ALCHEMY OF REBIRTH
ALCHEMY OF REBIRTH
#5 The magic of spices
Spices come mostly from the Far East and the Mediterranean basin and are used since the ancient times to flavor food and beverages, as well as in medicine, pharmacy and cosmetics.
These aromatic substances of vegetable origin (suchas pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg…) were the queens of trade between East and West until the seventeenth century.
For this reason they have always represented thejourney, the distance and the mystery of unknown, magical places.
A spicy fragrance immediately transmits a burstof vital energy, the joy of active life, pushing us to discover the world in and out of us. The dream of the Arabian Nights surrounds us with the notes of pepper, coriander and cumin. Do not be surprised if you find yourself carried away on a magic carpet ride through the stars!
ALCHEMY OF REBIRTH
This term was coined by the French chemist René Gattefossé around the ‘20;in those years the interest in the beneficial properties of plants and natural treatments intensified, starting from the study of the medicinal properties of lavender.
Aromatherapy can be considered as a branch of herbal medicine thatuses essential oils, i.e. the volatile and strongly odorants substances of plants. The oils are extracted usually using steam distillation: once cooled, the steam permits to separate the essential oil from water. The essential oils arecontained in specific structures within various organs of the plant.
The term “aromatherapy” has different meanings depending on the country in which it is used, but a commonly accepted definition would be this: “the use of essential oils for the maintenance of health or of the therapy”. Although aromatherapy is still far from being defined as a real therapy by thescientific community, its use is now widespread and often combined with color therapy to increase the subjective perception of well-being.
ALCHEMY OF REBIRTH
#3 THE OLFACTORY PYRAMID
What makes us fall in love with a fragrance? And what,on the contrary, makes us hate a perfume so much, that it makes us turn up our nose when we smell it? Certainly our emotional experience has a powerful influence on the olfactory tastes, just think of how many times the aromas that remind us of our childhood surprise us and move us (or frighten us!). How is the making of a fragrance? Why at first does it seem sweet? And why then does it suddenly “become” - for example -citrus?
Accademia del Profumo (i.e. “Academy of Perfume”) teaches us that:
“… A composition is a sequence of complementary raw materials. The perfumer creates its composition thanks to his instruments, his technical expertise and his artistic sense. He will formulate it taking into account the degree of volatility and persistence of raw materials and elaborating three theoretical olfactory plans that develop over time: the so-called" olfactory pyramid.”
The pyramid is a theoretical view of the evaporation degree of the components and of their persistence. It consists of three levels that illustrate the temporal development of the fragrance.
The top notes:Fresh, light and weakly persistent, they vanish in a few minutes. Those few minutes are enough totrigger the desire to discover the fragrance, which is why this phase is calledthe “flight of the perfume”. This “flight” invites you to buy the product.
The heart notes: They are more powerful and more consistent than the top notes. They have a higher persistence and they constitute the development of the fragrance that leaves a trail.
The base notes: These are very persistent raw materials that evaporate slowly and can last for days. They express the personality of the perfume and generate the customer’s loyalty.“
Now it’s time for a beautiful journey to discover your own ideal olfactory pyramid!
ALCHEMY OF REBIRTH
#2 OUR ACTIVE INGREDIENT: THE HELICHRYSUM ITALICUM
People may know the antiseptic, decongestantand anti-oxidant properties of the Helichrysum Italicum, the “golden sun” of the Mediterranean Sea; but perhaps not everyone knows that …
In mythology, Elicrisa is the nymph who gave her name to the Helichrysum, because it was the first to pick it up. According to the legend, the plant of Helichrysum comes from a beautiful nymph with golden hair, who loved a God but wasn’t loved in return. When she died, she was transformed into this flower from the other merciful gods.
An ancient proverb says: “Who is adorned with Helichrysum is filled with luck”. A lucky charm, therefore, useful to propitiate love meetings. A bunch of Helichrysum, let dry all year and then burnt on the night of St. John, would allow to conquer the loved one. This plant is very linked to the “fire ritual” of St. John festivities. In some places in Sardinia, on the morning of the feast of St. John, people used to wash their hands with the water that was prepared on night before soaking an odd number of bunches of this plant.
How much magic in this gift of the Mediterranean. How much Rebirth, in one little flower!