Mona di Orio Parfums - RIP

There are moments in a life of a perfume blogger when words cannot be found, or are not enough to describe a thought, a feeling.

My beloved perfumer Mona di Orio has passed away.

I have small vials of her fragrances, and this is what I will keep from her. Drop by drop, every scent contains her beautiful soul, her passion for fragrances and her ability to create art. I will keep them close to my heart.

Rest in Peace my dearest fragrant lady.

We are all going to miss you.

I know I will.

If you wish to leave here a message of peace to her or to her beloved ones, I will send them all to her business partner Jos, so he will forward them to her family.

Fragrance trend for a world in transition

"Love looks forward, hate looks back, anxiety has eyes all over its head".  

(Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960)

Understanding the world nowadays seems almost impossible. Every morning we wake up thinking today is going to be a better day. We have our matutinal bath to freshen up and feel energized. By the time we sit to have breakfast reality strikes us, folded at the door, conspiring against our appetite and inner peace. The daily newspaper, loaded with pages and pages of environmental, religious, social, financial and political chaotic news.  To say that we face unprecedented or unimaginable crisis, means denial of pages and pages of registered world history. Let's face it, as the past has shown to us, turmoil leads to changes. For better or for worst, we are facing today the result of decades of our own desire to change.

This instability, this inner conflict that we are living day by day, this desperate desire to adjustment, to reconciliation, to peace, this constant quest for answers and for changes is leading us to stress. Chaos is making us vulnerable, frustrated and very unhappy. We are today, in a constant state of worry. 
Try to remember when was the last time that things were simpler, happier...when you didn't have to pay for your mortgage, tuition, credit cards, Medicare or any health care plan, etc etc etc... Most of us will go back to our childhood, when our concerns were a math test, how many more days we had till summer holidays, or even if it was ok to kiss with braces :-)

Scientists have been studying for quite a while now the intimate connection between olfaction and its power to evoke memories (olfactory flashbacks). In fact, sweet fragrances do evoke recollections of our childhood, but simply because they were pleasant. If you did not have a happy childhood, how could you still make this link? Because although not all childhoods were pleasant, the sweet treats we all had as children were. Chocolate birthday cakes and sunday treats, ice creams during summer holidays or after a movie with an uncle or friends. Grandparents visits along with boxes of chocolates...all brought to us a sense of caring, warmth, comfort and pleasure.

Vanilla is one of the most popular among many sweet scents, due to the fact that it is unconsciously related to simplicity and purity. It is recognized in many researches as universally pleasant, helping to reduce anxiety and stress. 
The thing is, vanilla calms you down!
So, if you were wondering why we have so many gourmet fragrances being launched recently, you have the answer. Gourmet fragrances has acquired popularity because our society today is in desperate need to feel less stressed. We want comfort & warmth. We want our lives to be simpler again! We want vanilla based scents!

We want to be indulged by the sweet crunchiness of a brioche French toast with honey on top. We want to bring a whiff of sticky woody caramelized maple syrup with soothing notes of butter to the fastidious commute to work, in order to extend the breakfast time joy. Commuting hours and major traffic jams add just one more twist to the stressful routine. And than you ask yourself...why all this effort to get to a job that does not even pay my bills? A whiff of a spiced oriental perfume would give this journey a more positive vibe. Feeling more confident, more desirable, who knows...meeting a charmer in the train, subway, bus.

Finally you got to work. By lunch time you are already overwhelmed by surreal performance goals your boss demanded from you, by the lack of perspective of a raise in your salary in the near future, or again, by the new wave of violence and terrorism announced by online news papers. You are concerned and it shows on all those new expression lines you have in your forehead. You have no money for one more shot of Botox, you have no money to have your hair done, or a quick pump on the sisters to move the attention to another area. Sadly, you are definitely looking older!! But you are not alone. 1000s of men just like your boss are also looking at the mirror. Stress made their hair line go up 02 inches more. And they came with more bad news: grey hair on the chest and shoulders. The belly got bigger, but the savings, got thinner and thinner...
How to feel desired when you look like shit? The answer is gourmet fragrances. They can produce the olfactive sensation of being younger. And if we can combine edible with sensual... wow! We have created a real magical potion! An elixir for youth! Tempted already? Fragrances are promising you success, power, sexual appeal! Apply a sexy perfume and what you have seen in the mirror vanishes in a whiff! You are the man of the hour! You are the lady who looks always young and desired. You are the princess, the diva, the lover. But what if today, all men need is a friendly smile? Someone who will make him feel secure & loved, and most of all, relaxed? What if he misses mom??

