• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

On custom perfume

Posted by Robin on 20 May 2008 10 Comments

Famed French perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain once said, "To imagine a scent is to imagine the woman who wears it." He probably didn't mean it quite as literally as today's perfumers are taking it. With the top end of the fragrance market booming, it's no surprise that luxury brands—titans like Guerlain, Cartier and Jean Patou, as well as smaller specialized houses—are investing in the rapid-growth niche sector of bespoke perfumery.

— From Bottling Your Own Personal Smell: Luxury perfumers create singular scents—for a price at Newsweek magazine.

Filed Under: perfume in the news
Tagged With: bespoke, jean paul guerlain

Advertisement


10 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Anonymous says:
    20 May 2008 at 12:15 pm

    Is it really a surprise, this bespoke niche? Let's think…aromatherapy, whatever you may think of it, had many DIY scent chemists whipping together purposeful blends, and then maybe thinking about how their applied scent can simply be “nice” without solving a malady, or be an expression of oneself.

    Meanwhile, perfumery runs strong as a commodity. Who recently pointed out the exponential increase in the past decade? The point being, if you are going to have THAT many scents out there, and people are becoming more aware/educated (okay, at least more inclined to wear/purchase a scent), isn't there going to be a sector who wants their OWN scent?

    I think it's great. I wonder how directive the typical bespoke customer will be? Will they guide the perfumer, clear in their vision of what they are looking for? Or will they look to the perfumer to be a fortune-telling psychologist who will reveal something about their character that they never knew?

    Log in to Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    20 May 2008 at 1:24 pm

    It does not surprise me in the least. Don't know if it's great or not…would love to smell some of what the high end houses have done. Suspect it is not so great as to justify the price tag, but who knows.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Anonymous says:
    20 May 2008 at 4:30 pm

    As much as I love the idea of bespoke anything:-) I think perfume is sort of gilding the lily a bit – after all, most perfumes smell different on all of us anyway so my chemistry alone makes whatever it is bespoke, yes?

    xo

    of course, there is the cachet of a fabulous 'nose' creating something especially for you…but it's only “special”, I think, if a select few are doing it…..and it's always more fantastic and romantic when the creation is prompted by a muse than if a customer goes in and requests it (does that make sense?)

    Log in to Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    20 May 2008 at 5:36 pm

    True about chemistry, but I'm guessing most people do this purely for the status, don't you think? I mean, the prices are outrageous.

    I was thinking recently about why the idea of custom appeals so little to me, and you know, I think part of it is that while I'd love to have my dream (jasmine+green+incense) perfume, what fun would it be if nobody else could smell it? Which means, I guess, that half the fun for me is talking about it.

    Log in to Reply
  5. Anonymous says:
    20 May 2008 at 8:17 pm

    Well, they could smell it, if they were around you …they just couldn't buy it!

    And it's that “I wouldn't want to join any club that would have me as a member” thing that appeals to so many people. Me, I'd rather use the big bucks to buy vintage fragrances I already know I love!

    xo

    Log in to Reply
  6. Anonymous says:
    21 May 2008 at 2:39 am

    Robin, how about a thread on who (living or dead) you would get as your bespoke perfumer – at least those of us for who this is an economic impossibility can indulge in a little fantasy!

    Log in to Reply
  7. Anonymous says:
    21 May 2008 at 7:51 am

    Great idea! Will file that away for the next time I need a “lazy poll”.

    Log in to Reply
  8. Anonymous says:
    21 May 2008 at 7:56 am

    Luckily for my wallet I'm not buying vintage — yet! — but agree there are tons of things I'd rather do with my money. But then, I haven't got the money for a Cartier custom perfume anyhow ;-)

    Log in to Reply
  9. Anonymous says:
    25 May 2008 at 4:53 pm

    I can't imagine nose would come up with something so much better than what they're coming up with now. And if they did, wouldn't they use the idea in a later mass-market fragrance?
    I guess the idea is to keep up the image of perfume as an exclusive, luxury item, not just something you can buy on eBay for a few bucks. Still, it sounds like going to Atlanta to have them formulate your own, personal brand of Coca-Cola.
    3 liters = 30 x 100ml bottles of perfume! What if you get bored with it?

    Log in to Reply
  10. Anonymous says:
    26 May 2008 at 1:33 pm

    I agree entirely — it is about image as much as anything else.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

From NST at Twitter

  • "Report: L'Oreal Set to Acquire Byredo" (perfumer flavorist) https://t.co/JchKx25FBD,
  • "Inside China's Booming Olfactory Economy" (that's mag) https://t.co/AoIn1oLAHu,
  • "Magnum ice cream and https://t.co/Smhe2fTapP teamed up to launch ‘chocolate-scented’ nail polish — and the colors… https://t.co/lv59O29ogv,
  • "Postcard from Paris - A guide to the city by Chanel perfumer Oliver Polge" (conde nast traveller) https://t.co/8UEUnwUyef,

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

23 April ~ swapmeet

14 May ~ haiku challenge

21 May ~ splitmeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2022 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.