新香水:沉香和裸香
While New York, London, Milan and Paris have been hosting (or are about to host) the autumn/winter 2013 womenswear shows, fragrance counters everywhere are unveiling their candidates for spring/summer. And while “summer” and “celebrity” have been the dominant trends of the 200-plus perfume launches that happen annually, this time two identifiable olfactory themes stand out: oud (a rich scent from the resin of the Agar tree) and nude.
正當紐約、倫敦、米蘭還有巴黎正熱熱鬧鬧地舉行2013女裝秋冬秀時，各地的香氛專櫃也上架了各自的春夏新品。並且儘管每年新發布的兩百餘種香水都逃不開“夏天”、“名人”等等元素，但這一次，兩種香氛主題更爲醒目：沉香(oud，一種嗅覺豐富的瓊脂氣息)和裸香（nude）。
Nude is so soft and subtle that you have to be up close and personal to smell it; oud is rich, sensual and, while not quite in the 1980s “enters a room before you do” category, makes an obvious statement. What gives the trends weight is that they both have not only heritage – the clean scents of Asia and the heavy perfumes of Arabia – but a modern global market dimension too.
裸香非常輕柔細膩，你需要更近更私密的距離才能嗅到它；沉香則豐富、感性，儘管不像是上世紀80年代那種“香水味比人更先進屋”的風格，但依舊讓人印象深刻。這兩種趨勢之所以勢不可擋，除了歷史悠久之外——清新的氣息來自亞洲，而馥厚的氣息則來自阿拉伯——同樣也符合現代市場的需要。
“For 20 years, the trend has been for fruity, floral scents aimed at US and European women who prefer those toiletry-style fragrances,” says Francis Kurkdjian, one of the world’s master perfumers. “But Arabia and Asia are where the luxury markets are now, so perfumers have to adapt accordingly.”
“在過去的20年中，對於偏愛化妝品風格的歐美市場的女性來說，最主流的是水果和花香。”世界香氛大師弗朗西斯?庫爾吉安（Francis Kurkdjian）說道，“但是如今阿拉伯和亞洲已經成爲了奢侈品的重要市場，因此香水也不得不做出相應的調整。”
Not that these scents are being created solely as a cash cow. “We’re saturated in fruity florals and now want to smell things that are different,” says Trudi Loren, Estée Lauder’s vice-president for corporate fragrance development. “Consumers are influenced by the aromas of places where they travel, and by the fragrances worn by women who visit our countries too, so they’re looking for something interesting but wearable.”
這些香氛的研發也不僅僅是爲了被當作搖錢樹。“我們一直沉浸在花果香氣中，而現在想要聞到一些不一樣的味道。”雅詩蘭黛負責香氛研發部門的副總裁特魯?羅蘭（Trudi Loren）這麼說道，“消費者會受到旅行目的地的當地氣味的影響，同樣，也會受到一位光顧過我們專櫃的女士所使用的香水影響，於是，他們也會去尋找那些自己感興趣的，且實用的香氛。”
Oud fragrances, with their intense, smoky woodiness, are becoming such a mainstay of modern perfumery that Kurkdjian is convinced they will eventually become a new fragrance category. “They are more than a passing trend,” he says. “Oud started out as something quite alien, outside the classic western fragrance families, but as our noses have become accustomed to it, we’ve fallen in love with the note.”
帶有煙燻木材氣息的、熱情的沉香香水，正在成爲現代香水的中流砥柱，庫爾吉安堅信它最終能成爲一個新的香水品種。“它們絕不是曇花一現。”他說，“沉香一開始聞起來很有異域風情，跟我們熟悉的西方世界的香氛不太一樣，但是我們的鼻子很快就能適應它，然後我們會愛上這種味道。”
Perfect for the Gulf region, where women in traditional dress use fragrance as a way of expression, but in the past considered too overpowering for European sensibilities, oud has been modified by contemporary perfumers who blend it with softening floral notes, fruits and spices so there’s a familiarity within the intrigue. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud (￡190), for example, combines the ingredient with patchouli as well as cedarwood and saffron for seductive depth; while Jo Malone Velvet Rose and Oud Cologne Intense (￡95) has a sparkling quality thanks to bergamot and ginger lily.
