Parfums Dusita Anamcara / fragrance visualization by Despina Veneti©
“Everything is
a blessing in disguise,
sometimes so mysterious
a disguise that
it will take me a lifetime
to realize it.” –Montri Umavijani (1941-2006)
A friendship (Pissara & Despina) / photo collage by Despina Veneti©
Apart from being an admirer of Pissara Umavijani’s work, I’m also a friend of hers. Our friendship goes well beyond our common love of perfume: we share meals and celebrations, opinions and worldviews, joys and worries. This life fact does not prevent me from writing about her creations (some of which I loved even before I met her) exactly the way I feel; moreover, Pissara always welcomes my sincere input about her perfume trials, which I feel honored to test. Therefore, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary when one noon she arrived at our apartment for lunch, holding a few vials with compositions she was working on. That day, I singled out two of them, one of which would eventually turn into her twelfth Parfums Dusita release. At the time, she only told me that these were trials for “a special project”; a little later, I found out that she had been asked to compose a scent that would reflect the community spirit of the Facebook group Eau My Soul. When I smelled the final version of the fragrance, I realized once more what wonders Pissara’s fine-tuning and sheer perfectionism work: what I remembered as a beauteous fruity/white floral with a tea undercurrent, had turned into a stunning tuberose-centered scent embellished with yellow fruitiness, a delicate but fully satisfying tea accord, and a grounding base of vanillic woods. The fragrance was yet to be named, and – since friendship was at the very core of its inspiration – Pissara asked me to help her choose its name among the several propositions received after a contest she held. Right there, in our living room, the two of us examined all suggestions, and the name “Anamcara” (proposed by two different entrants) emerged as our favorite: this beautiful-sounding merging of two Gaelic words, which literally mean “Soul Friend”, refers to that person with whom you develop a life-long connection, someone you can trust implicitly, and on whom you can always count.
Tory Island, Comté de Donegal, Ireland / Martine Franck©, 1995
Parfums Dusita Anamcara opens with the sunny disposition of bergamot and blood orange, announcing a generous, soulful bouquet: tender freesia, joyous May rose, cuddly orange blossom, intoxicating jasmine, mesmerising tuberose. The latter is the undisputed floral star, sans the “diva” attitude. Determined to captivate both its perennial lovers, and those who tend to shy away from it, the tuberose here is amicable and broadly welcoming, without losing its fundamental exuberance. It is, furthermore, one of the most gender-fluid tuberoses I’ve ever smelled, performing a fine balancing act between the perfumer’s two exclusive accords – the tea and the woody one. The tea accord (redolent with peach and apricot, and a bit smoky on its own), once blended in the composition evokes to me the smell of infinitely elegant white tea, infused with dried fruits and flower petals. It brilliantly teases out the inherent fruitiness of the florals: the damascones of the rose, the mirabelle tones of the freesia, the citrusness of the orange flower, the banana vibes of the jasmine, the coconut tones of the tuberose. At the same time, the Madagascar vanilla is working its comforting magic: like a warm, reassuring hug, this precious raw material nourishes and adorns citruses, fruits, tea and flowers, lending a suavely gourmand character to the fragrance. The vanilla creates a link to the stunning base, where the perfumer’s own “Rainforest” accord, mainly defined by chocolatey patchouli, clean vetiver, nutmeg-like sandalwood and oxygenated cedarwood, radiates an aura of creamy, slightly powdery, elating woodiness. Appropriately to a fragrance that celebrates friendship, the flirtiness of Parfums Dusita Anamcara does not escalate to eroticism; its sensuality feels natural, unforced, almost spiritual in its lack of provocation. Contemplative yet optimistic, meditative but also exhilarating, Parfums Dusita Anamcara is as much a scent that reflects the complexity of friendship, as it is a fragrance that mirrors its creator’s poetic sensibility and life-brightening humanism.
Friendship / William Herbert Allen©, date unknown – Hampshire Cultural Trust©
Considering that Parfums Dusita Anamcara is meant to celebrate friendship, it understandably holds a special place in my heart. Since Pissara involved me in Anamcara’s birth as a gesture of friendship, I wanted to offer to all our Çafleurebon friends an in-depth discussion with her, while smelling all the scent’s ingredients. The fragrance was presented to a limited number of journalists, bloggers, content creators and brand friends during a global online event on September 11, 2021. The discussion that follows took place ten days earlier, September 1, 2021.
Despina Veneti: Thank you for taking the time to discuss Parfums Dusita Anamcara with me today, Pissara. Let’s start with how the fragrance idea was born.
Pissara Umavijani: It’s my pleasure, Despina! It all started when Christi Long, founder and co-administrator of the Facebook group Eau My Soul, asked me to compose a fragrance inspired by the group. I accepted, and asked for the group members to get actively involved in the first stage of the creative process, by suggesting their favorite notes and mood that this scent should have.
Despina Veneti: Exactly how did you choose the notes, and which ones were selected first?
