Around the World in Eighty Scents: Sergey Borisov’s “Magic Carpet Ride” + Trefle Pur Draw

 

 

 

 

Prologue: Let me begin the list of cities I have  visited: Paris and Moscow,  sounds like some joint-venture perfume enterprise in Russia). Add Berlin & Milano – sounds the very same. Then add Beograd, Sydney, Bangkok, New Delhi, Florence, Wellington, Mumbai to the list – oh our dear readers could get lost in my geographic meanders.

The list of personal experience and the evocation of scent is always unique. So what follows, is my own olfactive travel history, fragrant memories of the places I have been, and my multi sensory connections to each. Come Fly with me through space and time

 

 

Sergey Borisov

 

Recently,  I was with my family vacationing on Koh Samui island in Thailand Gulf. So my dear editor Michelyn thought that a geographical theme to be appropriate and asked me to pick cities I have visited and the fragrance(s)  they evoke. Great idea! Let`s begin!

 

 

Bangkok.

The most fresh memories, easiest to recollect. It smells of hot and humid air that kills every perfume. Fish sauce, durian, something rotten. And anyway – there`re two scents that have a strong connection with BKK for me. The first is coconut oil, as almost every tanned farang smells of it (and me too), and the other is – Nuit Noire by Mona di Orio, creamy flower perfume with good overdose of animalics. Beautiful tuberose and orange flower gets some fruits and spices before falling into dirty affair.  It`s overripe, very sweet and close to decay – it should have impact and sillage to be noticed on the streets of Bangkok Dangerous

 

 

Paris.

I`ve been in Paris three times already. And The Smell of Paris was different every time. Like, May 1994 was sunny – and sweet air of Paris smells of Insense Givenchy (OK, with most unhealthy dose of Angel!) November 2005 was cold and windy – and I recollect Paris-2005 as half Lutensian, half Guerlainian, thick and sweet, gourmand and unholy…smells  like Vetiver Oriental by Serge Lutens. April 2007 was fresh and warm – so were my memories, full of Parfumerie Generale gourmands, Annick Goutal zest and Parfums MDCI flowers.

But altogether Paris smell for me is something refined, simple but with a twist, slightly unusual and not-fashionable; you could take just every L`Artisan Parfumeur perfume to be an epitome of Paris, the city that makes fashion – not follows. Well, Chanel and Guerlain, Caron and Hermes could be too – but these Houses are too popular and omnipresent. And if I have to choose for Paris just one from L`Artisan – it would be L`Eau de l`Artisan by the most delicate perfumer Olivia Giacobetti. Great elegant cologne with grassy herbal accent of mint and basil.

 

 

Moscow.

The capital of my beloved country. I remember its smell too clear to forget. Smells of exhausts begins in airports and follow you on a streets. In metro you will smell some technical grease and dusty wind. It`s funny but Moscow smells of industrial and anti-perfumey Comme des Garcons (think of Garage, Tar, Soda, Odeur 53, Odeur 71, sometimes – in Chinese and Indian restaurants – Eau de Parfum) for me. Some tourists prefer Zagorsk CDG to remember Moscow – I`d choose Garage for that purpose. And Moscovites that smells of Amouage.

 

 

New Delhi.

Yes, one could find a lot of scents here. Spices, flowers, fruit stalls with 200 sorts of mangoes, chai masala vendours, curried food, red spits of bethel chewing tobacco everywhere, but these scents and colours are not the face of Delhi. The best Delhi smell is of jasmine oil – as almost every good-looking woman I`ve met on Delhi streets smelled of jasmine divinely. And that`s the smell I want to recall about Delhi.

 

To recall New Delhi I`d take A La Nuit or Sarrasins by Serge Lutens – no one has made oriental jasmine better. It could just stop you on a street and then make you jasminehound chasing to the source of the smell.

 

 

Mumbai.

