My perfume course at the London College of Fashion: the (very partial) de-brief

The fifteen students of my intensive course for the London College of Fashion, “Decoding Fragrance”, had a single point in common: their love of perfume. Other than that, the sheer diversity was bewildering.

They came from all over the world: the UK, obviously, but also France, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Germany, Jordan, Belgium, Spain by way of the Netherlands or Brazil by way of South Africa… Their level ranged from hardcore perfume aficionados to people taking their first steps in the world of fragrance. They worked in finance, communication, marketing, perfumery and the media; there was a Pilates instructor, a nurse, an architect, an artist, a few students. Their ages ranged from 20 to 55, and a few of them had travelled thousands of miles to attend the course.

Daunting doesn’t even begin to cover it. I was delighted to have people of such varied origins since their range of olfactory references would be extremely diverse. But to engage so many different levels and ages seemed like quite a challenge… until I realized or rather, until my students made me realize that at any level, smells can speak to you, and with a bit of vocabulary provided, you can speak about smells.

Vocabulary was exactly where I started out. The first day was dedicated to the words of perfume: not only the verbal ones, but also “smell-words”, the raw materials being nouns with a trail of adjectives, their facets. We “blind-smelled” real things to activate the link between smells, memories and words; we linked those real things to materials that smell of them. We created olfactory illusions with two or three materials; we “decomposed” jasmine into its most salient molecules. Then we linked materials together by their common facets in an olfactory daisy chain that provided the first notions of the syntax perfumers use to organize their smell-words. Finally, we explored an array of perfumes in which we could find bits of the daisy chain.

The second day was also about words, but this time the words were stories and history. Rather than zip through over a century of perfume history, I’d decided to focus on the decades when most templates were conceived, the 10s and 20s, and on a parallel between François Coty and Jacques Guerlain, as well as a case study of Chanel N°5. To help the students envision the context in which those great classics were composed and worn, I also provided elements of the social, sartorial and artistic trends of the time. In our last exercise, we studied the fruity chypre across the decades, from its birth with Mitsouko to its latest iterations in the 21^st century.

For the third day, I skipped over 80 years of perfumery, straight into the past decade, with a study of recent concepts, mainly “anti-perfumes”, the use of strange or ugly notes and perfumes as evocations of times or places rather than as an extension of personality… This was followed by a spotlight on three authors, Jean-Claude Ellena, Bertrand Duchaufour and Mathilde Laurent, all of whom have generously contributed their time to help me understand their creative process, their aesthetics and the structure of their compositions, as well as generous samples. Jean-Claude Ellena also graciously authorized the reproduction of his classification of aromatic materials, from his book Que Sais-je? Le Parfum, in the hand-out…

There's no way to sum up everything that happened during that course: the insights, the olfactory epiphanies, the beautiful things that people said about perfumes. In that scent-laden atmosphere, I could see eyes light up, lips moves as though someone was about to speak – but she was just formulating a thought to herself; the excited hum as scent strips were passed around and discussed; the crowding around the table were my samples were spread out when, at the end of the day, I’d allow everyone to spray themselves to their heart’s content.

The last hour was a round-up of everyone’s top five of the scents studied over those three days. Vintage Emeraude, Shocking and Mitsouko got votes; Le Parfum de Thérèse came up a winner; L’Eau Serge Lutens and Comme des Garçons Series 6 Synthetic: Soda were quoted by South-East Asian students, the first for its clean magnolia note, the other for its perky citrus fizziness. If I’d had bottles of Penhaligon’s Amaranthine for sale, I’d have moved at least half a dozen. Christophe Laudamiel and Della Chuang’s Kyoteau, an olfactory evocation of the city, won enough suffrages for me to hope it gets commercialized soon in the full-sized bottles designed by Della. Osmanthe Yunan and Vetiver Tonka from the Hermessences collection, La Treizième Heure from Cartier’s Heures de Parfum also gathered several votes.

But the real surprise came from L’Artisan Parfumeur’s cumin and civet-laden Al Oudh: the two men of the course, a Thai and a Frenchman, both said they’d get it for themselves; three young women, two Chinese and one Vietnamese, said they’d get it for their boyfriends… And there we were, thinking the Asian market was all about fruity florals! They got positively frisky about the dirty notes. Mind you, they had the right teacher… It’s all about pedagogy, isn’t it? One participant, who’d basically come along to keep her sister-in-law company, walked away saying: “You’ve completely turned round the way I think about perfume”.

