It was about mid-morning in Greyton when I sat down in aromatherapist Sandra van Wyk’s garden. Our aim was to develop the Jan Braai fragrance: spray it on, and smell like braai. Sandra lit a rooikrans fire to set the scene and her cats lined up to witness the action. Something I’d often joked about was about to happen and there was a distinct sense of occasion.
We were armed with an array of fragrant oils, which are extracted from the original plant material through a distillation process. Sandra is an expert and her products can do anything from help you sleep at night to repel mosquitoes (which are, come to think of it, actually connected topics). But I’d presented her with the greatest challenge yet.
She asked me questions about my favourite braai recipes, made notes and did calculations. Our mixture was decided by the properties they’d bring to the final product. Coriander gives the Jan Braai fragrance a slightly pungent, sweet and spicy base. Add to that some lemon for fresh and sharp middle tones, and cardamom for sweet, spicy notes. Nutmeg gives it a musky edge, and lastly there’s the warming and sharp attitude of black pepper.
A world-class fragrance is about more than just a smell though; there are also physiological effects. From the extensive notes made that day, I can tell you that lemon is refreshing when you feel hot and bothered. Black pepper strengthens the mind, gives stamina where there’s frustration and warms the heart where there’s indifference. Nutmeg invigorates the mind, cardamom warms the senses and clears confusion (you might need this right about now), and coriander is stimulating where there’s lethargy and reduces dizziness. I know it reads like a horoscope, but trust me it smells great.
And just like that, with a snap of the braai tongs and a shake of the bottle, we had the master recipe. This muti was diluted with pure natural spring water from the mountains around Greyton. The fragrance oil in its pure form is too strong for normal everyday use, and might cause light-headedness, fainting and all sorts of other issues it should solve.
However, no fragrance can be released without packaging. For this, I enlisted the help of artist Adéle Fouché. She’s also rumoured to be a magician and the talk around town was that she can teach novices like myself how to paint. I was doubtful, but willing to give it a go and spent three enjoyable hours doing just that on her stoep.
The design was done with pencil and paper before I drew it on the canvas under Adele’s watchful eye. A painter’s palette was placed in my hand and I was dressed to look the part, complete with a paint-splattered apron and panama hat. Painting with oils is relaxing and therapeutic, similar to a full-body massage, and there was a part of my brain that possibly worked for the first time ever.
The painting will be scanned and converted to a sticker for the packaging of a very limited bottle of perfume. That’s right, we only made one bottle so don’t hold your breath expecting to see it on a supermarket shelf.
If you’re in Greyton and want all sorts of awesome-smelling stuff, email Sandra van Wyk at [email protected].
To unlock your inner artist, go to www.facebook. com/artistadeleclaudiafouche.
