• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Tiny white champaca and jasmine buds

Posted by Robin on 7 August 2018 9 Comments

Posted at the intersection of Middle Huaihai Road and Sinan Road, one can often find 78-year-old Wang Huiying selling tiny white champaca and jasmine buds bound together by thin wires. [...] These flowers have traditionally been braided together and pinned on clothing for their perfume-like scent. “I liked white champaca from my childhood and my mother loved them, too,” said Wang. She has been selling these flowers for nearly two decades and made many friends along the way.

— Read more about the traditional flower-craft vendors in Shanghai at Scented flower vendors keep sweet smell of tradition alive at Shine.

Filed Under: perfume in the news

Advertisement


9 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Koyel says:
    7 August 2018 at 12:05 pm

    In India, these chains of jasmine buds are braided in with hair :) I’ve worn them during dance performances and at special occasions like pujas, and they smell so wonderful!

    (I always thought champaca was a type of jasmine.)

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      7 August 2018 at 1:06 pm

      No, different plant, related to magnolia.

      Log in to Reply
      • Koyel says:
        7 August 2018 at 9:09 pm

        Huh, I wonder how I managed to be so off! I thought it might be because “champa” is a type of jasmine in Bengali–but then I looked that up and champa is actually plumeria anyway, so I’m just befuddled.

        Log in to Reply
  2. tiffanie says:
    7 August 2018 at 1:35 pm

    Scented flowers to wear, how marvelous. I want a bracelet like that. A wonderful story and the photos are a treat. I’m not often a fan of champaca in fragrance, but now I want to smell the fresh flowers. They look so oddly waxy and interesting, I imagine they smell marvelous. Thank you for the link.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      7 August 2018 at 6:01 pm

      I would buy one if it were sold on the street near me, that’s for sure!

      Log in to Reply
  3. chocolatemarzipan8 says:
    7 August 2018 at 2:13 pm

    I ADORE the smell of champaca…I would like my entire body to be enveloped in these although the wiring might be a tad bit uncomfortable :(

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      7 August 2018 at 6:01 pm

      I love the smell too.

      Log in to Reply
  4. Jarrett says:
    7 August 2018 at 8:35 pm

    In Hong Kong older men sell champaca flowers on the streets in little folds of cellophane. Cab drivers attach the little parcels of champaca to the air-conditioning vents of their taxis so the interior of the car is perfumed by the little buds. My Chinese grandfather managed to cultivate a champaca tree in his garden in Sydney and one of my key summertime scent memories for me (along with star jasmine) is the smell of champaca flowers resting in a saucer of cool water. I’ve always been disappointed with perfumes that claim to be based on this flower, though Ormonde Jayne’s is lovely.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      8 August 2018 at 11:01 am

      Oh how cool!! Thanks Jarrett.

      Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

From NST at Twitter

  • "Houston's corpse flower to bloom any day" (axios houston) https://t.co/cd3HQwRNT1,
  • "Composition Of Roman Perfume Identified For First Time, And It Smelled Like Patchouli" (iflscience) https://t.co/RIQd8yYiIN,
  • "Meet the fragrances celebrities actually wear" (harpers bazaar) https://t.co/4l6j3tnc0T,
  • "9th Art and Olfaction Awards: Meet the Winners" https://t.co/NwvjC07T1O,
  • "The Surprising Spot Screen Legend Ann-Margret Puts Her New Fragrance" (people) https://t.co/GzuVkM0Y1l,

Browse by...

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022

Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

20 May ~ Haiku Challenge
20 May ~ splitmeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2023 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.