Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Jasmine perfumes to soothe the savage beast...

Can fragrance really be used as a mood enhancer for animals? Above, a tiger smells Obsession scented hearts to get in the mood for love.  See more here... 
The Minnesota and San Diego Zoo give their big cats sensory stimulation by scenting their environment with classic/vintage perfumes.  According to the Minnesota Zoo's web site:

lion eating flowers: thesurfbird.com
"A wide variety of scents are used for enrichment including spices, cooking extracts, perfumes and animal urine.  The tigers love "Obsession" and "Charlie" perfumes. The tapirs, tree kangaroos, binturongs and gibbons go for banana extract"
I've observed for years that my own domestic animals seem to love and respond to perfumes, too. We all know of certain perfumes that always seem to make us feel better. Do you seek those scents out whenever you need a lift? Well, if not, maybe you should. It turns out there is a scientific explanation for why some perfumes make us feel extra good. According to this article in the Telegraph, inhaling jasmine oil is as effective for stress relief as taking a Valium- which makes me really glad that I have a few good vintage jasmine scents on hand.

Next time things get a little too hectic, I'll just pop open a bottle and take a nice, deep whiff... It sure beats popping a pill, don't you think? Just thinking about the banana-jammy goodness of these vintage jasmine scents puts me in a good mood. Favorite vintage jasmine scents of mine:
Jean Patou Amour Amour (sweet and fruity floral, heavy on the jasmine)

Jean Patou Joy (the classic Jasmine lover's perfume)

M. de Tuvache Jasmin from Egypt (exotic vintage)

Nuits Folles by Mori of Paris (obscure vintage, fruity floral loaded with jasmine)

Vanly Jasmin (Oil), New York (vintage jasmine oil- straight forward, high quality especially for the cost compared to today's oils)
On the more accessible end of the spectrum: Coty's Nokomis or Sand and Sable. There are many others as well. Maybe I'll come back and add some more at some point.

If you're thinking of adding a vintage jasmine scent to your wardrobe, try searching Ebay but be sure to search using both spellings 'jasmine' and 'jasmin' to pull up the best selection.

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.

2 comments:

Angela Cox said...

Who knew Tigers had had such terrible taste ..shhheeesh.

Amelia said...

Yes, well, look at what they like to eat... Obsession must smell at least as good as hot antelope guts. What an image.