The perfume industry is going through different phases and looking into the developments, what with the mergers, acquisitions, take-overs and profit reports, as well as the perfume best-sellers lists, is always interesting in its own way. According to the latest reportage there are news in what concerns big players and the continuing growth of niche in the market segmentation.
As per the BBC news, "Coty - the New York beauty brand behind famous names such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Hugo Boss and Chloe - has faced headwinds this year.
In August, it reported a surprise quarterly loss that was partly blamed on "materially" higher marketing costs for the launch of new fragrances, including Gucci Bloom and Hugo Boss Tonic.
L'Oreal, which sells fragrances under brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren and Diesel, also reported disappointing sales and profits for its most recent quarter."
It's interesting to note one particular detail which might be explaining the differentiation of niche in practical terms for consumers.
Again according to BBC News, "[market research firm]Mintel estimates UK sales will be worth about £1.5bn this year, making it the fifth-biggest market globally behind Brazil, the US, Russia and France. As with other retail sectors, she says one of the problems is savvy consumers who try out products in a physical store but then go online to buy it for less."
Niche perfumes by default offer less sampling opportunities in store and they also have different sales practices regarding shop distributions and to the sales bonuses of the sales assistants pushing them.
The data for the celebrity fragrances however seems contradicting. One source (Mintel to be precise) "releasing a fragrance emblazoned with the name of a celebrity, such as Britney Spears, Beyonce or Jennifer Lopez - appears to be waning. A third of consumers describe this approach as tacky."
The Washington Post cites that sales of celebrity scents "have dropped by half since 2000, while luxury perfumes have seen a recent sales increase of 16 percent, bringing them to a record high". There is nevertheless the counter argument.
In an Allure article touting the quality of many celebrity fragrances (and indeed we have shared a bit of the love, when deserved, on these very pages) there will always be a place for celebrity scents. "We experience them not as people, but as products, ingesting whatever song, photo, or product they choose to release. They are not so much revealing themselves to us, but continuing to build the character they are projecting themselves to be. We are falling in love with someone we will never know.
In that way, celebrity fragrances are different than scents from the big houses — the Armanis and Chanels. While brand loyalty is certainly a factor in what helps fragrances from the big guys fly off of the shelves every season (not without the help of a celebrity as the face of the brand and scent) celeb scents tap into a different part of our psyche." and concluding "the trend of celebrity fragrances will only completely die out when our collective obsession with celebrity does — which is to say, not any time in the near future."
The upcoming Tom Ford Grooming Collection for Men (launching November 1st) is reportedly inspired by the grooming ritual that the sleek and cunning Texan designer follows himself. The video clip presents the expected toned torsos and meaningful "Blue Steel" looks by a chiseled member of the XY chromosome and is aimed at our gonads, typical for Tom Ford imagery. Tom is a fine marketeer, probably among the finest currently working in the fashion world, since everything he touches turns to gold. And that's despite his apparent lack of designer skills as evidenced during his stint at Yves Saint Laurent (a sin for which he must atone through more rigorous rituals than usual).
Tom himself goes on and on about how it's all about caring for your skin (this comes from the guy who has professed to take 3 to 5 baths a day? I'm surprised he has any skin left), that it doesn't need to be elaborate to be effective, that it shows respect to those around you (yes, dear heterosexual men who may be reading, salsa stains on your 5-day-beard-growth aren't sexy, wash already!), and it's about presenting your most handsome and impeccable self to the world.
The latter claim is actually a refreshingly honest and novel point in talking about beauty products; usually the commercials harp on how it's about what feels good to you, how it all evolves around you, how you're the center of your own universe, it's all about you, you, you, yada yada yada. But fine though the clip may be, one can't shake the impression that we're watching Patrick Bateman's morning ritual, something I had posted about before on these pages. At least I can't. There's something about it in the sleekness, the glistening skin under the caress of beautifying products, the narcissistic self admiration, the vacancy of the look through the mirror, the smooth voiceover...
Does this promo persuade me to go out and test the products? It certainly gives me pause to think whether 600$ for grooming (including lip balm, concealer and eye treatment) is accountable for my significant other and whether my bathroom shelf can withstand even more bottles, potions and lotions for the both of us. But I do like Ford's lipsticks despite the elevated price tag, so don't ask me too rigorously. Tom is a fine marketeer. He might even convince me to dabble in these in the end!
Bic pens are introducing a fragrance line (with various numbers right next to the "For Women" name to denote versions), as was brought to my attention by perfumer Ayala Moriel's tweet. But that's nothing new. In 1988, I well recall Bic, the brand known for their stylo a bille (introduced in the 1950s) launched a fragrance line, Parfums Bic, (in the exact same "flacon" in the shape of a lighter), hoping to bring the convenience of their pens, lighters, and razors to the world of perfume. "Des vrais parfums a un prix Bic!" True perfumes in the Bic price range! The French company gave an advertising pitch that talked about “the world’s first fine French perfume that combine high quality with affordable pricing and a stylish, portable design” . (Yes, they were pretty decent smelling, especially for the price, I can tell you. I did like the blue and black ones myself.)
Tag lines were inspired: "Paris in your pocket" (for which they went the extra mile shooting a classical 1980s commercial around the Tour Eiffel, as shown below in the vintage clip), "Ou tu veux, quand tu veux" (where you want it, when you want it), L'argent ne fait pas le bonheur" (happiness isn't dependent on money), "Variez les plaisirs" (indulge in a variety of pleasures) and "Le Parfum Nu" (the naked perfume). You'd think it'd become a marketing case-study. Well, it did, but in reverse.
The design company responsible for the packaging & presentation for the US market was none other than Seymour Chwast, reproducing the bright colors and vivid visual schemes of classic 1980s mass products, surely an appealing sight offered in various tweaks. The French head of the Bic company, on the other hand, "the idiosyncratic 74-year-old [in 1988] Baron Marchel Bich, who is a descendant of the Italian aristocrats who founded the company in 1953"was -typically for him-mum about the project at the time.
The New York Times introduced the line by Bic to the American audiences in the following words (and by the way, please note the prestige status of CK best-selling scents at the time):
"The company plans to introduce Bic No. 1, a line of inexpensive perfumes for men and women, in the United States early next year. The fragrances in small, spill-proof, portable glass bottles have had ''a very good reception'' in France, Italy and the Benelux countries, the company says.
The little glass atomizers, which look like butane lighters, will cost about $5 here - an unusually low price for 7.5 milliliters of perfume, or about a quarter of an ounce. By contrast, Obsession, a top-of-the-line perfume that was an instant success, costs about $170 an ounce. The Bic pump emits about a third less than ordinary atomizer pumps and allows 300 sprays. The idea is to concentrate the scent so that it is not wasted when applied.
In France the perfumes are available in four scents with colored caps to distinguish them. Red is named Jour, or Day, a floral scent; Blue is Nuit, or Night, a spicier mix; Green isSport, a unisex, fresh, woody scent, and black is Homme, or Man, a muskier fragrance.
First Bic contracted with a leading scent designer, Firmenich, to develop the fragrances. While it did not buy into that family-owned company, it took a 34 percent stake in Chauvet S.A., which makes perfume essences that are sold to perfume companies such as Firmenich.
Then Bic bought a bottle-making plant from glass specialists Groupe Saint-Gobain, which designed the atomizer to be unbreakable. And it purchased Sofab S.A., a company that makes spray pumps.
To produce and package the perfume, Bic built a factory near the bottle-making plant in Treport, France.
With a $15 million budget, it began to introduce the perfumes in Europe.
The television spots in France, which were handled by Young & Rubicam, told a whimsical boy-meets-girl story using animated characters drawn by the British artist Sue Young. By contrast, the print campaign, in French fashion magazines, pushed a practical theme, stressing that the perfume is portable and is in a leak-proof bottle.