對於海灣地區身着傳統服飾的女性來說，沉香是她們表達自我最完美的方式之一，但是對於久經香水的歐洲女性來說，它還需要被改進得更爲有現代感，加入使之變得柔和的花果和其他一些香料的味道，讓人有種似曾相識之感。比如Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud (售價190英鎊)，便在其加入了廣藿香、雪松以及藏紅花，使之更爲性感；而Jo Malone Velvet Rose and Oud Cologne Intense (售價95英鎊)則由於加入佛手柑和野薑花而顯得與衆不同。
Approaching oud as a unisex scent, Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood (￡135), Aramis Perfume Calligraphy (￡105), and Dior La Collection Privée Oud Ispahan (￡125) all use more masculine notes, including lemon, cardamom, amber and vetiver.
爲了讓沉香更爲中性，Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood (售價135英鎊)、Aramis Perfume Calligraphy (售價105英鎊)，還有Dior La Collection Privée Oud Ispahan (售價125英鎊)都加入了其他更爲陽剛的香氛，比如檸檬、小豆蔻、琥珀還有巖蘭草。
At the opposite end of the scent spectrum, Asian-inspired nude fragrances are having a nascent moment too. “The olfactory taste in the east is for fluid, transparent scents that are not invasive,” says Lauder’s Loren. “Cultural etiquette is not to intrude on someone else’s space with a fragrance, but wear it to enhance the essence of clean skin.”
與之截然不同的亞洲風格的裸香香氛也同樣正受到追捧。“東方嗅覺更偏好清雅流動的氣息。”雅詩蘭黛的羅蘭說道，“他們的文化禮儀就是不要讓自己的氣味強行闖入別人的地盤，使用香水是爲了提高皮膚的清爽感。”
Besides, in a climate that is persistently hot and humid, a blend of light notes is essential. “In Asia, perfumers often use florals, but they are treated very differently so they have a sheer, airy quality,” says Loren.
此外，長期炎熱和潮溼的氣候，也使得清淡的味道成爲必須。“在亞洲，香水通常採用花香，但不一樣的是，這花香也非常清透。”羅蘭說。
“For western tastes we can boost those notes so they still have that airy feel, but with a hint of warmth and sensuality for more impact.”
“對於西方消費者，我們同樣可以推廣這樣的味道，他們會有輕盈之感，但還得加入更多溫暖、性感的元素。”
With the addition of neroli and lily of the valley, Philosophy’s Living Grace (￡32) calls to mind slipping between freshly washed sheets, while Diptyque’s L’Eau du Trente-Quatre (from ￡60) takes the luminosity of bergamot and verbena and then spices it up with skin-hugging nutmeg and musk.
在加入了橙花和鈴蘭之後，Philosophy的Living Grace (售價32英鎊)就像新洗過的牀單一樣讓人放鬆，而Diptyque的L’Eau du Trente-Quatre (售價60英鎊起)則是充分混合了佛手柑、馬鞭草、肉豆蔻和麝香。
Honey and jasmine give warmth to Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Absolue (from ￡35, available mid-February) and jasmine also forms the centrepiece of Nasomatto Nuda (￡128), which smells as seductive as it sounds. Finally, taking the scent a step further, Guerlain’s Elixirs Charnels Eau de Lingerie (￡60, from Harrods) blends vanilla, pink iris and sandalwood into a subtle aroma, created specially for spritzing over your finest underwear. (Really.)
蜂蜜和茉莉花爲Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Absolue (售價35英鎊起)帶來了暖意，而茉莉花也同樣是Nasomatto Nuda (售價128英鎊)的主力調香，使之聞起來就跟它的名字一樣迷人。
For those who respond to both fragrance extremes, and don’t want to choose between the two, James Craven, perfume archivist at specialist perfumery Les Senteurs in London, has a prediction for the future (maybe even next season): the oud/nude explosion is going to be game-changing. “Some very clever perfumer will eventually bring the two together in a veil of oud that just dusts the skin,” he says. “It will be the perfect perfume.”
最後，讓香氣再進一步吧，Guerlain的Elixirs Charnels Eau de Lingerie (售價60英鎊)混合香草、鳶尾花還有檀香營造出一種微妙的氣息，是噴在你精美內衣上的絕好選擇。（真的。） 對於那些這兩種香水都愛，沒辦法做出選擇的香水迷來說，倫敦專業香水店的專家詹姆斯?克雷文（James Craven）做出了一個預告（或許就是下一季的新品）：沉香/裸香的時代即將到來。“一些精明的香水製造商最終將會將兩者合二爲一。”他說，“那將是最完美的香水。”
