I’ve been looking for
a new fragrance for a while now, ever since I noticed my Bleu de Chanel was
slowly but inevitably disappearing. I fell in love with it two years ago and
have to say I am still obsessed it with it.
But it’s time for
something new, even though I’m sure I’ll come back to Bleu again in the future.
With the mass of fragrances there are out there, I’ve been rooting through
interviews, reviews, searching through prominent parfumiers’ work and trying to understand which ones really are fragrances, as opposed to a marketing
ideas or brand revivals.
As much as I have always
fallen for the campaigns which build up the reputation, the idea of going to
the source of the fragrance has become my main interest. A new fragrance which works with smells
created especially (as opposed to creating a mix of commonly used chemicals) is 7 Billion Hearts, by
Christopher Brosius. He originally worked for Demeter, and created fragrances
such as Dirt, Snow and Thunderstorm, all highly influential
fragrances in terms of the history of the industry, and moved on to creating his own company, I Hate Perfume. His work focuses on
slightly more abstract smells, like falling snow, or dirt.
Similarly, other parfumiers like Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, founders of LeLabo use ‘pure’ perfume ingredients as opposed to chemical blends. I’ve definitely fallen for the philosophy behing Etat Libre D’Orange’s work, with their humourous perfumes, such as Fils de Dieu (a wild mix of Ginger, Rice, Ambre and leather) or Je Suis Un Homme (Bergamote based, which Napoleon allegedly used before going to battles…).
Similarly, other parfumiers like Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, founders of LeLabo use ‘pure’ perfume ingredients as opposed to chemical blends. I’ve definitely fallen for the philosophy behing Etat Libre D’Orange’s work, with their humourous perfumes, such as Fils de Dieu (a wild mix of Ginger, Rice, Ambre and leather) or Je Suis Un Homme (Bergamote based, which Napoleon allegedly used before going to battles…).
 |
| Le Labo |
Apart from
the Tom ford lines and my faithful
Chanel, I have to say a lot of the big fashion houses’ perfumes don’t appeal to
me. A trip to Etat Libre D’Orange is
in order on my next trip to Paris. The search continues, as it turns out going
down unbeaten tracks has been fruitful in terms of more avant-garde creations.
Do you have
any recommendations? What fragrance do you use? And how did you choose it? Let’s
hear it!
Patrick