" {quotes via NYT}
The pocket-size bottles were in the shape of Bic lighters while the price was comparable ($5 in the same drugstores & supermarkets alongside other Bic products, such as lighters, pens and razors).
From a marketing point of view the Bic perfumes were considered an epic fail: The whole admirable effort was unsuccessful, to put it mildly, stalling production as soon as 1991, probably because the era wasn't ripe for disposable French perfume (we were a long way from Sephora's little perfume roll-ons in a tutti fruity rainbow selection and the gazillion lower-value products with scent on the shelves from celebrity scents to body sprays!). There was no status in buying these in an era that was intent on possessions that showed status. There was also no storytelling involved; the need for a story (that ad speak about how the creator was smitten with this or that we read today in press releases regarding inspiration) was then as fiery as it is today.
Another unforeseen problem was the lack of testers at the stores. Initially there were some but since they were so tiny and easily snugged they were soon extinct. The distribution circuit might also account for the flop. The NYT noted that :"Competitors such as Avon and L'Oreal already have similar low-cost perfume products, but Bic's distribution channels are different."
Still, the bicperfumes.com site still exists, revamped somewhat (but with a copyright of 2007-2008) to remind us, at least in name, of these little pop culture memorabilia.
Sharing the news a while ago on a second "model" of La Petite Robe Noire, a previous Guerlain fragrance that divided perfume enthusiasts, was a double-edged sword: On the one hand, one wants to like a new Guerlain, possibly because of the heritage and the luxe French factor. On the other hand, Guerlain lately have been reviving the brand in ways which have left a bitter taste in the mouth of hard-core fans, even though it garnered them new audiences and certainly a lot money in Swiss banks. La Petite Robe Noire no.2 has a problematic name to begin with, but that's not all.
Just imagine having to answer someone asking what perfume you're wearing; that affix of "2" in the end sounds fake and ridiculous to me. I realise that copyrighting names isn't easy, but if anyone could, Guerlain is the one who could recycle hundreds of names from their rich archives to spare this embarrassment. Olfactorily, La Petite Robe Noire model 2 leaves something to be desired and I can't say it has won me over, although arguably it's rather easier and less tooth-achingly fruity-sweet than the previous first installment which scared me with its insolent intrusion into my personal space when I had placed a blotter atop my book on Minoan pottery I was consulting at the time.
To its detriment La Petite Robe Noire no. 2still features the gimauve accord (that's the marshmallow "note"), this time garlanded by orange blossom and dusted with powdery-dry notes that are oscillating between face makeup and white suede. The opening of La Petite Robe Noire model 2, clean, scrubbed and bright, is still revealing a light gourmand character with a vanillic interlay that veers into almond nuances; but it's smoother, cuter and thankfully less berry-rich than the previous effort. The cuddly quality and the dry musky suede feel are not without some charm, better expressed on a blotter or fabric than on skin (Is this also an effort to grab the consumer into the first instances of testing?).
Still, these "hip" fragrant launches, destined by their shelf placement for the connoisseur circuit of people shopping for fragrance (and Guerlain fragrance at that!) at the eponymous boutiques or the Bergdorf Goodman "corner", pose a question: Why are they becoming a central focus requiring ample time off in-house Thierry Wasser's busy schedule instead of having these powers directed at working on a smashing new mainstream release or a beautiful classy exclusive instead (like Tonka Impériale before)? Unless teenager gamines shop regularly at the above mentioned places and are cognizant of the Guerlain brand apart from their makeup line and the Terracotta range (which still drives a huge percentage of the company sales), I'm at a loss to understand the positioning of those fragrances, just like I was perplexed by the romantic thinking behind Idylle as advertised on US soil.
Apparently Sylvaine Delacourte, art director chez Guerlain, says the first La Petite Robe Noire sold well and we do know from the US launch ahead that the American audience was (oddly?) targeted mainly: The latter isn't anything new, even as far back as Chanel No.5 and Coty's bestsellers America has been the greatest luxury devouring market on the planet and justifiably a marketer's wet dream. Often they underestimate that market.
Still La Petite Robe Noire and La Petite Robe Noire 2 occupy that middle ground that is hesitant between donning a full on couture gown for special occasions or just everyday wear with hip accents for that party and end up smelling like they don't know what they're doing, raising their cocktail glass like the nouveau rich amidst family guests at a chateau in the Loire valley.
The bottle, still in the iconic inverted heart design that houses Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue, is now reprised in dark rose and the black dress on it is strappy with a lacy hem; more like a negligee, really, but in good fun.
Notes for Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire no.2:
Head notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Galbanum
Heart notes: Orange Blossom, Marshmallow, Iris
Base notes: Leather, White Musk
An astoundingnumber of articles tackles the latest, apparently unexpected ~from what I deduce, since it makes such an impression~ phenomenon: Namely that a "celeboscent" really made it. (This term is short for "celebrity scent"; those fragrances eponymously launched by stars, supposedly inspired by their personalities and lifestyle, but in fact churned out by perfume producing companies with minimal involvement by the stars themselves). Trusted reportage says that this particular frag is selling like crazy! What is it? It's Heat by Beyoncé Knowles!
"At the recent Retail & Luxury Goods Conference at Harvard Business School, Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren revealed that its already made more than $3 million in worldwide sales since its launch" [NB We're talking 3 months here] while he said that in an meet-and-greet with the singer herself "72,000 bottles of her perfume were sold that in that hour". To convert this in monetary values, Women's Wear Daily reported that first day Macy's sales made $60,000. (Talk about WOW!!) All to the point that "trying to pick up a bottle of “Heat” at Macy’s.com estimates over a month before it ships" now. "This morning I woke up and they told me the fragrance is the number one fragrance in America,” Beyoncé told Access. “I had absolutely no idea.” We're clearly talking about a huge commercial blockbuster. That made me think...
So the question arises: I am wondering whether the success has to do with the bootilicious sexy appeal of the singer herself (surely overall a positive role-model in today's celebrity world which is filled with human trash) or with the fragrance style and its perfect top-to-bottom design (corresponding so well to the celebrity herself, I mean, as celebrity brand expansion). Certainly it's not a "bootichouli" fragrance like we had suggested and hoped for on a previous occasion, at least going by the description, in which "Heat blends a floral mix of magnolias, neroli, and red vanilla orchids with the scent of almond macaroon, honeysuckle, nectar, and crème de musk" composed by perfumers Claude Dir and Olivier Gillotin. March on Perfume Posse observes that "Heat smells like a thin veneer of canned peaches in syrup over the most powerful, intensely animalic stank of unwashed ladyparts that I have ever smelled in a perfume, and I don’t mean that in a good way." Robin at NST on the other hand pegs it a warm fruity musk adding "I don’t find it even slightly sexy, and it isn’t what I’d call memorable, but it doesn’t much matter: it’s by Beyoncé and it isn’t a complete mess". Others report that real human testers (in Miami) perceive it as a cotton candy and amaretto fragrance. Take your pick!
Whatever it is, it's definitely a case-study for the heads at Coty (the perpetrator), Parlux et al. and for marketers everywhere. Expect more of the same very, very soon! And if fashion designers are "only worth as much as [their] latest collection's success", then celebrities will soon be worth the amount of their celebrity scent sales. Mark my words!
