Nothing fits better than a second skin, unless of course you’re wearing a bespoke perfume. What that means, is having a scent completely custom-made for you and only you.
Bespoke perfumery is a craft that is very much a marriage of art and science. Elite perfumers, typically graduates of the prestigious International Superior Institute of Perfume, Cosmetics and food Aromas (ISIPCA), are craftspeople in their own right.
Master perfumers can identify 1500 to 2000 specific smells by nose and can often spend six months to a year developing a single personalized fragrance, although some perfumers are known to have taken up to three years in their resolute quest for tailored perfection.
[Pullout:
Jean Patou Parfum-CoutureThe House of Jean Patou, renowned for inimitable classics such as Joy (possibly the world’s most expensive production fragrance), offers discerning clients an unforgettable experience in the form of their Parfum-Couture service. For €50,000, Patou’s master perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez will personally oversee your bespoke perfume from conception to creation.
Presently available only to ladies, Parfum-Couture begins with an appointment with Duriez in the city of Paris. Together, you visit olfactive places such as bakeries and flower and spice markets, and sample pure essences to determine your style and scent preferences. In the months that follow, Duriez crafts three prototypes for you to test, before receiving the samples back and refining the blends to perfection. Your reward for enduring the development period is a perfume that comes to you in a stunning Baccarat crystal cube, bears your name, fits you consummately and is exclusively yours to use.
Besides Patou, there are other exquisite alternatives in Paris that offer similar indulgences, such as Guerlain’s or Cartier’s bespoke perfume services. Cartier’s resident nose, Mathilde Laurent, will meet with you for three or four consultations and concoct fragrances based on her observations, before beginning the exchange and enhancing process and ending with her final touches.
[Pullout:
Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie
Over in London, there is the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie located within the Urban Retreat at Harrods. Widely regarded as the world’s foremost authority on perfumery, Roja Dove is inspirational, knowledgeable and on a personal mission to revive and help people relive the rich history of perfume.
In addition to finding under one roof a dizzying array of rare and extremely hard-to-find fragrances, Roja Dove is also available for commission, should you wish you have your own bespoke perfume made. For about £20,000, you get three consultations with Roja Dove and an entirely unique scent in an exquisite Lalique crystal bottle to take home with you.
|
