NEW FRAGRANCE REVIEW: The Scent of Departure Collection “Around The World In 20 Fragrances (Part 2) + Reader’s Choice Draw

Continuing my perfume powered around the world tour courtesy of my tour guide Gerald Ghislain. I take on four more of the 20 fragrance The Scent of Departure collection. The itinerary for Monday starts in Tokyo then a quick hop to Hong Kong before heading to Istanbul and finally finishing in Dubai.

Tokyo is the modern city at the center of Japan and M. Ghislain chooses to mix a traditional Japanese milieu of watery lotus paired with freesia and peony in TYO. This creates a slightly aquatic freshly floral style to the early going. The modern aspect comes courtesy of the clean white musk. This musk reminds me of modern electronics technology as it seems to have penetrated everywhere. Whether one likes TYO is going to come down to your tolerance for the white musk. In the case of TYO it seems like the right choice to add a modern edge to the whole composition.

Hong Kong is the most vertical city in the world as the sheer number of tall buildings reaching to the sky makes it a surreal vista; especially as your plane swoops right by someone’s living room window on the one hundred and somethingth floor. HKG is a towering skyscraper of floral notes which are sent even higher with a citrus booster. The florals are a spicy rose, astringent violet and a slightly metallic lily. Together they create an almost non-floral accord. When I first wore HKG I thought it was a violet and resin combo but the rose does the heavy work as the spicy quality adds contrast to the violet and lily. Lemon and pear add the fruit component and they make HKG soar to its own one hundred and somethingth floor.

Istanbul is a city I have never visited in real life but many perfumers have been inspired by the mystique of the Grand Bazaar. Most often a perfumer uses a spicy heart but M. Ghislain chooses a magnificent Turkish rose as the core of IST. This is an unbelievably memorable rose. I smelled IST for the first time at the Elements Showcase in January and I could not wait to wear this. My memory was not incorrect as the spicy phase is right upfront as pink pepper carries the top notes. Then that Turkish rose arises out of that pink pepper and gains in intensity. There is a touch of lychee circling the rose as well. The base is musk and cinnamon. IST is one of my three favorites of the entire collection.

Today’s trip finishes in the Middle Eastern city of Dubai. DXB has an almost classic Middle Eastern perfume architecture. It mixes fresh citrus in the opening like a breeze off the desert. This is followed by a traditional deep rose note. The base is the perfume note most closely related to this part of the world, oud. DXB is the most traditional of all of The Scent of Departure fragrances. It is no surprise that a rose-oud composition would be one of the compositions to represent one of the Middle Eastern cities. If you like that combo DXB is your destination.

Back tomorrow with four more cities.

Disclosure: This review was based on samples provided by The Scent of Departure.

Thanks to The Scent of Departure we are offering a reader’s choice of a full bottle of any of the 20 cities in this first release. To be eligible leave a comment talking about your first departure to a town different than your own. Each comment from all five parts will be combined for the draw. You get one entry for each piece so you could conceivably have five chances if you leave a comment on all five parts. You also can give yourself one more chance by “liking” The Scent of Departure Facebook page at this link. We will draw one winner via random.org from all five parts on April 29, 2012.

 

If you missed part one click here for NYC, Singapore, Vienna and Abu Dhabi

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

Editor’s Note: Those of you who live in New York City have a unique chance to experience The Scent of Departure in a very special way. On Tuesday night April 24th, at Henri Bendel from 5-8PM, Gerald Ghislain will debut the collection underneath 240 airplanes hanging from the ceiling. There is also a Proust Questionnaire which is supposed to help you narrow down your choice. If you can’t make it on Tuesday night for the party M Ghislain will be there on Wednesday and Thursday from 6-8PM each night. -MB

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


49 comments

  • Olga says:

    What an interesting question! I have traveled away from my own city pretty often, because I was a sickly kid and yearly vacations were required. Departing into a different city was quite a different story though. My first one I don’t remember a lot about, because I was 6. I do remember that it was by train and I was fascinated with the views from the window. I was even more fascinated with the city I arrived in with my grandfather.

    The first departure by airplane was great fun too — I flew alone at 10, parents put me on the plane on one end, my great aunt picked me up from it in Riga, Latvia on the other end. The flight attendant was taking care of me in between. Candies, flight and the smell of departure 🙂

  • missp says:

    My first departure from my city was to Germany, when I was quite young. I remember we took a tour of some salt mines, and I was taken with how cold and salty it smelled down there — I didn’t remember smelling salt before. Thanks for the draw!

