Perfumer H (a.k.a Lyn Harris) has launched two Mask First Aid scents – safe enough to spray on your face mask…
The collection of hand-crafted linen items and mask-safe scents (they have to be ‘food grade’ tested to be worn so close to your mouth, we’ve learned), springs from ‘…a creative partnership between Perfumer H and Arts & Science, Japan. Eastern craft meets western perfumery.’
Lyn had the idea for creating scents ‘during lock down after a conversation she had with her Japanese partner, Sonya Park of Arts & Science.’ Sonya had explained that wearing a face-covering was ‘…an integral part of the Japanese culture and how she felt it would be so great if Lyn could create something to help this new necessity for us all much more pleasurable.’
Thinking of the beautiful, uplifting and calming properties of two already much-loved fragrances in the collection, Lyn created special mask-friendly versions of ‘…Orange Flower, for its simplicity and beauty,’ and ‘Cucumber, as it is very neutral and with a touch of mint leaf gives a pleasant freshness.’
These delicately fragranced offerings sound like a complete boon for anyone havong to wear a mask for a number of hours, or for anyone looking to find a moment of perfumed pleasure during these tumultuous days…
Orange Flower: ‘Delicate orange blossom Tunisia centres the heart, enhanced with lemon Sicily, mandarin green and violet leaf France resting on a base of white musk completing this smooth floral cologne.’
Cucumber: ‘A transparent cologne composed around a simple fusion of watery cucumber sap and green woods, bringing a unique twist to this culinary delicacy. Top notes of bergamot, watermelon and lemon rind fused with cedar wood, vetiver and sea moss, empowered in a cool musk, making this an irresistible clean feast for the summer time.’
The masks are all hand made from a high-density weave with a super fine linen gauze (100% linen) and constructed in a three-layer structure to aid protection.
Looking for other fragrances to soothe frayed nerves? We rounded up a collection of some favourite calming scents to spray away the blues (though these are for personal use, not made for masks). Now then, let’s all take a deep breath…
Petrichor is the term given to that unique scent following a rain shower – when the world seems to sigh with pleasure, and we, unconsciously perhaps, breathe in a little more deeply, savouring the smells in return.
petrichor /PET-ri-ker/. noun. The smell of rain on hot earth or pavement. From Greek petra (stone, rock) + ichor (or I-KORE) which, in Ancient Greek mythology, was the liquid that flowed in the veins of the gods.
Coined by scientists Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Thomas in 1964, the term ‘petrichor’ was used in their scientific article, The Nature of Argillaceous Odour, observing that cattle seemed to react strongly to this particular smell of fresh rainfall, following the scent to seek drinking water.
Some people believe that ‘petrichor’ alludes to smell of rain itself, but they are mistaken. It’s in the moment raindrops kiss the arrid land the magic happens. Rainwater releases micro-organisms hidden in the earth, mixed with the smell of plant oils and ozone itself: that’s petrichor.
It smells like a secret.
Though we’re only recently aware exactly how the phenomenon occurs, poets and artists have long been seduced by the scent following a downpour, and in 1916 James Joyce had a good guess at the science when he wrote in A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, how:
‘…the trees in Stephen’s Green were fragrant of rain and the rain-sodden earth gave forth its mortal odour, a faint incense rising upward through the mould from many hearts.’
Perfumer H, Lyn Harris, bottled the smell in her utterly joyous fragrance, Rain Wood, coaxing a sense of new beginnings with the snapped-stalk freshness and lacey leaf smell of galbanum. Swirling tender shoots in a foggy haze, green angelica settles on camphoraceous cedar, punctuated by juniper berries and pine trees bejewelled with spider webs; and beneath it all a loamy rumble of rich patchouli amidst the nebulous drift of Joyce’s evocative incense. More than a perfume, it’s a thing to wear and wonder at for hours.
Perfumer H Rain Wood, from £100 for 50ml eau de parfum
Petrichor led former civil servant Barney Shaw on a journey of discovery in his book, The Smell of Fresh Rain. But though we can now trace the origin, it doesn’t dampen our seemingly primal urge to rush out and gasp great lung-fulls of the smell. For, as Shaw explains:
‘…we recognise smells not as a mix of separately-identified components, but as a ‘chord’ that makes an odour we can recognise, a smell with a meaning. Not petrichor and geosmin, but the smell of fresh rain.’
I wonder, too, if we’re experiencing a kind of mass synaesthesia – an overlapping of synaptic responses – after a rainshower? Perhaps the scent of petrichor plus the soothing sound of the raindrops (so often used on sleep apps and calming soundtracks to quieten troubled minds) adds to the feeling of a slate wiped clean?
Explain it how you like; petrichor is a lullaby for the senses, and wearing Rain Wood is a precipitation of joy for we pluviophiles.
