Passion for perfume

Francis Hooper loves being a purveyor of perfumes with provenance. Photo / Babiche Martens

Oakmoss is on the outer. What? Well among the more fanatical of fragrance fans, this news created a stir when the International Fragrance Association [IFRA] circulated a regulation restricting the use of the resinous substance exuded from the lichen on oak trees.

Oakmoss has been used in some of the world's most noted and distinctive fragrances, among them Mitsouko, Femme, Cabochard, Aromatics Elixir, Miss Dior, Knowing, Ma Griffe and Paloma Picasso. The chypre group of fragrances depends on its mossy, sensual aroma which softens and lengthens floral, green and oriental aromas.

The use of resins in fragrance-making dates back to Roman times. Oakmoss itself was burned in incense mixes in medieval days and listed in perfume recipes in the late 18th century. Its failing, like that of other natural substances, is it can cause allergic reactions and this is what has got it in trouble with IFRA.

The international body, set up in 1973, represents the makers and suppliers of fragrance ingredients and compounds worldwide, including here in New Zealand, and now the Asean nations, which signed up this year. Its main purpose is to ensure the safety of fragrance through its science programme. Around 90 per cent of the global market for fragrance compounds comes from IFRA-affiliated companies, and the association regulates more than 200 fragrance materials.

But the regulation is a touchy subject, with a number of classic scents having been reformulated or deleted. This has led to suggestions that is suits the self-regulating industry to use synthetic substances instead of costly, rare natural ones. The defence is denial, with perfume-makers pointing out that some synthetics are as costly to create as it is to harvest some natural substances. Perfumes now are said to be safer and healthier, as modern societies expect.

But do they smell the same?

The answer is no, but whether this is a grand conspiracy or just times a changing, is a matter of opinion. And whether most people notice is debatable. For instance, the enduringly popular Chanel No. 5 is not the same as the fifth sample scent Coco Chanel chose back in 1921. It has been relaunched a number of times through the decades; reinterpreted to suit the times and, presumably, the regulations.

Fragrance preferences have also shifted markedly through the ages, from single-note florals, through citrusy colognes and floral compositions to intriguing woody and green mixes and the heady orientals, to oceanic and ozonic accords - being light, airy signs of more unisex times.

Fragrance-making has passed from "noses" mingling the harvests of the fields to chemists pushing the boundaries of creation in their laboratories - many still concentrated in France, despite America now being the world's biggest consumer of fragrances.

The one constant is an abiding love for perfume, with one of the greatest perfume-makers, Jean-Paul Guerlain, describing its mystique thus: "What remains of a woman when she is in the dark? When she has undressed, when we can no longer see her makeup, her wonderful hair, her beautiful eyes, when she takes off her jewellery, what is left? Only her charming voice and ... her perfume."

THE SCENT SAVER
Creating a little oasis of perfume has been a driving force for Francis Hooper in establishing his World Beauty stores. A personal passion for fragrance has seen him knock at the door of some of the oldest perfume houses in France, attracted by the artisanship he so admires.

"They are those iconic fragrances that have made perfume what it is today. A hundred years ago these really passionate people created perfume as we know it."

Not that he likes what perfume's global marketing approach has become today. "They're chemical products; the perfumes we sell are real, they're from plants, herbs, animal bits," he says. As a retailer, Hooper is realistic, saying most women just want to "smell pretty." Nevertheless he's found there's a niche market for perfumes with provenance and he enjoys being their purveyor.

"We believe that going back is going forward."

It's all part of the modern luxury the World Beauty brand espouses, he says, where a $10 item might sit next to something costing $10,000. Both are there because they represent an edited interpretation that adds up to "being more meaningful and educated in your consumer life".

"The World customer is that eclectic, different customer who doesn't fit the norm.

"They enjoy finding out more about what they're considering buying and want to end up with something that speaks to them and helps encapsulate 'who I am; people can tell why I'm wearing it and what it means to me'."

Hooper seeks out perfumes with a history or an interesting quirk. This sees him stock everything from 4711 eau de cologne to the hip contemporary Nasamoto line from Italy, to Carthusia, still handmade by monks as it has been since 1621.

Of 4711, he says: "It's a gorgeous, 130-year-old classic that actually smells a lot like perfumes today."

Candles can also be perfume, he says, pointing to World's top-selling item, the Cire Trudon candle, first made for the French royal family.

Fragrances from the House of Guerlain were must-haves on Hooper's list. He also sought out Balenciaga's Cristobal and the original version of Chloe. The more recent two versions have since been deleted, though he still has a small stock of the Chloe. One of his other missions was to stock Cabochard by Madam Gres, which previously he had only been able to buy for his wife in Europe. It took persistence to persuade the Parisians he meant business, but he gradually built up relationships and began importing these and other special scents, such as Joy by Jean Patou, still handmade from 10,000 flowers and housed in a crystal flacon, costing $299.

"The women who understand luxury, when we explain about Joy, they won't mind the price, they'll understand," says Hooper, who laughs at his own sense of economic scale, explaining that some of what he sells is practically at cost, given it's brought in, in tiny quantities with high freight costs.

Hooper reckons that by reawakening a "lust for perfume that has been lost by lazy, greedy retailers", he's helping safeguard some of its rich heritage.

"It will survive, but it will only be a niche, luxury purchase.

