Smellscapes of Japan - Part THREE

Continuing to design the smellscape of Japan, today we are going to explore Japan's natural sources. if you missed the previous articles click on the link for JAPAN I, JAPAN II

BAMBOO - TAKE

Bamboo is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture due to its structure, roots and abandance and it has several meanings to the Japanese people such as flexibility, strengh, properity, purity and innocence.

FINE BAMBOO HANDCRAFT - JAPAN

It is a perennial evergreen in the grass plant family and it can literally be found everywhere in Japan, and because it is strong, fast-growing and a readily available source it not only became a symbol in Japan, but also vastily used for handicraft, construction, Japanese cuisine, religious rituals and many other modern applications. As you will find everywhere, the scent released from bamboo will also be capture by your nose all the time. It is one of the most natural smellscapes of Japan for sure!

SAGANO BAMBOO FOREST - ARASHIYAMA, KYOTO

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

The most magestic and peaceful way to appreciate bamboo in Japan is visiting the Sagano Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

Walking through one of the lagest bamboo groves of the world can be really an unique experience. You will be very lucky if you get there during a windy day like I did. You will hear and watch very long green swaying in the wind and creaking and its leafs rustling.

Just out of curiosity, remember the 100 Sites of Good Fragrance of the Ministry of Environment of Japan that I mention in my first article about Japan? Well, the same Ministry has also catalogued the 100 Soundscapes of Japan - where local population can appreciate "the wonders of the ear", and Sagano Bamboo Forest is one of them. Not listed in the 100 Kaori Landscape list thou...

BRIDE TO BE IN SAGANO

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

Sagano Bamboo Forest is also the darling location of the brides-to-be.
You will see many couples having their pre-wedding photo shoot there, as bamboo is the symbol of purity and flexibility :-)))

Walking through the long path you will also capture the greeny, fresh, grassy, straw-like scent spread by the wind. I take it it smells differently each season of the year. I came in the end of winter and beginning of spring, so it was cold and humid (it had rained earlier that day, but when we got there the sun was coming out). We capture a very heavy smell of wet straw, wet soil and a hint of leaf-y green scent.

BAMBOO SCENSE PACKAGE - JAPAN

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

There is also a bamboo handcraft souvenir shop close to the entrance where you will not only find beautiful objects made of bamboo, but also a woody, incens-y smell that is really very relaxing! They sell bamboo-scented incence, which I purchased and I love it very much.

PIERIS JAPONICA - SUZURAN - SPRING SNOW

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

"Suzu" means bell and "Ran" means orchid in Japanese. So, Suzuran are little orchid bells. They are also the symbol for hapiness, unconscious beauty and purity and they smell DIVINE.

These waxy, milky-translucid, almost transparent, little bells are heavenly scented!!!
It is like finding French luxurious perfume in clusters hanging on a bush. As French muguet is greener, jasmine-like and sorta indolic scented, the Japanese Spring snow has less green quality, more flowery-honeyd accent. 

You will find them everywhere in Japan blooming during spring. I think gueishas wore them in their hair once. They are unique to Japan, so it is most likely to be marked as a smellscape just as Sakura.

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOSSOM

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOOM - TOKYO

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

Cherry bloom season change every year and it depends mostly on the weather. The first bloom - kaika - starts in Japan usually at the end of March, but most blooms lasts till the end of April.

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOOM - OSAKA

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

It is not a secret that my trip to Japan was all about the cherry bloom experience - hanami - or "flower viewing". I travelled all over Japan in the hunt for the most beautiful cherry tree blooms and frankly, it is really hard to choose which location I loved the most. I was mesmerized by the Himeji Castle site. The Castle is surrounded by 100s of cherry trees and the combination of the 1000s delicate flowers and the white splendor of the castle construction was really amazing.

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOOM - HiMEJI - HIMEJI CASTLE

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

One single tree in Kyoto really touched me for its beauty. Unfortunately it touched also the heart of 1000s of other Japanese that were almost killing each other to take the better shot.

