Self Soothing

Spring got here, went into retreat, then came back as full summer. This warmth feels good for a bad cold I've been dealing with, especially now I have completely lost my voice. Decongestants dry out the throat and lead to laryngitis, and dry everything else out as well, including the skin. In this state I have not been able to really appreciate much in the way of perfume though it still gets through to me; I simply have no desire for it at the moment. I am probably missing a lot of subtle components also, as with food. When this happens, as it happens to us all from time to time, the only thing to do is as much self care as possible. Tea made of fresh ginger with honey tastes a lot like brandy and for me quiets the cough reflex more reliably than Robitussin, and also helps with the attendant sinus headache. Tiny bits of eucalyptus oil mixed into the palms with a lotion and rubbed into the arms and chest sends therapeutic fumes to the face.

The dry skin is another factor, and I am very lucky that my kind friend Leah gave me a a new product -- Argan oil. It is very light, clear, and goes on more like a serum than and oil, and sinks into the skin almost immediately. It is also used on the hair and body. Made from the nut of the Argan tree, which grows only in Morocco, the nuts are gathered and the oil is extracted by the local women who are now beginning to materially benefit by setting up as cooperatives. Earning their own money brings them social and financial independence, a rare and precious benefit for them.

Argan is exceptionally rich in natural vitamin E and fatty acids, reduces inflammation and is anti-bacterial. It seems to bring out the latent rose in the cheeks so I am not surprised that it is known for reviving the look of dull, dry skin. At the same time it works well for oily skin because it is cleansing and balances the moisture levels, and so ideal for combination skin on the face.

It is pure enough to eat and is used as a food oil in a similar manner to olive oil. Better known in Europe than in the U.S. so far, we now have Kahina "Giving Beauty", a company that has entered into fair trade practices with the Moroccan women's cooperatives, and they have also created a larger product line that uses Argan as a primary ingredient. Their products have no parabens, synthetics, or petroleum products, and they have been careful to exclude other culprits that might give you pause as you apply a product to your face. Their packaging is thoughtful and renewable and they give back 25% of profits to women's programs in the Moroccan region that produces the Argan. I hope they do well, because they are doing good and have made a beneficial beauty product you can feel good about using.

Above photo of ladies in the dry desert winds, from the Kahina web site.

Interesting Perfume Conversations

After going everywhere to try every kind of perfume, everyone gathering at the finale of the Spring Sniffapalooza perfume safari's last stop at Aedes de Venustas has experienced so many enthusiasms and scents over the past two days, that they are still standing only by sheer force of will or the strength of an innately iron constitution. They have become willing to share their uncensored impressions. I learn more about perfume then than at any other time. My fellow enthusiasts have always been my best teachers. People are tired and foggy, in a good mood, and basking in the afterglow of numerous satisfying fragrance experiences. They let down any guard they may have left, and I have the most truthful conversations with attendees who appear like oracles informing me of the most intimate feelings about perfume. This is when I come to see perfume as a prime vector for a soul satisfying mind/body connection.

Ida Meister/Chayaruchama, an eloquent missionary on the subject of perfume, has generously made a point of introducing me to a serene yoga/science guy (who leads a double life as an Iyengar yoga instructor and a research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health). Jarvis Chen combines meditative calm with interest in beautiful materiality. We spoke about modern tensions between the Eastern monastic teachings on the practice of austerities and an active searching for transcendent experiences of beauty through the sense of smell and the refined compositions of perfume. It is possible to become too attached to the discipline of minimalism as you can to the appreciation of complicated sensual beauty. In balance they can each inform and support the other so neither is overwhelmed or mutually exclusive.

Christopher Voigt of Vetivresse remarked on the difference of cultural standards of perfume beauty as a factor in appreciation. (For an example, Raphaella Brescia, the editor of Sniffapalooza online magazine enthusiastically points to the 5 star you-will-cry Amouage Homage to Attar kept under a bell jar). Can you even smell it? How do you cultivate the ability to appreciate the subtle and elusive beauty of something so outside your own cultural standards? Exposure and experience, maintaining an open mind, research and the feeding of curiosity. On the other hand, you have Amouage Ubar, very easy to like, all beauty, no edge. I smelled it on someone who had to have it because it worked so well on her skin that it gained dimension from her own physical presence, and vice-versa.

Then I got to talk to Dawn Spencer Hurwitz. She is a perfumer who has collected vintage perfumes and flacons for years and plans to open a museum for them. She has the ability to recreate a one-off copy of vintage formulations for personal use. That will be one way you can have the opportunity to know the originals of Mitsouko or Coty Chypre or the classic version of Chanel No. 5, that will soon disappear from availability at any price. We discovered our mutual interest in the Internet subculture specializing in female life of the 18th century, such as Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide (and the English version by Lady Georgianna). They are a forum for art historians and writers to enjoy the feminine side of the history of that time period, and not incidentally the great importance placed on self presentation and the significance and elegance of personal gestures such as scents. DSH has delved into antique recipes for perfume used in the hair powder of the 18th Century. I would love to try that and many of her others, especially those inspired by our commonly held interest in Napoleon and Josephine.

Karen Adams, one of the two Karens who organize all this rich parade, drew me to Les Parfums de Rosine to try the new Rose Praline, an amber rose of high definition, and also the yellow summer rose of Rose d'Ete which I loved also for its bright warm air of softness and spacious dry sweetness. She knows from prior experience (Creed Fleur de The Rose Bulgare 1890) that I am helpless before a very accurate rose perfume. What I don't quite understand is the prejudice against roses these days. True, they are not the personification of modernity, but they are so smooth and beautiful, and an essential ingredient of so many of the fashionable aoud compositions, they are not to be dismissed so easily. It's like trying to live without the color red. The Rosines do personify that modern taste for transparent but defined spacial layers in a composition, unified and grounded by the basic primal beauty of different varieties of roses. If I could afford it I would have taken both the Praline and the d'Ete. But then I have the Creed Fleur de The Rose Bulgare back-listed also.

It's remarkable how while most perfume enthusiasts I know are not people of especially great means, they will still find ways to get their hands on at least one or two fine perfumes a couple of times a year. This year will see I am sure a great cutting back, but there are many who economize elsewhere in order to indulge in this way. I am interested in finding out more about these stratagems and will post on this topic again.

Above, Dante and Beatrice Ascend to the Heaven of the Sun by di Paolo, British Museum -- Looks like they are having an interesting conversation on the wonders of the natural and spiritual worlds.

Do follow my links, they will lead you into many enjoyable diversions...

As a no doubt necessary disclaimer, please consider these recounts of conversations as strictly memories and thoughts of my own, rather than an exact recall of what any of the above persons may have said verbatim. This is more about what I heard that day...