It’s a fine line, creating environmentally-conscious fragrances without sublimating the fragrance experience.
But it’s a realm that fine fragrance maker Issey Miyake is navigating with relative ease, carving out a unique space within the clean fragrance movement with the reimagining of two of the brand’s best-loved scents to appeal to the sustainably-minded savants among us — L’Eau d’Issey Eau & Magnolia and L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Eau & Cèdre.
Fed up with the faddish bandwagonism, the fragrance Maison understands the seismic shift in consumer tastes — with the next generation seeking out values-driven brands that adopt a conscious, authentic, transparent and responsible approach.
In response, the Maison pays tribute to nature by formulating two vegan fragrances with hero ingredients that use less energy and fewer resources for scents that tread lightly on the planet.
It’s been three decades since Mr. Issey Miyake himself dreamed up an entirely new fragrance inspired by the scent of water (which would later form the basis of an entirely new fragrance category known as the aquatics) and not long since the legendary designer's passing in August.
What culminated was L’Eau d’Issey, and its unique olfactory notes were thanks to a synthetic compound known as Calone, with its fresh, almost salty qualities encapsulating the scent of a splash of water against the skin.
It was joined by a richer, woodier take on the original three years later, forming an iconic scent pairing that transcended the decades.
Today, the power couple has been reimagined under a new lens — one which honours the Maison’s legacy and love for water, but which acknowledges the future of fragrance as a means of enhancing nature without leaving a devastating impact.
Luminous and feminine, L’Eau d’Issey Eau & Magnolia is the brainchild of Daphné Bugey, a top perfumer at Swiss fragrance company Firmenich, who formulated the delicate fragrance using 85 per cent naturally derived vegan ingredients.
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The multi-faceted scent heroes upcycled Aquozone, a synthetic compound which is both floral and aquatic, delicate and powerful. It lends an aquatic quality to the structure of the fragrance, which blends top notes of citrussy bergamot, a floral heart of the scent’s emblematic magnolia and rose, with sandalwood and delicate musk coming to the fore at the dry down.
It’s male companion, L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Eau & Cèdre, has been reimagined for the modern man by fellow Firmenich perfumer Marie Salamagne.
The 91 per cent naturally derived scent highlights the clash between water and wood, with top notes of grapefruit accord, cardamom and green cypress lending ardent freshness to the scent, before making way for upcycled cedarwood and Calone at its heart, with woody base notes, vetiver and patchouli helping ground the scent in strength. A handful of vegan ingredients which feature in the scent are sourced responsibly to the benefit of the communities in which they are produced, like cardamom, vetiver and patchouli in the Eau & Cèdre, and neroli in Eau & Magnolia.
Issey Miyake’s commitment to nature runs even deeper, with its sustainable standpoint informing both the minimalist design and packaging of each scent. The bottles are crafted from 20 per cent post-consumer recycled glass, while their unfinished, ashwood caps are crafted from a single piece of wood, which sidesteps the need for labour-intensive assembly.
The new Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Eau & Magnolia 50ml eau de toilette intense, $155, and 100ml, $205; and Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Eau & Cèdre 50ml eau de toilette intense, $115, and 100ml, $152, are available from selected department stores, pharmacies, or online at farmers.co.nz
