We are always having a look at the latest fragrances on the market, whether that is a new washing powder, or a new shampoo or a new designer perfume launch. It helps us to know that we are keeping up to date with all the latest market trends. There is however, something that we have noticed over the past few months – there seems to be a merging of the sexes.

Many of the newer fragrances that are aimed at men seem to have become the new favourites of our female office staff, with many of us naming one of them as our spritz of choice at the minute, in particular Carolina Herrera’s 212 VIP for men and Viktor & Rolfs Spicebomb.

I decided to ask around family and friends and came up with the same results….it seems that spritzing a sneaky squirt of your boyfriend/husbands aftershave is as widespread as borrowing his razor!

Back in the early perfume heyday of the 18th century there was no dividing line between male and female fragrances – in fact the dividing line was one of class and social standing instead. The most powerful men drenched their lapels and handkerchiefs with fragrance – usually a heavy floral blend, whilst the downtrodden masses blended into the background with the unforgettable stench of ‘Eau de Filth’.

The notion of gender in perfumery only came around in the early 20th century, coinciding with the influences of modern advertising methods. Fragrance became intertwined with fashion and so the flapper girls of the 1920′s became the new target demographic. Ms Monroe heaped glamour onto fragrance by the bucket load in the 50′s with her now infamous quote of wearing only Chanel No.5 to bed - it would have had to have been a brave man to wear a floral scent after that revelation!

The first efforts to woo the male back onboard were heavily advertised as a shaving routine add-on. And so the humble aftershave was born and the whole world seemed to smell of either Old Spice, English Leather or Burma Shave.

Eventually more and more colognes (note – NOT perfumes!!) became available embracing notes that were considered to be a masculine domain – spicy, leathery, woodsy and musky.

Fresh and lighter citrus notes have been an attempt to close the gap – think CK1 – and even more recently the addition of woody and musk notes being added to many female targeted scents have closed it even further.

Ancient men and women knew the power of aromatics, smearing them all over their bodies without any regard for whether spikenard or myrrh were considered to be feminine or masculine. Its a matter of what works well on your skin – so the next time you are looking for a new bottle of perfume – why not check out some of the newly launched male intentions – i’m off to top up my spicebomb!!

We have a large range of fragrance submissions here at Carvansons that are designed to be the creme de la creme of the current trending scents – if you have any new products that need a fragrance then please contact either myself or Helen, and we will be more than happy to send some samples for you to have a look at – all of which comply with current IFRA regulations.

Quick flight to Surabaya, only 40 mins but I gain an hour on UK time, so am now only 6 hours behind. So thats a whole day knocked off the jetlag recovery time when I get home – apparently it takes a full day for every hour of time difference to get your body clock back to normal.

Then its find a taxi, check it has seatbelts, get in, pay the fare and then as we set off we realise too late that the seatbelts are for show only and don’t actually work! So its a free white knuckle ride to the hotel, zipping from lane to lane, squeezing into impossibly tiny gaps with frequent braking participating in a couple of very close incidents along the way!

We arrive at the hotel at 9pm, so its a quick bite to eat in the hotel cafe and up to my room for 10pm. Oh good, free wifi – oh no – no signal at all!!!! Cant even get a strong enough mobile signal to ring home and check all is well….the joys of travelling.

Anyway its just a 1 night thing….I’m awake at 5.40am so I might as well get up as we are checking out at half 7…I feel like a proper business traveller!  No re-packing required….I only opened the suitcase lid!!

The mud flow is still going strong some 5 years after I last came to this area. It stems from an underground volcano that erupted in May 2006, and at its peak it was spewing mud out at a rate of 180,000 m³ of mud per day! The mud has a rotten egg aroma caused by the release of hydrogen sulphide, and as it continues to flow it is creating an unstable surrounding area as it begins to collapse in on itself. Geologists have predicted that Lusi as it is known in Indonesia, will probably flow for 25-30 years yet.

It has blocked one of the 2 main routes linking Surabaya and Malang (tonights destination), so the longer route will take almost 2 hours instead of an hour as it used to do (and in fact the journey was nearer 3 hours in the end!). The government keep building the retaining wall higher and higher to contain the liquid mudflow and the locals are very worried that the higher the wall, the weaker it gets and that at some point  the dam will burst free and swallow up more of the surrounding areas – villages and road links.

Our meetings in Surabaya included meeting up with an old friend and customer Mr Ah Lung….a lovely man and his wife who always lend us their driver and car when we are in town..he had recently visited the UK for the first time last month and so we spent an hour at lunch going through his photographs….many of them in my nearest city of Manchester, that I haven’t even visited myself!

Throughout Indonesia, there are many differing preferences for fragrances in general. Jasmine is always a safe bet, but some areas prefer it to be heavy and some prefer it to be a background note instead. Sweet candy like fragrances always go down well here  and light florals such as rose too. Grapefruit and sharp lime notes are deemed too sour, and cherry is too medicinal. Fresh, clean citrusy aromas tend to be found in most products.

As we make our way back to Jakarta for my last night in Indonesia, I am looking forward to a hot bath and a mojito before the long flight back to the UK. I hope you enjoyed my adventures here as much as I did

It seems that the world has been gripped by royal wedding fever. I’m not sure whether it is more to do with the fact that the majority of us have been granted an impromptu extra bank holiday though, but hey ho, I’ll take it with a gracious smile and I’ll definitely be watching at least some of the wedding on Friday.

