Sunday, September 30, 2012
What's underneath makes the woman
Friday, December 9, 2011
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Scents from my childhood
I was born in a small town South of Kuala Lumpur called Seremban in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia to a teacher and a government servant. I am a descendant of a mixed bloodline; Javanese on my mother's side and Chinese on my father's side. My Javanese ancestors were originally from Sumatera who migrated to Malaya via the straits of Malacca and anchored in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. Jelebu's economy was mainly agricultural. Majority of the Javanese immigrants who decided to have a foothold there found means of generating income by working in paddy fields or fruit orchards. My great grandfather was a man of faith whom also worked the land. When they moved to Seremban, they acquired a land and built them a house that sat on top of a hill, in the middle of a fruit orchard that could only be accessed by foot. The orchard that surrounded the house thrived better if the surrounding terrain was left as much untouched as possible. The pathway that led to the house was under a green canopy of 30-year-old trees with barks as big as three of me put together. As a kid, I looked forward to every trips to my great grandparents' house. It was an adventure set in nature with backdrops of shades of browns and greens.
It was a big house made of timber that had a very peculiar architecture. The verandah which served as the receiving area or main foyer of the house sat on strategically positioned tall stilts. On Thursday nights, the men would congregate there after Isyak to recite Yasin, a scripture from the Quran. During durian season, the verandah also served as a hearing/waiting point way into the night. While we waited for the ripe ones to fall, my great grandfather would tell stories of his journey and imparted important life's lessons to his next generations; my grandmother, grand aunts and grand uncles, my mother, my uncs and aunts and yours truly included. As the first great grandchild, I had the privilege of enjoying his presence for a few years before he passed. Although I was too young to comprehend words of wisdom that he shared, I could still imagine his serene face looking down at me.
That segment of the house was connected to the private hall segment that had a very high ceiling structure. This area led to the master bedroom and the attic accessible via a narrow and creepy staircase located at the corner of the space. From the private hall segment an opening with a step down as steep as a stoney step of the Great Wall of China connected it to another hall. It was a large open space, where all the children, all twelve of my grand aunts and uncles including my grandmother would sleep. The lowest and final segment of the house which were the dining and the kitchen were built on ground level. There were a series of steps or a step up/step down that would connect one segment to the other. The bathroom was situated at the side of the kitchen. To get to it, I must go out the side door and would find myself in the natural outdoor prior to being in the privacy of being behind closed bathroom door, which was only two steps to the left from the door to the backyard.
The house was surrounded by fruit trees - the king of fruits-durians, were planted at the plot infront of the verandah, several different hybrids of rambutans and mangoes were planted on the west-side, mangosteen and variety of guavas on the east-side. A good size herbs garden was also located in the east-side. As I opened the windows from the dining area, I was greeted by the sight of a very shady water-lily guava tree lusciously covered with its bell-like, fuschia-coloured fruits. That was the beginning of my love for fuschia.
Further up, were some rows of jackfruit and cempedak trees and on even higher ground to the north were clusters of coconut trees. Memories from those visits and of my great grandparents came at the sight of the color fuschia and of the sweet-smelling scents of fruits and herbs that used to eminate and filled the surrounding air of my childhood, depending on what fruit season it was.
My Chinese ancestors were part of Hang Li Po's team of hand-maidens and confidante who came to settle in Malacca when the Chinese princess was bethrothed and arranged to be married to Sultan Mahmud, the ruler of Malacca. A lot of them ended up marrying the local Malays, my dad's mother, a third generation of the famous princess' entourage was no exception. Her late great grandmother was given plots of land in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan as a reward at the end of her service to the royal court when she decided to get married to my late great, great grandfather. The family have been living off the bounties of the land that were planted with paddy for the past six generation up until today. Memories of my late grandmother was of a dainty woman with a brisk but quiet walk, almost as if she was floating rather than walking. Rice was not only a source of steady and consistent income for the family sold as staple food for the population but was also processed into 'bedak sejuk', (literally translated meant 'cold powder/talc') for personal use. Final product was in a form of dried droplets of opague pellets which would be added with water to form a paste and applied onto the face similar like a masque. Rice had been known to have skin refining, pore minimizing and whitening properties and have been incorporated into women from this continent's skincare and bodycare regiment for centuries.
It was a big house made of timber that had a very peculiar architecture. The verandah which served as the receiving area or main foyer of the house sat on strategically positioned tall stilts. On Thursday nights, the men would congregate there after Isyak to recite Yasin, a scripture from the Quran. During durian season, the verandah also served as a hearing/waiting point way into the night. While we waited for the ripe ones to fall, my great grandfather would tell stories of his journey and imparted important life's lessons to his next generations; my grandmother, grand aunts and grand uncles, my mother, my uncs and aunts and yours truly included. As the first great grandchild, I had the privilege of enjoying his presence for a few years before he passed. Although I was too young to comprehend words of wisdom that he shared, I could still imagine his serene face looking down at me.