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    My first departure was with my father going for the amazing views of Cuzco and Macchu Picchu, it was a long time ago. I went back recently and it is so different.
    At 20 was my first international departure, and I landed here in LA. These new entries sound great too but I’ll pick Istambul for sure.
    Thanks for this great draw.

  • Lisa says:

    My dad has always disliked airports… so as a child we drove everywhere. My first time in an airport was a trip to Buffalo NY with my mother to visit family up there. My grandpa made wine from the berry plants on his land, so many times I was up there we’d be covered in mulberries (or elderberries) covered in so much purple all over that my cousin, sister and I would have to be washed in the sink before being allowed in.

    Istanbul sounds uber delicious!

  • Lean S says:

    My first departures occurred at a very young age and I do not have a clear memory of the very first one. I do remember my first trip to Paris as a young girl with my parents as it was an experience quite different from the regional trips we had made previously.

    I like them on facebook (Lean Sa)

  • Alica says:

    So far I remember it was the trip to Italy – Venice with my parents, I was 7 years old.

  • GinnyM says:

    I was adopted in Anchorage and raised in a small town in Southeast Alaska. The first departure I remember clearly is, at the age of four, flying north to Fairbanks to pick up my then two-week-old adopted brother in early February. What I recall is looking out the window of the plane and seeing nothing but darkness!

  • Kathryn says:

    I have never travelled overseas, but I did venture to a little place called Tasmania when I was 15, (fellow Aussies are probably laughing right now). Tasmania is a small island, considered a state, off the bottom of Victoria, separated by the Bass Strait.
    I was amazed by how lush the vegetation was over on this small island and I loved the quaint little towns with cute craft shops, and not to mention the beautiful shorelines. It’s one adventure I will never forget.

  • Cristina says:

    I have to comment about that that it’s been so long ago I can’t remember it. Just realizing that I’ve travelled a whole lot.

  • cheesegan says:

    To be eligible leave a comment talking about your first departure to a town different than your own.

    My first memory of travel is taking the plane to see my step-fathers family in southern California. The only thing that I remember is seeing the ocean through the clouds.

  • MariaA says:

    My first departure was when I was 12 for Barcelona , trully amazing trip enjoyed it to the fullest despite my young age and have the fondest memories and smells from it!!!

  • Victoria says:

    My first departure was to hometown of my father, I had 1 year old or so, so I don’t remember nothing 🙂

  • Asali says:

    The first time to actually be on a flight to another city, or country even, I went to London with my parents. I couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 at the time, and I remember the parks, the red squirrels and an unimaginable amount of all things cute and girly. It seemed like the most perfect place in the world:-)
    I am incredibly curious about these as I love many of the HdP. With so many ‘departures’ to choose from it’s terribly difficult, but I think Vienna would be mine, with the coffee house/ Sacher Torte notes.
    Thanks for this great draw, and I’m looking very much forward to Mark’s next installments.

  • Jan says:

    The first departure I can remember was crossing the ocean on a plane from Madrid to Vancouver, to visit my grandparents there. I remember how impressed I was by the sea of clouds, and how the long flight somehow seemed to pass in a blink.

  • sherapop says:

    My very first trip abroad all alone was to London, where I stayed a few days before traveling via train then boat then train to Paris. It was an exciting and unforgettable adventure and forged my love of solo travel forever.

  • Cynthia says:

    My first international departure was to Sydney. I was going on business, and I was never so excited to fly 30-plus hours on a plane! Flying into the city as the sun came up and that beautiful bridge…spectacular!

  • Fernando says:

    My first departure? Gosh, long ago. It was from Sao Paulo (CGH) to Rio de Janeiro (SDU). Neither airport is really active any more, but both made for exciting landings, CGH in the middle of residential high-rises, SDU right nest to Sugarloaf mountain.

  • Sujaan says:

    IST sounds lovely!
    My first departure was to visit a boyfriend. I was 16 and had met him at camp a few months before. I lived near San Francisco and he lived in Los Angeles and I flew down to meet him. I was terribly excited to be flying to meet a boy, it all felt very spectacular and worldly, even though it was only a 45 minute flight!

