The Perfume of Life: Book Two: The Perfume of Life, #2

By A.S. Reisfield

The Perfume of Life comprises an unparalleled series of conversations in the matter of storytelling vapors of Nature, on distillation and extraction technologies, the science of drawing out or intercepting the chemical communications of vital beings, and including also classes presented to baristas and oenologists on the respective physical bases and neurobiological perception of espresso and wine, and tutorials on the aesthetic analysis of scent, and investigations into the fragrance of dirt and death and wine and sex, into the nature of sweetness and fruitiness and spiciness and juiciness, and love and war and beauty and much more, like the significance of pheromones and deterpenation, alchemical traditions and vacuum filtration, perfume terminology and alcohol emulsions, pollination ecology and potions of seduction, that is, workshops on aphrodisiacal elixirs and their production, also trials involving Indian attars, and how to build fragrant accords, and lessons on comparative forms and media of art, and reviews of notable molecules such as 1,8-cineole and linalyl acetate, methyl chavicol and eugenol, camphor and many more, and accounts of xenobiotic compounds introduced to the biosphere, namely synthetic musks and aldehydes and ionones, and surveys of violations by the fraudful Perfume Industry and the associated biophobic campaigns of fashion houses, and training in the detection of dupery with respect to counterfeit volatile oils, and proceedings of rowdy plant perfume panels that feature metabolic expressions of saffron acacia mistletoe and magnolia, aloeswood honeysuckle osmanthus and gardenia, tarragon tuberose lotus and boronia, labdanum linden karo-karounde and angelica, and a good many others.

By means of this program of exercises and studies and the series of salons related, the grand saga of Life on Earth is uniquely depicted, as an epic narrative channeled by perfume. As a result, the protagonist Salonnier and his helpmates come to appreciate most incisively the present siege being laid to Life. And by advancing a set of principles and rationale for a movement in defense of Creation, they advocate on behalf of Nature in a manner that’s unprecedented in the history of literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ediciones Vanguardistas
• Release date: Jul 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997534146

Book preview

PERFUMES of retrospect

Field books and pencils check, micropipettes check, molecule trap check, step air pump check, expandable aluminum tube check, silicone vacuum grease check, metal clamps check…

Really, the expedition into the Cambodian jungle was idealistic, scheduled as a symbolic quest to uncover a sublime exemplar of perfect harmony, an unqualified affirmation or ultimate expression of beauty among all Life, the mysterious root of Creation, to bestow something like transcendence or final salvation.

You know, the poetic undertaking was your idea, upon your becoming revved up by reading about Goethe’s Italian journey to locate an actual standing plant that exemplified features characteristic of all plants, I recall Tulíp saying to me.

And the expedition into West Africa was planned as a symbolic quest for supreme vitality, something magical yet botanical, the ultimate expression of Life’s sustaining energy, the miraculous root of Creation, to bestow immortality.

You were attracted to the paradoxical aspect of the mission, enticed by the cognitive discrepancy of an archetypal plant that takes up space in the Real World, an abstract concept that also serves as a biological agent conducting business in Earth-based reality, I recall Licorice saying to me.

Well, at one time I expected that Goethe must have orchestrated some kind of reconciliation between reason and desire, coordinated a commingling between reflection and observation?

He attempted to choreograph a kind of resolving dance between theory and matter, to administer a settlement between the poet and the skeptic, Saffron adds.

He deserves credit for trying?

Goethe was the lead actor in a short hopeful scene in a long somber act in an unending dramatic tragedy concerning our troubling existential condition.

I’m embarrassed to admit that the idea of an Urparfüm was once hard for me to resist.

An encompassing ideal proto-perfume, a fundamental molecular composition, a template to produce by modification the array of chemical communications we find, a common inimitability to trump atomistic idiosyncrasy, a key to unlock the constitutional laws of the universe.

Yes, I too once turned away from the disjointed ragbag of contingent and situational expressions of Life.

A single system and rationale by which to measure all the individual affecting aromas in the World, which would sort along generalized criteria, the jumbled disarray of conceptions under one roof, the scramble unscrambled.

A visionary journey just simply felt right, seemed romantic and good and right.

Really, it was a protest to be staged both in principle and in the flesh, against the ravaging of Living Nature, which is both ideological and concrete.

Your schizophrenic daydream of changing the World.

Really, I’m no longer curious about supernatural codes, cosmological secrets, or philosophical epiphanies.

