It’s really summer here. June went from still quite wet and cool at the start then jumped right into the deep end with 100+ degree (F) heat. Instead of making me completely crazy it seemed to stimulate a very, VERY creative flow and NEED to work in the studio. And for the first time in ages I just let myself have it – scheduling whatever time possible to be in the studio designing. My usual way these days is to write notes in my notebooks (and laptop, and ipad, and iphone..) you get the picture. It’s a blessing really as sometimes I need the psychic relief to just DO IT.
The main theme that’s emerged is some kind of serious vegetable obsession. Is it that I started a small garden again this year? I don’t know. Maybe it’s a combo thing of the ‘retrograde / looking back’ thing that I mentioned in my last post and what I need in the absolute NOW. Veggies have always been important to me ( being a “vego-pescetarian” for most of my life ) and with this heat all I think about wearing are eau fraiche/ eau de cologne designs. What I do find fascinating is that suddenly some inspirations and concepts that have been bouncing around in my imagination for years are coalescing into a kind of collection, well, actually a series centered around the vegetal note. One design feeds into the next. It’s kind of fun and I like the idea of a serial.
Of course, most people have at least run into or know about the classic ‘eau de cologne’ style: fresh and refreshing; citrus based with some herbal notes and maybe some soft woods and musk / ambergris kind of structure in the drydown. It’s generally a pretty simple formulation and it’s really fun to play with twists on the theme using more modern styles or modern materials that do novel things (like Albino, which can do a very surprising creamy textural thing while still remaining fresh). The eau de cologne style is also one of the most ‘historic’ as it comes straight out of the first European distillation / medicinal / beautifying ‘tonic’ ideas. King Louis XIV wore a version of it as did Napoleon (who made it famous). It’s the first style or family of fragrance that I teach my students when they begin perfume classes / internships. What’s really got me going now, though, is a kind of idea that mixes the eau de cologne family with vegetal / edible notes which could be considered a rather strange ‘gourmand’. {fun!}
A few years ago, (actually 8 years ago…) I was playing around a bit with this concept when I released my first version of Wasabi Shiso. As an avid fan of sushi, Japanese food and culture, and a gardener growing shiso, I was in love with the scent and taste of it. {I still am}. But at the time, I didn’t have access to true essential oil of shiso (or perrilla ) nor was I able to get anything close to wasabi essential oil so I made accords for of both of these notes. What came out was playful, green, leafy, spicy, cool, and a little musky. I really liked it. And I guess that I could describe this re-launch of Wasabi Shiso the same way but oh! is it so much more what I wanted it to be just by the virtue of having many, many more materials at my disposal today. It’s really like having a whole new palette of paints, pigments, and mediums to work with. What’s come out this time is a more cohesive, true shiso (because yes, I was able to get real shiso essential oil!) and there are better notes to compose that spicy, piquant, earthy green wasabi accord with as well. I’ve added even more yuzu to the top and lemon to give the shiso even more pop and brightness. This has been June’s release and I’m soooo loving it!
{Wasabi Shiso is the first installment of the series and since today is July 1st, the next installment is coming right around the corner on July 4… Oh YES!}
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image credits: many images found on the web: Vegetable Garden image found here; Eau de Cologne image found here; Shiso leaf image by me.
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DSH notebook 