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOOM - KYOTO

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

More blooms...

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOOM - TOKYO KAIKA

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

SAKURA - CHERRY BLOOM - OSAKA

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

To tell the truth not all cherry trees are fragrant. Some have a almost unperceptible smell. The ones that do have a scent it smells more or less like freesias or crushed almonds.

You will find cherry scent extract in many other places thou.

At cherry blossom season many Japanese treats are made with cherry flowers, such as Sakuramochi - a cherry blossom rice cake; Sakura manju - a cherry blossom bean dough; Sakura yokan - cherry blossom jelly cake; Cherry Higashi- a dried cherry sweet among many others.

Frankly I didn't find Japanese desserts that good, but they are beautiful to look and to smell.

SAKURA - CHERRY FLOWER SWEETS - SAKURA-AN - KYOTO

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

SAKURA - CHERRY CHEESE CAKE - HIROSHIMA

Photo credit: +Q Perfume Blog

Although you will find cherry blooms only once a year in Japan, the scent of cherry trees and cherry treats must be marked in Japan's smellscape.

NICHE PERFUMERY LECTURE/ CURSO DE PERFUMARIA DE NICHO

The lounge minutes before starting

This blogger has a long term relationship with CDCP - A center for diffusion of perfume knowledge in São Paulo, Brazil. Through this partnership I have been invited to be one of the jurors of the perfume award Atualidade Cosmética and I have been making brainstorming sessions with fragrance houses and marketing strategy projects.

This year they invited me to give a lecture on Niche Perfumery as part of the studies of perfume in a year round course they offer to professionals of the industry of perfumery and cosmetics.

It was a 3 hours lecture where I told them the history of Niche Perfumery; the concept of niche; the classifications of niche brands an niche perfumery as it is today and its future. We explored many brands and many different concepts in a whiff & think session.

It was very interesting to share ideas with marketing managers and perfumers and how professionals of the cosmetic industry and packing developers could use some of the ideas of niche perfumery in their businesses.

The brands presented were:

Annick Goutal, Jo Malone, Antonio Alessandria, Heeley, Yosh, Mona di Orio, Keiko Mecheri, Olivier Durbano, Maison Kurkdjian, Jovoy Paris, Victoria Minya, Editions de Parfums Frederique Malle, État Libre d’Orange, CB I Hate Perfume, S-Perfume, Blood Concept, A Lab on Fire, Juliette Has a Gun, Nasomatto, Histoires de Parfum, biehl parfumkunstwerke, Fueguia 1833, Olfactive Studio, Clive Christian, Creed, Xerjoff, Puredistance, Ormonde Jayne, Rancé , Creed, Penhaligons’, Fragonard, Maitre Parfumeur e Gantier,  Lubin, Santa Maria Novella, Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 156, Les Parfums de Rosine, Le Labo, Byredo, Ego Facto, Bond Nº9, Mandy Aftel, Rich Hippie, Pacifica, Tsi-La, Rebel Intuitive Perfumerie, Strange Invisible Perfumes, Honoré des Prés, Neela Vermiere Creation, Kerosene, The Vagabond Prince, Aus Liebe zum Duft, Aedes de Venustas, Min NY, Comme de Garçons, Aesop, Costes, Ladurée, Les exclusifs, Van Cleef & Arpels Colection Extraordinaire, Tom Ford Private Blend, Estée Lauder Private Collection, Cartier Lês Heures de Parfum, Dior La Collection Privée.

Shops mentioned: 

Aedes de Venustas, Min NY, Campomarzio 70, Nose, Crème de La Crème, Hip-Nose; and websites luckyscent and  Aus Liebe zum Duft.