On the other hand, there are the exudations, the volatile exhalations, of aromatic barks and resins and roots, preserved buds and fruits, expelled essences hijacked via steam or solvent, scentful messengers bottled and retained for subsequent interrogation, which we’ve carried out, with some results.

In any case, I take it that Tulíp is interested in the natural order of things and has looked out for indicating embodiments in Nature, but not necessarily in the form of a certain tree of trees to be discovered in Southeast Asia.

And I gather that Licorice is interested in metaphysical tidings and has been receptive to revelation by an organic cipher of some sort, but not necessarily in the form of a certain plant of plants or flower of flowers to be tracked down in Sierra Leone.

PERFUMES of witness (rosemary)

On a break from fetching supplies to stock, I arrive at a Texas radio studio for an interview, so-called, but really to pitch rosemary. I unpack some glass vials, paddle-style scent mouillettes, headphones in place…

A first for this station, this presentation, the on-air personality suggests that I should spare no effort to describe our fragrant attractions.

Sweating hands reveal my unease, so I suppose I lack confidence, not in my message, but in how to deliver it? and in this anxious state I become a domineering pedant? I don’t waste time to begin imposing my extravagant proclamations…

Our listening audience can learn something from these oils?

These are a set of boutique vintage small-batch rosemary distillates that bypass corporate chemical holdings and collectively convey a powerful and timely message—the rejection of modern rectified culture that so devalues the particularities of Earthly Life in favor of the virtually real always-connected all-embracing always-advancing all-inclusive heedlessly technological worldwide top-downloaded collectively conscious mind-uploaded mass-produced tightly controlled hyper-rational and across-the-board?—if I’m correct?

Unusual, how you read so much into this.

Here, with eyes closed, inhale slowly, deeply … now say, what is aroused by your perception of this whole extract? Any sensation suggested? sensibility supported? one of dumbed-down people-centric coarse consumerism?—no way—these are provocative vapors issued by this enigmatic mobile substance, encoded compressed and sequestered information concerning Creation emitted by this fluid lipophilic envoy from wild ecologies, this situational organic emissary from the Natural World, this fluxing dispersive Nature agent, this concentrated sensitizer, sensitizing us to states of affairs among living communities, to s-o-s signals from plants and animals. Feel at all moved to take a stand? on behalf of our besieged (distant) green cousins?

Unusual, take a stand, well put (though I’m not sure what you mean). Shall we take some calls from our listeners?

Here, sample again—affecting yet hard to describe? deeply nuanced, but more … with me?—it’s not static, but shifting, swelling, changing shape, direction … begin to grasp how the oil engenders in beholders an appreciation of the immense elaborateness of Living Nature?

Unusual, what you gather from smelling.

No no, that term is unsuited to this practice. We experience, perceive, behold, sample, explore (not smell) aroma, in the same way that we listen to (not hear) music, that we view (not see) paintings. With respect, please.

Okay, here, this Corsican extract, a verbenone type (from the Keyserlingk operation familiar to boutique-oil aficionados)—inhale … now share whatever comes to you … any attributives brought to mind? I perceive a refined resilience, with me? too abstract?—all right, let’s see if we can untie some olfactory knots…

Untie knots, unusual.

Guitar players should understand—interested that chords give the impression of openness? whether tones of each string are clearly distinguished? Imagine an instrument with dozens of strings (imperfect analogy, nevertheless), we likewise judge an oil by how open it rings, for the degree of clutter, the way one principle grades into another, the smoothness of transitions, spacing of constituents, which if conducive will allow us to maneuver among facets of expression—makes sense?

I believe we have some callers on the line?

Hold on, I’d like to appeal to the audience, for this next aesthetic encounter, to avoid all distractions, to follow along, as we appraise this vital perfume designed and engineered over generational time—we’re first greeted by a light slightly tangy diffusive terpenic emanation indicating evergreen needle-leaves yes? hinting of spruce perhaps, this the famously volatile alpha-pinene, a monoterpene readily shed from plant canopies to spread out and explore ambient winds, but other entangled evocations qualify that early inference, effects cooler-seeming, such as a near-subliminal minty helping that involves itself in the initial wafting, and more, try for instance to identify the mild oily lift (camphene)? and camphor too? a bit coarse, closely trailing the cloud of precociously buoyant scented scouts, this eager metabolic troupe extricating from the solution and radiating under the influence of woody dry fresh flourishes (beta-pinene), and check if you can detect the molecules effusing citrus-toned references to olibanum (myrcene)? then succeeding are more terpenoids and ketones and benzenoid hydrocarbons teaming to impart an inimitable aromatic spectrum of resinous soft and hardwood invocatory infochemicals, with several prudish fatty touches offering the faintest embellishment, then a flirty floral whisper arrives from somewhere, and a caramelic toffee-like balsamic reduction (n-bornyl acetate)? a transitory clove-tinged tone (caryophyllene)? an indirect allusion to anise (methyl chavicol)? and (stretching our imagination to further recognize) intimations of basil tarragon and black pepper? and camphor voices a return entry as the compound borneol, famous of Chinese moxa therapy and considered a contributor to the suite of olfactive traits distinctive of rosemary, as if included in order to tie together disparate outdoorsy features—wood mint oil resin and pepper.