The city has more masculine smell – that of oud oil, vetiver oil, ambergris and the attar named Majmua (I could detect vetiver, sandalwood, neroli and rose in it). Attars are definitely very popular in Mumbai – there are streets (!) of attar shops. I remember the ganja smell about Mumbai too – not that I was smoking that stuff – one Indian teenager was trying to sell me the packet of ganja following me for three quarters and smoking stuff all the way. The most Mumbai-like perfume is Fumidus by Profumum Rome, peaty vetiver with extra-smoke and extra-earthiness.

 

 

Amsterdam.

Well, no hash or marijuana odour here. The city smells of sea, greenery and rain – I`d say Trefle Pur by Atelier Colognes would fit Amsterdam.

 

 

 

“He had a good feeling about it. That’s the thing about luck, you feel it or you don’t. This moment, he felt it. He found the morning’s rain had left everything looking greener and a bit sharper, like he was seeing it all for the first time, and he headed off with a spring in his step.” -Atelier Cologne

 

 

Sorry for short description – I`ve been in the city just for one day. Van Gogh, Skins, coffee, canals and some sight-seeing…

 

 

Florence.

I love the scent of Florence, while I should admit it has quite a strange smell for the city. I`ve been invited to Florence for Pitti Fragranze 2010 in September, and every morning stepping to the event I have been wondering: why the air is smelling so airy and fresh? What is the wet flowery-musk smell and where it comes from? It smells like there were only laundries on every street I walk. One day I found the source of it. It was the smell of old stone pavement that been washed with scented detergent every morning. Yes, washing powder for the streets! 🙂

And the fresh and wet air feeling of Florence is what Jamais le Dimanche by Ego Facto or Neroli Sauvage by Creed does for me.

 

 

 

Sydney.

The city smells of eucalyptus and other greens, but most of all it has a smell of Grey Flannel. Great smell by itself, it changed all my Sydney smell maps – my host-family father, designer was inclined to all that is classic,  wore only this  perfume by Geoffrey Beene. Same could be said about Melbourne – my host-family mother adored Opium by Yves Saint-Laurent, so all Melbourne has a smells with definite spicy ambery accent.

 

 

And at last I have to mention the perfume I begin all my vacations with: it`s Diorella, vintage EDT. Why Diorella? Well, it is my ritual – some years ago I got a package with Diorella bottle just hours before my flight to India. I still remember the price of 50 ml – only 25 bucks.  OK, imagine yourself in my place. Could you wait for a month till you get back from holidays – or you would open the bottle immediately? (So did I).

 

 

Since then Edmond Roudnitska's Diorella is my Magic Carpet flies me to the moon and back. It`s like guarantee that I`d smell very good till my first shower after the flight. (Editor's note: According to M. Roja Dove M. Roudnitska (le pere) considered Diorella his greatest fragrance achievement. We think it is his son Michel)

 

And sure, it has some aromatherapeutic properties too as I feel myself calm, soothed and  comfortable as I fly all the way home to Siberia.

 

-Sergey Borisov, Contributor

(Art Direction:  Editor-in Chief) Michelyn Camen

 

 

Post Script: Right now, I just arrived home from Esxence-2011 in Milano, the event my colleague Mark Behnke described so perfectly (and so desperate to cover all the bases there – just as poor me). And I should add  the scents of Milano; this city will remembered by the aroma of coffee, cigarettes and  different artistic perfumes (many unknown and so beautiful) which will to be introduced to it very soon.

 

 

Please enter your scented memory of a city or a place and one winner will be eligible for ONE OUNCE  OF TREFLE PUR our city draw. Draw closes April 7, 2011

courtesy of www.ateliercologne.com

 

 

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29 comments

  • Ceil says:

    My scent memory is of the smell of the Western Pennsylvania deciduous woods in early spring as the snow is just melted and life is waking up again.  It's cold and warm at the same time…dampish but not in a "fall" way…a little green…a little floral and earth.  A beautiful time of year.  I never figured anyone would capture it in a fragrance.  But CB I Hate Perfume's Black March is as close as it gets!  That fragrance is more than a fragrance to me…it is a memory.

