Geza Schoen is best known as the genius behind the 2006 phenomenon that was Molecule 01. To call it a worldwide bestseller would be an understatement, this was a ground-breaking moment in the history of fragrance. Whilst success was a wonderful thing to achieve, it did mean that an inspirational second collection of scents went largely unrecognised. The Beautiful Mind Series was an honest appreciation for, and a celebration of, women. For too long they had been judged solely on appearance, but Geza wanted to do something different. So, leave your stereotypes behind as we rediscover this inspirational pairing.
Escentric Molecules is a small piece of Geza Schoen’s incredible portfolio of work but, because it was so revolutionary, it's what he’s become most known for. In 2010 he launched the range's third fragrance, but it also coincided with the first release in his Beautiful Mind Series. The concept behind these fragrances was to celebrate women's intelligence and creativity. The scents would aim to capture the person rather than the appearance because, in a world dominated by shallow judgements, Geza wanted to showcase women’s minds and abilities. It was always destined to be controversial, but it started an important conversation.
The first fragrance took Christiane Stenger, the world’s youngest Memory Grandmaster, as its subject. Based in Munich, she spent time with Geza exploring ingredients so that he could truly capture her essence. A methodical attitude presented itself, and so it’s unsurprising that exciting synthetics made their way into Intelligence & Fantasy. It would be five years before the second fragrance, Precision & Grace, was released, and this time it celebrated prima ballerina Polina Semionova. A student of the Bolshoi Ballet School, the New York Times described her as being “in a class by herself”. So, be prepared for excellence.
Intelligence & Fantasy opens with an almost synaptically charged electricity, which is formed from the combination of a peppery note with citrus laced magnolia, before a more floral heart comes through thanks to the rose and honeyed osmanthus. However, you then get a wonderful bridge into the base from a watery tiare flower that is, quite simply, exquisite. The final combination of Iso E Super, Cashmeran (which would later feature in Molecule 05) and a gloriously smooth sandalwood create the perfect woody blend, and there’s even a touch of cedarwood. After all, even a Memory Grandmaster must occasionally need an old-fashioned pencil.
Precision & Grace bursts out of the bottle with an incredible citrus laced jasmine before quickly revealing the decadently theatrical notes of tuberose and ripe plum. This expansive beginning then focuses down onto a heart of peppered rose and violet, almost like delicate face powder, but there's so much more to come. The development of the fragrance really does tap into the idea of a dancer’s body warming during the performance, with a resinous blend of myrrh and amber expressing the athleticism. However, a final pairing of sandalwood and earthy moss brings you back to the aged floors of those majestic stages.
Intelligence & Fantasy and Precision & Grace are both wonderfully unisex and available from Harvey Nichols at harveynichols.com priced at £95 for 100ml. For more information about The Beautiful Mind Series you can visit the website at thebeautifulmindseries.com. [Samples provided by The PR Studio]
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