SMELL IN THE CITY - AN URBAN OLFACTIVE JOURNEY - PART ONE

Dedicated to VICTORIA HENSAW (1971 - 2014)

In a world of globalization and virtual living we have developed a lack of emotional connection to what is local. We are less aware of our surroundings and we are not fully experiencing the "materiality" of things. Being less contemplative and less emotionally connected to a local environment although it may sound very modern and hip it is also drifting us away from our origins. We are loosing our identities as urban citizens. Where we come from and who we are. We no longer recognize the smell of "home" because we became urban nomads, modern gypsies.

Photo credit: Elle Sweden - November issue 2014

This nomadism social pattern has influenced creations of fashion designers and brands such as Etro brought to fashion week recently in their winter 2014/15 collection a cultural ethnic - boho style. 
Also another example of the nomad style was highlighted in Elle Sweden in their November issue with a complete fashion journey to furs and ponchos.

PATCHOULI ABSOLU EDP

Photo credit: Tom Ford

Tom Ford is showing this trend in perfumery.
This Holiday he is presenting Patchouli Absolu with an iconic note of the 70s, evoking louche sensuality and late-night glamour. Ford’s new fragrance is composed with three different types of patchouli: patchouli oil, patchouli coeur and a breakthrough iteration of patchouli called clearwood – used for the first time in perfumery. 
Other key ingredients are bay leaf, rosemary, moss, woods and amber.

But mostly in perfumery these days, except for the fragrances surrounding patchouli or roses in a new boho- hippie style, we have been spotting the SEARCH FOR THE LOCAL IDENTITY. BEING LOCAL MEANS BEING GLOBAL.
City themed collections, such as the niche brands Le Labo, Bond Nº9 are around quite a while, but the epitome of the theme is found more recently in the project Scent of Departure. 
Outside the niche perfumery world brands like Ermenegildo Zegna are also promising fragrances using local beautiful raw materials. As an example let's check the new fragrance PERUVIAN AMBRETTE, their latest creation for the ESSENZE collection:

"As its name suggests, Peruvian Ambrette features ambrette harvested from a very small yield of seeds derived from the San Martín region of Peru’s Amazonian rainforest. The seed produces an essential oil – described as a sweet, rich musk with nutty undertones – which is considered the only natural non-animal musk ingredient in the fragrance industry. The region’s farmers handpick the seeds, and then separate the ambrette seed shell from the seed itself, as the essential oil is mainly localized within the shell. After distillation, a small amount of oil – which has the thickness of concrete – is obtained.

A further extraction process to eliminate fatty acids yields ambrette absolute – the most pure and premium quality of the ambrette seeds. To achieve the highest quality composition, Zegna’s perfumers intensified the muskiness of the ambrette seed, by combining the absolute with complimentary ingredients to lend a cleaner and lighter characteristic exclusive to the Peruvian Ambrette fragrance according to the brand." (extracted from Moodyreport.com)

MOJAVE GHOST EDP by BYREDO

Photo credit: BYREDO

Another recent example of the SENSE OF PLACE-LOCAL TREND is presented by the niche perfume house BYREDO. Their newest scent is called Mojave Ghost.  
LUCKYSCENT details:

"In the xeric wilderness of the mojave desert, trees and vegetation more ancient than many civilizations defy conditions that prey on human vulnerability. The ghost flower is a rare species that dares to blossom above this baked, hard ground. Despite its arid surroundings and inability to produce nectar, the ghost flower, or mohavea confertiflora, maintains its perfect, majestic beauty and thrives year after year. In an astonishing feat of ingenuity, the flower uses mimicry to attract the pollinators of a neighboring plant species by developing markings that resemble those of a female bee, therefore attracting it and duping the male bee into following suit. This moving human-like behavior and captivating tale of survival lies in the foundation that inspired ‘mojave ghost’, an homage to this most bewitching flower. 

Mojave Ghost opens with a familiar yet mysterious fruit note, like a pear grown on another planet. Languid and almost buttery ambrette and sandalwood facets smooth and stretch these slices of fruit into a golden desert sunset, with petals of violet and magnolia basking in its diminishing light. Warm woods and ambergris remain on the skin for hours, prolonging a magic desert twilight." 