I consider my mission accomplished.

Now that the pressure’s over and I’m rewinding the film, I can’t even begin to say how much I enjoyed doing this course, thanks to the active and generous way everyone engaged – and lent me a hand when I had technical glitches, such as running out of scent strips into day two… Some of them actually fanned out into the neighboring stores and stoles great wads of them; others cut them up into smaller strips, while others yet counted them out in piles of 16.

My deepest thanks to all of you: Dala, Yuanyuan, Winni, Naomi, Sultana, Kayla, Olga, Antje, Katia, Jacqui, Selina, Isabella, “Ali Baba” and Litwine. I mean it about Paris!

And a special mention for Florian Pedemanaud, whom most perfume aficionados in London have met at Les Senteurs, the city’s premier multi-brand niche shop: he is setting up as a scent stylist. Should anyone need advice on putting together a fragrance wardrobe or finding a new signature perfume, he’s the man to ask. Just email me at graindemusc at gmail dot com and I’ll give you his contact, or seek him out at the Frédéric Malle corner at Liberty’s.

I’d also like to thank the following people and companies.

For their support, advice and precious time: Mathilde Laurent, Bertrand Duchaufour, Isabelle Doyen and Céline Ellena.

For donating raw materials: Francis Thibaudeau of Robertet for the natural essences and absolutes; Angela Stavrevska of CPL Aromas UK for the synthetic materials; Julien Lévy of Osmoz.com for the Les Coulisses du Parfum coffrets.

For donating perfumes: Guerlain, Hermès, Chanel, Cartier and L’Artisan Parfumeur.

For authorizing the reproduction of a portion of his book: Jean-Claude Ellena.

Above all, I have a debt of gratitude to my favourite teacher, the perfumer and perfume historian Octavian Coifan (1000fragrances) and to Basia Szutnicka, Study Abroad Director at the London College of Fashion: she had the idea for this course and made it happen.

At the London College of Fashion, I would also like to thank Reid Aiton, Hannah Svensson McLeod and Karin Johansson for all their time and efforts! Hannah, I will return the scissors next time!

According to the New York Times, the Era of the Perfumer-as-Star is upon us

First of all, sorry for deserting this column: I’ve been slaving over my London perfume course program, and what I dig up for it I’d rather not post about before I actually give it so I won’t spoil the surprise for the people attending it… who are proving, based on the ones I’ve head back from, to be quite the connoisseurs.

I’ll be back tomorrow or Saturday with a review of the next Guerlain L’Art et la Matière, Tonka Impériale.

In the meantime, a few thoughts on today’s New York Times article, “Now Smell This, and See its Maker”.

It’s no secret mainstream perfume sales have been dropping; brands and marketing pundits have been tearing their hair out trying to find new ploys to draw cash-strapped customers back to the counters. Now, according to the NYT, they’ve decided to take a page from Frédéric Malle’s book – and to follow the blogs – by putting forward the name and picture of the perfumer:

“The nascent star status accorded perfumers marks a change in the way fragrance has been marketed. Designer and celebrity fragrances deal in realms of image and aspiration, promising to impart a whiff of the namesake’s creativity or notoriety to the wearer. Showcasing the perfumer switches the emphasis back to the fragrance, from the complexity of the brew to the Proustian memory or muse that inspired the creator.

“The perfumer takes you back to the romance of fragrance,” said Bettina O’Neill, vice president for cosmetics at Barneys New York. “With celebrities, the romance is about how they look and what they do. But with perfumers, it’s about the art of creating the fragrance.”

(…) Some industry observers think showcasing the perfumer could help the broader fragrance market. Ms. Grant sees parallels with the cosmetics industry, where in-house technicians have successfully morphed into marketers. “Makeup did it with the makeup artist,” she said. “Skin care did it with doctors. What’s happening is the fragrance industry is realizing the perfumer is the ultimate celebrity of fragrance.”

(…)“Consumers are saying, ‘If I’m going to spend, let me spend on something everyone else doesn’t have,’ ” said Karen Grant, an analyst at NPD.”

The article sparked a discussion on the forum Perfume of Life. The line of argument goes like this:

1/People will buy what smells good to them, no matter which face you stick on the counter, and “something everyone else doesn’t have” doesn’t factor into the equation;

2/People aren’t buying because most mainstream scents are dreck.

