Scents, Perfumes and Inspiration for a Story - Annie West

I grew up with the scent of flowers. The place we lived, as well as having a remnant rainforest gully running through it, had the most amazing garden. The people who'd built it had grown flowers commercially. Plus my mother was a florist. By the time I came along she wasn't going out to a shop to work, but often on Saturday mornings our back room would be filled with the marvellous scents of flowers. I used to sit and watch my mother working with incredibly nimble fingers, adding wire to individual flowers then turning them into amazing wedding bouquets, buttonholes and corsages.

Flowers in the market in Nice

So it wasn't surprising that I eventually wrote a heroine who was a florist. (If you're interested that's Arden in 'The Desert King's Secret Heir'). That story has a theme of flowers running through it, even though most of it is set in a desert kingdom. When I wrote the follow up story, set in the neighbouring kingdom ('The Desert King's Captive Bride') it seemed only natural to build on that theme. The heroine in that story is a chemical engineer, but did you know, as well as being employed in pharmaceutical production, waste water management, electricity production etc, chemical engineers can be involved in making perfumes? Romantic, eh? I loved the idea of a heroine trying to restart the centuries-old perfume industry in her country.

One of the hill towns of Provence

And for once the timing of this story was perfect because I didn't have to rely solely on book and internet research. Last year I travelled to Provence in the south east of France and one of the things I specifically wanted to see was one of the traditional perfumeries. The area is known for its flower and perfume production so this was a perfect place to do a little digging about what's involved in perfume making.

Most of my research didn't make it onto the pages of the story, but it helped me to write the book and that's what counts. But it does mean I've got some photos I referred to as I wrote. I thought you might like to see a few. These were mainly taken at the Fragonard Perfumery.

Part of the old distilling machinery at Fragonard

An illustration showing some of the perfume ingredients and their source

Huge bottles of perfume essences

Vats used during distillation

An old photo showing workers putting individual jasmine flowers in racks

A specialised desk where a 'Nose', a professional perfume blender works

Wild irises in the mountains

This last photo isn't very good. I was too lazy to walk across the rocky landscape to get a close up of the irises. But I noted that they can used in perfume making. That led to further research on what flowers might bloom in Ghizlan's mountainous middle eastern country which could be used for perfume.

I love nice scents though most of the time I forget to burn those special candles I have, or I hoard the gorgeously perfumed soap. Well, I did. Recently I've been making an effort to use the soaps I've carefully put away and burn the scented candles. I'm also splashing out, not waiting for special occasions to wear the lovely perfumes I've been given - Paloma Picasso's 'Paloma', Elizabeth Arden's 'Green Tea', Bottega Veneto's 'Knot' and, until the bottle dropped and shattered (sigh), 'Un Jardin Sur Le Nil' by Hermes.

Are you a fan of perfume? Do you have a favourite scent you always wear? Or maybe there's a smell that you find very evocative - something that takes you straight back to another time and place? I'd love to hear!

The nose knows!

I visited a pre-school the other day and things were a little different to when I was a three year old some thirty forty (mumble) years ago. There were i-Pads, for one thing, and funky looking climbing frames that looked like someone of my advancing years could well get stuck in.

But one thing was exactly the same as it had always had been and it set off an explosion of memory. It was the smell. It was a mix of hot sun on linoleum and the aroma of paint and crayons and sweaty sneakers, and the disinfectant that in my day Miss McTaggart used to mop up any "accidents". As soon as I recognised those familiar smells they were immediately followed by powerful memories of fun and friendship.

And it got me thinking about the power of smells in my life - the heady aroma of the first coffee in the morning - rich and mellow and warm. The smell of much needed rain on my parched garden - sweet and toasty and fresh. 

And then there's the seductive power of a perfume bottle. Maybe it's because my husband's a winemaker - a man whose nose is his livelihood-that he loves to buy me perfume. He was the very first person to buy me a bottle almost thirty years ago.  I remember it was "Paris" by Yves St Laurent and every time I smell it I still I get those same warm feelings as I did all those years ago. I tend to change my scent every year or two. My favourites in recent times have been "Allure" by Chanel and "L'eau d'Issey" by Issey Miyake. Right now I'm wearing "Flash" by Jimmy Choo and it has to be one of my all-time favourites.

What about you? Are there scents that hold particularly strong memories for you? Places or perfumes?