So let's take a deeper look in this trend!

In a multidimensional world where contrast and diversity rules, we want to find our individualism and emotional conection. We are work in progress kind of beings and now to understand who we are in this co existing macro space, we turn to micro, to local, to origin to redefine who we are. We suddenly have a need to recognize familiar smells. To empower what is local. 
To explain it better I think I need to evoke the work of Mrs.Victoria Hensaw (sadly recently deceased this last October), city planner and an odor specialist at the University of Sheffield, who once said that cities are loosing its peculiar smells. She also referred to the fact that brands are expanding globally, bringing their smells with them. 

LUSH BRASIL

Photo credit: site DermaPost 

This introduction of foreign smells is blurring the local smell identity.
A good example in my city, São Paulo (Brazil) is the very unique smell of the International brand LUSH, of English origin, that can be sensed in one entire block of Jardins neighborhood in São Paulo City. Or the coffee aroma coming from Nespresso  store a few meters from Lush.

An example that we all can recognize is the very old American smell of Mc Donald's - sensed around cities of this planet.  Most recently we can add to this chain smell phenomena The Starbucks coffee smell, that seems to proliferate in many cities around the globe like mushrooms after rain.

Japan is an exception in a way. Although eager to have food chains like any other country, according to the specialist it is the country that has one of the most advanced attitudes towards the olfactory sense and its relationship to place, going as far as declaring “One Hundred Sites of Good Fragrance” across the country. 
From the sea mist of Kushiro to the Nanbu rice cracker of Morioka, not to mention the distinct smell of glue that hangs in the air around the doll craftsmen’s homes in Koriyama, all now have protected status.

Well, no wonder! We all know that Japan is one of the countries that cherish the most its traditions and culture.

The questions that are popping out my mind right now are: If cities are loosing their olfactive identity and our olfactive knowledge is changing within time, from generation to generation and globally from culture to culture, is it possible that we are also loosing this local olfactive reference becoming globally olfactive noses? Are we loosing our personal locally scent database?

Adding something to the subject of olfactive identity and odor lexicon Dutch researches of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in The Netherlands found out that the richness in vocabulary to describe smells is also influenced by culture and location. 

According to them a group of hunter-gatherers from Thailand can describe smells using at least 15 different abstract expressions. They organize them in categories according to their pleasantness and dangerousness. They go even further saying that neuroscientists can also draw valuable conclusions such as that the structure of this group lexicon of smells can indicate that pleasant and dangerous smells are processed differently in the brain.

Another question raised: if we became modern nomads and we are loosing our local identity and becoming more global, is it possible that we are expanding our olfactive lexicon? According to the researchers English speakers have more difficulty to name odors. even familiar everyday odors such as coffee, banana and chocolate can be named correctly by the smell only 50% of the time! The researchers also proved that this is not true for all languages. By studying that group they understood that it varies from place to place and from culture to culture. So if there is a biological limitation for our ability to name smells, being global can improve our ability? If so, although we are loosing a bit of our olfactive identity we can also be improving our olfactive vocabulary. Interesting!

These questions lead me to another one: What scents shape a country, a city or a neighborhood? Have you ever thought the smells surrounding you?

In my neighborhood at this season (Spring) the most present smell is the smell of HADROANTHUS ALBUS or Ipê tree.  

These trees exhale a beautiful delicate smell and it is everywhere.

I decided last weekend to do a Smell Walk a bit far from my home and register for a post that is coming soon. If you stick around you will go on a surprising fragrant journey in the heart of a city.