Pissara Umavijani: I noticed that the prevalent mood suggested by the group members was that of getting together again with friends, picnicking and enjoying the outdoors (an understandable need in times of a global pandemic). I wanted a feeling of coziness and human contact, so I started with the tea accord; the image of sharing a cup with people I care for spells “friendship” to me instantly. In the beginning, as you may remember, my tea accord was more jasmine/oolong-like, but then I turned it into peach/apricot for a more joyful vibe.
A Windy Day / Gaetano Bellei©, date unknown
Despina Veneti: Smelling the tea accord, I find it a proper composition by itself – it opens intensely fruity, and one needs to wait a little to experience the tea leaf facet. Smelling its ingredients, I’d say that petitgrain is key to that transformation…
Pissara Umavijani: I agree with you. It’s a rather complex accord, of no less than 10 ingredients. There are yellow fruit notes, citruses, some jasmine and rose, a touch of osmanthus, patchouli and the beautiful Paraguayan petitgrain that’s herbal, nutty and fruity altogether. Patchouli is also essential to that smoky tea leaf effect.
Despina Veneti: Tell me about the tuberose, a floral note often associated with voluptuousness and seduction. How did you approach it considering that the fragrance’s theme is friendship?
Pissara Umavijani: The tuberose was suggested by many people, and it happens to be a raw material I love dearly. I wanted to showcase its soothing aspect by accompanying it with green and ambery touches. Less heady and seductive, more relaxed and accessible. To me, tuberose carries an invigorating yet comforting energy, transporting me back to my home in Thailand. I imagined it as the star of a stunning bouquet I’d bring to a dear friend, with the purity of white. I surrounded the tuberose with night-blooming jasmine, May rose, orange flower, ambrette seed, sweet resins and a touch of vanilla, in a floral accord I called “Bouquet”.
Despina Veneti: Your third major accord is the woody one, which smells sweet and powdery on me – perhaps unexpectedly sensuous for something you call “Rainforest”!
Pissara Umavijani: I think the New Caledonian sandalwood is really big on your skin, and the large quantity of cedarwood may have that effect, too. In the fragrance, that effect is toned down. I called it “Rainforest” because, to me, friendship does not exist among humans only. I’ve seen it happen between species, and I further believe that all of us need to be friends with Nature. My goal was to create an ideal version of the humid, mossy, aromatic woodiness of a tropical forest, and this accord is the fragrance’s link to Mother Earth.
Two Friends / Thurston Hopkins©, c. 1954 – Getty Images©
Despina Veneti: I find the woodiness of it bewitching, and after smelling its ingredients with you, I think the key materials here are the sweetly spiced sandalwood, the amazingly nutty vetiver and the cedarwood that seems to have fresh air breathed into it…
Pissara Umavijani: The Santalum Austrocaledonicum that I used has, indeed, such tones. Cedarwood Virginia is an ingredient almost therapeutic in its calming effect. Vetiver is also important; I used both fractionated (a bit nutty and clean), and non-isolated Haitian (earthy and humid). The earthiness is enhanced by my beloved Indonesian patchouli and real oakmoss (I always use natural, low-atranol one).
Despina Veneti: Apart from the three main accords, what’s that extra something that makes Anamcara what it is?
Pissara Umavijani: I’d say the beautiful Madagascar vanilla which I added individually, for that gourmand feeling many people asked for; and, of course, the meticulous balancing of the fragrance’s ingredients.
Despina Veneti: For the finale, please tell me why you chose this particular poem of your father’s to accompany Anamcara.
Pissara Umavijani: I think it adds a poignant comment to any human relationship. Sharing emotions with another person is precious, even if at the time the occasion seems sadder than we like. We also tend to forget sometimes how blessed we are: my father had a friend with whom he had a disagreement, and they ended up not talking to each other. When my father passed away, it was this very friend that published his work. The message I ultimately tried to communicate with Anamcara is to enjoy friendship and life as they come, take nothing or no-one for granted, and show appreciation to friends while they’re still around…
Notes: Blood Orange, Orange Blossom, Freesia, Tea, Peach, Apricot, Rose Centifolia, Tuberose, Jasmine Sambac, Vanilla, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vetiver.
Editor’s note: Parfums Dusita Anamcara will be available for pre-order from September 14, 2021 at the brand’s online shop, and very soon through every Parfums Dusita stockist. The fragrance (EdP) will be available in three sizes: 50ml, 100ml and in travel format (3×7.5ml).
Disclaimer: My thanks to Pissara Umavijani for my 15ml mini bottle of Parfums Dusita Anamcara. The opinions are my own.
– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor
Birds Of A Feather / photo collage by Despina Veneti©, using original illustrations by Pissara Umavijani© for Parfums Dusita Anamcara
Thanks to the generosity of Pissara Umavijani and Parfums Dusita, we have a draw for a 50ml avant-première bottle of Parfums Dusita Anamcara (value: 150€) for one registered reader in EU, UK, USA and Russia (to be shipped to the winner in October). You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review and her discussion with Pissara, if you have a favorite Parfums Dusita fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 9/16/2021
Follow us on Instagram: @cafleurebon @despinavnt @parfumsdusita @ploiuma
This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy
We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Çafleurebon and use our blog feed… or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume…