Power: L’Eau d’Issey

It lives in your mind, the smell of your most profound daydreams — Patrick Suskind’s novel Das Perfume about the olfactory artist Grenouille and the power of the scents he created to inspire love, transforming his life from an unknown, rejected orphan to being regarded as an angel. Yes, it is real! Power resides in the magic of the fragrance itself. It is like the perfumer has confounded you in his spell and transported you to a world of memories. It can happen to you anytime.

When I pass a patisserie, a whiff of cinnamon reminds me irresistibly of the innumerable spices of an Indian bazaar. Joules Taylor in his book, The Power of Perfume wrote

“The sense of smell is perhaps the least-regarded of all human senses, yet how powerful an effect it can have on our lives, our minds, even our bodies. Perfumes permeate our lives. It can enliven or soothe, arouse or nauseate.”

Ironically, most people underestimate the power of fragrance. Aromas can evoke both positive and negative subconscious states of mind and reactions in milliseconds. Many archaeologists say that the history of perfumery dates back to 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia. In May 2018, for the Greek National Archaeological Museum’s anniversary show “Countless Aspects of Beauty”, they recreated an ancient perfume made from most delicate and the queen for flowers; Rodo (Rose), allowing visitors to approach antiquity through their olfaction receptors.

 One of the more recent pioneers of aroma Issey Miyake Parfums, launched L’Eau d’Issey in 1992. “l’eau” is French for “water”, and water itself was the inspiration for L’Eeu D’Issey. The depiction of water as an element was the offset for the scent, which had a lasting impression on the perfume world. Fragrance could be as influential as a painting if the creative perfumer uses odours in the same way that a painter uses colours, moving on to 2019 Perfumer’s Dora Baghriche and Marie Salamagne have developed two iconic perfumes, inspired by nature, diversity adorns and colours. and the original l’eau. Both in their hearts echo the very sense of l’eau but take it into completely new directions.

First comes Rose & Rose

Deeply romantic flowers – Centifolia and Bulgarian Rose with their majestic splendour and ambiguous nature, the velvety softness of the petals and the prickles of the thorns, amplifying a feminine power in the perfume “Rose & Rose“. With dazzling top notes of Pink Pepper and the enticing fruity hint of Raspberry and Pear, the resolutely rosy middle notes and intense base notes of Patchouli, the perfume creates a long-lasting silky, feminine and opulent aroma.

Then there is Wood & Wood

 Through the lens of duality, the symbolism of the number two revealed: complementarity. The perfumers have, therefore explored the masculine side of strength and sturdiness — Cedarwood, Sandalwood and Vetiver – raw and powerful. In India, Sandalwood gets honoured as a symbol of power and energy. Sandalwood has remained a part of the sacred, pure rituals of India since prehistory, and numerous idols modelled of Sandalwood. It is used as incense in temples to remind us of the aromatic realms of the Gods. L’eau d’Issey for him “Wood & Wood”, in close-up signifies a perched, perfectly balanced ringed log symbolising purely the passage of time, stilled at this moment. With spicy top notes of Cardamom and Grapefruit, powerful middle notes of Virginia Cedarwood, Sandalwood and fruity Apricot, the base notes convey intense musky sillage with Vetiver and Patchouli.

Issey Miyake gives us two iconic fragrances signifying sensitivity and power. Intriguing, powerful, poetic and multifaceted alliance conveying a new intensity.