The Scent of Brazil (part IV)

To have the privilege of knowing how the nature of the country and the habits differences between regions become each olfactory experience a rich discovery of scents is evident also for foreign perfumers that live and work in Brazil and are more and more familiarized to our scents such as Firmenich Brazil perfumer, Carmita Magalhães, a French nose who has worked over 10 years in Brazil. About the scent of Brazil she tells me “Many times what seems simple as the scent of a flower, after analised, becomes a complex mixture of various scents (molecules). For the scent of Brazil the same happens... To get this simple scent, I blended some notes: of Atlantic Forest and its green, intense and earthy scent; the fresh scent of waterfalls; of beaches with their comfortable scent of sea (maresias) and sun protector; of fresh fruits, succulent and colored in fairs, of the comfort of dunas sands and the warm cerrado with its relaxing scent of grassy macella dried by the sun”.

Smelling the Brazilian scent under the perspective of Carmita Magalhães is like to smell the scent composed by a poet-perfumer. In reality, a good perfumer is a poet of perfumes, mainly here to capture the essence and the diverse nuances of a country that owns more than 15% world biodiversity and unfolds unique colored landscapes such as Amazonia Forest, the Cerrado, the Pantanal and the Atlantic Forest, big business and urban centers as São Paulo, earthy paradises as Fernando de Noronha and the beautiful beaches on the blue coastline of Atlantic Ocean, besides a country that represents the Latin-American unity, influencing industry and services in all region. In fact, perfumers as Carmita Magalhães understand not only raw materials and chemistry involved in perfume making, but, most of all, they are professionals that know places and their respective fragrant auras, travelers within scents and, know people, emotions, pleasures. It’s understandable to be delighted by the inspiration of the perfumer who lives in Brazil for years, and she adds: “Mix these simple scents in a fair dose until they are incorporated to each other into an unique, soft, fresh and sunny scent, a note for all, an invitation to the Brazilian fondness.”

And, from now, I invite you to smell the Brazilian scents and picture the olfactory images like a fascinating watercolor. Feel the fresh wind touching your face while contemplating the infinite sea blue and, after, taking a bath plunging into a beach water, taste the sensual dried salt flavor on tanned skin by the hot Brazilian sun, refresh the health body with much fresh water and drink some light juice of tropical fruits, bite these fruits tasting their delicious and succulent soft pulp, aqueous, red and yellow ones and let be seduced by the sweet flavor of homemade candies. When the hunger is coming, smell deeply the scent of well-flavoured mouthwatering Brazilian food and also be fully satiated by the fresh and inviting green leaves salad with colored vegetables, the food of the blessed mother-nature called Brazil. Smile, always and with no concerns and feel as light as the lightness of fresh and aromatic fragrances. Cover Brazil that has the strength of woods, the warmth of spices, the beauty of flowers and, simply, the love for perfumery, now much more in growth.

Special thanks to my interviees for collaborating with the mini-interviews for this article.
Data Source: 2009 May: Abihpec – Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Higiene, Perfumaria e Cosméticos (Association of Toiletry, Perfumery and Cosmetics)