According to Susan Berberet, Assistant Curator of Collections at the Oklahooma History Center, the prevalent in the 50s and 60s coin-operated perfume spraying machine (the Perfumatic) found in ladies' rooms of posh hotels and restaurants was emitting such classics as Chanel No.5 and My Sin by Lanvin (Can you hear my jaw hitting the floor in amazement at the mention of the latter?). Or as the recollection of those who have actually used some of them goes, perhaps copies of those two popular scents. It doesn't really matter for our purposes here. The machine used a thin dime coin and for just that price sprayed you with a healthy dose of perfume, in order to freshen up or just in case you neglected that height of grooming before going out. Sounds like a great idea, didn't it? Older generations fondly remember the ritual in the States while these pastel machines, alongside others with actual vials attached existed for scenting your handkerchief; useful when those were the cotton & linen variety and not the disposable kind.
The even more impressive info is that actually this goes far, far back; much further than imagined: "The first group to demand such on the spot purchases were the Greeks. The first mention of a coin-operated dispenser was in 215 B.C., by a mathematician and engineer named Heron (or Hero) of Alexandria [The one who also invented ύδραυλις/hydraulis, the precursor of the Organ]. His machine would accept a coin and then dispense a set amount of “holy water” in the Egyptian temples!" But Susan Berbet goes on to explain that it would only resurface in the Industrial Revolution age, when the technology to make this cheap and functional finally emerged.
But the idea isn't only an antiquated one. There are modern, aluminum-shiny examples with "perfume" and "cologne" in them to be sold still! Perfumaniac, a New Orleans-based blogger blogging at Yesterday’s Perfume first published a photo of a perfume vending machine which sold perfume "nips" (small plastic "packets" like samples for perfume applying), in which she mentioned how such 20s popularities as Soir de Paris (Evening in Paris) by Bourjois or Arpege by Lanvin (again) were sold at the literal drop of a coin. Then Dr.Avery Gilbert took it over on his own blog, where he discussed about the idea of an olfactory museum. Can I just say I think there's good money to be made if this idea is ever materialised.
And to revert to the initial point of interest which made an impression on me, it does make you wonder which would fragrances would be chosen for today's market to be put in the ladies' room, if such a thing existed still. What do you think?
Shaping the market of scent is not within our capacity, however mapping it is. And it seems like our antennae have been tuned to all the talk lately about a shift in consumers' tastes and a seismic change due to the increased information received by the Internet. This manifests itself with many signs, which we will tackle one by one.
First of all, the reign of "celebrity scents" is coming to a slow end. (Those are fragrances bearing the name of a famous person, produced by a couple of companies excelling in that brief, like Coty or Parlux). It's not simply that perfumistos, people with an acute interest in fragrance, are getting completely jaded and being vocal about it on online fora. It's also that there is simply too much celebrity juice out there. In the article "Celebrity Scents Fall Out of Style: So Over It" by Carmen Nobel in Thestreet.com the author stipulates that "Tagging a perfume with the name of a celebrity goes back to the days of Coco Chanel. But the trend got a little out of control after the success of Jennifer Lopez's Glow, launched in 2002". After everyone and their grandma and their grandma's cook having a celebrity scent in the works, from athletes to actresses/musicians and authors all the way to reality-games-participants, it's getting a little tired and lots of people do not see the glamour or the relevance with certain celebrities. The stats are a little shocking and show the proliferation of what seems like an oversaturated market: "In 2005, there were some 20 celebrity fragrances on high-end department store shelves, and by 2008, there were at least 47, according to Karen Grant, a beauty industry analyst at the NPD Group, a market research company in Port Washington, N.Y. And those were just the fragrances in the "prestige" and "premium" brackets, those that cost at least $50 and upwards of $75 per bottle, respectively." The analyst also foreshadowed that the celebrity scents which would do well in the near future would be only the ones which are packaged in fancy presentations (Harajuku Lovers being an example)
But people are also avoiding perfume altogether sometimes: Too much juice sometimes produces a saturation across the boards. In an quizzical article on the Frisky fragrance shizophreniac (by her own playful admission) Erin Flaherty prompted by a no doubt exaggerated statistic (NB statistics can be manipulated the way one wants them to) intelligently discusses whether fragrance as a concept is knowing diminished popularity lately: Has perfume gone out of style? "When it comes to women and our relationship with fragrance, there’s something I’ve noticed lately, and it makes me wonder how many women out there wear any perfume at all? [...] the whole douse yourself in perfume before you leave the house thing hearkens back to another era. A lot of 20- and 30-somethings I know just don’t bother.[...] A recent NPD report showed that prestige fragrance sales in the U.S. are down 10 percent. This could just be due to the recession, but still. There’s also our generation’s obsession with individuality: Maybe we don’t all want to smell like the latest designer fragrance (or God help us, Britney Spears), and are more likely to create our own signature mixes using oils, a combination of perfumes, or are just content with our bodies’ own natural scents. Or maybe it’s just allergies".
On the other hand, there seems to be an indirect marketing strategy in which the familiar and old stanby, the fashion designer turned fragrance-churning big name, is used again in new and ingenious ways to provoke the response of a more aware consumer who is leafing through glossies like always, but is also interested in online information. Evidence: the latest column by Tina Gaudoin in the Wall Street Journal Magazine which tackles the Italian designer Giorgio Armani and his illustarted talk about scents and sensuality. (I admit I had no idea he had been in medical study at any point in his career! The things one learns...But I do adore capers!!!) Are the people reached that way more likely to sample his latest venture, Idole d'Armani?
On the same issue of the same medium there is another interesting piece about the most prized spice, saffron, a literal stamen by stamen worth of gold foil due to the labour-intensive harvesting. Saffron notes in fragrances have known a surge in niche releases and the reason is not hard to see, judging by the culinary effect the red spice possesses: "Comparing saffron to other culinary objets d’art is a nonstarter. Drugs are more appropriate. Too much and a dish overdoses on flavor. In excess, it can even become toxic. “Eating handfuls of raw saffron will shut down your liver,” Sharifi warns. But a tenth of an ounce, say, what Andrés might add to a saffron cake, can carry a dish on its shoulders, brightening the color to a golden orange and cutting the sweetness of a dessert with its grassy, metallic punches. (And just a dash will add at least a few dollars to the price of any dish.)" Would the popularity of exotic ingredients in cuisine result in an increased awareness of "scentsorial" experiences out of the perfume bottle? After all, smell and flavour are closely entwined and the discenring perfume wearer is often an equally investigative, adventurous foodie. Could these old, nay, ancient ingredients (crocus from which saffron is extracted was known by the prehistoric Aegean populations) become the new items to replace the pink pepper, the iris and the ~synthetic, by now~ oud which have taken the niche and mainstream market by storm these past two-three years? Cheers to a new route chosen, if so, and I raise my glass to this back to the future!
So the baton is on to you: What do you notice in your neck of woods about fragrance trends? Do people wear fragrance or avoid it, what is getting chosen most, are people inquisitive about new exotic or perhaps old-fashioned scents?
The Rykiel house has tittilated our fantasies with their erotic shop within their flagship boutique, has smothered our senses with their wonderful perfumes and has established their name as one of the chicest in all of Paris and the fashion runway for decades now. But it seems that technology is not escaping Sonia and Natalie Rykiel who are on the cutting edge: Yes, they caught the blogging germ (official blogs seem to be big right now) and from 14th September (this coming Monday, that is!) you can read all about their creative process, their interests and their little confidences at http://www.rykielles.com/. Shopping, littérature, photo, music., video exclusivities, archive fashion shoots.. the posh Parisian quartier de Saint Germain des Prés takes its own digital life under the direction of Natalie Rykiel who will be blogging with nom de guerre "Dita du Flore". And once a week the feature "Sonia's Choice" by Sonia Rykiel herself. Blogger Garance Doré has realised a photo exclusive which you can discover in its entirety on http://www.rykielles.com/ this coming 14th September.
I hypothesize it will be in French, but perhaps there will be a translation option available for those of you who don't speak French. Or, you can always begin learning the French language with some online classes.
