Parfums Dusita Montri, official illustration

“The pen is me

And I am the pen:

In writing,

The pen gets lost

To become part of the thing

I cannot recall.” – Montri Umavijani

Pissara Umavijani of Parfums Dusita Official image

Parfums Dusita’s thirteenth fragrance is named after Montri Umavijani, whose poetry has been in the heart of every fragrance ever created by his daughter, Pissara. I have always been extremely moved and inspired by how certain bonds can transcend time and our mortal coils, and Dusita is one poetic example of how passion and love can fuel life and bloom in so many beautiful and poetic ways, and that can connect and touch so many lives, so profoundly.

“One of my dreams has always been to create a fragrance directly inspired by, and dedicated to, my father, Montri Umavijani, who taught me about passion and humanity. It took me 2.5 years to create MONTRI, but taking my time was worth it – I wanted to be sure that the scent reflected my father’s personality, spirit, and his own love for certain fragrances. I would be truly happy if MONTRI, with its blend of suave spices, elegant florals, and noble oud, brings joy to as many people as possible; that is why I chose to price the first batch as an Eau de Parfum, while in fact the concentration is that of an Extrait. I want the fragrance to be accessible, to please, and to – hopefully – even connect perfume lovers around the world. After all, connecting people was always in the core of my father’s work and worldview.” – Pissara Umavijani, on Parfums Dusita Montri  exclusively for CaFleureBon

Parfums Dusita Montri official photo

I love the little serendipitous moments of life, and four years ago, when Erawan was released, I remember being extremely touched by the poetry that served as inspiration, and when searching for more poems written by Montri, I discovered that he has been to my country numerous times and he translated many of my favorite Romanian authors (Mihai Eminescu poetry and many plays from Eugen Ionescu). In a deeper layer of serendipitous moments, now, wanting to read more of Montri’s poetry to better understand his character, I found that Montri’s poems were also translated into Romanian, and searching for that book (that, unfortunately, is not sold here anymore) I discovered that the only place where I have found it was in a library, in a small town, in the north part of the country, where my father grew up. Strangely united through this hazardous coincidence by an arc of time, two distant universes connected for a brief moment, and two girls sniffed their wrists, smiled, and thought of their fathers.

 

Montri Umavijani courtesy of Pissara (Please read her 2021Father’s Day tribute for CaFleureBon here)

Parfums Dusita Montri  is a fragrant homage to the memory of her father, taking it one step further, and blurring the line of absence with joy.  What if.  What if he was here?  What kind of fragrance would he have loved today? Montri, translated in Thai means “a man who is a philosopher” and we find in this perfume mirrored and carefully composed reflections of a poet who immersed himself in his work to the point where the line of demarcation between his soul and his creations disappeared. A   sensitive soul, gentle, loving, strong, and kind, who loved nature and advised his little girl to always have a pen and a piece of paper when on the road, for travel is the most bountiful river where inspiration flows from.

 

Right from the start Parfums Dusita Montri feels quite different from other creations of Dusita, as this is the first time a a spice blend is used as a major ingredient. We dive in an avalanche of spices: saffron, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, oregano… well, let me rephrase that – not an avalanche per-se,  but more of a landslide, delicate, smooth and harmonious – like a carefully recolored memory of an Asian spice market. A rainbow of gourmand delights slides through the soft spicy cloud, a multicolored mouthwatering dried fruits accord that feels as playful and joyful as a handful of sweet little treats, hurriedly slipped in the traveler’s pocket, for the little girl waiting at home.

Paris, Montmatre, Getty images© apped by Michelyn

We change sceneries to a nostalgia-filled picture of Paris, somewhere in the 8os. The picture suddenly becomes alive, with two shadows passing through the image. One mysterious silhouette puts out a cigarette with the tip of her shoe, crushing it to the pavement, and we hear the hurried pace of her small steps, constricted by her dress, as she quickly descends the stairs. One shadow stops at the edge of the river, takes off the soft leather gloves, and waits there until the air of the evening becomes thick. Thick and blue. Tailored with the atemporal elegance and classical structure of classical French perfumery (with a nod to Mitsouko and L’heure Bleue from Guerlain) we are in the floral heart of the fragrance now, soft, powdery, woven around iris – think also of a deeper, benighted Splendiris in play here. The roses are two-faced: one looks at the past, with its crimson petals dried out between the pages of an old book, and another one is green, young and sappy.

“Precious Agarwood came to mind, an ingredient my father knew only as an incense to aid meditation, and not as a fine fragrance component (he passed away in 2006, before Oud would become so widely embraced in the Western perfumery that he admired so much).  I decided to compose a fragrance built around Oud Palao, in a manner and style corresponding to the classic French perfumery tradition. I surrounded Oud with a soft Spice Blend, elegant Florals and noble Woods, but also Orris Butter – thus paying a tribute to one of my father’s most beloved fragrance notes.” Pissara Umavijani.When you think of the brand and oud, of course, your thoughts immediately fly to Oudh Infini – the dynamic, raw, and untamed animalic beauty that I must admit, I approach with caution and raised pulse. Parfums Dusita Montri is somehow related to it, but imagine a distant cousin who has kept the wild exotic beauty that runs in the oudh family veins, but who has been smoothly polished in the poshest and  the most proper ways, and now has royal impeccable manners and an effortlessly elegant posture.  And as the L’heure Bleue whispers are still echoing on my wrists, I almost feel obliged to say – this is one blue-veined Oudh Infini!  The Oud Palao shines in its multifaceted complexity with the best supporting cast: patchouli, sandalwood, and vetiver. The synesthete in me sighed in delight when seeing the illustration on the website, as it makes the most sense to me to describe a fragrance in colors.

Collage via Dusita official website

In my eyes,  Parfums Dusita Montri starts glistening, a rainbow of spices and dried fruits and crunchy tea leaves, a tactile rush of multicolored sweet emotions that slowly desaturates into pastels and then melts into golds. Yellows fade to sepia, the picture painted now borrows dark tones from the woody texture of the frame, then veers to milky blues, then the image unpeels itself from the canvas and free floats in the air: a blue-violet and powdery cloud, with rosy cheeks, and deep purple ink seeping in the vein-like nervures of a leather-bound old book. Then comes the oud. Imagine a reversed kind of iridescence – with deep colors that shift away from the light, opening up in darkness, this oud is fluttering like a butterfly caught beneath skin covered in silky fur. This gentile beast is tamed but never domesticated, as it escapes into shades of infinite green and deep rusty nostalgia.

Still from The Aroma of Tea”, 2006

If you know the short movie made by Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit, called “The aroma of tea”  – it moves like this image (see the film here)– both on the skin and in the heart.

 

Top: saffron, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, oregano, petitgrain, dried fruits

Middle: orris butter, rose de Mai, Damask rose, jasmine, ylang, soft leather, tobacco

Base: oud, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, cedarwood, tonka beans.

Disclosure:  Press kit kindly provided by Parfums Dusita, opinions are my own

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Also, check out reviews of Anamcara and Cavatina both received ÇaFleureBon Best of Scent Awards 2021: Ida for Cavatina, Michelyn for Cavatina and Nicoleta for Anamcara

 

Parfums Dusita Montri official photo, 50ml bottle

Thanks to the generosity of  Parfums Dusita we have a 50 ml of Montri, signed by Pissara for one registered reader in the USA, EU and UK. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review and where you live. What is your favorite Parfums Dusita ? Draw closes 6/8/2022

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