  • Olfacta says:

    When I was six, we moved to Japan. I remember the flight, the stay in Hawaii and, most clearly, the near-ditching when we lost an engine over the Pacific and had to stay in old quarters on Wake Island for a couple of days while the plane was repaired!

  • Claudia says:

    Well my first departure via airplane was from Germany in 1984 to move to the US. It was scary but also exciting, when you are young this sort of thing seems like an adventure. I remember arriving In Chicago and was in awe. All i know back then it was a long flight and it still is today 🙂

  • Amy says:

    My first departure was, at age 17, to London and the English and Welsh countryside. I went with a group of kids to meet our idols, Led Zeppelin. We were successful; met their wives, kids, and families and hung out in the village pubs where they lived. They treated us so well, and were pretty gobsmacked that we would travel so far to meet our heroes.

    I remember the smell of diesel fuel, wet pavement, beer and cigarettes, chippie shops and Indian cuisine while in London. In the countryside, the smell of a much damper, mild, temperate air, cow and sheep poo, peat, smoke from the chimneys, and the heather on the hills around Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales.

  • taffynfontana says:

    My first departure was when I was 10 years old and went to visit my mothers hometown in Mexico. First we went by air while my 8 year old brother had a panic attack then by bus where the fumes of the bus intermingled with these delicious dulce de leche sandwiches my mother packed and finally by taxi through narrow cobblestone streets.

  • Devon H says:

    These sound ahhhhmazing! I want them all 😀

    My first MEMORABLE departure to another city was when I was 12 – I flew for the first time, by myself, from Harrisburg, PA to LAX. Stepping out into Los Angeles summer heat for the first time, seeing the big city, the sight of palm trees in real life and not on a movie or tv screen, was incredible. And arriving thereafter and smelling the lemon and orange trees growing in my aunt’s backyard is something I will never forget.

  • ineverwas says:

    Well, the first departure to a different city that I can remember is when I was around 8-9 years old and I went with my parents to a city near the seashore. It was a beautiful time, I spent a lot of time at the beach and also exploring the new city and what it had to offer. Especially enjoyed the Aquarium and Dolphinarium.

    From this draw I’d love to win IST (Istanbul). 🙂

  • noetic owl says:

    The first departure that I actually can remember was at the age of 6 to Switzerland.
    TYO sounds like a great office scent for those sensitive to fragrance.

  • Ccc says:

    Really hard to remember the first trip. I think it was Brussel many years ago.
    Thank you for this great review. From this segment IST sounds really interesting.

    Let me go to FB now and like them. What’s not to like? 🙂

  • LegoBoy says:

    My first trip outside my home city was maybe when I was very young (5 or so). I have only one vivid memory of it, when I was getting on a bus with my mother and outside it was pouring rain.

    IST sounds really interesting to me.

  • Isa says:

    My first departure by plane was when I was 4 years old. My parents, grandparents and I were going there to spend some days with my uncle, aunt and cousins.
    I don’t remember anything about that flight, buy my parents have told me that I asked for a juice and I said that I wanted to get off that flying bus and that I wanted it to stop right now!

    Tokyo and Istambul sound like the kind of perfumes I like.

  • Holly F. says:

    My first departure was from the small town in which I grew up, to the city of Philadelphia. I remember how wide-eyed I was, and how all my senses seemed heightened, taking in every bit of “big city” that I could. You can imagine how enthralled I was the first time I set foot in New York! Great article, Istanbul sounds like my idea of heaven.

  • Gypsy Parfumista says:

    When I was 12 (and in 6th grade) I flew for the first time to Lincoln, NE for a national elementary school “think tank” type of thing. We placed fourth. It was the first time I ever flew and it was so very exciting.

    We two boys had our own hotel room and the two girls bunked with the coach Mrs Lemmon. It was so very liberating to be meeting other like souls from all over the country so far from home. I think this helped me to want to travel and love changing places and scenery and meeting all types of wonderful folks from all over…

  • JessieB says:

    When I was 15, my mom took me to Paris for the first time. She worked for an international airline from before I was born, but this was my first trip outside the country. It was magical and I didn’t sleep a wink on the flight over!

  • Bulka says:

    My first flight was very local, about 40 minutes long to a neighbour city. I must have been around 9 years old. I loved flying and realized that very moment that I need to travel more! Being on a plane inspires me to dream 🙂

  • Deanna G. says:

    I went to Lake Tahoe for my cousin’s wedding when I was like 10. It was very beautiful.

