The fashion of everyday fragrance

MANILA, Philippines –  Filipinos love to smell great. We take our baths and perfumes seriously. We make sure that our homes not only look clean but smell clean. We love fruity smells and sweet smells. Citrus and crisp scents also fill every nook, cranny and hallway of our homes. When it comes to clothes, we are constantly in search of that clean and fresh scent. Clean laundry is of serious importance in this friendly land where the sun always shines and where its friendly people are always in close proximity with each other.

The Procter & Gamble team knows how Filipinos in general love to smell clean and fresh. This time around, the team has set out to tickle our olfactory nerves and induce some very wonderful memories through two luxurious scents — Downy’s Perfume series, Passion and Attraction by Downy. They’ve taken fabric conditioner to a whole new level. The experts at P&G have mingled clean with luxurious. Now, we can experience some very rich scents wrapped around simple, everyday scents that induce familiar and happy memories.

The company has taken it even further by employing the expertise of its trained “noses” — Hector Esquinca and Shingo Ishii.

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Hector Esquinca is the section head and perfumer of Procter & Gamble’s Kobe Technical Center in Japan. He is the leader of the Asia Perfume Development Program and has almost 20 years of experience in developing scents for P&G products all over the world, such as Global Safeguard soap, Camay soap and Rejoice shampoo, Asia’s Downy fabric conditioner, Joy dishwashing liquid and Asia’s Febreeze household odor eliminator.

He spent three years training as a perfumer in the top perfume centers of the world including Tokyo, London, Paris, Geneva, Grasse, France, New York and Shanghai.

He created for the Filipino consumer, the Passion by Downy. 

Shingo Ishii from Tokyo, Japan is a senior scientist and perfumer from the Procter & Gamble Kobe Technical Center in Japan. He is the leader of the Asia Fabric Enhancer Perfume Development. His nose and creativity has brought us the fresh and relaxing scents for certain variants of Downy fabric conditioner, including Downy Sunrise Fresh, Downy Antibac and Downy Single Rinse, as well as the fragrance of Tide and Mr. Clean Detergent Bar.

He is the creative brain (and nose) behind Attraction by Downy.

Our colorful culture has all the fun elements mixed in: fiestas, humor, celebration, togetherness, color in our dishes and delicacies, color in our jeepneys, color and life into our every day.

This is what Hector used as his moodboard when he was creating the unique blend of flavors and scents for Passion. Passion by Downy delights the senses with the fruity, sweet fragrance of apple blossom, freesia and vanilla as its top and middle notes, and fresh mulberry and cedarwood as its bottom notes.  

He described the scent of Passion by Downy as “sweet and vibrant. We have blooming apple blossom from southern France blending with pear stripes immersed into a rich vanilla scent, ending in a touch of icy raspberry enveloped in warm cedar wood.”

Esquinca says that the scent of Passion and Attraction by Downy was inspired by French perfumery, specifically, French pastries, flowers and fruits for Passion and the gardens of Grasse, France (the perfume capital of the world) for Attraction.

Bringing it closer to home, he also mentions that it was inspired by the Filipinos’ (most especially Filipinas’) distinctly sweet tooth. It is a delightful mix of happy scents, things that evoke memories of festivities and celebration and the warmth of hugs and family. Interestingly, this scent has been developed specifically for the Filipina.

Meanwhile, Attraction by Downy, which was created by fellow P&G senior scientist and perfumer Shingo Ishii, excites the senses with a blend of floral scents. It has jasmine, rose and ylang-ylang for its top and middle notes, which is mixed with soft musk, tube rose and wood fragrances for its bottom notes to give the scent a lingering hint of the Oriental. It is a fresh but very alluring floral fragrance.

There is a blend of stories from faraway that takes you to exotic lands and adventure.

Shingo describes it as “a celebration of nature as we have this bouquet of different flower notes like jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, iris and it trails off into soft musk and sensual wood scents for that air of mystery.”

Two of the world’s best perfumers have concocted for us a new line of Downy fabric conditioner that gives women the chance to enjoy the luxurious scent of perfume every day.

Downy’s Perfume Series also has an advanced, touch-activated Perfume Microcapsule (PMC) Technology. The blend of perfume oils is placed in microcapsules within the Downy formula. When rubbed or touched, these capsules slowly release more fragrance into the air — so you get fresh bursts of fragrance with every embrace, all day!

With all the walking and moving under the sunny Philippine skies, this amazing technology keeps the wonderful scents locked in until you start moving about. So that Downy’s uplifting scents accompany you through your busy and energetic day!

The launch was filled with fragrant scents, where guests were invited to go on a quick “tour” to smell the wonderful and delightfully delicious elements that made up each scent in the Downy Scent Museum, where scent curators described the meaning of the different scent notes included in the two fabric conditioners. 

The event was not just a treat for the senses; the brilliant costumes and colorful performance was a sight to see. Accompanying the launch was a visual moodboard video. The images onscreen spoke many volumes of memories and moments.

Last but not the least was a true treat for the palate. The menu was creatively concocted with ingredients such as sumptuous salmon drizzled with a citrus dressing, jasmine rice to accompany the chicken, a rich and smooth chocolate dessert accentuated with a tinge of raspberry accompanied with vanilla ice cream. Apple iced tea and rose wine were also treats in the menu.

As the launch has made a remarkable impression on guests and enthusiasts, the Downy Perfume Series is sure to make a long lasting and fragrant impression in every Filipino consumer.