Granted, they are. And granted, people do buy what smells good to them. But within the hundreds of bottles on offer, what’ll inspire them to try one scent rather than another? In my rent job, I meet a sizeable number of French executives and middle management and when I do a little informal fragrance consulting, they often do care about not smelling like everyone else in the board room or company cafeteria.

What’s more, I do believe that putting the name and personality of the perfumer forward might inject a little more romance and authenticity in the selection process. I’m no marketer, but couldn’t it be possible that people are a little more aware now of the way brands manipulate them with advertising and its celebrity faces? Couldn’t it be that knowing a smidge of truth about the perfume-making process, discovering that there is actually a person behind it – an artist composing the fragrance, and able to talk about it – will make them feel differently about it?

And might the move to put the perfumers forward not prompt brands to let them express themselves a little more, rather than focus-group the juices to death?

I know I’m preaching to the choir here. But I do think that the era of perfumer-as-star, ushered in by Frédéric Malle and the brands who have hired an in-house perfumer – Hermès, Cartier, Patou… -- could be upon us. And that it might just be the way to give the industry a much-needed boost.

Selon le New York Times, l'ère du parfumeur-star est arrivée

Tout d’abord, je suis désolée d’avoir déserté ce blog ces derniers jours : je m’échine sur le programme de mon cours de Londres et je préfère ne pas publier le résultat de mes travaux avant de le donner, pour ne pas déflorer le sujet auprès des participants qui me lisent. Lesquels se sont avérés, si j’en juge par ceux qui m’ont contactée directement, être des connaisseurs.

Je posterai demain ou samedi mon avis sur le prochain L’Art et la Matière de Guerlain, Tonka Impériale ; en attendant, voici quelques réflexions sur un article publié dans l’édition du 10 décembre du New York Times, « Now Smell This, and See its Maker ».

On sait que ces derniers mois, les ventes de parfums « mainstream » ont chuté assez abruptement ; les marques et les experts en marketing s’arrachent les cheveux pour trouver de nouvelles façons d’attirer les consommateurs-hérissons vers les comptoirs. Désormais, d’après le NYT, ils songent à s’inspirer de Frédéric Malle – et de la culture blog – en mettant en valeur le nom et l’image des parfumeurs :

« Le statut naissant de star accordé aux parfumeurs marque une transformation dans la façon don’t le parfum est marketé. Les parfums de créateurs et de célébrités relèvent de l’image et de l’aspiration, promettant de transmettre une bouffée de leur créativité ou de leur notoriété à ceux qui les portent. Mettre en avant le parfumeur remet l’accent sur le parfum, de la complexité de l’élixir au souvenir ou à la muse qui ont inspiré le créateur.

“Le parfumeur vous ramène au rêve du parfum ”, dit Bettina O’Neill, vice-présidente cosmétiques chez Barney, à New York. “Ce qui fait rêver, chez les célébrités, c’est leur look et leur vie. Mais chez les parfumeurs, il s’agit de l’art de créer un parfum.

(…) Certains observateurs de l’industrie pensent que le fait de mettre en valeur le parfumeur pourrait être utile au marché. Mme Grant établit un parallèle avec l’industrie des cosmétiques, où les techniciens-maisons se sont transformés en argument marketing. « C’est ce qui s’est passé avec le maquillage et les maquilleurs, avec les soins et les médecins. Désormais, l’industrie du parfum a compris que c’est le parfumeur qui est la véritable célébrité, dans le domaine du parfum.

(…) Les consommateurs disent : « Si je dois dépenser de l’argent, autant le dépenser sur quelque chose que tout le monde n’a pas », dit Karen Grant, analyste chez NPD. »

L’article du NYT a soulevé une discussion sur le forum anglophone Perfume of Life. Les personnes qui ont commenté au moment où je rédige ce post font remarquer ceci :

1/ Les gens achètent ce qui leur plait, et se fichent bien de son auteur ; acheter ce que « tout le monde n’a pas » n’intervient pas dans leur décision.

2/ Les gens achètent moins parce que la majorité de ce qui est proposé dans le « mainstream » est de la bibine.