Source Jennifer Neyt/Vogue.fr. Pic of Natalie Rykiel via theglamtvespagna.es
Escada, the German prêt-à-porter brand founded by Wolfgang Ley 32 years ago, which was also one of the big players in the fragrance industry a few short years ago, filed for bust the other day after a free-falling plummet in the second trimester of 2009. According to Reuters however this was no news as they had published shares taking a hit as far back as February 2008: "Escada, rumoured to be a takeover candidate, said sales dropped 9.1 percent to 142.1 million euros ($214.6 million) in the quarter ended January. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) sank 68.5 percent to 6.8 million.UniCredit analyst Volker Bosse said he expected sales of 158 million euros and EBITDA of 19.9 million."We see the company as having a higher risk profile than its peers," said Bosse, who rates Escada a "sell". Escada trades at about 12 times 2009 earnings and the sector average is 14.5." Some attempt at salvaging the crumbling brand had been made in June 2007 when Chief Executive Jean-Marc Loubier took over and there was "a five-year plan to win market share and raise profits by expanding into higher-margin accessories, shutting some stores and renovating others". But Escada's shares leapt 15 percent on Nov. 26 on rumours of a bid by French group Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. 2009 was even bleaker... Hiring Michael Boernicke, the former chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere as finance chief last February, replacing chief financial officer, Markus Schuerholz, the results weren't up on a par with expectations. The company is currently in talks about a takeover. Judicial administrator Christian Gerlof is set to announce the news in a few days. Fashion designer Wolfgang Joop, as well as Nickolaus Becker, a Munich lawyer, expressed interest in taking over the reins at the fashion house. Offers are rumoured to be running into the 9 figures (that's in euros).
However Escada is keeping up images by engaging newly popular Olivia Wilde, a TV star from series Dr.House, to front the newest Escada fragrance for women, Desire Me. Desire Me by Escada follows Incredible Me from 2008 and is a fruity floral gourmand with notes of citrus, mandarin, green notes, peony, dark chocolate and coffee notes.
In a quote ms.Wilde said: "For me, Esacada stands as a synonym to style, refinement and sensuality. I love being considered an Escada woman and I think the majority of women would aspire to possess the admirable qualities that the perfume incarnates so perfectly".
The intricasies of the luxury market as attested through the beauty sector are unraveled into high-shine offices at corporate buildings. Yet, here at Perfume Shrine from time to time, we comment on those developments as a brief finger on the pulse of market tendencies, cautioning our readers on what to expect later on.
The latest news has Interparfums, makers of parfumes for Burberry, Lanvin and Christian Lacroix among others, announcing a 5% decline (amounting to 121,3 millions euros for the first semester of 2009 instead of the 273 millions anticipated for the whole year). A drop that is cutting the rise they had experienced in recent years. The case for Lacroix and his closing the house is of course well documented by now, with Bernard Krief Consulting a strong contestant till now and the recent Italian Borletti expressing a wish to buy it out. Even French minister Frédéric Mitterrand had expressed a desire to find a solution for the house, which during the 1980s had been one of the most influential in French fashion.
With that climate it makes for little surprise that there is a diminished interest in Lacroix perfumes; they were circulating through the Avon canal for a while, in a smart move to continue to be offered. Recent news however implicate Avon in letting go no less than 1200 employees, which bears ill forecasts on the future of Lacroix perfumes as well. Burberry represents 64% of the share of Interparfums and was looking relatively healthy till now, despite the 4% drop during the first trimester of 2009. They're even opening their biggest boutique in South-East Asia, the ION Orchard in Singapore, covering 815 square meters full of the British fashions of the historic brand.
Whatever the case is Interparfums and their head of affairs, Phillipe Benacin, are looking ahead at acquiring contracts with "well-known brands" and specializing at luxury. For some odd reason (or not so odd) the luxury market is withstanding the crisis, with Hermès opening their first boutique in Brazil next September, a project eagerly anticipated by the more affluent among the country's buyers. Then again, Hermès International has announced a turnover of even better than anticipated for the first semester of 2009! Their new Eau de Cologne collection is rekindling interest and they have salvaged their luxury image unscathed. The succession of Jane Lauder, 36, of her father Ronald, 65 into the head administartion consulting of Estée Lauder and their successful Private Collection trio, of which the latest instalment, the lovely nouveau chypre Jasmine White Moss, is a commercial and artistic success, shows that the old American brand is trying to monitor their drop of 10% in the last trimester.
As we had previously discussed in our Luxury Market amidst the Recession article, the only way for something to survive in the middle-market is to change market-point and look upwards into the higher echelons and the raised prices. Jean Claude Ellena had said it succinctly: "If you want luxury, you either increase the price or increase the size" and it seems like the perfume market has embraced the concept.
Still, in an unprecedented turn of events, Dolce & Gabbana decided recently to down-market (so to speak) their upcoming autumn and winter collections, especially the more mainstream and Jeans lines, by supressing costs that would be trickled down to the consumer's benefit, reflected into the price. What remains to be seen is what happens with their perfumes line. The latest Tarot-inspired anthology although eagerly anticipated and publisized as the new "niche" line within a brand seemed to take a page off Chanel looks-wise, but didn't really ripple the waters smell-wise.
Fast-fowarding to the future ofmarketing for beauty and perfumes, the experts at Carlin International predict a greater meshing of the olfactive orientation, fusing elements of masculine and feminine not only in the composition of the jus itself but also in the wording used in advertising and the packaging of perfumes, as well as cosmetics. Natural tones and an urban feel will be the new direction with futuristic shapes: The curvacous and the straight will be manipulated into hybrids of andogyny in the design and packaging of products, new shapes that play with our perception (Is it a shaving brush or a pinceau for applying blusher? Is it a razor or a device to apply foundation?) to help market perfumes and beauty paraphernalia to what has become a wide, unisex market. A brave new world, indeed!
According to Maryline Le Theuf (Source: cosmetiquemag, mars 2009) and a survey of 2500 women between 15 and 24 years of age in France (NB the survey was conducted through 18 May 2008), the annual budget of hygiene/beauty products of that demographic (15% of the French population) has been raised to 240 per year corresponding to 22 purchases in the same time frame. The amount spent by those over 25 is 262 per year for the same number of purchases, explained by the slightly costlier items purchased by women with greater economic independence. The percentages are grossly taken by makeup (85% of this demographic in contrast to 63% total in France) and hair products (I guess we all recall our troubled identity-searching teenage-hair- days!). It's impressive however to see that those young women buy a lot of products off catalogues and the internet on what concerns fashion and the trend extends to perfumes, with 52% of the 20-24 year olds having acquired 4,5 products via the Net. Makes you re-think the retail prices on several fragrances, doesn't it?
It's natural to think that in times of downsizing and economic difficulties for the vast majority of people in the western world via a domino-effect of the world economy, prices of goods should follow and adjust to demand and reduced affluence. Interestingly and somewhat perversely, the luxury market differentiates itself from the above mentioned syllogism in its agressive ~yet macroeconomically sane~ swift that seemingly raises prices to truly unatainable levels for most. The crux of the matter is why? What repurcussions is this creating? And where will it stop? In discussing this with online acquaintances, some of which happen to be investors, I came across interesting and eye-opening facts from which I deduct some conclusions concerning the marketing course that is being shaped.
The business headlines were rampant with pessimistic sounding news: Porsche sales skidding by 36%, Daimler sales sliding by 35%, Tiffany cutting forecast, as their post holiday sales declined by 21% and the luxe store Saks Fifth Avenue cutting jobs after facing a decline of their stock from $18 to $2.41 per share. So did Burberrys. "After a holiday season marked by steep discounting, the sector, whose clientele traditionally didn't worry about price, finds itself forced to redefine "luxury" while searching for ways to lure paying customers back into their stores." [source]. The quintessential American group of fragrances and cosmetics, the Lauder Group, cut forecast too, cutting 550million$ of costs by laying off people. And yet, right and left, I have been watching prices get raised in many items that are specifically attached to the point of focus of this very venue, ie.fine fragrance.
