The New Scent Renegades
Fragrances used to come only from grand houses with famous names. But there are some new artists in the atelier, parfuming by their own rules.
By Lindsy Van Gelder and Alexandra Owens
Perfumer: Francis Kurkdjian of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris
Creations: A line of perfumes for his namesake Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris collection, including the Best of Beauty–winning Amyris Femme and Aqua Universalis Forte, as well as scents for other fragrances houses (Dior Eau Noire, Giorgio Armani Armani Mania,and Narciso Rodriguez for Her, to name a few). He also designs one-of-a-kind fragrances from scratch to complement a client’s tastes and personality.
Inspiration: ”When I interview a client, I never ask about age, what kind of work she does, or if she’s married. It’s more important to me to know what kind of art she likes, what designers, whether she prefers blue or red.”
Fragrance tip: ”Coco Chanel used to say that you should wear perfume where you want to be kissed. But my tip is that you should wear perfume near where you want to be kissed. Because that perfume taste…yecccchh.”
Perfumers: Fabrice Penot and Eddie Roschi of Le Labo in New York City
At their Nolita boutique, they mix the essential oils with the alcohol in front of the client and then stamp her name and the date on the label. Freshness is guaranteed for a year.
Creations: A line of men’s, women’s, and unisex perfumes, all named after the dominant note and the total number of ingredients (e.g., Jasmin 17, Iris 39).
Inspiration: ”The desire to produce something that no one has smelled before,” Roschi says, “or an emotion we would like to evoke. The idea behind Neroli 36 was to evoke a sea breeze at 5 in the morning. For Rose 21, it was to take roses, which are quintessentially feminine, and have it so men could wear them, which means taking out the lychee undertones and stiffening the note with spices and woods.”
Favorite fragrances:”Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens," Penot says. "It was my first crush in perfumery, and I made it mine for years. It’s almost spiritual." Says Roschi: "Palisander from Comme des Garçons. When you first put it on you’re not even sure if it smells nice or not. It’s on the edge.” Penot also likes Bulgari au Thé Vert and Guerlain L’Heure Bleue; Roschi likes Boucheron Pour Femme.
Perfumer: Gaye Straza of Kai, Malibu
She is a former boutique owner whose sideline fragrance project became her main business.
Creations: Kai, a line of fragrance, candles, lotion, and scrubs; fans include Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts.
Inspiration: ”I grew up going to Hawaii, and my husband and I got married there. The bouquet I picked out for my wedding was all these exotic flowers. My main goal was to make a fragrance that re-created my wedding bouquet and reminded me of vacation and the beach and warm weather.”
Favorite smells: ”Gardenia. Fresh-cut grass. Pikake, a flower.”
Perfumer: Rami Mekdachi, a Paris-based business-school graduate and former music producer
Creations: Thirty fragrances, each originally designed for a corporate client (among them are the Hotel Costes, the Colette store, and the VIP Room nightclubs in St.-Tropez and Paris).
Inspiration: ”The perfume Frapin, composed with Benoît Lapouza, for instance, was made for the oldest cognac brand in France [Frapin-Cointreau]. When I went into the shed where it was made, there was a great smell of amber, and I wanted the fragrance to be a transcription of that. For the Hotel Costes, I worked with Olivia Giacobetti to focus on the sophisticated smell of lilies and ginger. For decorator Jacques Garcia, I designed, with Pierre Bourdon, a room spray that incorporated all of the 30 ingredients that were found in the pharaoh’s tombs in Egypt.”
Fragrance tip: ”Don’t look at brands and bottles when you’re choosing perfume. Close your eyes and get a friend to put different perfumes on your hands or on paper.”
Perfumer: Ineke Ruhland of Ineke, San Francisco
She worked in the fragrance industry in Europe and got a degree at the Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de l’Aromatique Alimentaire—the only university-level school for perfumers in France.
Creations: After My Own Heart, Balmy Days & Sundays, Chemical Bonding, and Derring-Do for Men.
Inspiration: ”I saw the phrase ‘after my own heart’ in a novel, and I thought it was great. I wanted to use it for a feminine, romantic perfume. What seemed right to me was lilac.Balmy Days & Sundayscame from the old Carpenters song about how rainy days and Mondays always get me down. I wanted it to be the opposite of that: the feeling of getting on your bike on the weekend, grass, leaves, fresh flowers.”
Favorite fragrance: ”I really like Gucci Rush—it’s the last market product that I’ve repurchased, which is saying quite a lot since I usually wear whatever fragrance I’m working on. If Gucci Rushdidn’t already exist, I would have loved to have created it.”
Perfumers: Marina Sersale and Sebastian Alvarez of Eau d’Italie, Rome
Creations: Eau d’Italie, a line of colognes, body products, hand soaps, and scent diffusers inspired by the luscious scents of the Mediterranean, specifically those found near Le Sirenuse, the luxury hotel in Positano, Italy, co-owned by Sersale’s father
Inspiration: ”For our first eau de toilette, Eau d’Italie, we wanted to find a way of putting Positano and Italy in a fragrance,” Sersale says. “So we decided to work on the smell that we felt best expressed summer in Positano: the smell of terra-cotta heated by the sun. For Paestum Rose, we wanted a modern take on a rose from antiquity, so we decided to work on a Turkish variety that is drier and less opulent than the roses normally used in perfumes.”
Fragrance tip: ”You may be surprised, but wearing fragrance on not completely clean skin allows the fragrance to develop better,” Sersale says. “The fragrance interacts and blends with the natural oils of the skin. We also know people who apply fragrance on skin after having rubbed in just a little bit of baby oil to make it more receptive.”
Perfumer: Shelley Callaghan of Antica Farmacista, Seattle
Creations: Over two dozen fragrances under the Antica Farmacista label, which includes perfumes, creams, soaps, candles, and reed diffusers.
Inspiration: ”I spent most of my childhood in Palm Springs, where there are grapefruit trees everywhere, and every time I go back, I get this hit of blossoms. You often want to create a fragrance to remind you of a place. Susanne [her partner] and I met because we both have summer houses on the Columbia River in Oregon, and probably next on our list will be a fragrance inspired by the nectarine trees, sage, rosemary, incredible grasses, and lavender on our property.”
Fragrance tip: ”Layer. I often have four different fragrances on my body. If you have a really powerful fragrance and you try to layer it with another, that backfires. But with three that are more subtle, you can blend them and create your own. The same goes for the home. I’m a believer in four different fragrances in four different rooms, all adjoining, with some overlap.”
Perfumer: Dawn Goldworm of 12.29, New York City
Creations: Goldworm and her twin sister, Samantha, started 12.29, a company that creates a scent identity for a brand. Their clients include Design Miami/Art Basel, Thakoon, and Rodarte.
Inspiration: ”Our goal is to make the scent you smell when you walk into, say, the Nike store as identifiable as the brand’s swoosh.”
Big Break: Goldworm was hired as a perfumer at Coty, creating fragrances for Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, and Adidas. While there, she helped cook up Lady Gaga Fame, a blend of honey, apricot, and jasmine that Gaga orders by the liter from the company. “It makes me very proud,” Goldworm says. “A lot of times you create a perfume for a celebrity, but they don’t wear it.”
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photos: Patrick Demarchelier; Courtesy of Le Labo, Gaye Straza, Rami Mekdachi, Ineke Ruland, Marina Sersale and Sebastian Alvarez, Shelley Callaghan, Dawn Goldworm
