Friday, March 02, 2007

The kiss


On my Yahoo group: Perfumemaking we are doing 'perfume swaps'. In January we did our first swap, we sent each other our own created perfumes to get feedback from each other, this is real fun because we are very curious about the creations of each other and because we like to hear the thoughts and feedback for our own creations. Some perfumes that were sent in are real remarkable. I would love to talk about the perfume I sent in, but because we did an anonymously swap I can't tell you(yet), we are still giving feedback on all the perfumes but later I will reveal which perfume I sent.

We already are talking about the next swap, this will be a complete different swap. It will be an 'open' swap were we will share our formulas and discuss them to learn from each other. This swap is an experimental swap and we choose it to be a swap where we create a perfume based on a painting. The painting most of our members will use is The kiss by the Austrian painter, Gustav Klimt who lived from 1862-1918. The Art Nouveau (New Art also called Jugendstil) movement in Austria was called the Secession. Gustav Klimt was its founder and president from 1897 to 1905. His painting The Kiss is a symbol of Vienna Secession. Klimt's works of art were a scandal at his time because of the display of nudity and the subtle sexuality and eroticism. His best known painting The Kiss, was first exhibited in 1908. As everything coming out of Klimt's hands, it was highly controversial and admired at the same time.

The Kiss is a fascinating icon of the loss of self that lovers experience. Placed against a deep and vibrant golden background, a couple is locked in an embrace, only the faces and hands of this couple are visible; all the rest is great swirl of gold, studded with colored rectangles as if to express visually the emotional and physical explosion of erotic love under their feet a carpet of flowers. This painting gives me a protective, vournable and sensual emotion.

It's interesting to translate visual into smell. I'm thinking how I will create this perfume, what notes it needs. When I look at this painting I want of course a sensual perfume but it also has to evoke a protective emotion, like an embrace. When I look at the golden colors of this painting I'm thinking of using a note that can translate this color, for me amber would translate the golden colors. To translate the sensual parts of this painting I will use sensual notes like musks. Other sensual notes could be civet or castoreum although I think the castoreum is not the one I'm looking for. Rose is a romantic flower and would definitely be a note in this perfume. When I'm thinking of a kiss I think about sweet notes as well, like honey notes or chocolate notes even cherry notes, hmm have to think about it....

4 comments:

chayaruchama said...

Lieve Jenny-

For many years, a poster of 'The Kiss' was over my bed...

I loved the Wiener Werkstatte era.
AND the fact that Alma Schindler was such a muse- to Mahler, Klimt, Gropius, Werfel...many.

Would a kiss perhaps also be spicy? earthy? dark, and deep, like a demonic possession ? Hot ?

Or angelic, pure, and sacrosanct, like a psalmer's kiss [ I refer to Romeo and Juliet here, a prayerful quality] ? Cool ?

So many kisses-
So little time.

Dikke kus to you !

Jenny said...

Dear Chaya,

A poster of The kiss above your bed has to be inspriring!

There are many sorts of kisses. I like many different kisses.LOL

This painting to me shows an embracing, sensual kiss. This couple so well painted, is painted in the centre of a surrounding that looks surreal what accentuate the impression that they are the only two in their own little created universe. It's like they loss themselves in this kiss.

A big kiss to you!

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenny

Creating a fragrance fom a picture? Not such a fanciful idea really. We've had synaesthesia in which sounds are connected to colours, and I developed a unique system which related frequencies to smells (April 1st 2006 - see http://www.cotswoldperfumery.co.uk/pressinfo.php3?nid=48), so why not colours to smells?

Good luck

John Stephen

Jenny said...

Dear John,

That was so funny!

Colors can influence our perspective of a smell. Like yellow stands for lets say a lemony scent. Suppose a chocolate scent in a yellow bottle! A painting to me is different it illustrates all kinds of emotions and feelings. It goes deeper.

I think the packiging is important for a fragrance, first you see the packiging and bottle what will give a first impression, this impression will give you an expectation of this perfume.

At our group we will do all kinds of experiments with our Perfume Swap this one was to translate visual into smell but we will also do a swap where our perfumes will be based on an accord for example a Chypre or a perfume based on Jasmine etc.

You have a beautiful webshop and I heard about your perfumes before, the packiging of your perfumes are so beautiful!!! I never smelled your perfumes and I'm very curious about them. I read on your site that you even created perfumes for the Queen!

I added a link to your website in my Links sector and also a link to your weblog that you just started.