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23 August 2024Genie in a Bottle
A bespoke perfume is as individual and as unique as the ancient art of perfumery itself
A ccording to Coco Chanel, a woman should wear perfume where she wants to be kissed. She also stated, somewhat waspishly, that a woman who does not wear perfume has no future. While many of us might not feel quite that strongly about the second, there’s no doubting the power of a beautiful fragrance – and often our devotion to perfumes.
Old favourites become personal signatures, unchanged and unchallenged through the years. But as only couture clothing can bestow unique style and perfect fit on its wearer, those with a love for individuality are eschewing off-the-peg perfumes for something more personal.
The bespoke perfume industry is flourishing, and many of the leading and boutique perfume houses now provide a service where their experts will work with clients to create a smell tailored to them alone.
‘Today people want exclusivity,’ says Lyn Harris of London perfumiers Miller Harris. ‘They want something that no one else has, something they can call their own. They want things that are not instant, and take time to create – that are about the craftsmanship and authenticity that they want to experience.
‘A bespoke fragrance is part of that, and incredibly special. Having your own fragrance made changes your perception of fragrance. It can even change some people’s lives as it brings great pleasure – which is the ultimate goal for me.’
For scent sorcerer and undisputed king of bespoke perfumiers Roja Dove, smell provides a revelation of character and a journey through the most fundamental parts of your being.
Just as a good vintage wine is the sum of its complexity, a perfume must also hit the right notes in a symphony of emotional resonance
‘A scent is an exact reflection of who we are as a person,’ says Dove. ‘It reflects our id rather than our ego – or intellect – as we are born without preconceptions of smell and learn our responses to it through our associations.’
Listen to Dove talk for a few minutes on the subject and the very notion of choosing a mass-produced perfume based on a quick wrist spritz begins to seem incredibly inadequate.
He started his work in perfume at Guerlain, before branching out to create his own concoctions. Today, his Harrods Haute Perfumerie is a temple to heavenly aromas that seduce through the skin (scent myth number one is the idea we smell through our noses – in actuality smell is processed through a primitive part of the brain by a flash of synapses that then release hormones) and the subliminal.
erfumes range from ready-blended signature scents to limited edition fragrances with closed, invitation-only lists of 50 people – and at the zenith a collaboration with the master himself, via a waiting list of at least a year.
Like all couture, a bespoke perfume costs money – starting at around £25,000. Dove cannot recall the exact price of the most expensive perfume he has made so far, but recalls it hovering around the £200,000 mark. A relative snip at the price when you consider that some oils, such as certain jasmines, are more expensive, gram for gram, than gold bullion.
It is perhaps little wonder the process takes a minimum of six months to complete. A perfumier’s job is much like that of a sommelier, in its hair-fine ability to pick out individual smells within a harmonious whole. And, just as a good vintage wine is the sum of its complexity, a perfume must also hit the right notes in a symphony of emotional resonance.
Dove will visit clients wherever they are in the world at the time to work with them in the subtle and intricate art of divining the individual elements that will be blended together to form the final masterpiece.
‘If I have made a perfume for someone then the hormones that are going to be released are going to be positive ones – so it’s the ultimate in happiness.’
This kind of olfactory indulgence is not just for women – there is little difference, practically speaking, in the creation of a perfume or an aftershave. And, as Dove points out, a rose does not have a gender – on a man it smells masculine, on a woman feminine. Whether you like rose is just a personal preference.
‘Part of my work is to find out all the different odours a client likes, not by asking questions but by having them smell oils. I never tell them what they are smelling, because if I tell them it is, say, jasmine they will immediately have preconceptions about whether they like jasmine or not,’ he says. ‘Once I learn how a client responds to each of the odours I have a clear understanding of which materials I can put in the scent, and which I shouldn’t.
‘A bespoke perfume allows you to unravel all these emotional responses on the odour and create something that is truly a reflection of who they are as a person. If I have made a perfume for someone that is full of all the positive odours then the hormones that are going to be released are going to be positive ones – so it’s the ultimate in happiness.’
All of which rather lays to rest another simple notion that a ‘nice’ scent on a person depends on their ‘chemistry’. It’s something Dove dismisses as a bit of an old wives’ tale, adding: ‘Our response to odour is emotional and as unique as our fingerprint – it is a reflection of our life experience.’
In fact, possibly the only intellectual part of the process is in choosing how you want the bottle to be, with collaborations with design houses including Lalique and Boucheron, and a wealth of materials to ponder, from gold and diamonds to rock crystal if your tastes run to cleaner lines. For many, a bespoke perfume is the ultimate luxury and once smelt they can never go back.
Says Dove: ‘People get hooked on bespoke and it’s unending when they realise it really does mean that. You’re starting from scratch and whatever your fantasy is, it can be realised.’
Bottle your own genie and you may well be inclined to agree.
Words: Staff
The Information
Roja Dove
Roja Dove Bespoke brings together all the skills of the perfumier with a client’s specific needs and likes. The bespoke range combines ingredients that are often more expensive than gold to create something that is unique.
rojadove.com
Miller Harris
Spend a day with Lyn Harris in her laboratory working to create a perfume from her scent library. The bespoke perfume is presented in a personalised engraved bottle and the fragrance can also be made into Miller Harris body care products and candles.
millerharris.com
Floris
Have your own bespoke perfume created over a six-month period at Floris’ Jermyn Street shop in London. The price of creating the perfume is £4,500, and you are entitled to five repeat orders of your fragrance after that.
florislondon.com
Cartier
Create a bespoke perfume with Cartier’s in-house ‘nose’, Mathilde Laurent. Your bespoke perfume is presented in a specially crafted Baccarat crystal and gold bottle or custom-created bottle by Cartier’s jewellery designers.
The secret formula is archived for repeat orders. Price from £24,000.
cartier.com