My Favorite Things: Cinnamon

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I thought I had covered all my favorite perfume ingredients in this column. Last weekend’s Pierre Benard Challenge showed me I had missed cinnamon. It is one of those spicy ingredients which seem made for fall. Which makes this a great time to share my favorite cinnamon centric perfumes.

Estee Lauder Cinnabar is the first example I found of the classic cinnamon and clove pairing. It will be mentioned again below. In 1971 perfumers Josephine Catapano and Bernard Chant would use this duo as a retort to the uber-popular Opium. After a fizzy aldehydic opening the spices simmer over a base of sandalwood, patchouli, and incense.

Clove and cinnamon, you say? Perhaps the pinnacle of this comes in Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur. This takes the spices with tangerine to form a spiced citrus accord that is ready to stand up to a fantastically balanced base accord of sandalwood, vanilla, and musk. The spices particularly sing in the cooler weather. One of perfumer Maurice Roucel’s best perfumes.

Aramis JHL was a part of the burly masculine cologne tradition of the early 1980’s. Perfumer Bernard Chant would make a cinnamon centric version of that. When I wear this as the fruits spices and woods come together, I channel my inner wild and crazy guy. It can feel anachronistic but in the cooler temperatures of this time of year it feels timeless.

Comme des Garcons Jaisalmer is the least mentioned of the great Series 3: Incense collection. Perfumer Evelyn Boulanger created the quietest of the five resinous perfumes. She spreads the spices out to form a layered opaque accord which is given more expansiveness through gaiac wood. It is so on trend for 2020 I think if these were released today it would be the biggest seller of them all. This is one of my favorite perfumes to spray on a scarf because it is at just the right volume.

Hermes Hermessence Ambre Narguile is one of my seasonal staples for the end of the year. Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena composed this haiku in syllables of tobacco, cinnamon, honey, and vanilla. Another one on the lighter side which revels in its delicate balancing act.

Disclosure: I purchased bottles of all the perfumes mentioned.

–Mark Behnke

Under the Radar: Aramis JHL- The Scent of Class

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When I was a child I looked up to the adult men around me for the cues that would help me become like them. Besides my father another influential figure in my childhood was my Uncle Harvey. He was the white-collar flip side to my blue-collar father. Uncle Harvey was a South Florida defense lawyer. He wore a suit and tie. Although when I would see him the tie was loosened and the top button opened showing he wasn’t that fond of the tie part of the uniform. I enjoyed spending time with him because he was an early adopter back in the 1960’s. He had the first color TV. Later, he had the first remote control for that TV. He leased a new Cadillac Coupe de Ville every year which exposed me to the latest in new automotive advances. There was a scent to all of this for me too. Uncle Harvey was an Aramis man. Aramis was the scent of Uncle Harvey to me. I received an Aramis soap on a rope for some occasion and I was surrounded by the smell in my daily shower for a month or so. It imprinted on my forming scent personality that this was what a professional classy gentleman smelled like.

Now fast forward to 1984 as I am assembling my first professional wardrobe and accessories in my first job. As I was looking through the perfumes at the men’s fragrance counter in Macy’s I saw a familiar name Aramis but now there were four versions. The original, Aramis 900, Devin, and JHL. I knew I wanted to be my own man so Aramis was never in the running. But the moment I smelled JHL I knew this was going to join Polo on my dresser.

Joseph and Estee Lauder

The story behind JHL is it is the initials of Estee Lauder’s husband Joseph Harold Lauder. Ms. Lauder wanted a fragrance which captured him. For this she turned to perfumer Josephine Catapano. What they developed was a modern streamlined version of Aramis.

JHL opens with a more pronounced herbal mixture pushing against citrus. It is a very classic pairing but Ms. Catapano shapes the herbs with a set of spices; cinnamon, allspice, and clove. This provides a soft warmth for a spicy rose to take the lead in the heart with. The woods come next; fir and sandalwood married to patchouli and oakmoss. Incense and vanilla finish the development.

JHL has 14-16 hour longevity and above average sillage.

I still wear JHL as one of my suit and tie fragrances. There has always been a palpable scent of class to it along with a memory of Uncle Harvey.

Disclosure: This review is based on a bottle I purchased.

–Mark Behnke