The Ugly Reality of Fragrance Sameness: Insights into Stagnant Practices

The homogeneity of fragrances in the marketplace is markedly poignant, especially lately. If you have shopped for perfume yourself (and who hasn't) you have surely noted it, despairing at the lack of what could be different enough to jolt your senses into a eureka moment. It seldom happens. If you have followed out Twin Peaks articles comparing smell alike perfumes you are equipped with solid argumentative aces. Back in 2008 I had devoted space into why it's so difficult to protect a perfume formula as a unique intellectual property with all rights stemming from this and why formulae are copied, more or less.

There are reasons however that are increasingly more relevant than just the historical explanations or the "shooting" of the scent juice that goes on behind closed doors. Those reasons have to do with both marketing research and with chemical intricacies going on in the laboratory. Let's take them one by one.

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How Perfume Marketing Tests Work

 Modern perfume development for the mainstream invariably involves focus groups. Each perfume "draft" is presented to a randomly chosen public segment, stratified according to their social status. But they are not presented with the draft free to comment on it the way an evaluator works. There is no free association or technical comments, if only because there is no specific knowledge of how to go about the latter and the former would be practically useless and highly individualized anyway. Instead people are presented with a couple of fragrance "mods" juxtaposed with a benchmark perfume that has been performing very well in the market for some time (an Angel, a Tresor, a Dior J'Adore, a Cool Water...). They fill out a predefined questionnaire which will further dictate the twists in the formula that the evaluators will demand of the perfumer. This is why best-selling/popular perfume lists based on market research are somewhat skewed to begin with, exactly because they commence with certain givens within the parameters of which the subjects are allowed to move. This is why so many fragrances smell like tiny variations of the exact same design.

And because time and financial pressures are huge, often the direction of the perfume (the "brief") is given not to one team headed by a single perfumer, but to many, in different companies. If each of them modifies a small part of the whole, then more than one perfumer takes credit for the finished product. This is you end up with not knowing who masterminded what, which in a way devalues the artistic authorship.

The Ubiquitousness of the Same Raw Materials

 One can complain about the endless tirade of pink pepper or oud in the listed "notes" of any given perfume press release, but the truth is that the notes list bears little resemblance to what actually goes inside the perfume formula ingredients-wise. Basically no more than 20 manufactured raw materials (natural-identical or synthesized anew) get recycled endlessly. These include citronellol, phenyl ethyl alcohol, hedione, heliotropine, ionone, methyl ionone, hydroxycitronellal (despite the IFRA reductions it can still be used in very small amounts), coumarin (ditto), Lilial, salicylates, patchouli, Iso-E Super, synthetic sandalwood, vanillin, synthetic musks, and ambroxan. They potentially have the ability to build diverse "effects" when put into context, but the reason they're preferred has to do with two very important reasons.

One is their unchanging nature; they are stable, technically dependable materials, linear, practical and always of the same quality standards (unlike the wavering quality of natural materials or less stabilized ones which are making their way out of the perfumer's palette as we speak). Therefore they're produced in gigantic quantities and supply dictates usage. They have effectively become perfumers' currency.

Not only that, but the vast supply and subsequent widespread use means that the public has been accustomed to them via familiarization; and familiarization, in matters so inextricably tied to memory and emotion as smell is, means that the public seeks them out again and again.

A vicious circle exacerbated by the avalanche rhythm of fragrance releases in the last decade.

What I'm Tired of Right Now

Ladies' Home Journal, "I'm Fed Up" (1944) by Irving Nurick

Articles in the general press having to do with olfaction/perfume/the sense of smell titled "Scents and Sensibility". (Or the pun-ier "Sense and Scentsibility") Journalists should dust off something else besides their Jane Austen paperbacks for titles inspiration. (It did become a movie title, apparently. I swear I did't know until I Googled this very title! Thankfully it tanked). It can still remain a perfume boards handle though; that's OK in my books.

