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The global lockdown will soon be over, and we are becoming healthier thanks to vaccines and vigorous exercise. Very soon, we will once again be traveling freely to England, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Thailand… or closer and more connected, across the three regions of Vietnam: North, Central, and South.
When arriving in a new place, people have many ways to interact and learn. Some will wander around museums; others will chat with locals; some will choose shopping to understand the shopping habits of the people there… However, we all share one behavior, completely obvious and voluntary: enjoying the delicious food of a region. Isn't cuisine a distinctive cultural feature, easily accessible and readily absorbed?
Each delicious dish possesses a unique aroma, a culmination of the finest ingredients from a particular place, the distinctive cooking methods of that place, and the spirit of the person who prepared it. When enjoying a delicious meal, the culture, history, and people of that place seem to merge into one's heart and soul.
The contemporary world of fragrances has developed a new branch called Gourmand. More than just sweet, fruity scents, Gourmand fragrances are fragrant journeys that stimulate the senses and immerse the senses in culture.
macarons
France is renowned for its culinary excellence, especially its pastries. While traveling in France, you might miss the Louvre Museum, the Opera House, or even save time queuing for hours to reach the Eiffel Tower; however, few would dare to miss the quintessential Parisian pastry called the macaron.
The lovely, small, round, and mature macaron is a symbol of Parisian perfection and dedication. It comes in many colors, each corresponding to a different flavor. Placed on the tongue, the crispy shell seems to melt in your mouth. The sweetness overwhelms, the aroma spreads, leaving a lingering, delicious taste. Among countless famous pastries, the macaron is a truly exceptional treat, because making a perfect macaron requires a highly experienced and meticulous chef.
Inspired by the spirit of the macaron, Ex Nihilo created the fragrance Honore Delights. Located in the heart of Paris, the Gen Z fragrance house is surrounded by countless famous macaron shops: Pierre Herme, Laduree, La Maison Du Chocolat, Maxim's De Paris… Every shop is bustling with fans of this iconic pastry. Remarkably, no two shops replicate each other's flavors. Therefore, the macaron also represents the development and creativity of France: passionate, aesthetic, and timeless.
Honore Delights embodies the creative and charming spirit of French design. The fragrance is delicately sweet and refreshing, a blend of perfectly balanced and refined notes: sweet orange blossom, creamy sandalwood, and a touch of crisp bergamot. The intoxicating, rosy scent is addictive, with a lingering aftertaste of sparkling dry salt that subtly enhances the distinctive macaron flavor. Gentle and refined, moisture is the number one enemy of this unique pastry; the salty note balances the sweetness of the macaron and, more importantly, keeps the crust dry but not crumbly. The subtle salty aroma further emphasizes the authentic macaron experience. At this point, we can accurately call this delicacy by Ex Nihilo Honore Delights: Orange Blossom Macarons with Salted Caramel Topping.
During afternoon tea, we are greeted by the delightful aroma of French pastries. Try it once, and you won't forget it.
pizza
If France is at the forefront of pastry making, Italy is the birthplace of the famous pizza. While many of us may be unfamiliar with macarons, everyone knows pizza.
Since ancient times, people have known how to use thin slices of dough to make flatbreads, then spread a thin layer of toppings on top. By the end of the 9th century, many regions of Italy began calling this thin, baked slice of dough topped with toppings and herbs "pizza." However, it wasn't until the end of the 19th century, when an Italian queen visited Naples, that the people of Naples treated her to a special dish: a rectangular piece of dough topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and thyme. The baked pizza had three colors—red, white, and green—the colors of the Italian flag. This is why Naples is recognized as the birthplace of pizza. From then until now, pizza has spread to many countries around the world, in various shapes from rectangular to square, with the most common being round. Chefs are also free to creatively top up the simple, familiar dough with many different toppings, aiming to make this dish even more familiar to people.
