INGREDIENT OF THE MONTH: APPLE BLOSSOM

Apple Blossom

When choosing our new ingredient this month (see ‘ Tempting Blossoms‘ below), I’m sure many of you  would have agreed with the comment from IIona Thoß, who wrote on the German language blog that ‘apple blossom is pure spring!‘.   

In spring the apple trees bloom with beautiful apple blossom. The white, pink or red petals  exude a wonderful scent that awakens the desire for summer.  It is no surprise therefore,  that the apple tree belongs to the family of the rose plant.

The fruit of the apple tree and the apple tree itself have important meaning in the world of Mythology. The apple represents sensuousness, love and fertility, and the apple tree itself is a symbol of eternal life.  The apple blossom carries with it the sense of a promise, it is an alluring temptation that symbolises beauty and happiness.

The ingredient exudes a fresh and flowery scent.  With an aroma slightly similar to violets or lily of the valley, it is nothing like the typical smell of apples.

The scent sets the mind and the senses in motion. It awakens the spirit from its winter sleep and immediately makes it feel refreshed with the feeling of spring.

Apple blossom is definitely a scent suited to spring and to the month of March when the new season begins.

SMELLS YOU LOVE OR HATE

Smell. Just one small word can mean so many different things to so many different people; it can be the best thing or the worst. If we smell it can be a good thing or it can be bad, or it could just be that we are smelling something or someone else. But thinking about it, can someone really smell? Surely it’s not actually them that smells, but the scent they are wearing or the odour that their body is secreting? We should really be stating ‘that man’s body odour smells really badly’ or ‘your deodorant smells really good’, rather than ‘he or she smells’.

Smell should definitely be acknowledged so much more than it is.

When choosing a new apartment, why don’t we include ‘a pleasant smelling apartment block’ on our list of requirements? If we were shown around somewhere that smelt unpleasant we would definitely discount it without a second thought.

On food packaging, why is a description of the food’s aroma not included? It’s often the smell of something that results in us craving it or going nowhere near it in the first place.

When describing our ideal partner how often do we include the way that they smell on our list of priorities? It is often the scent that a loved one wore that most reminds us of that person long after they are gone.

Smell is like music. Just as every tune that you know will remind you (in most cases) of a memory – the place you were at when you first heard it, the person who first sung it to you, your first slow dance, your dad’s singing – every smell can also conjure up a picture in your mind. The smell of cut grass may remind us of spring. One whiff of bad smelling body odour, and we may think back to that teacher at school whose classes we dreaded. And perhaps we smile when we smell the aroma of a freshly cooked roast dinner, which always seems to remind us of home.

So now it’s your turn. What are your favourite smells and what are your least favourite? What is it about those smells that entice you to love or to hate them? What do each of those smells represent to you, what pictures do they conjure up in your mind? We look forward to hearing you thoughts - who ‘nose’ what they might be?!

Tempting Blossoms

Tempting Blossoms

The first spring flowers like lilies and crocuses are beginning to bloom. The days will again be longer and the tempurature will rise. Winter is over! Spring is here, and we would like to welcome it with a new ingredient – a scent that captures the aroma of the newly awakened petals and  blossom.

Below we have listed four different scents and would like you to vote for the one that you would like to see included in our ingredients list in the future. The scent with the most votes will become available for use on the website.

1.    Lilac
Lilac is a symbol of young and romantic love. Not without reason, as the scent seduces all of the senses, bringing with it a feeling of anticipation and butterflies in the stomach.

2.    Appleblossom
Apple trees in blume bring with them the scent of appleblossom. The scent is liberating, awakening the mind and inviting the body and the senses to come alive and really thrive with fresh vitality.

3.    Violet
As one of the first signs of Spring, the violet symbolises humility and modesty. Its scent is subtle but at the same time sweet and intensively natural, with notes of the earth.

4.    Carnationblossom
The blossom of the tropical carnation tree is a symbol of new life. The scent has an invigorationg effect, despite its warm, full-flavoured, sweet and very aromatic notes.

So now it’s time to vote! Which one of the four ingredients shall we offer in the future for inclusion in your perfume creations?