  • dleep says:

    I grew up in a small mill town in Pennsyvania where everyone had a coal furnace.  I remember the smell of burning coal so strongly; being outside in the cold and damp surrounded by crunchy, dead fall leaves. It gave me a feeling of comfort and warmth – I loved that smell!  If I close my eyes I can imagine that I can still smell it.

  • Helaine says:

    That's easy. When I visit Thailand I was  in a temple late in the day  and  several monks were filing in and started chanting. It was amazing. The windows were open, there was a magnificent breeze and the scent of Jasmine was in the air. The experience was magical, and I couldn't believe I was so fortunate to be where I was.
    There was so much Jasmine in Thailand, especially around the temple. Every time I smell that it brings me back.

  • Ccc says:

    I read that Timbuktu is inspired by an African ritual. For me this is the smell of Meteora, Greece. Woody, dry and earthy. Smoky myrrh and spices. Magical and mystic. 

  • marcopietro says:

    Potsdam, ancient town with a glorious past, memories of Prussian Kings and German Emperors, beautiful residences into fantastic gardens, all remind me another great man: Napoleon and a cologne dedicated to him: Eau de Gloire by Perfumerie d'Empire

  • Tiara says:

    When I smell  Fire Island, I'm taken back to a chilly afternoon on the beach in northern South Carolina. The sun was warm but the breeze was cool and carrying the salty smell of Atlantic. Delightful day!

  • Isa says:

    One of my favorite scented memories is the smell of the linden blossoms in Prague. They were everywhere, and their scent accompanied me during the days I stayed in the city.
    I took several photos of the trees and the blossoms and I wanted to buy me some linden perfume as a souvenir but I did not find it.
    It's one of my favorite notes too.
    I would love to try Trefle Pur. Thanks!

  • Elise says:

    The smells are China are so unique! In Chongqing, the smell of peppercorn and 5-spice fill the streets, but then on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, the air is more floral and you can smell the vague, fishy smells of the river…and of course incense at the jade markets!

  • Anna in Edinburgh says:

    That's easy – the warm mellow yeasty smell that accompanies you in Edinburgh, when the wind is in the right direction and the day is right. The brewery smell.
    When I came back, after being away for too many years, I breathed in and, yes! There it was. I was back in my adopted home.
    Other than that, the smell of peat fires from Irish kitchens, which is a heavenly smell that needs no embellishment.
    If I could put the two scents together …. sigh.
    cheerio, Anna in Edinburgh

  • london says:

    The souks in Marrakech have the strongest smell of anywhere I have been.  It's not always nice but it's the most complex smell of spices and leather and dust and dirt and smoke.  You can see why Serge Lutens is so inspired.

  • Geordan says:

    Otranto, Italy, a small coastal town on the Adriatic smells salty and old.  The buildings are fused with and project the smell of time and wear.  I can smell it sitting at my corner cubicle in corporate abyss. 
    Best,
    Geordan 

  • Claudia Kroyer says:

    This was so much fun, i felt like i was going on a fragrant vacation. Well i do not have to travel very far to have a fragrant memory……..for me it is fall/autumn in Minnesota. We used to go to the lake in northern Minnesota or what we would call up north and the CB I Hate Burning Leaves always reminds me of the camp fires we would have. So this fragrance has become a staple as i love that scent of burning maple leaves.

  • Lindaloo says:

    Thanks for the magic carpet ride.
    One of my favourite scent memories is of returning by plane each summer to the small airport in the Okanagan valley of BC where I grew up. Those first deep breaths of the scent of newly mown hay from the nearby fields swept away all thoughts of city life and obligations  — it was holiday time now.
    And as for Diorella, it was my signature scent for years and still one of my coveted scents (in vintage). I'm reluctantly bracing to smell the current formulation.

  • Dionne says:

    One of the strongest scent memories I have of a place is Waterton National Park, which abuts Glacier National Park on the Canadian side of the border. My grandparents owned a cabin in the town, and many summers were spent visiting. It wasn't until I went back years later as an adult with my own children that I got a huge shock of recognition the moment we got out of the car. Banff and Jasper both smell of mountain air and pine forests, but only Waterton combines that with the distinctive odor of a massive glacier-fed lake. We go back every summer to vacation now, and for me Waterton is the smell of peace. Soul-filling peace.

