My smell walk could have ended once I found myself under the lime trees. It would be considered an amazing olfactive experience of smelling scents in natura, after all I have encounter many sources of raw materials. Curious as I am and eager to find more beauty I continued to explore the park and its surroundings.
Location 07: Hortensias.
Even that they were beginning to bloom I caught one that had a hint of fragrance. Truth is that these flowers have a very delicate smell that is almost imperceptible. Slightly flowery, they are more beautiful to look than to smell ;(.
Location 08: Sweet Alissum.
Although Sweet Alissum is a border/edging flower from the Mustard family and said to glow in the dark (I have never seen it) it does not smell like mustard at all!
What a joy to the senses is to experience the sight and the smell of these beautiful little flowers! Originally from the mediterranean region they bloom beautifully in Brazil. And the scent? OMG the scent! Pure golden sweetness!
It is very floral - gourmand mixing notes of honey dew, honey comb and pollen.
By far my favorite honey note of all flowers.
Location 09: Plumeria.
Most commonly known as frangipani these flowers are natives here, found in white, dark pink, light pink and pink and yellow.
Although it releases most of its scent by night in order to attract moths (their pollinators), here in São Paulo you can smell these flowers from far. They are everywhere and right now it is an endless display of beautiful trees in the entire city!
I am surrounded by them. All my neighbors have at least one tree in their garden. My right neighbor has a tree that is almost the size of her house.
I smell these beautiful flowers from the time I wake up till I go to sleep feeling blessed by this gift from Nature.
It evokes a sweet tropical scent of sunsets at the beach and picnic under trees. It is a sensual and alluring fragrance reminding tiare and jasmine with fruity undertones.
When I close my eyes under a frangipani tree and smell the scent of its flowers I feel elevated. It is a mythical experience for me.
In perfumery the fragrance of frangipani varies according to its extraction method.
The British brand Ormonde Jayne has a beautiful Frangipani perfume that I recommend to every person who likes the scent of this flower.
Location 10: Magnolia Champaca.
Here in Brazil they are not yellow at all. In fact they are dark orange, almost red.
Heady-floral, creamy, warm, exotic, Joy-ish (by Jean Patou), magnolia - like fragrance with a hint of a tea note and a apricot undertone, it is by far the most beautiful scent I've encountered in the park.
Champaca is loaded of carotenoids, ionenes, jasmonates and indoles which are some of the main ingredients of its brilliant scent.
Although lime blossom was equally amazing somehow Champaca is more luxurious, more chic.
Finishing the smell walk in the park I could not be happier to close my fragrant experience with the scent of green mangoes!
Outside the park, near to the place where I parked my car I found 3 mango trees.
Final location: Mango trees.
Unripe mangoes, what a scent!
Luxurious, ethereal, fresh, green-ish floral, delicate with a fading metallic hint (due to acetone molecules). It is a perfume ready to be bottled and sold.
Just like frangipanis, the mango trees are to be found all over town. In my neighborhood I have seen many, but not with this quantity of mangoes.
Yes, it screamed JEAN CLAUDE ELLENA loud and clear!
In my next smell walk you are going to take a walk with me and discover why São Paulo in a way is similar to NYC and the versatility of cultural backgrounds and how they influence in the general olfactive experience. Stick around because it is...
To be continued...
