Citrus levelled up
Given that we are a tropical count ry, our warmer weather would dictate that we take a lighter approach when it comes to picking our men’s fragrances and scents. In this regard, citrus notes have always been regarded as the more zestful, exhilarating family of scents to fall back on. Unfortunately, we have been inundated with lemon in the form of home fragrances, to the point that even synthetic versions of lemon have come to be the staple of what we think of by default, when asked to think citrus. And that is a shame, as beyond lemon, there is orange and its relative, the bergamot orange. An essential oil extracted from the bergamot orange fruit rind, bergamot is a true favorite among perfumers because it so easily blends with other fragrance notes. In fact, it is so versatile, it is also blended with black tea to create the Earl Grey blend. A number of new and exciting fragrances have utilized bergamot as their top note.
Imbued with simplicity, Tommy Hilfiger recently unveiled its 2016 Tommy Summer — a citrus aromatic wood fragrance that has bergamot, sea fennel accord and cedarwood as its key notes. With a washed- out stars-andstripes motif of green and blue, Tommy Summer is West Coast cool, invigorating yet subtle in its simplicity. And then there’s TH Bold, a stronger yet sporty Hilfiger scent that combines top citrus notes of pomelo, tangerine and bergamot. At its heart, there are herbal and spicy notes of lavender and cardamon. Extracts of jasmine and mandarin blossom mix with base notes of cedar, sandalwood and vetiver. A more complex formulation, TH Bold changes and transforms as the different notes surface in the course of the day — packaged in a midnight blue bottle accented by bold red and white elements.
Any conversation about bergamot will inevitably bring Zegna into the conversation, thanks to the premium private orchards in Italy the brand owns. Known as the Zegna Bergamot, it is at the heart of its fragrance, Uomo. Formulated by the legendary Alberto Morillas, Uomo craftily merges nature and science, by bringing together head notes of Zegna Bergamot and Violettyne Captive, a floral note created in a laboratory that is popularly described as “electrified violet.” With bottom notes of vetiver and cedarwood, this is fresh yet masculine, fragrance that speaks volumes in terms of male confidence, being both rough and refined. It is bottled like a glass slab that acts a monument, a vertical pillar offset by horizontal striations. Elegant and composed, Uomo epitomizes the Zegna spirit.
While the fragrance counter personnel can often be overly aggressive and downright pushy, one can’t get away from the fact that the best way to identify and pick out a new scent is to test it on oneself. Smelling the paper strips are useful for recognizing that initial “Hmmm, yes!” moment, but each fragrance will smell differently when applied to one’s own body, and it may take up to five minutes to appreciate how it combines with one’s own body chemistry, how the different notes reveal themselves. Invest that time to discover which one really works on you.
Wry reads for the beach!
Hailing from the US of A, from England and Sweden, these three authors can provide hours of enjoyable reading. In the case of Matthew Pearl, it’s scintillating historical fiction, while Fredrik Backman makes being a curmudgeon such fun to read about. The late Paul Sussman moves away from his archaeological fiction to give us something very different.
The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl (available at National Book Store) In his trademark tradition of taking literary figures and making historical fiction out of their lives, Pearl’s latest novel uncovers the legacy of literary pirates ( bookaneers) and weaves them with the life of Robert Louis Stevenson, who spent the last years of his life in Samoa. The time is 1891, a period when copyright laws that protected authors and intellectual property did not exist, and these bookaneers made money by securing the works of renowned authors and having them printed in territories where there were no laws to be enforced. With the laws about to be passed on both sides of the Atlantic, the bookaneers’ days are numbered, and two of them go on a chase to Samoa to secure Stevenson’s latest. What awaits them they could not foresee.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (available on Amazon.com) In what must be regarded as wonderful irony, this is a smart, bright and funny book about a 59-year- old curmudgeon trying to commit suicide on account of having recently lost his wife but finding that Life, in the form of neighbors he doesn’t even like, keeps getting in the way. Blackman hails from Sweden, and to our delight, finds the human and compassionate from the least likely of places, and persons. The narrative shifts back and forth in time, helping us appreciate the kind of person Ove is and how he met his wife and how she transformed his life, and in the present day, why Ove is out to end it all, and why his being the kind of person he is and what Sonja meant to him, becomes reason enough for him to postpone his end. Truly a wonderful read!
The Final Testimony of Raphael Ignatius Phoenix by Paul Sussman (available at Page One, Hong Kong) It is the year 2000, and Raphael is about to turn a century old. Alone in a remote English castle, he looks back on his life, and the murders he has committed — whether with intent or by accident. This is the hilarious premise of a novel that moves backwards in time, and gives us a cracked perspective on the 20th century. While Sussman has passed away and his literary legacy is based on his detective series with strong archaeological backdrops, this early work that has finally been published sees a more subversive, playful mind at work, and is filled with the charm of a rascal or shaggy dog. The movement through the century takes playful swipes at the rock band era, and the intricate plotting and coincidences satisfy.