  • sara says:

    CdG Zagorsk makes me think of Finland-smoky pine but not opaque.  I would love to enter the drawing.

  • taffynfontana says:

    I walk in the afternoon to my local park in the little city of Fontana and I can smell night jasmin and Orange blossom all throughout my walk. It is gentle and calming a great end to any day.

  • Natalia says:

    my hometown, Tomsk, western Siberia, smells of mamny things, but mainly:
    lilac, bird cherry and green cedar "leaves" in spring,
    wild strawberry, dandelions, wild apples and cedar shavings in summer,
    cedar wood, burnt leaves, tobacco  hot black tea with lemon and honey in fall
    and
    amber, wet birch woods of banya, more hot tea, with cedar-nuts-infused shot of vodka…
     
    i wish i were a perfumer 😉

  • Undina says:

    Last year in London I tried Ormonde Jayne's Ta'if for the first time. Traces of the scent stayed on my phone for the next three days and I kept sniffing it. I like this perfume very much and now London and Ta'if are connected for me.
    No need to enter me into the draw.

  • Z. Boudreaux says:

     
    San Francisco:
     
    Jasmine Grandiflorum grows all over the city as a decorative ornamental, as well as Datura. The scent of these two heady flowers that release their captivating smells at night…. on a walk home… is heavenly.

  • Leslie says:

    Ahwaz, Iran- where I spent several years of my childhood…my parents would take me with them to the bazaar downtown to go shopping, and the scents in some areas were exactly like many of those in Xerjoff's Shooting Stars line…so exotic….

  • Cynthia says:

    The first time I went to New York City I was so mesmerized by the sights, sounds and vibe of the city. I made a trip to the hidden Caron boutique and left with many lovely samples.  One was Montaigne. I loved it's sophisticated beauty and for me it became "New York City" as I wore it the rest of my visit. I know, I know, it's supposed to be Paris. But for me, the smell of Montaigne always takes me back to New York.

  • Scentabulous says:

    The time is 2004.  I walk into the Caron Boutique across the street from Barneys on Madison Avenue in New York.  I fall hard … the place, the urns, the grandeur!  I love … the fragrance is Tabac Blond.  All of New York smells of Tabac Blond suddenly.  I wear my extrait, of which I still have half of the ounce I purchased, out to dinner.  My most cherished of all NY culinary establishments, Cafe des Artistes, now sadly closed … I shall remember alsways the scent of Tabac Blond during that magical time.  Never, ever to be recaptured … a tear.

  • Amanda says:

    The meadows on the family farm, as a girl in early spring, with the lambies frollicking in it.  The sun shining on my head, and the wonderful scented spring breeze wafting past my nose…

  • NK says:

    My ethereal scent memory comes from visiting Chandigarh, about a 5 hour jaunt from New Delhi. It’s always after dark, when we’d sneak off to the backyards by the lazy cattle and find authentic, real-time jasmines blooming in the early spring. I’ve never smelled such lushness in life as they seem to waft cradles of sweetness in your direction almost on purpose.

  • Elisa says:

    I grew up in El Paso, and the smell when it rains there is just incredible, something about the vegetation in the desert, something being kicked up into the air — and I always thought that was just the smell of rain. When I moved at age 18, I was very sad to learn that rain in most cities doesn't smell like much of anything.