There were rumours by the end of last year that luxury brands would lower their prices, but so far nothing in that direction has materialized. Ironically, lowering the prices damages the prestige, the image, the very "unattainability" which is de iuro the very definition of luxury itself. During hardship people will specify their purchases geared by the very notion of prestige and what is perceived as quality, i.e. buying things that are not cheap but also do not lose their value long-term. Brands like Hermès or Chanel are sort of benefiting from this course, treating it to different effects: Whereas Chanel ~having the most recgnisable luxe brand on the planet~ is trying to handle both the wanna-be luxury participants crowding for its more mainstream products and the connoisseurs hankering after the more arcane , Hermès is playing it old-school, patrician sang froid (ie. not seen to be making an effort, although obviously nothing is left to chance). To wit: Their fourth-quarter revenues rose 6.2%, despite a 13% drop in Japan.[source] "The definition of luxury is going to evolve," said Saks Chief Executive Steve Sadove in an interview. "Consumers still want brands and luxury even though they may think of it differently. Anyone that says luxury is dead, they are wrong". Across the board, top-end retailers are trimming costs and inventory and launching initiatives aimed at drumming up business without resorting to profit-eroding discounts. A sense of urgency is evident, as the economic downturn that has been pinching the rest of the retail sector for months finally caught up with the premium end of the market. [source]
Yet the French luxury giant LVMH buoyed by strong performances from Parfums Christian Dior and perfumery chain Sephora, has flouted the global recession by posting full-year global sales growth of 4% and keeping profits despite everything. Which is the probable explanation and rationalisation of the bombardment of launches from their fragrance lion-share holder, parfums Guerlain, which we have been discussing here for some time now and which incidentally raised their prices of their boutique catalogue as of last week. But other players in the field aren't far behind as French beauty giant L’Oréal is set to open its first ever standalone combining two of its brands, the US-based Kiehl’s and Japanese makeup artist and beauty brand Shu Uemura, in Strasbourg, France, this month. A new shop with rather upmarket brands? Who would have thought it a good move. And yet! Diptyque has been issuing new products and is set to raise their prices too. Certain American e-tailers of niche fragrances on the other hand have been cunningly raising their prices without much fanfare while all the while advertising sales to their numerous customers, when the parent company of Euro-origin has not raised their own prices to the same products!
Furthermore, there are subdivisions within the luxury beauty market that is knowing a growth instead of a downturn: "The beauty business may be suffering as a whole in the US and Europe, but the natural personal-care segment posted double-digit growth in both regions, according to new data from US market-research group Kline & Company" [source].
The question of how to price luxury items and the outlook for the sector sparked a lively debate among two top executives attending the Financo event, namely between Mickey Drexler, chief executive of J. Crew Group Inc and Neiman Marcus's Tansky. The latter defended his end of the market with these words: "We've been forced to compete on price and price alone, and we don't like it," he said. "It's essential that we as an industry find a way to put a stop to this. There remains a segment who wants finer things. Unique and special merchandising is still selling better than mundane things. We have to retrain our customers. We are trying to think outside of the box that's not price-driven." To that there are other sympathizers and accolytes: "I don't think people are going to stop aspiring," said Marty Wikstrom, non-executive director of Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, a founding partner in Atelier Management LLC, which specializes in buying and developing luxury brands. And furthermore, it's spelled out for us by Terry Lundgren, chief executive of Macy's: "It's time to make sure you've got exciting inventory. Certainly industry inventory has to be in line with consumer demand. It's been out of whack for too long. There's too much sameness. You need to have merchandise harder to find and have it special." Trunk shows, designer appearences, pampering of good customers is following too to rekindle the buying desire bug.
So there in a nutshell you have the direction the market is going to in the following months or even next couple of years. It is only the more mid-market brands that will try to interject more affordable new products in their inventory to try to attract and retain spending from their core clientele so as not to lose them. (Low-end market is considered non applicable as the initial outlay doesn't seem that important from the point of view of the consumer). Don't expect cut-backs from your favourite luxury and the select niche brands which will survive unscathed, however; on the contrary do expect them to raise their prices and agressively demand your choice over other competitors' products by making their merchandise -and I quote- "hard to find" and "special"!
It's high time we bring the luxury market back to task and remind them the time-honoured economic law of supply and demand.
The emblematic fragrance of the 90s, the unisex CK One by Calvin Klein is relaunching with a new television and print ad campaign (shot by the legendary Steven Meisel), a beautiful song written by British musician and model Jamie Burke and a special, limited edition fragrance bottle packaged with an mP3 speaker. The idea behind relaunch of the CK One fragrance is about bringing people together, regardless of their differences in age, culture, race or gender. It's about coming together, through the common and universal language of music. From WWD by Julie Naughton (issue 01/09/2009):
"Calvin Klein plans to bring new attention to its CK One franchise with a new TV campaign to be launched Jan. 20. [...]"The CK One ‘We are one’ campaign is inspired by a social movement of people coming together in the spirit of unity,” said Catherine Walsh, senior vice president of American fragrances for Coty Prestige, noting the campaign’s centerpiece is a song commissioned from British musician Jamie Burke — who appears in the print and TV ads for this campaign, as well as two Calvin Klein Jeans spots. “There is such a natural synergy between the message of the campaign and the essence of our new president’s platform that it seemed the ideal moment to share the TV spot. The campaign — and its original song — give voice to an optimistic new generation, that certainly made its voice heard in the latest election. This is a celebration of the power of coming together as one.” Charlotta Perlangeli, vice president of global marketing for Calvin Klein Fragrances, added that the song will be available as a free iTunes download and on Ckone.com. “We believe it will help consumers relate more personally to the campaign,” she said. A print ad, featuring Burke with models of all shapes, sizes and skin tones, will begin running in February fashion, beauty, lifestyle and music magazines in the U.S. The campaign will also be online at CKone.com. Both campaigns were created with Laird and Partners; Francis Lawrence filmed the TV spot, which includes 30- and 60-second cuts. Steven Meisel shot the print ad. Coty is reinforcing the music ties with a limited edition version of CK One. The bottle, which is emblazoned with the words “We are one” in a number of languages, is set into a base which includes a removable MP3 speaker. In addition, Coty will launch an all-over body spray in the CK One franchise. It is intended to be a lighter version of the CK One scent and is dispensed with an oversize pump, said Walsh. It will retail for $26. While Walsh wouldn’t discuss projected spending or sales figures, industry sources estimated the total media spend globally could top $25 million. Sources also estimated that the two limited edition products and the campaign’s effects could add $30 million to the franchise’s bottom line in the next year. More than 90 million scented impressions are planned globally".
Not coincidentally this relaunch coincides with the optimistic, all-inclusive spirit that has been instilled at the inaugauration of the new US president Barack Obama and his speech. The time is therefore prime for anthropological marketing that takes into consideration the very sensitive sensibilities of a culture founded on the principles of inclusion of all races, all religions and all sexual preferences. Unfortunately for many, the "One Drop Rule" seems to have been a custom in the United States for a long time, ie. "a historical colloquial term in the United States that holds that a person with any trace of African ancestry is considered black unless having an alternative non-white ancestry which he or she can claim, such as Native American, Asian, Arab, or Australian aboriginal. It developed most strongly out of the binary culture of long years of institutionalized slavery.[...]The one-drop rule was a tactic in the U.S. South that codified and strengthened segregation and the disfranchisement of most blacks and many poor whites from 1890-1910[..]Legislatures sought to prevent interracial relationships to keep the white race "pure", long after slaveholders and overseers took advantage of enslaved women and produced the many mixed-race children". (The following article is interesting to peruse).