"The most primitive sense" should also be excommunicated from smell writing. It predisposes me I'm about to read a guide for bored housewives into regaining their husbands' mojo attention span via cheap tricks. Baudelaire quotes don't, on the other hand, but it's overdone by now.

(Predictably) The oud bandwagon. The "noble rot", the "prized essence", the "most expensive raw material"... it's all a lie! (I've been saying this since 2008) Enough already.

The Perfumery is Art bandwagon on which everyone hops on in the hopes it should pay dividends. It won't , particularly. (And I am ever so pleased I am not the first one to predict so) [btw, special thanks to Patty of Perfume Posse for the pdf linked]

Worrying about which scents IFRA regulations will massacre with their successive reviews each time. Basically it just prolongs the agony. Just kill me now.

Online "experts" on assorted beauty boards that regurgitate half-learned lessons about perfumery (rather than their personal opinions or just solid facts). Open a decent book on the subject, allow a dissenting voice (another's opinion is just as valid as your own), and stop acting like you know it all, like a 15 year old. No one does. Not even perfumers; they're still learning.

Press releases and fragrance advertisements that use any combination of the words "for the confident, sensual woman who celebrates her femininity" (define femininity please!), "grace, confidence and charm", "the link between fragrance, confidence & women." See a pattern? Best of all (just an example of the full idiocy): "This fragrance is for the confident man, one who is not afraid to show who he really is". If he's really not afraid to show who he really is, then why not go au naturel? Why PAY GOOD MONEY for something to show who he is? Is his real self hiding? (And if so, why is it hiding? Isn't he confident enough?) You see my point...

Do you have a rant of your own? I'd love to hear it in the comments. 

Frederic Malle Angeliques sous la Pluie: fragrance review

The thin snowflakes came down the skies unexpectedly early yesterday morning, silk confetti melting softly on the wet streets as a pale sun was shining beneath the fluffy clouds. Maurizio Pollini was touching the clavier on the background in a beloved Polish composer's Nocturnes. The silence was deafening, perfect in its standstill position. It felt like one of those moments when long-eared, soft furred dogs gather their paws, bow down their head and sigh with a mix of contemplative happiness and resignation to the mysteries of the world around them. I was reminded of the tender, contemplative emotions sweeping over me upon discovering Angéliques Sous La Pluie (2000, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle) for the first time.

This bitterish and cool fantasy of gin & tonic was pure like a snowflake, tingling at the back of the throat like the cold air of the tundra. Juxtaposed next to the warm spiciness of the carnal Musc Ravageur, the soie sauvage Hitchcockian elegance of Iris Poudre or the camphorous floral lushness of Carnal Flower it seems a breed apart. It's the sort of thing to foreshadow an atmosphere or reflect a mood, rather than a pronouncement on the wearer, never crying for attention.

Angelica is a plant with a nose-tingling essence, peppery in a way like peppercorns are, bracing but less pungent and greener. Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena picked a small bunch of angelica and put it in his pocket after a visit to the garden of fellow perfumer Jean Laporte after the rain. Inspired by this fleeting whiff of the still dewy angelica bouquet, Jean-Claude Ellena's fragrance plays out like a chamber music arrangement. There is the petrichor scent of rain falling on dry earth, a green herbal tonality without moss or grass. One detects the spicy, tonic notes of angelica leaves mixed with some bergamot freshness, juniper berries and citrusy coriander, softened by a hint of musk, soft non sweetened amber and cedar wood. Its deceptive softness is non vanillic. Its prettiness devoid of flowers. There is a hint of violet like in Soivohle's Violets and Rainwater but that's it.

As Malle himself puts it: "Angéliques sous la Pluie is a perfume whose charm stems from the originality of its mix and from the free hand of its author. The perfect balance and fragility of Angéliques sous la Pluie, like the drawing of a great artist, is what makes it so beautiful. As proof of his great wisdom, the artist knew when to stop before destroying its charm. This first collaboration with Jean-Claude Ellena was thus a lesson in humility".