A whiff of savory pralines, macaroons and recently baked cookies will make him run to your arms. Once in your arms, the perfume will reveal sensual flowers and animalic notes. "Come to momma and I will show you how different I am from your mom" kind of fragrance! Gourmet fragrances are always coming with implied sensual seduction. Edible, yes, but also seductive. 
Today gourmet perfumes have a refinement touch. They are not so obviously tutti-fruitti or chocolate melting temptations. They come with rich sandalwood notes, with expensive ambergris or exclusive orris. 


This is the first article about gourmet fragrances. Find in my next article, gourmet fragrances that are more daring, more complexed. 


You will be tempted to lick, to give a bit...you will be addicted...

Puredistance M - fragrance review

Jan & Puredistance M

Photo credit: Puredistance

When Jan E. Wos created his brand Puredistance he wanted to bring the best of haute parfumerie to his clients, so he teamed up with renowned master perfumer Roja Dove, (now working as an independent consultant in London), to create his first unisex perfume - Puredistance M, a luxurious chypre fragrance crafted with classic tradition with a modern twist.

Photo credit: Puredistance

Olfactive notes: bergamot, lemon, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, patchouli, moss, cistus, vetiver, vanilla, leather and musk.

Description by the Brand: "Sumptuous, sensuous and complex, but at the same time noble and sophisticated."

Inspiration:" by the stylish comfort of the interior of a grey Austin Martin". The Bond automobile. 

Description by + Q Perfume Blog: LEATHERY, POWDERY, ELEGANT, SENSUAL

Concentration: 25% of perfume extrait

Fixation: Outstanding

Silage: descreet

Range: 17.5ml and sample of 1ml - check their website for the presentation, accessories and perfume bottles.

Rating:✩✩✩✩✩♥

Where:

✩✩✩✩✩ - Between the Austin and M, I will have a hard time to choose which one is better crafted. Can I have both?

✩✩✩✩ - As sensual as Bond driving the Aston.

✩✩✩ - Nice, but not really Bond material.

✩✩ - Take me as fast as you can out of here, in your Aston!

✩ - It is a licensed product to kill my olfactive sense.

Photo credit: Puredistance

I have given a lot of attention to leather fragrances over the years because I really love them. Puredistance M stood out from the many leather perfumes I have sampled because it is first of all, beautifully crafted and luxuriously packed, and secondly it is for a fact an unisex fragrance. Usually leathers are framed into the masculine gender and when described as shared, it does not really fit to women, but only to the ones with a Tomboy persona. M is magnificently sexy on my husband, who is a fan of leather fragrances. For the first time I can have him wearing a sensual smoky leather perfume that it is not screaming out loud "I'm too sexy for my cat, too sexy for my cat, poor pussy poor pussy cat..." :-) LOL!

Puredistance M does not shout, it whispers velvety notes in your ears. It is for men with a reserved elegance. Men who does not need to show to others how much money he has in his bank account, or how many women he has in his blackberry contacts. It is for men who already know they posses a natural charm and the fragrance is just a way of expressing it.

I have been publishing pictures of men who in my opinion express the aura of the fragrances I review. Here in this case I don't have to look further, because I think there is no one more charming that Jan himself to illustrate what I mean! 

The fragrance on my skin reveals a different development. It is smoothy rich and very rubbery. The floral heart is more accentuated, while the spiciness is fully revealed in my husband's skin. For both of us the leather notes combined to patchouli peak fast, and last till the final drops. The dirty mossy notes are blended beautifully with vetiver, and this is the last statement of chypre perfection you will get from this creation.

I must say that chypre fragrances were always my preference, and Puredistance M not only will be listed as one of my preferred, but it also brought a new hint of excitement to my life with this rich oriental spicy-woody-vanilla elegance.

