Have you come across situations where you find yourself as a total misfit? It could be a situation where you are being introduced to your partner’s friends from the past and your partner, and they suddenly establish this karmic connection and boisterously chit chat of all the bloopers they did, while you are left all alone, a bit disconnected and out of place. It could be a situation where you have been added into this social media chat group and you are faced with members who are cool and trying to outsmart each other with their wit and charm while you struggle to level up. Or it could be a situation where you are recently married, and you wake up one morning to realize that your spouse’s family and yours are totally worlds apart when it comes to belief systems, values, and culture. I am sure many of you would agree with me as much as I do when it comes to experiences like this where you start feeling you are a misfit. To those who do not blend or conform easily, all I have to say is remember the quote, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”, which leaves me to write my next thought on MISFIT, well, this time it is about the Perfume MISFIT by Arquiste.
Carlos Huber, Arquiste’s founder shares the story of how he was inspired to create the perfume MISFIT. The story revolves around the plant patchouli and takes us back in time to about 200–250 years ago. The plant patchouli, which is abundantly found in South India is known to have insect repelling properties. Today, patchouli oil is extensively used in perfumery. It blends well with other essential oils and imparts strength, alluring odour and long-lasting qualities to other essential oils and perfumes and helps prevent rapid evaporation of perfumes. During the 1840s patchouli leaves were used to wrap valuable cashmere shawls exported from India for countries across the globe, especially Europe. The strong aroma warded off moths and other insects along the journey and protected the fabric. Once the shawls arrived, they smelled of patchouli. These shawls were costly and could only be afforded by the rich and the scent of patchouli became associated with the upper classes of the society. However, during that period industrial revolution took wings and France started producing patchouli scents in great volume. As a result, the prices for patchouli fell and it no longer interested the society’s elite. What once considered as rare, and a symbol of aristocracy became widely available and used by the commoner and a symbol of Bohemian counterculture. This was the inspiration and the story that fuelled the imagination of the creator of the perfume MISFIT, the story of its main ingredient patchouli. The main notes of the perfume are French lavender, ambrette seed absolute, patchouli, Venezuelan tonka bean and tolu balsam.
