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OLFACTORY TIME TRAVEL AT ELEMENTS SHOWCASE

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August 17, 2011 by admin

It was pouring rain when I entered the exposition hall on West 36th and 10th. The bright white space was buzzing and guests mingled around the stands of some 80 exhibitors spread out over two floors. Some were still sipping Bloody Mary cocktails leftover from the launch of  the Blood Concept perfume collection.

Four fragrances: A, B, AB, and O represent four ages of human evolution. O is a dusty, earthy reminiscence of cave dwelling. A incorporates green notes and a breezy sense of expansion, hunting, and gathering in the open air. B takes on a spicy exotic note and and the undeniable muskiness of human sexual interaction. It is the age of trade and exploration, the scent of human interaction. It was also my favorite. AB swells with synthetic and mineral notes. It is steel and iron. It is a new building, a new car, a new world in sterile, functional lines. Powerful and futuristic.

Next stop: Histoire de Parfums. This collection by Gérald Ghislain is built around the concept of history books. Scents are inspired by a person and a time period and designed to evoke its character through an olfactory “reading.”  1969 is thick with sex and danger. There’s a restless energy to it, an artist caught up in a dervish of creativity. I loved it! 1828 is dedicated to Jules Verne and exudes the freshness of nautical travel and adventure at sea. 1725 is Imperial Venice. It plays on the complex character of  renowned seducer Casanova and the exotic aromas of the height of the spice trade.

Modern and streamlined packaging still plays with memory and inspiration. Jacomo’s latest Art Collection starts with no. 2, a playful, pliable scent built around modeling clay. One sniff and it’s straight back to elementary art class.

The most striking olfactory flashback happened at the LAFCO stand. Santa Maria Novella’s Nostalgia pilots you back to a summer afternoon in your grandfather’s station wagon. He’s pumping gas and the fumes seep in the window. Sun-warmed leather apholstery, hot pavement, and the best part….permanent markers! That fabulously forbidden pleasure.

I  emerged from the Elements Showcase dripping in Nasomatto‘s latest creation, Pardon. Like so many of  perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri’s scents it was intentional, audacious, and almost scandalously intense. Strictly modern in form and content, It has an earthy absinthe quality and a sharp cold smokiness to it.  Nasomatto never hands out samples and their bottles run off the shelves like water in the run-up to Y2K, so I sprayed while I could.

It’s still in my hair now, intoxicating if I look over my shoulder.