In the historic times we're living, when the president himself is of black ancestry, it makes sense that such customs are better being left behind. Although it is no doubt of great importance to honour one's roots, an individual's human right is to feel however he/she wants to feel about them and not being dictated on how to, the right of self-definition becoming of paramount gravity; choosing to wear a label by ones'self or not choosing to. Subtler and more voluntary than hereditary traits such as religious choices should follow, naturally. And as to whether someone self-defines in the issue of gender, this is something that although still quite controversial is curiously often regarded with more lenience than religious or racial differences, perhaps due to the comparatively much smaller scale of those deviating from what is considered "average". Still, in a time when a transexual man gives birth to a baby, everything seems possible! So even such a small thing as an advertising campaign that encompasses people of mixed races is a good thing! Nevertheless, I am looking forward to Coty Prestige choosing to show people of all ages in their advertisements, as the concept, placement and execution of the relaunch is clearly geared towards quite young people. As to the tyranny of beauty in advertisng (all the faces and bodies I see on the current advertisements are simply gorgeous) this is a general phenomenon in the market for fragrances and cosmetics. Due to my classical education and ancestry I personally embrace beauty for the ethical value that it definitely is in my own mind; yet I wouldn't be happy considering less than beautiful people excluded from such a thing as an all-encompassing campaign. Food for thought, dear advertisers!
For more information about CK One, you can visit the official ck one Facebook page, as well as the CK One YouTube channel. The limited edition of CKone packaged with an mP3 speaker is available at Macy's retailing for for 50$US.
Some time ago, last August to be exact, Perfume Shrine had speculated that Guerlain would be issuing new perfumes soon with city/travel names etc. (you can read that article here) Among the already registered, copyrighted names was Habit Noir (=black dress). The name was eerily reminiscent of the classic masculine in the Guerlain range, Habit Rouge. It was perhaps the stroke of unoriginality to name something "noir" amidst a plethora of products on the market termed Black-this and Noir-that. Even Guerlain themselves had recently issued the limited edition bottle Black Mystery for their iconic Shalimar! It took a reader of mine to point out that Aromamundi had been privy to interesting facts:
"This sweet gentleman had access to the new Guerlain Homme quite some time ago, and talks about new Guerlain releases for 2009, including ("including", goodness gracious!), I quote, a "Voyages à ..." series (might be the capitals you spotted?), "Une Petite Robe Noire" centered around a candied cherry note*, and the "Habit Noir" you talked about".
To which I had replied:
"Voyages must be the line with the capital cities, Habit Noir must indeed be another Habit Rouge flanker and the Petite Robe Noire (sounds like an Frenchified Avon that one!! LOL) must be a new feminine limited edition, perhaps".
Une Petite Robe Noire has materialized and is set to go it seems, according to this press release appearing on Vogue.fr, hence the picture:
The fragrance, a fruity gourmand, starts on notes of Sicilian citron, licorice and almond*, over a heart of rose and smoky tea to finish on a musky and vanillic background ~translation by Helg
*{NB: Please remember how often the cherry-pie note and almond are referenced in heliotropin-based fragrances, which is one of the key ingredients in Guerlain fragrances}. The bottle is the classic Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue design with a sketch of a negligée-looking black dress on it that reminds me of several things: for starters Plum Syke's heroines of the chic-lit novel "Bergdorf Blondes" (English mid-maintenance girl goes to NYC and conforms to high-maintenance lifestyle aiding her "catch" the perfect romantic suitor where she leasts expect it); then the illustrations by Ruben Toledo in Laren Stover's delightfully light and fun "The Bombshell Manual of Style" (a beauty boards' afficionados best-seller); and finally the "girly" stationnery that looks like something coming out of a Sex & the City old filofax. If I judge by comparable "guides" to looking elegant or looking French (tongue-in cheek or not) or even more weirdly living a la Francaise there is a wide market for that sort of thing! (I urge you to click on the links and see for yourself; one of the basic taglines for the book is "perfect black dress". Come to think of it, it's interesting to search "little black dress" on Amazon by itself!). And no nation wants to be Frencher than the North-Americans (the love-and-hate between those two cultures is well-documented). It's interesting to note that all those guides are written by English-speaking individuals with various degrees of competency or indeed fashion sense/knowledge (this one commits the grave faux pas of attributing an emblematic Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn to Coco Chanel for instance!)
The above observations are completely my own and Guerlain is not corroborating (nor refuting yet) any of the above. Yet, they're there! A direction towards the American market seems Guerlain's latest strategy it seems, as discussed in detail in The Guerlain Conundrum article here. But more importantly I sense a further disorientation in strategic mapping out: As succinctly our guest writer AlbertCan noted on Now Smell This :
"The little black dress? How is this referencing the Guerlain heritage?(Getting into Chanel marketing territory--yet again)".
Another reader comments on the heels of that:
"As for the "invention" of the black dress which has become a classic, I think this is now in the public domain. Most designers put them out and black is worn ubiquitously outside of funerals."
and another
"there is some book cover with a little dress... and it's a white dress, but it reminds me of that bottle"
and yet another
"Is it just me or did Guerlain just scoop up a name that would have been perfect for a new Chanel perfume instead?"
Aside from the well-known fact that Avon already has a fragrance exploiting the concept of the "little black dress" since 2001 in -you guessed it!- Little Black Dress by Avon, the name alludes clearly to what is considered a "chic" French classic. Vogue.fr presents the new Guerlain fragrance with the tagline "un parfum déjà culte" (an already cult perfume). Clearly the "cult" is the harvesting of the iconic status of the little black dress, a concept synonymous with images from another era.
But the thing is, the little black dress matched with the set of pearls and the red lipstick is such a cliché now that no truly chic woman in French-inspired Europe (or at least in the circles I move in!) readily chooses to wear it any more. I am not disputing the ease, comfort and elegance of the little black dress idea. I even have several in my own wardrobe. It is a landmark in the history of fashion for a reason! I am merely commenting on the over-analysed, over-simplified "trickling down" of its appeal which has conspired to ultimately cheapen it ("wear this and feel like Audrey Hepburn" proclaim all the rock-bottom and mid-price lines ~sorry, that ain't gonna happen that easily..). Personally, Hepburn physique non-conforming aside, I would never pick a little black dress for a semi-formal/formal occasion now exactly because it's so expected, nor would I pick a fragrance "to go with it" as a result.
But here is the really interesting part and pay attention, dear readers: One of the quite frequent questions appearing on fragrance-discussing fora on the Internet is about what fragrance to match with a certain "look". There was this example on a very popular forum a while ago, which I am linking here for your perusal and no doubt interesting deductions. The question was paused by a lovely American lady from New Jersey:
"This Saturday I will be attending a pretty swanky wedding. Guests have been asked to wear black and white attire. A friend gave me a gorgeous designer cocktail dress which I had fitted perfectly. It's very Audrey Hepburn and I can't wait to wear it. My mother had vintage heels and a bag which are the perfect compliment to the dress. I have not been this excited to dress up since my own wedding. Now that my clothing and jewelery are selected I've turned my attention to fragrance. What shall I wear? So, dear POL members, what fragrance would you wear with your "Little black dress"? I hope to be inspired by some of your suggestions."
