Modernity, minimalism, functional sustainable beauty.The tale of how Abel Odor Nurture drew first breath seems as organic as the fragrance itself. The point of convergence is Amsterdam, artistic nexus which creative director Frances Shoemack currently calls home. Nurture is the outcropping of the synergistic collaboration between former New Zealand winemaker Frances Shoemack, New Zealand-born, Brazil-based perfumer Isaac Sinclair and a company which creates organic clothing-as-comfort for wee ones based in Amsterdam known as Gray Label. The nose for Nurture is Fanny Grau, Isaac Sinclair’s partner (and mother of two children). Got that? 

Fanny Grau,Frances  Shoemack and  Emily Gray of Gray Label via Abel Odor

Frances Shoemack is passionate about wine AND perfume. A few years back she came across a video in which Isaac Sinclair voiced his fascination with the same, and that’s when she felt she’d found her nose. Each held strong beliefs regarding the use of ethically sourced aromatic materials which benefit the planet, and commenced creating fragrances; it was only a matter of time before Emily Gray was in contact, requesting a perfume “made by mothers for mothers” – a 100% natural eau de parfum for new and expectant mothers – for her Amsterdam-based boutique. 

Photo via Gray Label

There are solid reasons to support such endeavors: Gray Label goes to significant lengths to design unfussy, timeless clothing for children from infancy to 10 years of age in an ageless color palette of mix-and-match. Everything they make is ecologically sound, stylistically classic and fully functional; it allows children to BE children and comfortable in non-restrictive garb.  Abel Odor Nurture eau de parfum is intended to soothe caregivers and their charges via beneficent aromatics and subtlety: “NURTURE is a soft, calming fragrance that reminds a mother to take care of herself while also taking care of her little one.”

Woman and Child Seated in a Garden 1881 (Mary Cassatt)

Thoughtful attention has been paid to ensure that Nurture’s fragrant components form a harmonious whole – the notoriously soothing and tonic orange blossom (many European baby care products are scented with it!), those marvelous jasminoides which calm ruffled nerve endings (mimics the effects of Valium without the 96-hour half-life), lentisque’s terpenic citrus woodiness for clarity and freshness. Bulgarian rose plays the tender consort here; far from a diva rôle, she helps round the more incisive edges of a vibrant ginger (relieves nausea, cramping, elevates mood) and effusive lentisque/mastic resin. East Indian sandalwood is the blessed tie which binds – renowned for its meditative character and buttery heartwood, it has healing properties and is reputed to enhance mental alertness (something many parents of young children find flagging by day’s end). If all this doesn’t sway you, perhaps the fact that everything listed is sustainable will – responsibly sourced so as not to pillage our planet, andecologically produced.

Mother and Child Water Color  (Mary Cassat)
What does Abel Odor Nurture smell like? It is lovely, unpretentious, simple and delicate (after a rousing initial spritz of vivacity). While it clings to the skin it does linger a bit longer than many natural perfumes; its sillage is discretion itself. To my nose it is a tonic redolent of Eau d’Hongrie (Hungary Water), a popular eau de toilette circa 1370 thought to revive lagging spirits and beauty’s decline (there is no rosemary in Abel Odor Nurture as there is in Hungary Water, but the mastic element possesses a similar herbal/balsamic pungency). As is the case with other Abel Odor fragrances, it is universally appealing with no prescribed gender specificity. Abel Dor Nurture is thoroughly modern, fresh and always appropriate – especially when one needs a little tenderness. Notes: orange blossom, Bulgarian rose, lentisque, jasmin sambac, ginger, East Indian sandalwood

Many thanks to Ann at Indigo Perfumery and Europerfumes the US Distributor for my generous samples of Abel Odor Nurture! My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor

~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

photo via Abel Odor

Thanks to the largesse Abel Odor, we have a 30 ml bottle of Abel Odor Nurture for a  registered reader  in the EU or USA only (register here if you have not already done so). Please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Ida’s review of Abel Odor Nurture X Gray Label  and where you live. What aromas do you assoicate with tenderness and a mother's love?  Draw closes 12/15/2018

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our blog feed … or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.