See you soon! :)

MiN NEW YORK - Um passeio olfativo por Nova Iorque III - SOHO

Nova Iorque vista de cima durante o evento Elements
crédito fotográfico: + Q Perfume Blog

Para quem acompanha o blog vai lembrar da minha viagem para Nova Iorque em 2012 - Passeio olfativo - parte I e passeio olfativo parte II. A verdade é que em NYC me sinto em casa e desde então já voltei para essa cidade maravilhosa algumas (muitas) vezes mais. Um dos meus lugares favoritos fora o High Line e o Village é o SOHO - pelos seu charme arquitetônico e as muitas lojas de perfumes.

O bairro é fashionista e já foi no passado mais charmoso da Ilha, porém atualmente muito frequentado por turistas. No verão é um pouco irritante ter que lutar por um lugarzinho na calçada (mas é melhor do que no inverno, época que muitas lojas não abrem as portas antes das duas da tarde).

Bom, seja qual for a estação do ano, prepare a carteira porque é lá que você realmente vai passar o cartão muuuuitas vezes! Lojas como a Molton Brown, Aesop, Osswald, Sabon, Le Labo, SMN, Bond Nº9, Fresh, Atelier Cologne estão espalhadas pelas ruas entre as marcas famosas Chanel, John Varvatos, Moncler, etc... e pontos gourmets como o famoso Balthazar e L'Ecole

bolos  L'Ecole

crédito fotográfico: + Q Perfume Blog

Se você está ainda aqui...(kkk) :

Parada obrigatória para todos amantes da perfumaria de nicho entre a Prince e Houston - mais precisamente na Crosby Street no número 117 é a loja/estúdio MiN NEW YORK.

MiN NEW YORK
crédito fotográfico: + Q Perfume Blog

Um  toque de elegância no meio desse bairro efervescente MiN NEW YORK é mais do que uma loja; é um ponto de encontro de blogueiros, donos de marcas, ávidos compradores de perfume, cientistas ligados ao estudo do olfato e curiosos (inclusive, dentro da loja existe um local especial para esses encontros). 

MiN NEW YORK

crédito fotográfico: + Q Perfume Blog

Sofás de couro e um bar olfativo são ocupados por frequentadores assíduos e visitantes ocasionais durante a semana ou em eventos promovidos por Mindy a curadora da loja.  Acolhedor e hipster como o dono e fundador Chad Murawczyk, o tb chamado estúdio possui além de perfumes, produtos para asseio pessoal (grooming em Inglês), velas e outros objetos de decoração e um serviço de marketing olfativo e de concierge olfativo*. Marcas como Mona di Orio, Puredistance, Heely, Keiko Mecheri, Jovoy e muitas outras de altíssima qualidade ou difíceis de encontrar estão expostas de uma forma lindíssima, em móveis chiquérrimos entre outros objetos de decoração.
Como era de se esperar Chad e Mindy ampliaram sua coleção de perfumes de nicho com o desenvolvimento de uma própria chamada de MiN NEW YORK SCENT STORIES, composta por 11 fragrâncias EDP diferenciadas, criadas e inspiradas a partir de memórias e conceitos olfativos da dupla. São elas Dune Road, Long Board, Dahab, Moon Dust, Momento, Barrel, Old School Bench, Magic Circus, Onsen, Shaman, e The Botanist.

MiN NEW YORK SCENT STORIES SAMPLES

crédito fotográfico: + Q Perfume Blog

Dando uma pequena prévia das avaliações que virão em breve: MAGIC CIRCUS EDP é uma fragrância gourmet com notas de nozes cristalizadas, algodão doce, caramelo, bergamota, pimenta rosa, ládano, gerânio, patchouli e lascas de madeira. Aqui não espere por uma fragrância do tipo Angel de TM ou Jeux de Peau de Serge Lutens. Este fica mais para o tipo de perfume que passeia por notas gustativas sem colocar o pé literalmente na cozinha - como Bois de Farine da L'Artisan. 