I will save you the trouble of wading through the thread if you lack the time. I did it for you: The resounding answer is "something from Chanel" amidst other recs, very few of which happen to be Guerlains. Something tells me headquarters are paying very, very close attention to what is being discussed online (the new marketing is taking note of online communities) and trying to come up with the tricky part of reconciliating the appeasal of the core fans of the Guerlain brand with the commercial potential of their new products. The task is Herculean, it's easy to lapse, alas and I am not unsympathetic: We LOVE Guerlain around here, if you've been reading Perfume Shrine regularly. And until I get my own share of juice to judge I cannot proclaim whether it is good or bad naturally. But the news of the launch do give pause for thought, so I decided it's interesting to bring it into the open discussion arena and therefore I would be genuinely interested in your opinion, dear readers; here in the comments or privately if you prefer. As always rest assured that Perfume Shrine is respectful of every range of opinion.
Oh, and I almost forgot: of course La Petite Robe Noire is going to be an exclusive at Guerlain boutiques starting February at 100 euros for 50ml., which I have to admit is not unreasonable (Should you be concerned for Habit Rouge, there is a Sport version out shortly, see our previous news)
sam•sa•ra Pronunciation: \səm-‘sär-ə\ Function: noun Etymology: Sanskrit saṁsāra, literally, passing through Date: 1886 : the indefinitely repeated cycles of birth, misery, and death caused by karma
—Merriam-Webster On-Line Dictionary Definition.
Years later I’m still surprised by the paradoxical creature known as the original Guerlain Samsara marketing campaign (1989). Although the fragrance itself has now recognized as one of the diffusive bombshells of the 80s (partly contributed by women who unabashedly applied reapplied ad nauseum back then), the concept was infused with a subtle ironic tone which few had recognized to this day—tongues firmly planted in cheek from day one. In fact, the overall concept can be interpreted in so many different ways that, combined with the subsequent urban legends, I have no choice but hail the whole thing as a marvel. After all, how can a seemingly innocent tale of oriental incarnation points(slyly) to the truth about the eventual corporate fall of venerable perfumery house, in ways that I suspect few still fully comprehend?
Few may dismiss my claims until one realizes that the development process of Guerlain Samsara was a grand departure from its predecessors, for it was the first project which utilized fragrance marketing. (Yes, I understand how vulgar the “m” word may be to some Perfume Shrine readers—but read on.) Before Guerlain Samsara the fragrance formulation was the exact opposite: juice first, concept second. In fact, the developmental processes of classics such as Jicky, Mitsouko, Shalimar were not fully indebted to their romantic muses, be it personal anecdote (the British Jacqueline who couldn’t marry Aimé Guerlain), heroine of a novel by Claude Farrère (homage to the heroine of "La Bataille"), or the Mughal architecture wonder in Lahore, Pakistan (a.k.a. “the abode of love” in Sanskrit). No, the business model in the pre-Samsara era was akin to home-style pasta cooking: if it was any good the fragrance would stick.
However such a R&D method was not a mean of effective business management in the post-Opium era, especially since other designer fragrances such as Givenchy Ysatis (1984), Chanel Coco (1984), and Calvin Klein Obsession (1985) were dominating various markets while Guerlain Nahéma (1979) and Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle (1983) flopped, especially in the North American market[1]. With this in mind Guerlain did two unusual things when developing the next massive launch: requested submissions from the Big Boys and initiated a project with a fragrance brief. Eventually the name Samsara was officially chosen as the name of the fragrance.
By now most people probably have seen the following PR write up: "Jean-Paul Guerlain was so moved by a woman whose inner beauty evoked a serene sensuality, he created a perfume just for her - Samsara. A fragrance that embraces and intoxicates, it is a seductive oriental made for a woman who conveys harmony and spirituality. Jasmine combines with the warmth of sandalwood, while powdery and vanilla notes magnify this blend". The statement above is almost a direct contradiction to the official definition of the Buddhist term! In fact, when Samsara was launched in Asia it received its share of puzzled looks: in my memory serves me well one of the spiritual writers from the Mandarin-speaking regions (林清玄) actually published articles about how the newest fragrance illustrated the lure of the material world and the emptiness it implies. (I read that article once back in 1990 so please do not quote me—still, I remember the author’s view on Samsara was less than stellar because of its supposed connection to the “harmonious reincarnation”.) To be fair Guerlain did not do itself any favour when it announced (upon its Asian launch at least) that the perfumer (supposedly Jean-Paul Guerlain), was “enlightened” after praying for hours in a remote temple…So why the whole fuss? If Guerlain wanted to appease its Asian market wouldn’t it be easier to call the scent Nirvana? (Remember, the grunge band didn’t its first album until 1988.) Well, the questions ultimately point to the basis of Buddhism: while explaining the paradigm of Buddhism is beyond the scope of this review I shall offer a part of my understanding since it ultimately points to an interesting truth.
One of the major issues that many religions need to address is the sufferings experienced by mankind: how can one elevate from the everyday spiritual sufferings? Legends have it that Buddhism originated when Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, upon meeting his subject for the first time, discovered earthly pains associated with aging, disease, and corpses. Since he father forbid the prince to study all spiritual matters the young man later set out to uncover the root of the problem. (It was prophesized upon Gautama’s birth that the prince would become either a great king or a great spiritual leader: naturally the king forbid his son to study spirituality.) Of course, Siddhārtha Gautama later gained enlightenment and became Buddha.
What Gautama supposedly envisioned during his meditation right before the enlightenment is worth repeating. Under a Bodhi tree, Gautama witnessed the human cycles and the consequences as a result: a perpetual motion of greed, jealousy, hatred, all of which are caused by ignorance. In fact, finding to starting point of such suffering is futile, much akin to finding the starting point of a circle. The cycle of such troubling human experience, of course, is samsara.
At this point you might be wondering how the first photo featured in this post fit into the grand scheme of things—it is, in fact, a samsara wheel, complete with all the states associated with the phenomenon. Of course, samsara is not merely reincarnation or karma: from my understanding the pains of repeating oneself due to karmic bonds and/or debts that allows the samsara cycle to continue...(for more information on the stages within a samsara wheel, as well as the meaning behind various depictions within the thangka above, please refer to the excellent interactive guide here.) Well, does the projected image much more akin to nirvana? Not exactly—in fact I think nirvana will be a fairly poor choice upon examining the official definition by Merriam-Webster:
nir•va•na Pronunciation: \nir-‘vä-nə, (,)nər-\ Function: noun Usage: often capitalized Etymology: Sanskrit nirvāṇa, literally, act of extinguishing, from nis- out + vāti it blows — more at wind Date: 1801
1: the final beatitude that transcends suffering, karma, and samsara and is sought especially in Buddhism through the extinction of desire and individual consciousness 2 a: a place or state of oblivion to care, pain, or external reality
The real essence of nirvana isn’t the equivalent of an oriental heaven, full of exotic pleasures. (Such earthly thoughts create more earthly delights until the karmic force runs out, remember?) Instead, nirvana is the cease and the decease of earthly desires, thereby wiping out samasara. All of which makes nirvana, by definition, an indescribable state—since nirvana is beyond the use of the five senses or even the duality-driven state of the human experience. Yet, Buddhism advocates that such surrender is merely a choice to go beyond the transient entertainment of the human experience and realize that the greater truth is the integration of everything in life—thus can only be experienced, not said in words since describing the state requires choosing one’s words, thereby separating some experiences from others [2]. In the end, I suppose Guerlain can’t pick a name that implies the cease and the decease of the consciousness!