Angéliques Sous La Pluie is perfectly fit for men or women, lasts on a sostenuto sotto voce, wears as fine in wintertime as it does in the dead of summer and is typical Ellena in style; refined, dry, personal, non condescending, never obvious, worth revisiting to catch new glimpses each time, requiring a mind that is attuned to silence and simplicity of line rather than opulence and clatter. And all the better for it. Angéliques Sous La Pluie –– "a splash of emotion".

Available as 50ml spray for 140$, 3x10ml travel sprays for 95$, 100ml spray for 195$ on the official Malle site.

L'Artisan Parfumeur: Losing the Grip on Niche and Discontinuing Yet Another Fragrance

When does niche stops being niche? One definition of niche perfumes has to do with number of doors distributing the product (and this is the original meaning). Another has to do with maintaining a high standard of ingredients, artistic integrity and not catering to the lowest common denominator.

Pic Source: traveler.es via Julia on Pinterest

I admit even though L'Artisan Parfumeur is one of my favorite niche fragrance lines I am having some trouble to chew on their latest practices going on for a handful of years now (that unstoppable tsunami of releases for one), which definitely stem from some revamping of their marketing strategy. It was but a mere year ago that I announced the production stop on Tea for Two, one of their more "cult" scents with a devoted following, and confirming the discontinuation of the emblematic -and innovative!- Vanilia in favor of Havana Vanille (later renamed Vanille Absolument), and now they're axing -exactly!- Vanille Absolument. This boozy, dry, part tobacco, part hay fantasy of a vanilla perfume with no synthetic vanillin was a bet that artistically paid off. It's one of Bertrand Duchaufour's perfectly judged oriental perfumes, not too sweet, never cloying, stuff to earn a dedicated following much like Tea for Two had. So, guess what. It had to go and not even the perfumer had been alerted in time, allegedly!

The reason is two-fold (sewn into one): The high cost of raw materials (that natural vanilla absolute, that narcissus...) wasn't sufficiently justified by the lukewarm sales. If you're head over heels for it, grab a bottle now rather than later (there's still bigger bottles on the L'Artisan site)

To add insult to injury many fragrance editions in the 50ml/1.7oz bottles are also being axed, as plainly now shown by the recent sale. (This won't happen to the best-sellers, but if you're craving just a little bit of your quirky fav, you're out of luck). And last but not least L'Artisan Parfumeur signs a distribution deal with Sephora, at least in France (I do realize that in France the Sephora shops sell even Lutens, but still...)

How niche can L'Artisan Parfumer continue to be as judged by the above mentioned two criteria? Perhaps the answer is simpler than anticipated: L'Artisan Parfumeur is now in the portfolio of Cradle Holdings.

Have Hollywood Celebs Taken Over the Perfume Industry?

via atrl.net/forums

Thus questions Sarah Reiney in an interesting (if not totally accurate in its finer points*) article in the Telegraph. "Forget bottling Hollywood glamour; this is capitalism in a bottle". So true, Sarah! She goes on to highlight why there is a change in the scenery with more "haute" launches or endorsements by more A-listers than previously. Plus a darling quote by Vanessa Musson. Good going!

If you want to check out some celebrity fragrances history (so as to realize that the phenomenon isn't that recent), please refer to my article linked.

*Fact checking: Fracas wasn't inspired by "Gilda" but by Edwige Feuillère, to whom the (dykey) perfumer Germaine Cellier dedicated it as a love plea. L'interdit was reserved for Audrey's use for only one year (plus her prime favorite was reportedly Le De by Givenchy, also created for and inspired by her.) And last but not least, and we're splitting hairs here, the first "celebrity" perfume has to be the Guerlain Eau de Cologne Impériale for empress Eugenie, the fashion plate of her times.