Ninteen Symrise perfumers have come together to create HERO Cologne, donated to frontline and key workers dealing with the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Each perfumer added one ingredient to the fragrance,with each one chosen specifically to contribute to the well-being of those who wear it, Symrise say.
‘It has been shown that the addition of fragrance to our daily essentials increases our quality of life,’ explains Ricardo Omori, Senior Vice President of global fine fragrance. ‘In the current situation, we want to do our part to lift the mood of our heroes with HERO and to try to give positive feelings to their lives. In doing so, we show our appreciation for these thousands of everyday heroes who are working hard for us with their dedicated efforts.’
Developed to recognise the incredible efforts of the frontline workers, and donated directly to them in order, hopefully, to provide some moments of scented enjoyment, it’s interesting to see which (sustainably sourced) ingredients they chose for this unisex scent.
‘It interweaves ingredients from traditional eau de cologne and brings in contemporary notes like Ambrostar, a Symrise captive, musk and vanilla. The result presents an invigorating and supportive fragrance that combines energy and comfort.
The top note exudes a composition of Mandarin from Madagascar, bergamot with a boost of peppermint and ginger. The heart contains warm notes of ambrette seeds, orris and rose. The base note gives the fragrance fullness and modernity with guaiac wood, sandalwood, vetiver from Madagascar, cypress and renewable vanillin.’
I was particularly fascinated to see the mention of vanillin in the base – having previously researched a story and discovering that many scientific tests have proven the calming powers of vanillin. It used to be assumed this was because the scent reminded people of mother’s milk or sweet cakes, but those tests proved it significantly reduced the ‘startle reflex’ even in animals that don’t suckle. It’s since gone on to be trialled in fragrancing particularly high-stress areas of hospitals, such as MRI and CT Scanning rooms, and for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
How wonderful it’s been to see the way beauty and fragrance companies large and small have responded to the crisis, trying to do their bit even as they wonder if they will be able to survive.
‘We believe in the power of scent to touch our senses, our soul and the world,’ says Omori. ‘That’s why we’ve developed a fragrance for all the heroes who, with their tireless and selfless efforts, are helping to fight the coronavirus crisis. HERO is our small token of thanks for the work they do.’
And we’d also like to thank every single one of you out there – medical workers, delivery people and essential shop staff, the beauty industry who so quickly changed their output to hand sanitiser or donated supplies to food and beauty banks – to everyone who had their own struggles at home, shielding the vulnerable, coping with home-schooling kids while trying to work or worrying about not having a job to go to anymore – you are all heroes in our eyes, and we hope you’ve found a calming/uplifting scent of your own to help you get through.
Keep your eyes on our social media next week as we have a new campaign starting, asking just this: what fragrances have helped you, lately…? And there’s some wonderfully scented prizes in store…
Written by Suzy Nightingale