Aside from the incoherence of between the projected image and the name the olfactory theme of Guerlain Samsara couldn’t have been more appropriate. Jasmine and sandalwood, aside from producing a sensual oriental alliance when expertly combined, actually capture the imagination of many Asian countries despite the cultural differences within the regions. While Helg has kindly explored the use of jasmine in perfumery in ways that I can never imagine in her excellent jasmine series, it’s worth noting that to many Asians the flower serves as spiritual shorthand of the various cultures within this region—there’s more to jasmine than, for instance, the vital ingredient in the classic jasmine tea. For instance, the iconic Mandarin folksong “Muo Li Hua” (茉莉花), taught in Chinese elementary schools as soon as the second grade, becomes the symbol of Asian aesthetics. (It is even used by Puccini as a theme in Turandot, most prominently in the middle of Perché tarda la luna? in Act I. More recently the famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou had used it liberally when directing various events related to the Beijing Olympics.) I’ve heard of many versions of this melody and to demonstrate the phenomenon I have a YouTube concert highlight featuring the Vienna Boys Choir (the pronunciation and intonation are quite spot on, by the way). I think all this indicates how the jasmine has become to represent oriental aesthetics.
Jean-Paul Guerlain’s source of inspiration might turn out to be different from a Buddhist temple after hours of meditation. Michael Edwards reported in Perfume Legends: French Feminine Fragrances that Jean-Paul was set out to seduce Decia de Powell, an English woman who shared his passion for equestrianism. Upon being asked what fragrance would she like to wear, Decia supposedly asked for a concoction of jasmine and sandalwood as far back as 1985—and the final result supposedly contained up to 30% of sandalwood extract, one of the precious perfumery ingredients due to the diminishing population of the sandalwood tree and its slow-growing nature. (Jean-Paul also added, among many other things, Sandalore in order to create a powerful sandalwood effect.) But the perfumery industry can readily reveal contradictory stories and this is where Samsara’s story starts to take on a colourful spin: did Guerlain ultimately picked Jean-Paul’s submission for Samsara?
While nearly all official Guerlain PR material back up the master perfumer fully for years the perfumery industry members whisper among themselves that Guerlain Samsara might have been the first Guerlain fragrance created by an outsider. (Quel horreur! C'est absolument incroyable!) The story is even more bizarre when CNN reported nearly three years ago that nose Jacques Chabert was the nose behind Guerlain’s Samsara (and Chanel's Cristalle)…, further adding confusion and complexity to the urban myth…
Of course, Guerlain isn’t completely innocent in this regard: when Mathilde Laurent joined Cartier a few years ago the creator Shalimar Eau Légère (2003) strangely became Jean-Paul Guerlain after the master perfumer supposedly “optimized” the fragrance with citrus oils such as bergamot according to the Guerlain PR team. (How can the original be short of hesperidic top notes is still beyond me.) Champs- Élysées (1996) might have received a similar treatment since the olfactory strokes [3] are a bit different compared to the classic Jean-Paul Guerlain creations. (My guess would be Dominique Ropion after sampling Une Fleur de Cassie by Frédéric Malle, though the depth of the latter is unquestionably better honed.) Mostly interestingly, many Guerlain sales associates are still taught that L’Instant de Guerlain (2003) was created by a Guerlain family member despite the fact that Maurice Roucel was officially credited as the nose behind the project—the training documents supposedly indicated otherwise in some cases... Sure, many people have attributed Guerlain’s recent perfumery downfall from grace to the corporate greed of LVMH—but I feel that there must have been something wrong in the first place that caused the family to sell the corporation to the conglomerate. After all, as opposed to the Givenchy takeover (hostile in nature by all accounts) LVMH bought the brand upon years of mismanagement. I don’t believe for a second that it was simply a case that someone spending too much on guaranteeing the supply of costly essences, not after knowing the factors behind the failure of Nahéma, for instance. Management problems existed before the LVMH takeover—it wasn’t simply a matter of under finance that plagued many French luxury firms.
Years ago I read a short paragraph that ended up saying more to this day than many sources could articulate. Cathy Newman, a reporter for the National Geographic and the author of "Perfume: The Art and Science of Scent", once interviewed a noted industry member. While the man didn’t go into the specifics he indicated that the Guerlain family was a group of “octogenarians” who constantly “squabbled” over money and other matters. The traditional Guerlain management structure used to dictate the separation to duties among siblings and/or cousins, which potentially created strains even during fragrance formulation (as Jean-Paul Guerlain said during some interviews) as the cost of material may exceed the limits imposed by the other departments… Please don’t get me wrong: I’m not indicating that the Guerlain legacy less than it should have been—but to say that the family dynamic was a smooth sail and placed the LVMH acquisition squarely to the lure of the global corporation was not exactly correct either. Guerlain got sold not because the audience didn’t get the fragrance masterpieces—Guerlain got sold because the namesake family couldn’t identify the effective management strategies. (Interestingly enough, LVMH is still looking for ways to properly manage the Guerlain portfolio, as many perfumistas will sadly tell you. I suppose history does repeat itself.)
So the fragrance that was released 100 years after the launch of Jicky said so much more with its name than it should when the Sanskrit word originally described the sadness associated with karmic bonds: suppose Samsara also indicated all the emotions that the Guerlain (corporate entity) must have gone though over the centuries?
Fragrance-wise Samsara is arguably beyond just a simple combination of jasmine and sandalwood. Dr. Luca Turin once commented how the classic Guerlain compositions used quite a bit of Provençal herbs such as thyme and rosemary: Samsara subtly opens with lemon and tarragon, although the jasmine-sandalwood alliance can be strongly felt from the get go—making the bouquet largely powdery with a 80s lilt. (Peach is also mentioned as a top note in some sources, although to me it isn’t a prominent player—at least not in the famed Mitsouko context.) As the scent progresses ylang ylang further supports the jasmine idea with a spicy touch, concurred by carnation and rose. The overall aesthetic is round and smooth—as if invisible hands are arching the elements into concentric spirals, leaving an interesting sillage—sophisticated but strong-willed before the fragrance settles into the typical Guerlain balsamic-amber base with the aforementioned sandalwood as the main lead.
(I hate to say this…but I wonder more than once if Catherine Deneuve used Samsara during the filming of Indochine, for the complex love story can certainly be described as heavily karmic in nature![4] )
As for the famed packaging Michael Edwards reported that the pagoda-shaped bottle was in fact inspired by a Cambodian dancer statue displayed at Musée Guimet: the legs forms the outer shape of the bottle as the head forms the stopper…(no prize for guessing why red and gold are chosen as the colours).
Helg talked about how Guerlain’s model profiling in its ads and her theory certainly bears some interesting truth when considering the following ad:
So I urge everyone to re-examine this creation more than a blast from the past—the stories behind the creation itself are more than what one can bargain for!
Notes for Samsara by Guerlain: jasmine, ylang ylang, narcissus, sandalwood, iris, tonka bean, vanilla
Samsara is available wherever Guerlain perfumes are stocked. Two " discontinued "flankers that bear no olfactory relation are Un air de Samsara and Samsara Shine.
[1] Although the concept would be considered very foreign to the non-French speakers, Guerlain’s problem with the North American market might also have to do with its refusal to deliver extra sales incentives, a practice that was commonplace in North America. In short, I don’t believe it’s simply the diffusive juice that ultimately caused the failure of a juice: after all, as we all know a terrible juice can be quite profitable if managed properly (much to the horror of perfumistas). [2] I’m not a Buddhist and an even lousier student in religious matters: my little write-up on Buddhist terms only serves as an illustration to the terms associated with this fragrance. [3]Similar to writers and painters perfumers (especially the established ones) do have their olfactory styles, mostly due to their preferred ingredients and aesthetics. People who are highly trained can even conduct personality tests based on the olfactory signatures. According to Sophia Gorjsman the perfumers actually recognize each other’s olfactory signatures upon smelling a fragrance. [4]The Tale of Genji, the world’s oldest novel by Murasaki Shikibu, certainly attribute the protagonist’s often futile (and nearly incestuous in some cases) relationships with various female leads as deeply karmic.
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