ASTON MARTIN

In 1964, the James Bond played by Sean Connery drove a silver birch Aston Martin DB5, which made a tremendous success due to its timeless beauty, and tempting gadgets. Today, the featuring model in Bond movies is called simply DBS. Puredistance M and the Bond Aston Martin have the same qualities: outstanding performance, unquestionable style, and most of all, both will achieve maximum acceleration speed of 190MP, while the Aston M with its performance on the road; Puredistance M will do it to your heartbeat, when close to someone wearing it :-)

Sexual degradation, Stereotypes and perfume advertising

This blogger has been writing about marketing strategies to sell perfume over the years, and one of the subjects on the spotlight was the use of sex to sell perfumes. Click HERE, HERE and HERE for the previous articles. Fragrance marketers play with consumer's fantasy. Desirability, attraction and passion are most of the central themes in fragrance positioning since 1970. What changes throughout the years is the is the content and the way to express desire. Now, I could go back some decades and fill this blog with articles about this particular sexual - social behavior, which is very interesting, but I want to focus more in the present times, because they are really disturbing. Somewhere in the long run, sexism and treating people, specially women, like meat became the newest way to shock and promote a fragrance.

Women are usually framed in a position that sends the message of submission or that the only instrument she has is to use her sexuality in order to get what she wants.

In the world of rapers-hip hopers, women are objects with huge butts, to shake and be spanked by very cool dudes with huge chains on the neck. Most rap videos show women in a submissive degrading stereotyped situation, so no wonder Mr. Sean John's fragrance campaigns will have the same controversial sexual attitude. Here you will see the advertising for his fragrance Unforgivable Woman. Unforgivable is the advertising showing Mr. Sean forcing himself onto the female model. If you look at the model's face you will see pain, not joy. So either he wants to say that women should be submissive to all men's desires, or he is kinda in his way to rape her... Yes my friends, forced sexual intercourse is called rape.

In another unforgivable perfume ad by the same hip hoper, you will see that Mr. Sean John is sitting naked on the bed holding an Asian woman on his lap. Take a close look at her face -she is looking to nowhere. Im my opinion it expresses disconnection to the real world, the look of dead meat. Again, you will see that he is selling a product that his demographic loves the most: male dominance and female objectification. This time with a minority - Asian girls. Probably suggesting massage houses of Thailand, strip clubs in Vietnam, Japanese geishas etc, etc, etc...stereotypes...

It is obvious to this blogger that Mr. Sean thinks that fame and success is the door to wealth and superiority, and the message is very clear "use my fragrances and you will get some of my power over women". Ok, you might argue with me that the first advertising presented is in fact a fragrance for women. I noticed that - but hey! Women over the years were educated to have a protective male around, someone who takes care of you and if he shows who is the boss, it is "natural", just accept it.

Take you time to watch the advertising video of One Million by Pacco Rabane.

Here you will find many stereotyped situations, where the guy who wears the fragrance is successful, famous and rich. He has an expensive sports car, he has paparazzi following him every where he goes, and most of all - in a snap of his finger women undress for him. Yes dears, we women are reduced to prostitutes and gold diggers. The minute we see his greens we undress.

What is the common element in these campaigns? Female submission. The man is always holding women from behind, with their arms around the body or neck. It does suggest that these women are receiving pleasure, no doubt about it, but the man is controlling the game. These advertisings somehow recreates some sexual scenes of pornographic movies, that we all know, are made only for men.


Now let's move to fragrances for women, where female models are advertising the perfumes:
As noted by Tom Reichert, author of The Erotic History of Advertising 
Aromatic Aphrodisiacs: Fragrance, “Sexual content in fragrance advertising is manifest in the usual ways: as models showing skin-chests and breasts, open shirts, tight-fitting clothing-and as dalliances involving touching, kissing, embracing, and voyeurism. These outward forms of sexual content are often woven into the explicit and implicit sexual … promises to make the wearer more sexually attractive, more likely to engage in sexual behavior, or simply ‘feel’ more sexy for one's own enjoyment.” 