Notice how we tease apart traces? An interest of mine, you can tell. Yet the practice requires only a modicum of mindfulness. We’re attending to the intricacy of Creation. And ideally, we draw upon lessons incorporated by these dynamic agglomerations of vaporous metabolites—plant perfumes.

Our telephone switchboard—

Wait, here, reckon this—an industrial rosemary product from a retail shop, likely compounded with 1,8-cineole derived from eucalyptus. Ninety-nine percent of traded oils are the same, flat and standard, without a specific history or individuality, without a story.

Now this one—from another Corsica distilling concern (run by the Astratella sisters, renowned among faithful adherents) that caters to the French aromathérapie community—lifted from plants cultivated at sea-level, perpetually bathed by warm moist Mediterranean breezes, sitting in sun and vigorously metabolizing month after month—thus healing practitioners who employ essential oils suggest application to support metabolic activity, regenerative skin care for example. In Traditional Chinese Medicine parlance, it resonates with blood. Your regard?

My gums are tingling, now my scalp, and my cheeks, and sinuses full up … it’s an exotic balm? what do I know?

The action is similar to fireworks that explode with bursts of color according to a timed sequence, the oil known for those high-flowing flighty notes that unfold as they float and spread inside your pharyngeal cavity as shimmery sweet-cinnamic jelly-like waves, collectively complex but direct and unmistakable in effect.

Next selection, again, another artisanal vintage rosemary, this from Croatia, the Adriatic Island of Hvar, coming straight from the producer (Catherine Zurak), who says she turned out only ten liters, so go ahead … try to make out the indications that shake out from vegetation when subject to the entraining steam of distillation.

This elicits differently, granting that I’m at a loss, and scared to admit, that my heart flutters a bit?

Idiosyncratic responses to idiosyncratic expressions of Nature are precisely what specialty runs are about. Inasmuch as I detect a characteristic rosemary aspect, it is uncharacteristically subdued, yet seductive, even sexy … it wells up, a soft subtle deep bolus we notice that’s suspended and swollen like a distended scented presence of extended radiant warmth. If it were a textile, it would be velvet. Too precious to use for skin care, this one’s for resolving anger.

No anger here. Will you take a phone call?

Next is our last sample—this will take us out into the elements (ready your sunblock and insect repellant!)—here goes—to the high plains of Provence where the producer (Roselyne Dubois) is one of a number of dedicated artisans who prepare specialties for phytomedicine from wild populations of hyssop thyme cypress carrot thuja artemisia and … abundant wind-pruned rosemary shrubs adaptively tuned to the harsh Prealpine conditions. Whereas the plants are classified among the mint family, the growth habit of these defensive specialists is hardly lamiaceous, suggesting instead an affiliation with gymnosperm needle-leaved trees, the grayish foliage appearing prickly and thorn-like, armored and piercing, its surface area reduced to conserve moisture. Healers consider the oil as armament, shielding and warding off foreign pathogenic principles (resonating with defensive chi).

So breathe … and savor … early to exhibit are top-notes, seeming herbaceous? a minimum of menthol comes on, a tone of burned toast, a flowery shade, perhaps lilac? and vegetal, celery? and spicy, cloves? and more, yarrow? grass? incense? earth? lemon? hay? tea-tree? stay now, stay with me. Overall the oil is colder and bracing, coarser and penetrating, pungent and mucus-membrane-abrading. (I imagine a musician who’s down-and-out, his vulnerability and bare honesty revealed by the cracking voice as he sings an old refrain.)

Unusual, all your analogizing to music.