Fique antenado (a) para ler as resenhas dos perfumes da coleção!BJOSSSS

SEX, FOOD & PERFUMES - PART I

This article will be divided into 2 parts. In the first part I will explore the food metaphors metaphors for sex. In part II you will find out how the tactile experience of using food in sex turned into an olfactive experience to be whiffed on the skin. I hope you enjoy!


Genesis 3:6:7

ו  וַתֵּרֶא הָאִשָּׁה כִּי טוֹב הָעֵץ לְמַאֲכָל וְכִי תַאֲוָה-הוּא לָעֵינַיִם, וְנֶחְמָד הָעֵץ לְהַשְׂכִּיל, וַתִּקַּח מִפִּרְיוֹ, וַתֹּאכַל; וַתִּתֵּן גַּם-לְאִישָׁהּ עִמָּהּ, וַיֹּאכַל.	6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
ז  וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה, עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם, וַיֵּדְעוּ, כִּי עֵירֻמִּם הֵם; וַיִּתְפְּרוּ עֲלֵה תְאֵנָה, וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם חֲגֹרֹת.	7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles.

Since the early beginning of humankind we will find many symbolic connections between food and sex. In the book of Genesis in the Old Testament the serpent tricks Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and to offer it to Adam. By eating the forbidden fruit they discovered they were naked (meaning that they realized they had different sexes and they were attracted to each other in a sexual way) and because they disobeyed God's will they are punished by being expelled from the Garden of Eden. 

If the forbidden fruit was a pomegranate, a citron or a fig, we will never know. But we know for a fact that the forbidden fruit was a metaphor for pleasure and sex; and eating was a metaphor for sexual intercourse. The Old testament uses fruits as metaphors to approach this delicate subject as many ancient texts did in the past.

The historically and universally use of fruits as a metaphor for sex and erotica is linked to the intrinsic sexuality of the fruit itself. According to Ronald Veenker from the Western Kentucky University " Fruit is the reproductive part of the plant – its sexual organs. Fruit is… very colorful and shaped so that it is readily differentiated from foliage. It is attractive to the eye, and tempts one to approach and touch it. Fruit exudes an appealing fragrance, especially strong and irresistible when it is very ripe. Fruit makes an ideal metaphor for sex because the two have quite similar sensual attributes. The sex organs are irregular in shape in comparison to other body parts. They increase in size and change color during sexual arousal, making them more attractive. The odors of the vaginal and seminal fluids also serve to attract and arouse. And the juiciness of both fruit and pudenda is obvious".

In ancient and modern Literature we will also find substitutions or expressions related to food when in fact the authors were speaking of sexual desire, passion and women's vaginal fluids. The list is long: "hunger for" using a verb related to food in substitution for wanting or lusting someone sexually; lover's desires to "eat" their beloved or the expression "devouring" with the eyes; men tasting women's sweet "honey"... just to mention a few.

We also have modern sexual connotations for food that are less sophisticated such as saying a woman pops her "cherry" to mean she lost her virginity or men relating to breasts as melons.



Some foods are directly linked to men's fantasy:
Processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages and winners are considered rather sexual for having phallic shapes; cucumbers, bananas, asparagus, zuchinnis, etc... are also clearly identifiable as male sex symbolism and men just love watching a woman put them into the mouth. Watch Gerard Butler coaching Katerine Heigl how to seduce her date by putting slowly a penis shaped food in her mouth in movie The Naked Truth.

Whipped cream.  Creams in general are constantly used in movies and in advertising as sexual associations with masculine sperm... and since we are mentioning whipping cream, I would like to tell you something very curious I recently learned about cake and sex. Turns out that wedding cakes are a symbol of the feminine sex organ and the act of cutting the cake is a metaphor for defloration. The act of cutting the cake by the bride and groom celebrates the act of making love that can and will be consummated only after marriage. Easy now to explain why we all have an urge to eat moistly creamy cakes!