Napoli is also the birthplace of independent perfumer and artist Mendittorosa. Located in Southern Italy, Napoli is a land of long-standing tradition. Italian tradition, with its matriarchal system – women being the head and mistress of the household – is deeply ingrained. Italians value family, live with strong bonds of affection, are generous and sharing, and patiently wait for each other to share a meal together. Dinner is meticulously prepared. By the warm fire, fresh, fragrant dough is kneaded with dedication. The delicate aroma of the dough blends with the woody scent of the cozy kitchen, exuding tenderness, invitation, and purification. Mendittorosa encapsulates the spirit of Italian family culture, tradition, and roots in "South." "South" smells of baking dough, created from sandalwood, milk, chestnuts, and flour. Not only does it connect us to a loving Italy, but the scent itself is peaceful, rustic, gentle, and has the ability to detoxify the spirit.
rice
Pizza is delicious, but for Asians in general, and Vietnamese in particular, is it possible for any of us to eat pizza instead of… rice?
Rice is cooked from paddy rice. Paddy rice comes from paddy rice. While not the oldest food crop in natural history, paddy rice is the staple food for more than half the world's population. In English, rice is...man, originating fromarisiin Tamil.
Reading this far, some might be wondering, besides arisi, Tamil also has another exceptional rice variety: vetiver. Tamil is from India. India possesses the world's finest and most delicious rice variety, called Basmati. Basmati itself means fragrant, which speaks volumes about the exceptional flavor of this rice, which has a more elongated shape than ordinary rice grains. This exceptional Basmati has been a gift from nature to India for centuries. Neighboring countries have also tried to domesticate and cultivate Basmati in their fields, but without success. Basmati only becomes fragrant when nurtured and cultivated in India's soil. Basmati rice is simply fragrant, pure white, with a characteristic rice flour aroma blended with the refreshing scent of pandan leaves. The fragrance is abundant and subtly fresh, evoking a sense of peace and tranquility. Rice itself is intimately connected to human life, and smelling the aroma of Basmati rice makes us feel even more peaceful and vibrant.
Cherishing the precious gift of nature, the Affinessence fragrance house has created the exquisite Santal - Basmati scent. This pure fragrance features two main notes: two rare and precious ingredients – Mysore sandalwood, meticulously harvested, and Basmati rice. The wood and rice blend together, one serene and tranquil, the other fresh and peaceful, creating a familiar, comforting, and wholesome aroma that becomes even more intimate with each sniff.
Apple
In Europe as well as Asia, fruit is an indispensable part of everyone's daily diet, whether it's pizza, flour, rice, or sweets.
Among all fruits, the apple is undoubtedly the most famous, with countless fascinating anecdotes surrounding it. Isaac Newton chose to sit under an apple tree instead of a jackfruit or coconut tree, and an apple fell on his head, yet he was unharmed and even discovered the law of gravity. Actually, before Isaac Newton's discovery of the law of gravity, Snow White also fell victim to the witch's trap of a ripe apple. Before Snow White, in Greek mythology, a young man gave an apple to a goddess, sparking the Trojan War due to jealousy among the goddesses. Even further back, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple, the fruit of knowledge that allows people to distinguish good from evil, and thus all the controversies began. The apple is even famous in the field of medicine, with the well-known saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." Furthermore, even the most popular smartphones in the world right now that you're admiring might be from the same manufacturer.AppleInvented.
Modern people call the apple the fruit of mankind.
The apple is familiar yet anything but ordinary. And precisely because it's not ordinary, the British perfumer Clive Christian created Crab Apple Blossom from 151 exquisite aromatic ingredients. This is considered a unique and delightful contemporary fruity-apple fragrance. While called contemporary, Crab Apple Blossom actually dates back to the late 19th century. After many ups and downs, the enduring beauty of this scent has been revived and restored by the perfumer, and today, Crab Apple Blossom is a favorite among fragrance lovers. The scent is wet, abundant, and bright with the juicy aroma of green apples, subtly blended with the cool, slightly fermented notes of a Mojito cocktail. The lingering aftertaste, forever caressing the skin, is a gentle blend of apple and ambergris, leaving the wearer with a fresh, open, youthful, and unchanging fragrance.
Fragrances are not just pleasant scents; they have the power to inspire and stimulate a more dynamic world filled with positive connections. Are you ready to embark on a journey of reintegration into a new normal unfolding everywhere?
