Miguel Matos Perfumes has just released Fado Jasmim, a special limited edition that is a statement of my origins. I wanted to talk about my culture, especially about a feeling, a state of mind. I have to admit I am not a patriotic person, but there is one thing that I am very proud of, and something that makes me Portuguese to the core of my DNA: That is Fado, the music that is the symbol of Portugal, and is in fact recognized by UNESCO as Inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

Here is a definition of Fado, as published by UNESCO:

"Fado is a performance genre incorporating music and poetry widely practised by various communities in Lisbon. It represents a Portuguese multicultural synthesis of Afro-Brazilian sung dances, local traditional genres of song and dance, musical traditions from rural areas of the country brought by successive waves of internal immigration, and the cosmopolitan urban song patterns of the early nineteenth century. Fado songs are usually performed by a solo singer, male or female, traditionally accompanied by a wire-strung acoustic guitar and the Portuguese guitarra – a pear-shaped cittern with twelve wire strings, unique to Portugal, which also has an extensive solo repertoire."

If there is something that touches me deeply, and awakens my emotions, it's Fado. This becomes even stronger when, for example, I am far away from my country and I hear the deep voices and the whimsical sounds of the Portuguese Guitarra. It makes me cry instantly. Fado is about sadness and making it beautiful. Portuguese people are melancholic, but they know how to turn greed into art. The best example of this is the song Tudo Isto é Fado, here performed by the greatest icon of fado, singer Amália Rodrigues
 

Here is the English translation of the lyrics, giving you an idea of what Fado is.

 
Tudo Isto é Fado - It Is All Fado
You asked me the other day

If I knew what fado was

I told you I didn't know

You were surprised

Not knowing what to say

That time I lied

And said I didn't know

But now I'll tell you

Chorus:

Defeated souls

Lost nights

Graceful shadows

In Mouraria

A pimp sings

Guitars cry

Love and jealousy

Ashes and fire

Pain and sin

It all exists

It is all sad

It is all fado

If you want to be my man

And always have me by your side

Tell me not only about love

Tell me also about fado

Fado is my punishment

It was born for me to lose my way

Fado is all that I say

And all that I can't say

Inspired in this state of mind, I wanted to pay a tribute to Fado in the shape of a fragrance. I made Fado Jasmim as a floral-fruity-animalic-woody composition, within a structure that I am starting to see as natural for me. In this style, I have also created Sarah Baker's Jungle Jezebel and Calaj's Love Toxin, even if they all smell different from each other. For me flowers with fruits and animalics represent life, lust, sex, and death.

FADO JASMIM

Top Notes: Lemon Petitgrain, Passion Fruit, Banana, Plum

Middle Notes: Jasmine, Indole, Rose, Tuberose, Peach

Base Notes: Civet, Oud, Amber, Ambergris, Oakmoss, Musk, Coumarin, Coconut

For Fado Jasmim, I wanted to create a melancholic and passionate heart of carnal jasmine, along with the smell of its death, pushing up the indolic aspects and adding civet notes. There is oud also, extending the deepness and darkness of the composition (and some say that Fado has Arabian influences, too). But since Fado is also about life, beauty, sensuality, and even joy, there are a lot of fruits. We must not forget that in the roots of Fado there are African and Brazilian influences, hence the tropical fruits like passion fruit and banana. But there is also Lemon Petitgrain, a scent that was always present in the garden of the woman who was my "borrowed grandmother" and who passed away many years ago.

The sea is always present in Fado, as something beautiful but powerful when it brings death and separation from loved ones. Therefore, I infused the scent with ambergris, imparting salty notes into the rather sweet structure. There are also tuberose and rose to highlight love, passion, sin, and lust. It's a very romantic scent. As a romantic guy, I like my joy to be accompanied with sadness and light with darkness. This is not an easy scent, I can admit, but it's an impactful one.

FADO JASMIM
Top Notes: Banana, Lemon Petitgrain, Passion Fruit, Plum
Middle Notes: Jasmine Sambac, Indol, Rose, Tuberose, Peach
Base Notes: Civet, Oud, Amber, Ambergris, Oakmoss, Musk, Coumarin, Coconut

* This isn't a perfume. It´s a piece of olfactory art. It uses safe ingredients only, but can cause reaction in allergy-prone skin. Test on a small patch of skin.

50ml