That segment of the house was connected to the private hall segment that had a very high ceiling structure. This area led to the master bedroom and the attic accessible via a narrow and creepy staircase located at the corner of the space. From the private hall segment an opening with a step down as steep as a stoney step of the Great Wall of China connected it to another hall. It was a large open space, where all the children, all twelve of my grand aunts and uncles including my grandmother would sleep. The lowest and final segment of the house which were the dining and the kitchen were built on ground level. There were a series of steps or a step up/step down that would connect one segment to the other. The bathroom was situated at the side of the kitchen. To get to it, I must go out the side door and would find myself in the natural outdoor prior to being in the privacy of being behind closed bathroom door, which was only two steps to the left from the door to the backyard.
The house was surrounded by fruit trees - the king of fruits-durians, were planted at the plot infront of the verandah, several different hybrids of rambutans and mangoes were planted on the west-side, mangosteen and variety of guavas on the east-side. A good size herbs garden was also located in the east-side. As I opened the windows from the dining area, I was greeted by the sight of a very shady water-lily guava tree lusciously covered with its bell-like, fuschia-coloured fruits. That was the beginning of my love for fuschia.
Further up, were some rows of jackfruit and cempedak trees and on even higher ground to the north were clusters of coconut trees. Memories from those visits and of my great grandparents came at the sight of the color fuschia and of the sweet-smelling scents of fruits and herbs that used to eminate and filled the surrounding air of my childhood, depending on what fruit season it was.
My Chinese ancestors were part of Hang Li Po's team of hand-maidens and confidante who came to settle in Malacca when the Chinese princess was bethrothed and arranged to be married to Sultan Mahmud, the ruler of Malacca. A lot of them ended up marrying the local Malays, my dad's mother, a third generation of the famous princess' entourage was no exception. Her late great grandmother was given plots of land in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan as a reward at the end of her service to the royal court when she decided to get married to my late great, great grandfather. The family have been living off the bounties of the land that were planted with paddy for the past six generation up until today. Memories of my late grandmother was of a dainty woman with a brisk but quiet walk, almost as if she was floating rather than walking. Rice was not only a source of steady and consistent income for the family sold as staple food for the population but was also processed into 'bedak sejuk', (literally translated meant 'cold powder/talc') for personal use. Final product was in a form of dried droplets of opague pellets which would be added with water to form a paste and applied onto the face similar like a masque. Rice had been known to have skin refining, pore minimizing and whitening properties and have been incorporated into women from this continent's skincare and bodycare regiment for centuries.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Trailing the scented past, honey!
The Romans, who did not enjoy the messy process of infusing and straining scented oils, imported most of theirs from Egypt. Men and women alike literally bathed in fragrance. So prevalent was the use of scent that Romans affectionately called their sweethearts "my myrrh, my cinnamon," just as today we call our loved ones "honey."
The Greeks were especially attracted to the use of scented oils. In fact, Hippocrates recommended the use of body oils in the bath. In Athens, proprietors of unguentarii shops sold marjoram, lily, thyme, sage, anise, rose and iris infused in oil and thickened with beeswax. They packaged their unguents (from a word meaning to smear or annoint) in small, elaborately decorated ceramic pots, as they still do today. Greek men and women anointed their bodies for both personal enhancement and sensuality. The men used a different scented oil, chosen for its particular attributes, for each part of their body. Most of the oils they used, such as mint for the arms, were warm and stimulating.
Oils were also used to massage tight muscles. Athletes in India, on the Mediterranean island of Crete and later in Greece and Rome, had specially prepared oils rubbed into their muscles before and often after participating in their athletic games.
East Indian Tantric practice turned women into veritable garden of earthly delights. They anointed themselves with jasmine on their hands, patchouli on the neck and cheeks, amber on their breasts, spikenard in the hair, musk on the abdomen, sandalwood on the thighs and saffron on their feet. Men, however, applied only sandalwood to their own bodies.
The daily bathing ritual in Indian required the application of sesame oils scented with jasmine, coriander, cardamom, basil, costus, pandanus, agarwood, pine, saffron, champac and clove. Ancient verdic religious and medical books gave insruction on balancing body temperature, temperament and digestion with such aromas and some of their therapeutic uses were certainly passed on to the West.
In Egypt, everyone used body oils, from royalty to laborers. Builders constructing a burial site went on strike in the twelfth century B.C.E. not just because the food was bad, but even worse, they complained, "We have no ointment." They depended upon the oils to ease sore muscles after a day of hauling and carving huge stones and to protect their skin from the intense Egyptian sun.