And the primary components—camphene borneol and myrcene, beta-caryophyllene alpha-pinene beta-pinene and bornyl acetate—are also molecular couriers that serve to constitute the volatile exudates of quite a few pine and fir and spruce trees. So the composition of a highland rosemary oil curiously resembles more that of (unrelated) conifer leaves than that of many (closely related) culinary medicinal herbs. How?—evolutionary convergence? between tips of unrelated genealogical twigs borne on the arborescent shrub of Life? because like environments promote the production and release of like perfumes? and various terpenoids assort to form strikingly similar assemblages no matter the phyletic lineage? so these are high-elevation chemical stable states of some kind?—either way, a fine evolutionary improvisation, agreed? (anyone listening)?

I’m afraid we’re out of time.

Summing up, in the matter of moral implications, about the idea of heralding a cause and making a difference … it’s how we began this session? by relating that these expressions of Life convey a message about society off course.

About next week’s show…

Never mind. The listeners are mostly interested in liver cleansing and financial investment strategies. I’m the brunt of jokes probably, a position earned, and I don’t care.

PERFUMES of disclosure

Tulíp? no way? it’s been too long (and yada yada).

I’m sure you’d like to know what we’re doing here? (No, it’s not a queer form of Nature worship as some have wrongly labeled our program.) We give occasional demonstrations or workshops, billed as studies, but the salons are most rewarding, the plant perfume panels. Participating are those interested in fragrant plant extracts, also gastronomes, a variety of connoisseurs, cognoscenti and artists, and those who advocate against the flattening out of Earthly variation, naturalists and anarchists. We call the operation high-scientific and metaphysical drama in the mountains of Central Mexico.

The purpose of all this?

You surely recall … the proposition we deem an organizing principle, that molecular messaging is the system of communication predominant throughout the Natural World, having no rival in its capacity to convey facts and insights about Life. It serves as a conceptual backdrop, the idea that perfumes of Living Nature are chemical emissaries on a grand scale, that fragrance is the oldest and most fundamental medium of expression, the primary currency of information relating to Creation. Thus we track the traveling formations of metabolic improvisation, much as the emissive principles are given to form tangled vapory bundles, which are intricate to such an extent that it’s problematical to tap that wellspring—nonetheless, that’s our aim.

To change the World?

And our proactivity includes different sorts of testimony and instruction, with titles such as: how to snatch the scented soul from matter (extraction techniques), materialization and dematerialization (alchemical methods), how natural expressions bridge chemistry (the technical) and sensuality (the ineffable), non-therapeutic medicines from non-essential essential oils (this class is too popular), volatile deeds and what the World needs (with readings from Faust) … and guided studies also, designated variously: perfumery familiar and strange, recognizing aromatic secondary dominants and elements of transposition, fragrant random walks and phylogenetic constraints, economy silence intentionality and accidents of blending…

You don’t believe it’s blustery to make that declaration?

During aroma salons I sit at the head of the table and hold forth, as scent strips are imbued by dipping and passed around, as we regard the organic odoraments in our custody, as we listen to various molecular voicings of Life. I show in the elicitations and invite impressions and inferences, then direct the discourses for which we borrow terms from the lexical domains of scientists and sensualists both.

Guess not, given the potent message?

And I preside over lessons and sessions that cover fun facts and impelling ideas, ranging for instance from the significance of hydrogen bonding and vapor pressure to pheromones and fixation. You know (sure you do) why people can’t detect any odor of cholesterol? How espresso crema is similar to armpit hair? Which contains the most volatile compounds, tea or wine?—questions to the purpose, no?

We’ll see?

And we’ve accrued quite a cache of artisanal accessions, no ordinary collection: a marjoram from Vilora in Slovakia and a marigold from Essen Oils in Zimbabwe, a niaouli and a clove bud and a couple of ylang oils from Homeopharma in Madagascar, a Flavex coriander and a Kistler German chamomile from Germany, other specialties too.

Yet reality doesn’t always conform to fanciful plans?

As to our interpretations, our most trying challenge is to dissuade panelists from contributing descriptive feedback of personal association (say, aunt Lupita’s cashmere shawl or an ex’s ropa interior) or abstract references (say, astrological). Still, the reminiscences and sensorial reactions range mighty interesting sometimes.

"Saffron recounted for me an incident, in el centro, when you scraped a key, without reason, across the door of a luxury sedan?—you did that? and the owner went after you?"

The subject of our next discussion group is the re-designing of perfume, which is really about de-mystifying natural splendor by the de-coupling of mystery and metabolism, about de-commissioning Creation and de-constructing the biosphere, about the dis-gracing de-facing (the de-naturing) of Nature. And you’re invited … to speak on aromatica of