Monday October 19, 2009

Scent of a man

By S.S. YOGA

If you could bottle the scent of a particular type of man, what would it be? CH Men might provide the answer.

TRAVELLING men and rolling stones, they gather no moss. So could you gather the scent of such a man?

Well, Carolina Herrera, the celebrated Venezuelan-American high-end fashion designer, embarked on a journey of her own to attempt this. She entered the luxury fragrance market in 1988, and since 2007 when the CH Carolina Herrera scent was launched, she has been attempting the masculine complement for it. She has worked closely with her daughter (also named Carolina) on this scent and others before that.

It’s a guy thing: Thirty-six-year-old Englishman Conrad Humphreys (sailor and skipper) is one of eight men representing key facets of that sought-after individual who epitomises the charm of CH Men.

Now it’s 2009 and Herrera (this references the daughter from now on) says to her, travelling means much more than covering distances.

“It is about starting a journey, leaving behind the life you are used to living and suddenly being able to look at it from afar.” It is this looking at things from a different angle that she wants to imprint upon the perfume for men.

The fragrance is called CH Men – and Herrera had a vision of what such a man would be. She sees him as stylish, masculine and sophisticated but with a natural and spontaneous style, not necessarily linked to physical appearance (which is great since only a small number of men have model/movie star looks).

“A life explorer, a nature lover, someone with a passion for wandering around the backstreets of large cities in search of old bookshops and tiny cafes. He is optimistic, fun and slightly eccentric, with an aura of mystery and sometimes a hint of absent-mindedness and hence a charmer.” She adds “idealist”: passionate, authentic and vital.

Seems like a tall order and Herrera wondered too if she could find such a man!

Well, she found eight who represented key facets of that sought-after individual, men she admired and who agreed to take part in this unique campaign for CH Men (and with no fee and motive but their own reciprocated admiration for Herrera).

These eight men each represented a different twist and part of the fragrance.

Carolina Herrera (the younger) is the brains behind the latest CH fragrance.

First up was 39-year-old economist and scion of an aristocratic family, Íñigo de Arteaga, who comes from a Spanish family that goes back over 10 centuries. To Herrera he demonstrates that elegance is not just a matter of good taste; it is also a blend of intelligence and sensitivity.

Another Spaniard, 47-year-old oenologist Telmo Rodr?guez, brought Herrera closer to the earth and the root of aromas.

“I admire his passion, his strength, his determination to recover vineyards that had fallen into disuse. He inspired me to discover a different way to interpret the CH Men notes,” she says.

A scent is a fleeting thing and then it becomes a memory. For that Herrera looked to the Swedish-German National Geographic photographer and expedition junkie Tommy Heinrich. The 47-year-old helped Herrera understand how aromas can give shape to our memories by forming the olfactory map of our lives.

Palo Samko is a 34-year-old Slovak who moved to New York in 2001. The cabinet-maker, who is considered one of the most successful seminal artists, showed Herrera that there is still room for craftsmanship. “The smells of the wood he works with remind me of the CH Carolina Herrera boutiques and the base notes of CH Men.”

The youthful talents of Russian orchestra conductor Tugan Sokhiev made her realise the many similarities between how music and perfumes are interpreted. What also struck her was how 32-year-old Sokhiev himself understood this. “Who better to define CH Men and show me that the five senses are, in fact, just one?” Herrera asks.

Who can resist a fighter? And in 36-year-old Englishman Conrad Humphreys she has found him. This sailor (and skipper) has achieved many celebrated distinctions, including sailing round the world several times. “Through him I learnt that we are limited only by ourselves.”

The bottle that stores the fragrance is also an important element in the whole scheme of things. And 41-year-old Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury could help give inspiration to that and enabled Herrera to explore volumes and proportions. “His architecture is a perfect combination of design, structure and functionality – a harmony I seek in my bottles.”

34-year-old Slovak Palo Samko, a cabinet-maker who is considered one of the most successful seminal artists in New York.

And finally she looked closer to “home” for the last man in the piece. The 52-year-old French creative director Jérôme Faillant-Dumas had previously worked with them on the advertising campaigns for CH Carolina Herrera fashion and fragrances.

“He took me inside the world of advertising and showed me how advertisements are contributing to the creation of a new concept of men,” Herrera says.

As this is a luxury fragrance, expect more layers to it than you would in other scents.

All together, 22 different ingredients were employed in the heady masculine yet subtle mix that is CH Men.

Invoke the spirit of adventure with the scents of saffron, nutmeg, cedarwood, rosewood and incense. Have a touch of savoir faire courtesy of tangerine from Sicily, vetiver roots, jasmine sambac petals and bergamot from Italy. Expect passion thanks to sandalwood, vanilla, grey amber and tonka beans. Be a little eccentric with the help of violet flowers, grass, grapefruit peel, moss and burnt sugar. And finally send a stylish signal with angelica seeds, leather, cashmere and musk.

Recognise yourself in any of those eight men or want to invoke the scents they represent?

CH Men is available at leading departmental stores.