Throughout Americas, massage with scented oils was also used as therapy and was often the first treatment given. One massage oil prepared by the Incas contained valerian and other relaxing herbs that were thickened with seaweed. The Aztecs massaged the sick with scented ointments in their sweat lodges.
The Greeks were especially attracted to the use of scented oils. In fact, Hippocrates recommended the use of body oils in the bath. In Athens, proprietors of unguentarii shops sold marjoram, lily, thyme, sage, anise, rose and iris infused in oil and thickened with beeswax. They packaged their unguents (from a word meaning to smear or annoint) in small, elaborately decorated ceramic pots, as they still do today. Greek men and women anointed their bodies for both personal enhancement and sensuality. The men used a different scented oil, chosen for its particular attributes, for each part of their body. Most of the oils they used, such as mint for the arms, were warm and stimulating.
Oils were also used to massage tight muscles. Athletes in India, on the Mediterranean island of Crete and later in Greece and Rome, had specially prepared oils rubbed into their muscles before and often after participating in their athletic games.
East Indian Tantric practice turned women into veritable garden of earthly delights. They anointed themselves with jasmine on their hands, patchouli on the neck and cheeks, amber on their breasts, spikenard in the hair, musk on the abdomen, sandalwood on the thighs and saffron on their feet. Men, however, applied only sandalwood to their own bodies.
The daily bathing ritual in Indian required the application of sesame oils scented with jasmine, coriander, cardamom, basil, costus, pandanus, agarwood, pine, saffron, champac and clove. Ancient verdic religious and medical books gave insruction on balancing body temperature, temperament and digestion with such aromas and some of their therapeutic uses were certainly passed on to the West.
In Egypt, everyone used body oils, from royalty to laborers. Builders constructing a burial site went on strike in the twelfth century B.C.E. not just because the food was bad, but even worse, they complained, "We have no ointment." They depended upon the oils to ease sore muscles after a day of hauling and carving huge stones and to protect their skin from the intense Egyptian sun.
Throughout Americas, massage with scented oils was also used as therapy and was often the first treatment given. One massage oil prepared by the Incas contained valerian and other relaxing herbs that were thickened with seaweed. The Aztecs massaged the sick with scented ointments in their sweat lodges.
Let him smell the rose...
Since ancient times, the wealthy and powerful have been able to drown themselves in fragrance. In fact, one unfortunate Roman literally did. He was asphyxiated when the carved ivory ceiling panels in Emperor Nero's dining room slid aside to shower guests, who reclined on floor pillows, with hundreds of pounds of fresh rose petals. In general, wealthy Romans so over-indulged themselves in fragrance that the ruler Leptadeni, in 188 B.C.E, issued an edict forbidding such foolish access.
The Roman population paid little heed to the fragrance prohibition, and demand for incense only increased. By the first century C.E., Romans were burning 2,800 tons of imported frankincense and 550 tons of myrrh-both herbs more costly than gold-each year. As a result, Emperor Augustus increased the number of trade ships sailing between Egypt and India fivefold, from twenty to a hundred.
Islamic culture was also rich in fragrance, using it extensively in medicine, cosmetics and confections. Rose water was mixed into the mortar used to build mosques and even the ground in paradise was said to emit the scent of musk and saffron. Mohammed himself was once a spice and aromatics merchant who traveled on camel caravans. He loved fragrance, especially rose, mentioning it frequently in his teachings: "Whoever would smell my scent, let him smell the rose."
The Roman population paid little heed to the fragrance prohibition, and demand for incense only increased. By the first century C.E., Romans were burning 2,800 tons of imported frankincense and 550 tons of myrrh-both herbs more costly than gold-each year. As a result, Emperor Augustus increased the number of trade ships sailing between Egypt and India fivefold, from twenty to a hundred.
Islamic culture was also rich in fragrance, using it extensively in medicine, cosmetics and confections. Rose water was mixed into the mortar used to build mosques and even the ground in paradise was said to emit the scent of musk and saffron. Mohammed himself was once a spice and aromatics merchant who traveled on camel caravans. He loved fragrance, especially rose, mentioning it frequently in his teachings: "Whoever would smell my scent, let him smell the rose."
A World Market
Today, cities prosper and fail with the price of oil. So, too, did they in ancient times; however, it was fragrant oils and spices, not fuel oil, that sparked the growth of key cities along the avenues of commerce. With the introduction of camels as pack animals, the city of Alexandria developed into an active trading hub linking several trade routes, including one to Arabia, 2,000 miles away.
