In the mood for comfort scents

On the menu at Adora’s fragrance bar: The latest creations by the world’s most revered perfumers

When the rainy season began I started looking for warmer, more comforting and complex fragrances. I wanted something I could snuggle into on a cold, rainy day, which you just can’t do with the fresh, fleeting, oh-so-linear scents of summer.

I found exactly what I was looking for at Adora’s Fragrance Bar, which specializes in the most exclusive, luxurious, sophisticated fragrances by the most revered perfumers from around the world. You can be the most diehard connoisseur or virginal newbie (I’m somewhere in between), but you won’t walk alone at this fragrance bar. Knowledgeable staff are always on hand to help you find your signature scent, or a key aroma in your fragrance wardrobe. You’re sure to find a fragrance you want to wrap yourself in, or, if you happen to get a whiff of one of these babies on someone else, you’ll want to bury your nose into the neck of that one lucky wearer.

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Penhaligon’s, Maison Francis Kurkdjian and The Different Company fragrances are found only at Adora in Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati.

Penhaligon Malabah

Inpiration: An imaginary journey along the East Indian spice route

The story: Sweet musk and amber swirl as night falls, and roses are rubbed gently with powdered orris and aromatic spices. Inhaling Malabah is like traveling on a magic carpet to a distant, exotic land.

Symphony of notes: Lemon, Earl Grey tea and cilantro; ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, rose and orris; sweet amber, sandalwood and musk

What it smells like: Malabah is the ultimate sensual experience, from the surprisingly fresh Raj-influenced head notes to the sublime silks-and-spices blend of its floral heart.

Penhaligon Endymion

Inspiration: The romantic partner of Artemisia

The story: In ancient myth, Endymion was a mortal who was so loved by the goddess of the moon that she put him to sleep forever so that she alone could visit him every night.

Symphony of notes: Bergamot, mandarin, lavender, sage geranium, coffee absolute, vetiver, nutmeg, black pepper, cardamom, musk, leather, sandalwood, incense, frankincense and myrrh

What it smells like: A sexy, modern fusion of citrus, spices and leather.

PENHALIGON PEONEVE

Inspiration: An exquisite portrayal of an English garden in summer, bursting with lush, green foliage and heady with the scent of blossoming flowers

The story: At this garden’s heart grows the radiant peony flower, beloved by master perfumer Olivier Cresp for its abundant petals and velvety scent. Cresp captured the dominant peony note using Nature Print technology, a technique that enables the perfumer to immortalize a single flower.

Symphony of notes: Violet leaf, peony, Bulgarian rose, Hedione, vetiver, musk, and cashmere wood

What it smells like: Opening with a burst of greenness, Peoneve gives way to a luscious floral heart while the sensual base notes add a sense of summer abandon.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Silk Mood

Inspiration: Silk

The story: Master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian felt he could dress up the oud with the soft touch of a rose petal, so Silk Mood is the most feminine of the three Oud Mood scents.

Symphony of notes: Silk Mood starts with Bulgarian rose, a very beautiful rare rose, then comes the oud, chamomile infusion, and papyrus.

What it smells like: Very fresh and airy, powerful yet refined. “You can feel the beast (the oud) at heart, but it’s totally tamed,” says Maison Francis Kurkdjian CEO Marc Chaya.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cashmere Mood

Inspiration: Cashmere

The story: Inspired by a warm, very soft fabric, you can wear this on the skin directly. “This is one of my favorites,” says Chaya, who wears it often, even in warm weather. “I thought I wasn’t an oud person, but found I could be.”

Symphony of notes: Starts with a top note of Moroccan labdanum (another resin), then at the heart you have oud and benzoin, and the drydown is vanilla, which mimics the softness of cashmere.

What it smells like: Leathery, more resinous, drier, more woody, more liquorish, while the vanilla adds a very subtle, refined sweetness.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Velvet Mood

Inspiration: Velvet

The story: “Velvet is rough if you caress it from one end, and at the same time very soft if you caress it from the other end,” Chaya says. “This play on the fabric inspired Francis to come up with a drier, spicier scent, purer, smokier and very elegant on skin, almost like a tuxedo or evening dress scent.”

Symphony of notes: The top note starts with saffron, then cinnamon from Ceylon; drydown is Copahu balm from Brazil, a soft resin.

What it smells like: Smoky, spicy, dry. “If Cashmere is more liquorish, this one is drier, rougher, but the brutality of the oud is totally controlled and softened.”

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Amyris Pour Femme

Inspiration: The “perky, impulsive” quintessence of the Parisian woman

The story: Kurkdjian conceives his collection as a fragrance wardrobe for every moment of the day. With Amyris, he wanted scents that could be shrugged on for daywear: chic but comfortable.

Symphony of notes: Californian orange, Jamaican amyris, Florentine iris, Haitian vetiver, musky amber

What it smells like: Amyris is actually another name for West Indies sandalwood, with a cedar touch. The iris is wrapped in sweet, plush lemon blossom, dabbed with a puff of powder. Like Holly Golightly, this scent sparkles and charms without trying too hard.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Amyris Pour Homme

Inspiration: The essence of the good-bad guy. Medyo bad boy, in other words.

The story: Unapologetically masculine, but with a twist, playing on the tough-tender duality. Amyris Homme is as easy to slip on as a favorite white shirt-and-jeans outfit, yet chic enough to carry you into the cocktail hour.

Symphony of notes: Moroccan rosemary, Sicilian mandarin, Jamaican Amyris, Florentine iris, Brazilian tonka bean absolute, modern woods

What it smells like: A bright mandarin opening develops into non-gourmand dark chocolate. Coconut, coffee, tobacco and bitter almond round out this surprisingly classic concoction.

The different company Aurore Nomad

Inspiration: A tropical island; life on the high seas

The story: Perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour started out with a “Sinbad accord” of star fruit, apricot and a touch of green melon, topping off his tropical cocktail with a drop of aged rum and dash of spices.

Symphony of notes: Banana flower, star fruit accords, cinnamon, aquatic notes, nutmeg, rum, davana, fair-trade Madagascar ylang-ylang, Egyptian geranium, clove, plumeria, indole, immortelle absolute, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, musk

What it smells like: The burn of the rum and spices, bolstered with davana and immortelle, creates a sharp contrast with the thirst-quenching coolness of the fruity-aquatic notes.

The different company cologne series

Inspirations: The “floating world” captured in Japan’s woodcuts (Tokyo Bloom); the classic citrus scent revisited (Limon de Cordoza); the Old World elegance of a Tuscan town (Sienne d’Orange); and a nocturnal cloak (After Midnight)

The story: With Emilie Coppermann’s L’Esprit Cologne series, The Different Company pursues, in a new style, the spirit of transparent yet sophisticated blends it initiated under its co-founder, perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena.

What they smell like: Tokyo Bloom conjures a spring rain on a spring-blooming garden; Limon de Cordoza is a bracingly modern and joyful fresh scent; Sienne d’Orange is a cheerful orange-carrot cocktail that emits golden warmth; while After Midnight is a jazzy violet vodka tonic that won’t stain your clothes and is perfect to go clubbing in.