  • harper says:

    my first departure under my own steam: hitch-hiking in europe way back when: france, spain, portugal… it was wonderful.

  • Tami H. says:

    San Diego was my first venture on my own. Would love to win Bali, thanks for the draw!

  • Lauren says:

    My first departure to a city different from my home was a trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from urban NJ. There are very few multi-lane highways, there was so much green, and so cold the closer you get to Lake Superior, even when it’s 90 degrees just 2 miles inland. And the constant supply of smoked trout, and pasties, wherever we stopped to eat. So different from home and I loved it!

  • Brooke says:

    Growing up in San Diego, we often took two-three hour car rides and would end up in different spots – Palm Spring, Los Angleles, and my favorite were the beach trips to Mexico. I loved crossing the border and seeing all the street vendors selling their wares. Velevt paintings, ponchos, huaraches, pottery, knick knack of all kinds.

  • Amer says:

    I have travelled quite often since childhood but the first time I got on a plane didn’t come until I was 19 y.o and went to Athens for Xmas. It was a very memorable experience because I went there on my own after a breakup and the moment the plane got off the ground I felt released from all sadness and anxiety. I stayed in Athens for a week and I met amazing people who helped me experience life from a completely different perspective.

  • Ellen Covey says:

    The first departure I can remember was when my family moved from Chicago to another city when I was about 3 years old. Of the perfumes listed here, I think Dubai would probably be my favorite.

  • mim says:

    My first departure was to relatives in other states. The first I remember was to my grandparents’ posh NYC apartment. I brought my bunny. Who liked hopping and pooping and chewing everywhere. Very much a culture clash.
    I remember the car ride lasting forever, stopping along the way, feeling stressed and cranky, playing car games….I remember feeling anxious as I left home but also excited.

    I remember walking around the neighborhood, playing in Central Park on a slide that seemed two stories tall, and thinking they lived in a fancy but stinky hotel (doorman building, smokers). Some things, like feeding the ducks, were the same, but others (museum with dinosaurs! Ice cream sodas! fancy decor! the smell of the city…) were so different.

  • winstonsmith4 says:

    We traveled to St. Lucia when I was a kid, from the snowy north. It was amazing — all the fresh fruit, the heavy humid air, the salt in my hair, the colourful birds, the music…

  • rosiegreen says:

    My first plane trip was to Tucson,Az , a very different place from the rainy Pacific NW. I loved the sunshine and the scent of orange blossoms.

  • ringthing says:

    My first plane trip was at the age of 10; my mother, sister and I travelled from our tiny rural Midwest town to Hawaii (late 60s). I remember the orchids everywhere, from the fresh leis that greeted us on every island to plate garnishments at dinner.

  • Connor M says:

    although there are vacations I don’t remember, the smell of Florida, when you first step out of the airport, is pretty special to me. Very unique. There, we would visit my grandma down in Naples.

  • Ggs says:

    I travelled around the US a lot as a child, as my father’s job involved moving every few years and we also took family vacations that involved driving across multiple states. A first memorable departure without my family was a trip to NYC when I was in high school in Pennsylvania. It was with our drama club, and we had tickets to a show on Broadway. I was so disappointed with Broadway and the Times Square area! This was about 1980 or so, and the area was a bit seedy still then. I thought it would be glamorous and the streets would be sparkling or something! The flashy Times Square of today would have better met my expectations.

  • MN Nick says:

    The first memories of traveling are when I was very young, I would visit my grandparents in a small town in MN (my family lived in Boston at the time). I’d fly by myself, and my uncle would pick me up and drive me to my grandparents house 7 hours away.

    To this day, I recall the wonderful smells from that house. From the diluted Dial soap on the bathrooms, to the smell of freshly baked bread, cookies and pies in the kitchen, to the furry, musty smell of the basement.

    I’m still haunted by a certain cleaning product that smells exactly like my grandma’s kitchen when she wasn’t baking. It didn’t smell like cleaning product, it smelled like the most wonderful, clean, comforting scent I can imagine. I would love to find out what that product was and somehow bottle in in a fragrance. The last time I smelled this product was in a restaurant bathroom. I opened the door to leave the restroom, and then I just stood there in plain view sniffing the air for a minute – I’m sure I looked like a madman!