Scented Snippets New Fragrance Announcement: Ayala Moriel Perfumes Komorebi, The Light on the Forest Floor

by: Ida Meister

Ayala Moriel has been busily working at her perfume organ in search of aromatic means with which to celebrate her Vancouver environs and their natural sylvan beauty. On its way to me is a sample of her newest creation:

Komorebi is the Japanese word to describe the impressive natural lighting effects that are observed under the canopy of trees: sunlight filtering through the foliage, and the interplay of light and leaves on the forest floor. ~ Ayala Moriel

 

"If the word 'Petrichor' describes the smell of the parched earth after the rain; this perfume captures the opposite - the scent of the forest floor after it’s been kissed by sun. It's the Pacific Northwest equivalent of the Mediterranean 'Garrigue' (the intoxicating odour of sun-baked earth and scrubland, dominated by sage and labdanum), and in my mind I've been describing it as 'Forest Amber' or 'Pacific Chypre'. But none of these names seemed to capture the magic quite as perfectly. So I've reached out to the Japanese language, which has a special word for the interplay of light and leaves, which includes the sunbeams one would observe coming through the trees and shedding light on the vapour they exhale; as well as the dappled-gold forest floor, a vision that is shifting yet constant, as long as the sun is there. This is the essence of komorebi in the Pacific rainforest."

 

Komorebi is the first in a series of perfumes dedicated to special places in the Pacific Northwest. Place of inspiration: Cathedral trail in Xwayxway (Stanley Park).

Notes: 
Red Cedar, Fir, Oak Moss, Black Cottonwood 

Fragrance Families:
Woody, Ambery, Chypre

Ayala found retrieving, birthing the mot juste  to describe the phenomenon of sylvan illumination among the cedars most challenging:

“I've contacted talented fragrance writer and fellow perfume lover Elena Vosnaki of Perfume Shrine to collaborate with me on coining a new word for describing the phenomenon that Komorebi was inspired by. Elena's knowledge of the Greek language was paramount to this process, and I've learned much from it - similarities to other languages, myths and lore that encompass the entire globe, well beyond the Greek archipelago. If petrichor is the scent of earth after rain, then this perfume accurately captured the wonderful cedrechor scent - "blood of the cedar" - the smell of the forest after the sun. Cedrechor can be experienced in late summer and early autumn in the Pacific Northwest rainforests: it emanates from the sun-dappled fragrant forest floor on those warm days when the sun brings out the sweet smells of red cedar, moss and Douglas fir..."
 

I'm a sylvan creature myself, and am eagerly awaiting my sample; you'd be surprised how long it takes perfume to make its way to Boston from Vancouver!

When it does, I will happily share my impressions and feelings with you.

Komorebi is available in three sizes: 4 ml mini eau de parfum ($48), 5 ml Parfum oil ($69) and 15 ml eau de parfum ($120).