MANILA, Philippines – “Sometimes a scent is more evocative than a photo or an image.”
If that quote is anything to go by, it would be fascinating to actually match fragrances with our moods and lifestyles, especially if scents can be switched as easily as style quick fixes (such as swiping on a new lippie or teaming a plain LBD with sky-high heels) transform a look.
Consider the possibilities for the household as well. Curtains and beddings with scents that perk up mornings and soothe at night. Fresh- smelling clothes that stave off sweat- induced odors. Table linens with a fragrance that helps set the ambience for entertaining friends or colleagues at home.
These scent-driven lifestyle and home improvements are no longer beyond our reach, as proven by Mons Romulo who recently hosted a lunch for friends from the fashion, beauty and media industries. Held at a posh condo unit at The Fort, Taguig, the gathering was the last in a series of social events dubbed The Downy #Instaswitch Experience.
Ambassador with flair
The lifestyle columnist, philanthropist, mother of three and now Downy Parfum brand ambassador showed her flair for hosting and entertaining.
Her romantic, Old World-inspired dining nook featured damask table cloths offset by light-gold chargers, elegant stemware and plates, votive candles and breadsticks on mini plates that resembled clam shells.
The setting evoked the event theme “Passion,” referring to the Downy Parfum variant used for the table linens. Passion rendered a sweet, fruity fragrance that plays with notes of apple blossom, freesia and luscious vanilla essence.
With the theme in mind, Romulo designed and had Zena Pineda execute floral arrangements of red roses accented with green hues, metal coils and stones, on receptacles of clear glass, cement and silver.
The host said the cut slabs of stone represent how strong women can be, in particular her guests Patrice Ramos Diaz, Kaye Tiñga, Myrza Sison, Sari Yap, Anna Rufino, Joanna Rae Ramirez, Patricia Hizon, Joanna Suarez, Marie Lozano, Shawn Yao, Nicole Whisenhunt, Kai Lim, Aileen Lagman, Leah Puyat, Gretchen Fullido and INQUIRER Lifestyle contributing beauty editor Ria Francisco-Prieto.
They partook of Cibo aperitifs; Roast Apahap served with salad; Scallop and River Prawn Lasagna; Braised and Grilled US Angus Short Ribs with potato mash and baked cheesy broccoli; and Lusso Lamb Duet. The meal was capped with dessert and brewed coffee.
But what became the event’s highlight was when guests took to being fragrance connoisseurs in a table-napkin-sniffing test. They were asked to rub the table napkins washed with Downy Parfum Passion, then smell the scents produced by the rubbing, repeating the process until they’ve caught a whiff of the interplay of floral, fruity and vanilla fragrances on the fabric.
The olfactory experience had the stylish and passion-driven society ladies chatting excitedly about using Downy Parfum Passion on their households, too.
A guest even said: “Most of us here are not only working women but mothers as well, and we’re looking for products not just for ourselves but also our children…maybe the more we hug them, the more our active little kids would smell better.”
Innovative
“The Downy Parfum collection is an indulgent product,” said Downy country manager Nicole Villarojo. “It’s about women who are sure of themselves, are invested in their families and living a very luxurious lifestyle—like Mons.”
Available in three other variants (Happiness, Innocence, Mystique), the collection has what is called Scent Switcher, or #Instaswitch to social media denizens. It is a touch release mechanism developed by Downy’s perfume experts who have trained with French perfumeries, as well as created fragrances for Hugo Boss, Lacoste and D&G.
Two kinds of perfume microcapsules, which go in to items given the Downy Parfum fabric- softener treatment, burst each time a fabric is rubbed. The rubbing releases—and allows the change—in scents, a technology so unique to the product, said Villarojo, that “even the most expensive perfumes cannot switch scents.”
For Mons Romulo, whose household has been using Downy for nearly a decade, it’s one quick scent-switching fix that definitely fits her social-ready lifestyle.