Simply named Trudon, the new perfume line hailing from heritage-rich house of Cire Trudon, takes three of the world’s top perfumers – Lyn Harris, Antoine Lie and Yann Vasnier – and challenges them to new inspirations in fine fragrance. Taking the themes of religion, royalty and revolution, five fragrances reveal contemporary chapters: in each scent, one natural ingredient is allowed to take centre stage. Utterly intriguing, and completely sharable no matter your gender, we couldn’t wait to find out more…
Part of Cire Trudon’s collaborative ethos is to work with unique talents, promote creative freedom and showcase artisanal expertise. Handpicking three of the best perfumers was therefore a considered choice. And even the way they were given the brief was unique from the very beginning… As Trudon explain, ‘Individually given a brief by a sophrologist, each nose was taken to a Parisian landmark; chosen for its evocative meaning; each venue catalysed singular ideas and sources of inspiration.’
As one may expect from such a perfectionist design team, the attention to detail and harmony of the packaging is simply stunning. The 100ml bottles evoke the design of Cire Trudon’s scented candles. Created by Pauline Deltour, even the rippled-glass cap echoes the elegant silhouette of La Promeneuse, their diffuser that melts scented wax cameos in a ceramic dish over a candle’s flame.
But enough of the preamble, we wanted to get our noses stuck in! Bruma Top Notes: black pepper, lavender, galbanum Heart notes: violets, purple peony, iris, jasmine sambac Base notes: labdanum, Haitian vetiver, tonka bean Trudon say: ‘Bruma (“solstice” in Latin) is intrinsically tied to the sun. And to royalty. An icy solstice, Bruma feeds on the moon and the forest to evoke the inner metamorphosis of a character in contact with the nature surrounding her.’ Antoine Lie says: ‘A noble figure leaves the comfort of her rooms on horseback at night to discover a part of herself in another, nearly supernatural place. Her appearance is evoked by the notes that transcribe her femininity as well as her elevated rank. The rider crosses a clearing, passing from the half-dark into the nocturnal light, shrouded in mystery, enigma and a distinguished sensuality that is almost animal-like. Her beauty is suddenly revealed by a spiritual energy.’ Olim Top notes: bergamot, lavender, anise Heart notes: pink peppercorn, clove Base notes: patchouli, benzoin, myrrh, musk Trudon say: ‘Olim (Latin for “once”) recalls the first four registers of the old Parliament of Paris, including the numerous texts and laws delivered to the King’s court between 1254 and 1318 under different reigns, particularly St. Louis (1214-1270). Olim shines light on the evolution of royal power and the decline of 13th-century French feudalism.’ Lyn Harris says: ‘A spirit, a veil of elegance, and beauty… the scent is full of history. Better still, it has the power to reveal history. Cold notes, reinterpreted in a modern way leave a lasting impression in those around and purity on those who wear it.’ II Top notes: green leaves, orange bigarade Heart notes: pines, pepper, juniper Base notes: cedar, incense, Ambroxan, Cashmeran Trudon say: ‘II is the alliance par excellence, the unique link that ties two beings together. II transcends and calls to the pious, revealing its fragrance like an emerald impulse.’ Lyn Harris says: ‘This perfume’s vibrant greenery is a forest painting: pines, juniper and cedar covered in moss and berries on a damp, earthy floor.  is a modern take on eau de Cologne; a green, peppery scent with orange bigarade from Brazil. It’s something for everyone that unites and brings two people together.’ Révolution Top notes: elemi Heart notes: angelique Base notes: cedar, papyrus, patchouli, cade, incense, pure cistus, opoponax Trudon say: ‘The streets of Paris during the French Revolution, an odour of smoke and musket powder. Rage and intense emotions on the faces of the crowds. Houses are afire, the cobblestones awash in oil, sweaty riders are robed in black leather. A touch of incense softens the air, suggesting peace is near.’ Lyn Harris says: ‘Révolution captures a moment in his- tory, a period when smells were raw and prevailed everywhere. History is alive in this composition where smoke, wood, leather and incense reign. Yet modern elements in the formula let the scent breathe. A form of harmony is born out of these contrasting notes, leaving an elegant, clean, smoky wood-scented backdrop that remains on the skin.’ Mortel Top notes: black pepper, pimento, nutmeg Heart notes: Somalian frankincense, Mystikal, Virginia cedar Base notes: pure cistus, myrrh, benzoin Trudon say: ‘The artist, living between shadow and light, is a mortal creature. Halfway between the religious and the revolutionary, with an unquenched thirst for eternity, Mortel is a revolutionary drive that combines virile force and natural harmonies. A fatal attraction.’ Yann Vasnier says: ‘A winter’s night. A heavy metal door opens on a huge room. A man appears in the distance; intense heat and light are pulsing from a forge. Light is reflected on the skin and gestures of this man, who is engaged in a rite: standing in front of the blaze, his eyes seek a form buried in the magma before he can recreate it in the open air. The furnace throws giant, moving shadows. In the midst of his activity, sleep finally overcomes the fiery eyes of the artist-craftsman.’ We say: This is a perfume collection we’ve been waiting in fragrant anticipation for ever since we first heard about them, and suffice to say, we weren’t disappointed! Remarkably refined, characterful yet with restraint, these are scents to see you through the seasons and to be fully explored by trying them all on the skin. With such a stellar line-up of noses behind them, and Cire Trudon’s history, it’s hardly surprising the frgrance world is going gaga for them…
Bruma
Olim
II
Révolution
Mortel
