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.
Part of the experience of purchasing a fragrance is the interaction that you have with the sales assistant. The information about a perfume, or even the little snippets of history and advice, can turn a simple shopping trip into a memorable visit. However, “memorable” isn’t always good if the information is wrong. Most perfume companies offer training programs but it isn’t always possible to cover everything, and this is why The Fragrance Foundation now provides their Online Training Course. It’s advertised as a chance to gain more knowledge about the history and workings of the perfume industry, but does it succeed?
After studying to become a pharmacist in the family business, Sven Pritzkoleit also realised a long-standing fascination with perfumery. Many years of trial and error, studying and creating, and learning about the raw materials of scent ultimately resulted in critically acclaimed fragrances under the name of SP Parfums. With praise from the industry and fans alike, and also recent collaborations with Miguel Magos and Zooloigst, I thought it was time to find out about Sven’s own fragrance memories during “Stephan’s Six”.
Is it too soon to cross our fingers and hope that summer is now well and truly on its way? The first burst of sun sees people reaching for the latest spritzing blockbuster in an attempt to feel even more zesty and upbeat, but there is a beach hut full of classics that we can also call into action. One of these is the truly fantastic Eau Dynamisante from Clarins, which celebrates its thirty-first birthday this year. This was the original fragrance in their “Eau” trio, but what has made it such a favourite with both men and women? Let me show you the magic that is hidden inside that classic red spherical bottle.
Born into a famous literary family, Daisy Waugh forged an enviable career both as a journalist and author before starting to write under the pseudonym of E. V. Harte. The first of her Dolly Greene books featured cheap scent and tarot cards but what fragrances hold special memories for Daisy? I caught up with her at the launch of her new book, The Case Of The Fool, and managed to unearth some scented secrets for “Stephan’s Six”.
When a company chooses to release a new fragrance it usually goes through various hoops before it hits the shelves. From evaluation to IFRA compliance checks, most of these happen behind closed doors with the first glimpse being reserved for focus groups. Le Jardin Retrouvé have chosen a different approach for the launch of their latest fragrance and have invited perfume fans to vote for their favourite out of four options via their #PerfumeRevivalProject. Using original formulas discovered in Yuri Gutsatz’s archive, Le Jardin Retrouvé’s offerings run the gamut from solar floral to oriental, but which one did I choose?
It’s like the quest for the Holy Grail. Perfume collectors are constantly searching for a lost fragrance, a “vintage” formulation, or even a different edition of an original bottle. While the latter doesn’t pose too much of an issue, the first two can be problematic to say the very least. Everything gets older, including me, and it’s this ageing process that can have profound effects upon your “vintage” scent. What you end up buying may smell wonderfully resinous, with vanilla laden qualities, and have a depth of richness that is missing in current fragrances, but are you smelling what the perfumer really intended?
Christophe Laudamiel originally studied chemistry before making the jump to perfumery and in his early career was jointly responsible for classics such as Polo Blue, Abercombie Fierce and Clinique’s Happy Heart. Now settled with his own company, Dreamair, and a 2018 Art and Olfaction winner for his fragrance Club Design, I thought it was time to discover his own scented memories during “Stephan’s Six”.
You can’t have failed to notice that the fashion for candles shows no signs of fading anytime soon. That combination of the flickering flame with an enveloping scent has made them the lifestyle must-have, and no home seems complete without one. The latest company to enter the candle arena is Oak 84, but their name may still be unfamiliar to many of you. Hand produced in South Carolina, and originally exclusive to the local boutiques in the area, Oak 84 have now also gone online and their reputation is spreading fast. So, with this in mind, I thought it was time to test-drive their Teakwood & Tobacco.
