heliotropin is a molecule found in vanilla and smells floral, vanillic, and slightly almond-like (there is a lot of heliotropin in Tahitian vanilla beans). Kaiser’s complete analysis of Paulownia tomentosa is as follows:

Methyl 2-Methybutyrate 0.10
Methyl Caproate 0.10
(E)-Ocimene 0.60
6-Methyl-5-Hepten-2-One 0.30
Nonanal 0.05
Benzaldehyde 0.05
Linalool 0.05
Cyclic-Beta-Ionone 0.10
Methyl Benzoate 5.50
(E)-Beta-Farnesene 0.20
Hydroquinone Dimethyl Ether 79.00
Methyl Salicylate 1.90
Dihyro-Beta-Ionone 1.20
Benzyl Alcohol 0.80
Beta-Ionone 6.00
Methyl- (E)-Cinnamate 0.90
Methyl2-Methoxybenzoate 2.70
Benzyl Benzoate 0.10

Total: 99.65

Notes:

Hudson River painting of Royal Paulownia by Jamie Williams Grossman. All rights revert back to the artist.

Photos of Paulownia seed pods from the Oregon State Department of Horticulture .

Some of the fragrance ingredients in Roman Kaiser's analysis of Paulownia tomentosa can be found on Givaudan's website by clicking here. You can cut and paste the name of the molecule to research it. The Good Scents Company has an extensive database of raw materials. Perhaps we will see this kind of organoleptic information democratized in Wolfram/Alpha as the new search engine develops its très cool chemistry section.

Analysis of fragrance molecules is conducted by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (also known as "GC mass spec" in the fragrance business). The machine analyzes scent, but requires the technical and olfactive skills of a trained professional for optimal results.

Event: Craig Claiborne & The Invention of Food Journalism

Date/Time: Thursday, June 11th at 6 p.m.

Location: The New School, Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor, NYC.

Why You Should Go: It's $5 and the panelists are stellar.

Called the nation’s preeminent food journalist, Mississippi-born Craig Claiborne trained in Switzerland as a chef on the GI bill after World War II. On his return to the United States, he began writing articles for Gourmet and became an editor at the magazine. His career skyrocketed when The New York Times hired him as its first food columnist in 1957. Claiborne's columns, reviews and cookbooks introduced Americans to a wide range of international and ethnic food. Other newspapers followed The New York Times’s lead, and soon a cadre of authoritative newspaper food writers helped attune millions of Americans to the finer points of good food and cooking.

Panelists include: Molly O’Neill, former New York Times columnist, and author of the New York Cookbook; Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn and Raising Steaks; Anne Mendelson, author of Stand Facing the Stove, and Milk: the Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, and a contributing editor to Gourmet; David Leite, publisher/editor-in-chief, Leite's Culinaria, and author of The New Portuguese Table; John T. Edge, Director, Southern Foodways Alliance, University of Mississippi, contributing editor, Gourmet, author of Southern Belly.

The panel will be moderated by Andrew F. Smith, editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, and Food Studies professor.

Box Office Information:
In-person purchases can be made at The New School Box Office at 66 West 12th Street, main floor, Monday-Friday 1:00-7:00 p.m. The box office opens the first day of classes and closes after the last paid event of each semester. Reservations and inquiries can be made by emailing boxoffice@newschool.edu or calling 212.229.5488