THE PERFUME MAKER
Yves Dombrowsky is the very picture of a modern perfumer. Part scientist, part creative, wholly passionate. He sits surrounded by hundreds of fragrances, putting recipes into his computer, only to ping them off to France for final regulating by one of the industry's leading laboratories.

Dombrowsky, who hails from New Caledonia and gets his surname from a Polish grandfather, has been in New Zealand for around 20 years.

He uses his middle name for his Yves Andre Parfum Gallery and acknowledges that being French helped establish him as a perfume-maker here.

"But I've obviously had to prove I can do the job."

After a degree studying fungi, he came to Auckland to work at Carter Holt Harvey where he researched what became the EcoMist room sprays. His employer had been interested in the mood enhancing qualities of fragrance on workplace atmosphere and turned the project over to Dombrowsky who later used family contacts to help upskill himself back in the old country.

A year or two down the track his division at CHH was disestablished and he took himself and his perfume research off to found his own company, Innovaction.

While you may not have heard of him, you've certainly smelled his work, everything from fragrances used in products from Trilogy, Eco-Store, Living Nature, Comvita and Olive to supermarket brands such as Dominate hair styling products and Health Basics items.

He worked with Trelise Cooper to realise her just-launched first scent and he is guiding jeweller Michael Hill's fragrance due out next year.

This makes Dombrowsky a rarity in the southern hemisphere, a perfume-maker at a commercial level, who doesn't just mix up a few well-established compounds but who crafts a scent from scratch and takes it through to market readiness, complete with IFRA approval.

As a gun for hire he'll tailor his work to suit the customer, using either all natural ingredients or synthetics.

His own preference, which he puts down to growing up in the Pacific, is for light, airy scents, but he enjoys helping clients realise their own ideas, which he helps them visualise through discussion, colour and imagery as well as access to his "library" of scent samples, a basic 200 or so notes, with many more permutations possible, grouped in colour-coded fragrance families.

The combination of a scientific brain with a strong creative bent makes him ideally suited for the work he obviously loves.

He's developed computer software into a remarkably valuable tool that allows him to have hundreds of new designs listed each year.

"It's pretty amazing when I remember the time it was taking me to initiate any designs a few years ago."

This tool has led to his about-to-be-launched venture, whereby his Parfum Gallery will open to the public in the next few weeks.

I expected it to be a bijoux, feminine space, but it's undoubtedly all about Yves.

He loves art and has his own colourful canvases on the wall, plus wrought iron sculptures he has had made to his own design. Both have perfume diffusers attached, reflecting his belief that the two artforms can combine and customers may want to match something to hang on their wall with a scent to waft out of it.

What I can guarantee customers will want is the experience Dombrowsky is offering: the chance to create their very own scent, guided by an expert. Such a scent could be used for anything from gifting for corporate purposes or as a wedding keepsake, or for an individual to enjoy as a private indulgence.

It's a fascinating experience and amazing how quickly something can be put together with a bit of help from someone who knows what they're doing.

A basic version of the service allows clients to pick out a handful of aromas they particularly like and have Dombrowsky draw on his years of experience and the computer programmes he has developed to quickly combine them appropriately into top, middle and base notes to create a pleasing mix in a sample-size bottle.

A more customised and costlier service involves refining the original mix over several visits, to ensure what the client eventually leaves with is a true signature scent.

•Yves Andre Parfum Bar and Art Gallery will open soon on weekdays at 553 Mt Albert Rd. Ph (09) 625 8112.

THE BIG RETAILER
Fashion and celebrity are now inextricably linked with marketing and sales, says Farmers merchandise manager for cosmetics and fragrance, Mark Prusher.

In truth they always were, just not on such a mass-market, global scale. Department stores such as Farmers ensure international trends are speedily represented on local shelves.

The chain's fragrance buyer, Jo Spencer, travels overseas and works closely to source products from the perfume houses' accredited suppliers in New Zealand.

Prusher says celebrity fragrances have developed into a category of their own and appeal to a broad section of the market, across the age groups.

"The link between fashion and fragrance has grown stronger with the likes of Ed Hardy and Juicy Couture launches recently being very popular. Iconic brands, such as Dior, Chanel and Armani have also shown a strong resurgence within our stores over the recent past and show no sign of slowing down."

This interest in premier scents and a resurgence of interest in classic fragrances is something Smith & Caughey's has also noted.

Prusher says Farmers' customers are very up with the play on overseas launches and the local market is close to that internationally. Shopper choice is based not so much on age as it is on preference for a certain type of scent or the occasion of purchase, with Christmas being a major part of the fragrance year, he says.

Bonus offers reward customer loyalty and help attract new consumers to a brand, but marketing only goes so far. Prusher says what "sells" a fragrance "always comes down to the scent itself". Staff are trained to assist customers in getting what they want by questioning and sampling.

"Due to the nature of my role I tend to have a favourite [fragrance] every month!"

SWEET NOTHINGS

To find our how obsessive (and precious) some fragrance fans can be, check out some of the many perfume blogs online, including www.fragrantica.com, www.boisdejasmin.com, www.nstperfume.com and www.mimifroufrou.com.

Some of the sites cut and paste perfume company puffery, but others include good commentary. The entertaining bits are the endless comments they carry.

•Super beauty store Sephora has a good online commercial site, which for fragrance includes "if you liked this, try these" suggestions to explore. See www.sephora.com

•The Fragrance Foundation is an American-based industry group with the aim of educating about fragrance. Its website includes a glossary and listings of companies that track down rare or discontinued fragrances. See www.fragrance.org