“It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for.” These immortal words were uttered by Tom Baker in 1981 as he shuffled off his Doctor Who persona, but they also perfectly sum up the events of 29th April 2019. That was the day Marina Barcenilla Parfums closed its doors. Whilst the fragrances that bore her name were gone, the space age AromAtom project that she’d founded took centre stage. Her educational journey to the stars produced the Award-nominated perfume Out Of This World and, after almost two years, Marina is back with a new trio of fragrances and has her eyes firmly set on some serious space travel.
Unless you’ve been living on Mars you can’t have escaped the momentous decision taken by the BBC to cast a lady as the new Doctor Who. Well, the world is still spinning after Jodie Whittaker’s debut on Sunday 7th October but she isn’t really the first woman to try and conquer space and time. Earlier this year Marina Barcenilla released Out Of This World, a fragrance that brought together the scents of the universe along with a healthy dose of Marina’s imagination. A die hard Doctor Who fan, a space scientist, and an award-winning perfumer, I was curious to see whether Out Of This World would send me into orbit.
When Marina Barcenilla won Best New Independent Fragrance for India in the 2016 Fragrance Foundation Awards it set in motion a complete rebranding of her company, gained her industry recognition, and also a loyal following of perfume fans that were fascinated by her approach to scent. The Perfume Garden, which she had launched in 2011, was renamed Marina Barcenilla Parfums and at the time she said, “while the name has changed the ethos remains the same, to create the finest fragrances using what nature has to offer.” Two years on I think it’s time to revisit India and see exactly why it became an award winner.
The idea of “giving back” is one that many companies attempt but, unfortunately, also one that can very easily miss the mark. In an era of “Corporate Social Responsibility” it’s become very fashionable to throw money at a cause and take the glory in a burst of publicity, but it’s much harder to create and manage a project that also has an educational aspect. The latest company to attempt this, undaunted, is Marina Barcenilla Parfums with their AromAtom project. Designed to educate and stimulate both children and adults in the field of astronomy using scent, just what DOES space smell like?
Christmas is the season of the limited release with companies trying to reward and attract in equal measure. The thought of acquiring something special from your favourite brand sends gifting budgets rocketing but also means that expectations are seriously raised. Will they live up to the hype? One section of the market that seems to be more successful is the “independent”, possibly because they create in smaller quantities but also because they can make their Christmas offering truer to their own style. Marina Barcenilla Parfums has released three Christmas products this year and every one of them is a winner.