The message advertisers are really passing by is not only the promise of a steamy sex life, but also that women are confined into certain roles and a unreal image of perfectionism and youth. The ideal body, the perfect hair and of course the young age is imposed to females. No wonder why we have seen so many women fighting depression, putting herself into starvation, surgical interventions, Botox, silicone, fake hair...who can compete with the perfect body that adverting sells? If you are not like that, you don't exist!
Rose The One by Dolce & Gabbana went back to the 50's to update the icon of Marilyn Moroe. Scarlett rolls on the bed eating strawberries...showing the curves, clivage...pretending to be Marilyn. We all know that she was and still is, the ultimate sex symbol of all times, not to mention the one responsible for the stereotype of dumb blondes. Marilyn always played the hole of a woman looking for a rich man to marry, the naive woman with such a sexual appeal that made men go nuts for her. According to her biography, the actress always wanted to be taken seriously and would prefer to do theater than musical comedies, but Hollywood wanted her sex appeal, not her skills, nor her brains. Sixty years later Dolce & Gabbana still thinks that blondes are like that or if they are not, at least this is the image they like to project.

Another blonde, another sex symbol...Gisele is the celeb endorsing The One by D&G. The perfect body, the perfect hair, mouth half opened in a lusty moment. The tiny silvery dress sliding of her shoulder...the clothe, the body, the looks and the position that every men desires...this advertising is selling her body, her sexuality, not fragrance. 


Now, this brand has gone to far this time...

This advertising is simply outrageous! It is IMO suggesting gang rape! The male model is holding the female model down by the arm, coming onto her while others are around just waiting to take their turn on her.


Who to blame? Consumers - because marketing managers rely on research to make their campaign? The female models signing the contract to be a part of this type of adverting? The brand for continually perpetrating this kind of thing? Hard to choose...


I would like to present here also some fragrance campaigns that do not rely on sex to sell. Just to bring a light, refreshing feeling to this friday...and to show you, that not only sex sells. Flower by Kenzo is one of the brand's best seller. Also L'Eau D'Issey is his best selling fragrance, while Moschino brought to advertising the fun and the beauty of pastel colors.

The newest fragrance by Oscar de La Renta has been launched recently and it is already a success. the advertising shows a woman "smelling" the flower/perfume bottle..."inhaling the spirit"...
I will finish this article by saying that if you are a woman - you don't need to be beautiful nor skinny or young. Just be yourself. And if you are a man, the woman you are objectifying today, will be the mother of your children tomorrow. And if you will have a daughter...is this the future you wish for her, to be objectified?


My message to brands like Gabanna, Tom Ford, Dior, YSL, Gucci etc etc etc...when a fragrance is really good, you don't need all that crap!!

Mona di Orio Parfums - PART II

The Best was saved for last!

Continuing to explore Les Nombres D'Or.
Mona's classy fragrances.

Photo credit: Mona di Orio

Les Nombres D'Or Vanille - You will find 100s of Vanilla perfumes in the market, with all sorts of combination. From heavy orientals such as Shalimar, to pastries, tart-y gourmet vanillas. Combined with chocolate, with coffee, with milk, caramels, leather, tonka, benzoin, patchoulis, ambers, etc etc etc... If there are so many, why Mona's? Because it is not a sweet vanilla. Enhanced with rum, vetiver Bourbon and guaiac wood, it starts with a dry mineral/earthy/boozy dark vanilla, to blossom into a beautiful ylang ylang. The fragrance will last for hours and you will enjoy every phase. I loved this vanilla because it does not feel like spending an afternoon baking with Martha Stewart.
Notes provided in the internet are: Brazilian Orange, Indonesian cloves, petit grain, run extract, vetiver Bourbon, ylang ylang, Indian Sandalwood, guaiac wood, vanilla Absolute from Madagascar, amber and tonka. 

Les Nombres D'Or Musc - Musk was never my thing till I tried this one - I think the combination of neroli, angelica and rose is a very delicate and very tranquilizing. It has a rather acid citrusy opening. A beautiful neroli indeed. Once this acidity soothes, the angelica and rose bring a springy bloom to this perfume. From all the perfumes of this collection (so far), Musc is the most gentle and softer one. It contains sprinkles of powdery prettiness, a touch of furriness. The perfume caresses the skin, like a fury cat  passing through our legs.
It also brings the same warm sensation you get from a cashmere glove in a snowy freezing day... 

In my opinion, for the last two years Mona di Orio has been creating beautiful fragrances, and it is fair to say that she must be also blooming as a woman. I have seen many pictures of her in many occasions...and one thing catches my attention (besides the fact that she looks like a Modigliani painting), she has this special glow on her face... While many are lacking of creativity and are repeating themselves, or even disappointing us badly, Mona is  improving bottle by bottle.