Most of the available wedding information is being guessed at, as the whole event is shrouded in secrecy. Usually we at least know the name of the dress designer by now, but even that has been kept a closely guarded secret, with a rumour that in fact, 3 designers have been commissioned to create wedding dresses in case of any spillages  to the press!

The royal wedding bouquet will however continue one tradition, which dictates that a royal bouquet should contain a sprig of Myrtle from the bush grown from the original Myrtle in Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet. The Myrtle symbolises a long and happy marriage.

 All royal bouquets contain fragranced blooms designed to evoke lasting memories of the occasion.

Kate (or Catherine as we will now have to get used to referring to her) will not be following the tradition of throwing her bouquet back into the crowd of waiting ladies, ready to find out who will be getting married next, but will send her bouquet back to Westminster Abbey to be placed on the black marble resting place of the unknown soldier as  royal brides have done in previous years.

There has also been a lot of speculation with regards to the fragrance that Kate will wear on her special day. The big money must be on Houbigant, founded in Paris in 1775, and who have a long historical royal link. (it is rumoured that Marie Antoinette was recognised and captured because the Houbigant perfume she wore was recognised as a royal fragrance – no-one else could afford to use it).

Diana, Princess of Wales wore Houbigant Quelque Fleurs on her wedding day, and it may be the choice for Kate, as Prince William has made it clear that he would like to think his mother will be there with them in spirit. It is a floral classic created with a plethora of jasmine, rose, tuberose, carnation and ylang, gently warmed by precious sandalwood, powdery orris and musks, all combining to give a fresh, warm powdery effect.

And finally, here are some facts and figures about the upcoming nuptuals…

At 29 Kate will become the oldest royal bride to walk down the aisle – most royal brides are in their teens when they marry.

If William becomes King, then Kate will be the 6th Queen Catherine of England – until then, she will be known as HRH Princess William of Wales, unless they are given a Dukedom……

Westminster Abbey is over 700 years old and holds 2,200 people. It has been the site of Coronations since William I’s in 1066. Many royal weddings have taken place here, including our current Queen Elizabeth II’s to Prince Philip in 1947.

After the formal ceremony a lucky 600 chosen guests will attend a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace including Champagne, canapes and speciality hors d’oeuvres. Desserts will include petit fours, mini eclairs and assorted mousse. A multi-tiered wedding cake will take centre stage, and will most likely be adorned with sugar flowers and perhaps William’s coat of arms.

As well as over 40 foreign royals, including the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the emperor of Japan, and the kings of Malaysia, Tonga and Thailand, Prince William has invited some guests who have affected him personally in one way or another, including members of the homeless community and soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My last little nugget of information comes from one of our local Bolton businesses, Greenhalghs Craft Bakery, who after hearing that the happy couple were touring the North West, decided to create sugar crafted models of Wills and Kate in order for them to embark on a mini tour of the local Greenhalghs shops, ending up back in Bolton’s Deansgate store in time for the wedding on Friday.

So, whatever you have planned on Friday, whether you want to watch the wedding or just chill in the garden, I hope you all have a lovely long Bank Holiday weekend.

January saw me jetting off to the Far East – Malaysia and the Philippines to be precise, to meet up with our agents from Unifragrance and also Proessences. Each year in January we hold a seminar in Manila, that allows us to present the latest fragrance trends in the market. The four main trends at the minute are as follows:-

A LOOK TO THE PAST

Economic stress sees us automatically look to the past with nostalgia. We look to history to provide us with a glimpse of the future. During difficult times consumers seek comfort in familiarity, tending to gravitate towards classic florals. Over the next few months, be on the lookout for new perfumes dominated by floral notes such as rose and violet. These scents remind us of simpler times, and that memory can be of great comfort when you are surrounded by stress.

A BRIGHTER FUTURE

New fragrance launches coming down the pipeline are going to be bold, vibrant exciting with an element of fantasy. As we begin to move out of sobering economic times, consumers will seek escape and colour and this will translate as a collection of unusual technicolour ingredients. We will become more adventurous, with sophisticated rich woody notes as the heart and soul of new fragrances. These notes have depth and character and have traditionally only previously been seen in men’s fragrances.

BE YOUR OWN NOSE

Once an area only reserved for those in the know, personalised, custom fragrances are gaining popularity thanks to newer, more accessible ways to get it. The $10,000 bespoke blend still exists but customized perfume is now happily at a realistic price point. Consumers want to express their individuality, and there are now many affordable ways to achieve this. Fragrance houses such as Dolce & Gabbana and Ralph Lauren launched fragrance collections that could be worn alone or layered to achieve a personalized scent. Custom fragrance bars are appearing in shopping centres where a consultant can guide you through the notes and accords, and you walk away with a truly original signature scent. Designing your own personal fragrance is well worth the time and experimentation.

TELL A TALE….

Perfume companies have realised that it takes more than a whiff of a scent to get people hooked. Right now, story telling is especially relevant. People want to know how a fragrance has been created and the work that has been put into it, as well as being able to tap into the emotional connection of the designer. It is a quest for authenticity, and when you know why the perfumer chose those particular notes and accords and his inspiration, the whole experience becomes more genuine.

Once you know the current trends it is much easier to select a new fragrance direction for your product. Although at the moment the trends apply to designer type perfumes, this is always just the pre-cursor for soaps, candles, detergent powders, air fresheners and a myriad of all types of household products.

We currently have a selection of fragrances that cover all aspects of the trends mentioned above so please feel free to email or ring our office where one of our helpful staff will guide you through the best fragrances for your particular product – all designed to help you become  the market leader in your field.