  • Sue says:

    I will forever associate Venice with Hermes Eau Claire des Merveilles.  The city smells of sea breeze, restaurants, romance, and times long gone by, with the cacophony of cars replaced by a gentle susurrus of boats in the canals.  I had tried Eau Claire  in the summer, but had thought it sour and plain.  In Venice, my sample from the lovely Hermes boutique came to life and sang an aria on my skin.  I will forever love this scent and the city.  🙂
    Thank you for the lovely article and giveaway.  I have loved reading everyone's scented memories.  🙂

  • whatmenshouldsmelllike says:

    Right now I am sitting on a hotel bed in Queenstown New Zealand. I have a balcony view of the beautiful lake and mountains which have begun collecting snow showing signs that winter in the southern hemisphere is on it's way. Instead of taking in these breathtaking views I am surfing the net after an exhausting week of work awaiting my plane ride home to Sydney Australia tomorrow morning. You may question why I am online instead of marvelling at these local vistas, but tonight I felt like drawing inspiration from sites instead of sights. I began on a perfume facebook page and somehow I have ended up here, which to me is just as good as any journey taken on foot. As a collector of fragrances and frequent business traveller I select 2 to 3 fragrances from my shelf before heading abroad. This week I have been in New Zealand and I have survived on Chanel's Anteaus and The Different Company's Un Parfum De Sens Et Bois. I am looking forward to getting home tomorrow to once again have the luxury of all my fragrant friends, my most recent editions; Guerlain's L'Ame d'Un Heros and a vintage bottle of Yves Saint Laurent's Jazz. The idea of not wearing fragrance after my morning shower is paramount to not brushing my teeth. As I am not a morning person I have on a few occasions raced out the door to work and realised I have overlooked this step in my morning ritual. It usually means I either need to return home before going any further, or stop by the closest department store to make use of a perfume tester before I get into the office. This morning I had such an experience but it was okay. This morning when I awoke I stumbled into the hotel bathroom to begin my daily routine. Floss, brush, shave, shower, hair and moisturiser. I always travel prepared and never use the hotel's cosmetic ammenities. Their soaps, shampoos and creams are usually badly made but most of all they are heavily fragranced with a basic combination of the most inexpensive sythetics that point you in the direction of flowers but leave you lost in the haze. Phenyl ethyl alcohol, hydroxicitronellal and a number of salycilates are the usual culprits. While they are important parts of any perfumer's palette, stand alone they do not have the complexity to complete a perfumer's vision. All this aside I cannot resist the temptation to take off the lids in the hotel bathroom and deeply inhale. Perhaps just to prove to my ego that I am right, how could a hotel ever be the source of a great perfume find, or perhaps in the hope that I may find some undiscovered wonder. This morning I found the later. The label simply says 'Manuka Spa Hydrating Body Balm'. Expecting a badly formed honey scent the lid once removed filled my nostrils with a wonderful vision of honey suckle and jasmine. Fresh as the autumn air here in Queenstown and reminiscent of the autumn blossoms currently blooming back home in Sydney. I happily smeared the cream over my body, paying particular care to place it on limbs which could easily be lifted to reach my nostrils for another fix of the wonderful scent. This morning I did not wear my Antaeus, or my Sens Et Bois, but instead I wore this body cream which blossomed further as I stepped out into the crisp morning air, it's subtle sillage mixing with the scent of the wood fires that burn in this alpine town. This morning I walked to work, appreciative that not all great scents come in designer packaging, made from exotic materials and designer molecules. That somewhere in the world a perfumer had worked to create this simple scent, which had been selected to pair with a hotel bathroom body cream and I wanted that perfumer to know that little old me, was walking through the streets of Queenstown, New Zealand. I was wearing their creation and I was happy.
     

  • Michelyn Camen says:

    whatmsenshouldsmelllike wrote “Right now I am sitting on a hotel bed in Queenstown New Zealand. As a collector of fragrances and frequent business traveller I select 2 to 3 fragrances from my shelf before heading abroad. This week I have been in New Zealand and I have survived on Chanel’s Anteaus and The Different Company’s Un Parfum De Sens Et Bois I cannot resist the temptation to take off the lids in the hotel bathroom and deeply inhale. Perhaps just to prove to my ego that I am right, how could a hotel ever be the source of a great perfume find, or perhaps in the hope that I may find some undiscovered wonder. This morning I found the latter. The label simply says ‘Manuka Spa Hydrating Body Balm’. . Fresh as the autumn air here in Queenstown and reminiscent of the autumn blossoms currently blooming back home in Sydney.