Image, Nymphaea-CaeruleaHeadspace is a crucial method for olfactory realism in a world where traditional perfumery ingredients are increasingly regulated or extinct. The term headspace refers both to the scent in the air around the face of a flower, a fruit or any other scented object as well as the method for recreation of a scent. Perfumers analyze complex or rare scents by collecting the object in a vacuum or on a granular carrier and identifying its components. Headspace was used to render a "space rose" in Shiseido's Zen and has been used to create the scent of freshly cut grass or other environmental scents.
Ironically, the headspace technology and the growing demand for authenticity in scent has arrived just as many prized olfactory ingredients come closer to extinction or regulation due to their use of endangered animalic essences or the allergic or toxic effects of some naturals.
Just as I was remarking here this week that Lotus perfume is more often idea than flower, it turns out that Lotus is being extracted by the headspace process.
Roger & Gallet has announced the 2006 release of an eau parfumante called Blue Lotus.
"The scent, created by Albert Morillas (Firmenich), is described as a fresh solar and opens with citrus notes of mandarine and neroli and is built around a heart of lotus extracted through the headspace process, rose and orange blossom. The base includes patchouli, sandalwood and incense."Read the press release on Cosmetic News
Like Shiseido's Zen, a complex blend which included the "space rose," Blue Lotus will use the headspace note in concert with other notes. It is not a simulacrum of the scent of lotus alone. As with Aftelier Pink Lotus, which featured sandalwood, Roger & Gallet Blue Lotus draws on the association of the lotus as a sacred flower of the East with its patchouli, sandalwood, incense base.
I note the increasing use of "solar" to describe recent fragrance releases. I guess that would be accurate in this case since the lotus unfurls its festoons of scent when the sun rises. Perhaps "auroral" would have been more accurate still, since the scent is traditionally collected at dawn.
Morillas, the perfumer for Blue Lotus, is a reknowned nose in fine fragrance as well as the burgeoning genre of the conceptual art scent, with his Lust for the Seven Deadly Sins installation with artist Sacre Nobi.
With Blue Lotus, Morillas moves from the sinful to the virtuous, and switches from exploring Catholicism to an homage to a flower that is an essential symbol of Buddhism. In Buddhism, the Blue Lotus represents the virtue of the victory of the spirit over the senses and wisdom in Buddhism. Roger & Gallet Blue Lotus will be released in soap and bath gel as well as the light formula of the eau parfumante, and will be available in the U.S. by late 2006.
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13 comments:
Thanks for the lowdown - I seem to like a lot of Morillas's creations and am looking forward to sniffing this! Anything with orange blossom goes on my "to sniff" list!
After Lust, Morillas can't put his foot wrong as far as I am concerned. :-) So, even though I actually am not a fan of the lotus note, I will be waiting for Blue Lotus with much excitement.
Cait, I am really losing it, I SWEAR I posted a comment yesterday. Are you deleting them because they are inane, or obscene? ;-) I can't re-create my previous brilliance, so will only say that I was looking for a new fragrance to lust after. And This. One. Is. It. Loved "auroral."
March!
i would never delete your comments! That's nuts. I think you posted on my other lotus article right before this one, no?
Marina,
I'm not so sure I like Lust (the perfume) but this one interests me, too. The press release says it will be in France in March so I guess that goes on my to smell list.
Marlen,
Yes, orange blossom. Azares, as they are called in Spanish. They smell heavenly after dark in the backyard under a sea of stars. Another essential scent memory for me. They are wonderful in a tea, too, with a nip of the best tequila. Yesterday I wore Apres l'Ondee and rediscovered just how much I like orange blossom. It reminded me of how much I like Cologne Sologne, another orange blossom scent.
Cait -- I kid, I kid. ;-0 Although I do notice that my word verifications are getting longer and longer (8 letters on this one) -- I think sometimes I type them in wrong and then close the window before I see the error of my ways...
I've tried the R&G Lotus Bleu soap in France - it actually left me rather cold. (I have a terrible, terrible addiction to their carnation and tea rose soaps, though, so this doesn't lose them any income...)
Dear Squeeze,
Yes, for a soapaholic rex like me, R & G have some treasures.
The "reasons" for headspace re: blue lotus, is specious, at best. It is not endangered. It is not toxic or sensitizing. The absolute is authentic-smelling. However, it is expensive. The main drawback to headspace creations is that they do not evolve sensually, enchantingly, on the skin. They just sit there. For a low-price line like R&G the headspace of I guess, just about all more pricier scents, makes sense. For me, at least, I'll stick with the real deal
Anya,
I bet the cost of the absolute is an important factor dissuading them from use. I did more research on vanilla and found that despite the fact that it's not endangered or anything, the big companies are moving away from natural sources to avoid the volatility and inconsistency of flavor and fragrance toward the synthetic. I'd love to have the chance to compare and contrast headspace and natural lotus.
The big companies have used that mantra for years, it's nothing new ;-) Some of us don't care if the scent is a bit different -- especially us wine drinkers, we understand, we understand, lol, in fact, sometimes we appreciate and babble on about a certain vintage.
If you ever do get some blue lotus absolute, remember it must be diluted w.a.y down. Absolutes (and EOs) are so concentrated, many who sniff them for the first time remark how they do not smell like the original aromatic. Dilution is key. That said, some oils just don't smell like the real thing (neroli, eg.)
Many, if not most of the tropical flowers are very well represented by their extracts, amazingly so.
Anya,
I really appreciate this information. Thanks!
Cait
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