Creative director of BBDO Paris, Valérie Levy- Harrar shows the sensuality of food in a series of videos called Chromatic Porn Food. She excites us without using a single human model. She plays with our fantasies. Showing how gourmand treats are sensually tasty.

In ROUGE we experience the combination of coffee ( a beverage commonly associated by consumers as masculine and virile) with raspberries - the feminine fruit. Raspberry is known to be related to women's fertility. It also symbolizes fragility and kindness. Lustful ingredients, such as chocolate, melt to create sensual creams. Boiling sugar and the intensity of the color red explore passion and desire.

In ROSE, although more sophisticated than ROUGE, we will find more explicit sexual connotation of intercourse when coffee cream is placed in a phallic pastry cone to be carefully inserted inside the pastry. There is penetration in food my friends!
Here the same masculine ingredient - coffee - will "seduce" and engage in "sexual intercourse" with a very delicate and feminine figure - Petit Chou - the pink French pastry. It is a visual feast of liquids and creams dripping, fire burning and pastries "growing and exploding". ROSE clearly illustrates that food preparing can be very sensual and that food ingredients can be very erotic and arousing.

So far we have seen food as a visual substitute for the forbidden pleasure either implied, imagined, or fantasized. But what about playing with food? Having a tactile sexual experience with them? To use taste and touch to seduce? 

Playing with food is universally forbidden for kids. Parents never liked it and even punished us for doing so. But as grown-ups we are allowed to play with food and use it as a tool of sexual excitement. Some people call it sitophilia.

In 1986 Kim Basinger lived a submissive, sadomaso toxic relationship with Mickey Rourke in Nine and A Half Weeks. The steamy scenes had a level of explicitness that is remembered till today. The sex scene in front of the refrigerator was probably reproduced in many other kitchens all over the world.

Mickey seduces Kim with her taste buds. With her eyes closed he inserts in her fleshy sensual mouth all kids of foods that have sexual connotations or shapes, such as dripping cherries, strawberries, jalapenos peppers and Jello. There are also scenes of liquids coming from her mouth such as wine, cough syrup and milk. The milk scene by the way is very erotic because Kim's close up licking it out of her face implies a blow job with coming-in-the-mouth fantasy. And the final touch is the honey. Mickey pours honey into on her tongue saying that he is going to put it right on the spot. He spreads honey on her knees and inner legs and finally after seducing and dominating her with food, they have sex.

The success of the movie is intrinsically related to the fact that AIDS was the great villain of the 80's and at that time people were either scarred of having sex or trying to get used to the fact that they could only have it if using condoms. So in order to spice up the act and make it more pleasurable, food played an important role in seduction. 

In the 90's manufactures launched condoms with taste in order to reinvent condoms and encourage the population to use them while having oral sex.

Comedian Carrie Snow once said that if God was a woman sperm would taste like chocolate. Well, it doesn't and if it did we wouldn't probably be here;-). But if you like chocolate or BACON (YES, BACON!) flavored penises your man can use a flavored condom. As shocking as it may sound to you J&D company invented the bacon flavored rubber.

Soon lubes, massage creams, stimulating oils, sexual enhancers and all sort of flavored balms and gels were successfully launched in the market for extra oral pleasure. The vast array of slippery flavored products are countless. Some of these tantalizing creams are advertised as EDIBLE creams.

But how to explain this sexual relationship that we have with food? Is it biological?

My guess is that it is evolutionary. As all carnivore animals, we are all hunting - mating beings. That said, he who brings the food gets to mate with the female. Food and sex were and still are the main factors of human survival in this planet, therefore the ability to supply food establishes an economic partnership between a male and a female in which men demonstrate how well they are able to provide and take care of themselves and their future offspring.

To be continued soon...

In PART II I will continue to explore the relationship between food and sex and understand how and why gourmet fragrances are so successful. I am also going to bring the unusual scents available in the market today with funny, shocking and "tasty" smells.

Meanwhile I would like to invite you to reflect a bit about the subject!