Pissara Umivijani of Parfums Dusita introduced her thirteenth perfume in June, Montri, created to honor the memory of her father Montri Umivijani, who is considered one of Thailand's leading modern poets. Father's Day here in America seemed the perfect opportunity to talk about this perfume which is literally an olfactory encapsulation of Pissara's memories of her father, bottled into a scent. Montri is a stunningly gorgeous tribute to the man himself.
I was lucky enough to connect with Pissara Umivijani at the very beginning of her journey as a perfumer when she launched her company with three scents: Issara, Melodie de L'Amour, and Oudh Infini. One of the first things I learned when speaking to Pissara was that while creating beautiful fragrances was her passion, introducing the world to her father's poetry and keeping his words alive was just as important of a goal. Finding the perfect phrases from her father's work to illustrate a scent or being inspired by his poetry to create a perfume: it was the ultimate creative process and homage. Through her perfumes, with lines of poetry printed on each box, she keeps his legacy alive and introduces the work to a new audience.
So central was the poetry to Parfums Dusita's raison d'être, I somehow always thought it was inevitable that Pissara would create a perfume in memory of her father. I didn't expect that it would bear his name, but I love the elegant simplicity and directness of it: Montri.
Montri Umivijani was a poet, a lover of literature, an explorer, a world wanderer. He was a lover of nature and his surroundings. Pissara says he appreciated nostalgia more than the modern world. She lovingly drew from these aspects of his life to create a perfume. He always carried a notebook to record his impressions or write poetic phrases that might strike at an moment: leather, paper, ink. Bangkok has extensive spice markets that Montri enjoyed visiting: nutmeg, saffron, coriander, cinnamon, oregano, and a dried fruit accord. Montri's family home in Bangkok was built of wood in the original style, before modern expansion destroyed so much of the city's traditional dwellings: sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver, and oakwood. Notes of rose de mai, jasmine, and his favortie, orris butter, lend a gentle beauty to accompany the more masculine notes.
Pissara says that Montri was the first time she utilized spices to such an extent in a perfume. For Pissara, the spice notes also represent her father's love of travel to other countries and joy at making new friends in new places.
Pissara used oud palao in Montri. In a Zoom call where Montri was introduced, Pissara said, "When people think of oud with Parfums Dusita, they always think of Oudh Infini, one of my first three creations. Oud has so many beutiful facets. Oudh Infini is just one of the dynamics. It doesn't have to be like that. Oud can be elegant, tame, and proper as well."
When describing why oud was an important component in Montri, Pissara explained, "For me this is the core of my father, gentle, elegant, kind, very rooted to nature, and sensitive to his environment. I used real oud because it comes from Southeast Asia. It is our heritage."
Some perfumes are monotone. They always smell like they smell. And if you like it, then that's fine. What I find so interesting about Parfums Dusita's fragrances is that many of them perform as a living, morphing being on my skin. For example, the first time I tried Montri it was all about the oud. I am not a fan of the more feral ouds, but this is a finely polished thing of elegance and perfection. The next time I got leather, wrapped in florals. A leather pouch holding rose, jasmine, and a suede-like iris butter. Today it is all saffron, roses, and oud, reminding me of trips to India and women in colorful saris with kohl lined eyes and braided hair laced with roses. I chose this as the perfume my husband would wear to our daughter's wedding last week. He was handsome in a tuxedo, crisp white shirt, and black bow tie. Montri was the final polished accessory to complete his attire.
The finest perfumes are about emotions. They can bring on memories, or they can cement and solidify a memory that is in the making. The fragrance can dance on your skin and smell this way or that, according to some inner magic the body transmits. Montri is a gorgeous scent that to me seemingly transmits traits of elegance, quiet certainty, intelligence, curiosity, kindness, and immpecable manners. And there is one other emotion that stirs in me when I wear Montri, and it is longing.
The pen is me
And I am the pen:
in writing
The pen gets lost
To become part of the thing
I cannot recall -- Montri Umivijani
Montri Umivijani's lifelong passion was to write poetry. His daughter's passion is to create perfumes that portray in an olfactory manner a moment of his poetry. Pissara puts the same energy and passion into creating a fragrance that her father put into creating words that would survive him beyond death. With Montri, Pissara adds another totally new and wholly distinctive scent to the Parfums Dusita lineup.
Photos from Parfums Dusita website. Perfume was a press sample from Parfums Dusita. Opinions are my own.