Soit. On achète ce qui sent bon. Mais parmi les centaines de flacons proposés, qu’est-ce qui pousse le consommateur lambda à essayer un parfum plutôt qu’un autre ? Dans le cadre de mes activités professionnelles, je rencontre beaucoup de cadres moyens et supérieurs, et lorsque je leur offre une petite consultation parfum au débotté, le fait de ne pas porter la même chose que leurs voisins dans la salle de réunion ou la cantine ne leur est pas indifférent.

Et qui plus est, je crois vraiment que la mise en valeur de la personnalité du parfumeur pourrait injecter un peu de rêve et d’authenticité dans le processus de sélection. Je ne suis pas dans le marketing, mais ne serait-il pas envisageable que les gens se sentent manipulés par les pubs parfum et leurs « égéries » greffées à coups de millions ? N’est-il pas possible que le fait de connaître un peu mieux la démarche créative d’un parfum, de découvrir que ce parfum a un auteur – un artiste capable d’en parler – réveillera leur désir de le découvrir ?

Et en mettant le parfumeur en avant, les marques ne seront-elles pas incitées à les laisser s’exprimer un peu plus, plutôt que de passer leur création à l’essoreuse des panels de consommateurs et des petits génies du marketing arrivés directement de l’univers de la lessive et des déodorants ?

Je sais que je prêche des pervertis. Mais je crois vraiment que l’époque du parfumeur-star grand public, inaugurée par Frédéric Malle et les sociétés qui ont engagé un parfumeur-maison – Hermès, Cartier, Patou – pourrait être arrivée. Et qu’elle pourrait donner un coup de fouet à l’industrie.

IFRA gives vanillin a reprieve

Ever since last spring I’ve been hearing perfumers howling about IFRA’s 44th Amendment, which, they said, restricted the use of vanillin to a point where a lot of perfumes, even very recent ones would have to be reformulated.

I was actually going to post a vanilla warning – in other words, STOCK UP on you favorites – when I received an information letter from IFRA’s Scientific Director Matthias Vey, stating that “the implementation of the Standard on vanillin has been suspended (…) because of late comments on the impact of the Standard”. A new, higher level of vanillin could be considered. In other words, they're back-tracking.

Could it be that the industry Big Boys finally raised their voices? I can imagine LVMH’s Bernard Arnault frowning at the perspective of dealing the final death blow to several Guerlains and tweaking sundry Kenzos, Diors and Givenchys… Chypres may be spayed – who loves’em anyway except old ladies? – but the all-popular gourmands? Pas question. The perfume industry doesn’t need that right now, does it, what with sales plummeting...

I know a few perfumers who were already trudging back to their labs to reformulate things that literally just came out, or were about to, heaving a cautious sigh of relief.

As for the pod people: no need to build up a stock of Shalimar, Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Tocade, Lolita Lempicka L, or Havana Vanille just yet.

L'IFRA accorde un sursis à la vanilline

Depuis le printemps dernier, j’entends les parfumeurs grommeler que le 44^ème Amendement de l’IFRA, qui devait restreindre l’usage de la vanilline, les obligerait à reformuler certaines de leurs créations, même très récentes.

J’étais d’ailleurs sur le point de poster une alerte à la vanille – traduction : STOCKEZ VOS PRÉFÉRÉS ! – quand j’ai reçu une lettre d’information du directeur scientifique de l’IFRA, Matthias Vey, annonçant que « l’application du Standard sur la vanilline [avait] été suspendu (…) en raison de commentaires tardifs sur [son] impact. » On envisage désormais d’autoriser une quantité supérieure de vanilline à celle déterminée par le 44^ème Amendement.

Serait-il possible que les poids lourds de l’industrie du parfum se soient enfin courroucés ? J’imagine Bernard Arnault fronçant les sourcils à la perspective d’asséner le coup de grâce aux Guerlain et de défigurer les parfums les plus populaires de son catalogue. La mousse de chêne, ce truc de vioquasse ? Tant qu’on veut. Mais la vanille, la gourmande, la girly, la note-qu’il-est-impossible-de-ne-pas-aimer ? Ça va pas, non ?

Je connais quelques parfumeurs, qui retournaient au labo en traînant les pieds pour reformuler des parfums qui viennent à peine de sortir – ou qui doivent être lancés sous peu – qui pousseront un prudent soupir de soulagement.

Quant aux amoureux de la gousse, ils peuvent encore un peu attendre avant de stocker Shalimar, Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Tocade, Lolita Lempicka L, ou autres Havana Vanille…