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For a fragrant lifestyle

These exotic fragrances designed for the contemporary generation are fresh and captivating, says HARJEET KAUR ALLAGH

PHOTO: RAJU. V.

TANTALIZING SENSES Smelling good is as essential as looking good.

`Smells are surer than sights and sounds to make your heartstrings crack!'

Rudyard Kipling

A heady experience for the olfactory organs since time immemorial is the right scent or perfume applied to the pulse points -- wrist, neck and crook of the elbow or even back of the knees. Perfumes make a perfect gift item for a loved one. Very few people step out of the house nowadays without spritzing themselves with some Eau de parfum, Eau de toilette or Eau de cologne. Many guys and gals spend less time in the shower for they have an option to bury their body odour with a perfume! Anjali, a chic collegiate, uses feminine deo-sprays like Fa while going to college. "But for attending an evening do, I love to spray myself with Cool Waters," she says.

Abhishek, an engineering student, feels that a tantalizing aroma could exude a magic effect. "I like Burberry's, as the scent is subtle and not too strong. It lingers around for longer," he explains. A new recruit at TCS, Pratik, is a die-hard fan of Formula1 and is obsessed with the freshness and the soothing impact of Ferrari perfumes. "I feel happy to promote my favourite sport- racing, by using it," he tries to reason out.

Origin of perfumery

The origin of perfumery dates back to ages ago in Egypt. But it was developed and refined by the Romans and the Arabs. There are many legends that speak of Cleopatra using tons of rose petals as aromatherapy and perfumes. During the Renaissance period, the royalty and aristocracy used perfumes to mask body odour as the Europeans had poor sanitary practices. The Grasse region in France is still the main center of perfume trade. Major design houses have their own brands like-Coty, Dior, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent and the most popular Chanel. Baccarat and Lalique design the perfect perfume bottles, which are collectibles.

Bottles of crystal with glass stoppers and their gravity-defying shapes are mind-boggling. Vineeta, a young teacher, loves to collect the differently shaped flacons of perfumes. "Perfumes make an impression on others and lend me an aura that people identify me with," she says as a matter of factly.

Complement your style

Perfume is a mixture of essential oils, aroma compounds; fixatives and solvents. Odorants require different methods to extract the aromatics from the raw materials; these are distillation, maceration, expression and enfleurage. Scents were first made from natural products but later they were extracted from synthetics too. They are mainly made of flowers and blossoms, leaves and twigs, bark and wood, fruit and seed, resins and lichens, scent glands of civets and musk deer. To keep the animal rights activists at bay, artificial products are used.

Papi Reddy, an English teacher, cannot do without the freshness of the humble Denim and Axe. "The fragrance of it has my pulse racing. Just a whiff of it makes heads turn wherever I go", he claims. The M & M mall has a huge circular counter for perfumes right in front of the entrance where the buyers are allowed to test the perfume before purchasing. Not all perfumes are meant for everyone. One must try the top notes, heart notes and base notes and then choose.

Vineela, an engineering student, claims to have a collection of Parisian perfumes gifted to her by her uncle. "Wearing a perfume at night to formal do's makes me feel special," she says. The aroma of one's body not only complements a personality but boost confidence level as well. It is therefore, essential to smell good before looking or feeling good. Every human being has his own unique smell and the pheromones in our body too emit a special scent.

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