By the fourth century B.C.E., Babylon had a thriving market, trading in cedar of Lebanon, cypress, pine, fir resin, myrtle, calamus and juniper. Athens was famous for its hundreds of shops selling scented body oils and solid incense/perfumes. Phoenician merchants dealt in Chinese camphor, Indian cinnamon, black pepper and sandalwood. Africa, South Arabia and India supplied lemongrass, ginger and spikenard, the rhizome of which as an exotic fragrance. China imported jasmine-scented sesame oil from India and Persia, rose water via the Silk Route and eventually, Indonesia aromatics: cloves, gum benzoin, ginger, nutmeg and patchouli.
By the fourth century B.C.E., Babylon had a thriving market, trading in cedar of Lebanon, cypress, pine, fir resin, myrtle, calamus and juniper. Athens was famous for its hundreds of shops selling scented body oils and solid incense/perfumes. Phoenician merchants dealt in Chinese camphor, Indian cinnamon, black pepper and sandalwood. Africa, South Arabia and India supplied lemongrass, ginger and spikenard, the rhizome of which as an exotic fragrance. China imported jasmine-scented sesame oil from India and Persia, rose water via the Silk Route and eventually, Indonesia aromatics: cloves, gum benzoin, ginger, nutmeg and patchouli.
The fragrance trade
In ancient times, as now, commonly used essential oils such as frankincense, eucalyptus, ginger, patchouli, and rosewood came from the furthest reaches of the globe. These vital components of religious ceremonies, medicine, food, cosmetics and aphrodisiacs were in great demand and were more costly than precious metals and jewels. Although each region could produce clothing, shelter and food from the resources in its immediate territory, people of all nations craved rare, exotic odors that literally added spice to their lives and lent an air of mystery to their ceremony.
The demand for aromatic materials, coupled with their profitability, led to the establishment of long distance trade. Fortunately, seeds and herbs could be dried, gums rolled into beads and fragrances infused in oil or solid perfumes while retaining or even improving their properties. This made them extremely portable and relatively impervious to damage.
With trade and the passion for fragrance came adventure and intrigue. Fleets of ships crossed oceans, explorers risked their lives traveling across vast deserts, wars were ignited over land disputes and trade rights, kingdoms were conquered or lost and love bloomed-all in the pursuit of fragrance. As a result, the quest for fragrance was responsible for molding early world history more than any other single factor.
The demand for aromatic materials, coupled with their profitability, led to the establishment of long distance trade. Fortunately, seeds and herbs could be dried, gums rolled into beads and fragrances infused in oil or solid perfumes while retaining or even improving their properties. This made them extremely portable and relatively impervious to damage.
With trade and the passion for fragrance came adventure and intrigue. Fleets of ships crossed oceans, explorers risked their lives traveling across vast deserts, wars were ignited over land disputes and trade rights, kingdoms were conquered or lost and love bloomed-all in the pursuit of fragrance. As a result, the quest for fragrance was responsible for molding early world history more than any other single factor.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The fragrance circle
Just as we learn to give names to colors as children, we can also assign names to the various olfactory impressions. This produces an olfactory language with an extensive vocabulary that can also be scientifically underpinned. As described above, molecules with differing structures only fit on their intended receptors, thus
evoking a wide variety of stimuli. Molecules with similar structures can be combined into olfactory families, as shown in the Fragrance Circle. The fragrance families that are of importance in perfumery are grouped within the circle, while highly specific and unpleasant odors are located outside it. Smokey warns against fire, sour
against spoiled foods. As we near the center of the circle, the fragrance notes become more complex and are apparently perceived as being increasingly harmonious.
Top note
Serves as the first impression of a fragrance, is intended to arouse curiosity and vanishes quickly. The families positioned in the upper third of the circle are employed in composing the top note.
Heart note
Forms the actual fragrance character of the perfume and lasts for hours. It usually consists of floral notes that can be accentuated with the adjacent families.
Base note:
Serves as the foundation upon which the perfume is based, is intended to pleasantly underscore the fading scent, and can last up to a day. It is composed from the fragrance families positioned in the lower third of the circle.
evoking a wide variety of stimuli. Molecules with similar structures can be combined into olfactory families, as shown in the Fragrance Circle. The fragrance families that are of importance in perfumery are grouped within the circle, while highly specific and unpleasant odors are located outside it. Smokey warns against fire, sour
against spoiled foods. As we near the center of the circle, the fragrance notes become more complex and are apparently perceived as being increasingly harmonious.
Top note
Serves as the first impression of a fragrance, is intended to arouse curiosity and vanishes quickly. The families positioned in the upper third of the circle are employed in composing the top note.
Heart note
Forms the actual fragrance character of the perfume and lasts for hours. It usually consists of floral notes that can be accentuated with the adjacent families.
Base note:
Serves as the foundation upon which the perfume is based, is intended to pleasantly underscore the fading scent, and can last up to a day. It is composed from the fragrance families positioned in the lower third of the circle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)