BBC Perfume Documentary

To help prepare us and give an insight into the industry we will be studying in the next module, we were told to watch a BBC documentary on perfume in our reading week. Despite owning many different fragrances and seeing dozens of adverts in magazines and on the television, I didn't know an awful lot about the fragrance industry. With the next module in sight and after learning about the creation of a scent in New York at FIT, I was looking forward to seeing the industry behind the scenes.

Part 1 - Something old something new

At the beginning of the episode, we are introduced to a closer look at one of the oldest perfume houses, Guerlain. The French brand has created over 300 fragrances since it’s foundation in 1828, and is highly respected all over the world.

One part of the episode I found particularly interesting was the discussion of fragrances that are available and found in grocery stores such as Target. Would a brand want to be sold in a store like Target? For example, if a Calvin Klein fragrance was sold in the grocery store, would it put people off the brand? The critic argued that if you totaled the profit and sales on the fragrance which features in Target, it would probably outweigh the few “sniffy nosed” people that are put off buying a few thousand dollar suit.

Unsurprisingly, Christmas is the most crucial part of the year for fragrance, as it is with many goods. A staggering 60% of business in the industry is done in the last quarter of the year. Another event on the calendar that also plays a vital role is Mother’s Day, as we were shown the fragrance counters in New York’s famous Macy’s store the day before, absolutely crammed and bustling with last minute shoppers. Shop assistants were armed with a bottle in hand, and a polished script in order to sell the scent. As much as I love shopping, it made me shudder at how busy it was.

The key is the bottle design

We also saw behind the scenes in the making of Tommy Hilfiger’s LOUD fragrance, one for men and one for women. The design of the bottle echoed record grooves, and we were able to see the desingers meet with Hilfiger himself with several variations of the product, all with slight variations. The whole fragrance had the theme of rock and roll, and their aim was to capture the music. The box has a record sleeve feel to it, and a punchy hot pink was used for the women’s fragrance, and a tough black was used for men. Although no figures were allowed to be shared, it was positively received in just two trading weekends.

Other pieces of information I found:

• If a fragrance brings in $20 million or more in its first year, it really gets perfume industry experts talking
• Group tastings are standard
• Rose is the easiest way to express femininity.
• At the event for the launch of a new fragrance, using the raw materials as decoration, for example a specific plant, allows people to really understand and connect with the scent.
• Ran out of room on your arms to test a scent? Why not try it on your legs (as Chandler Berr demonstrated)

Part 2 - Bottling the memory

Fragrance isn’t only about smelling nice and having a fancy bottle. It has a job. To capture the moment. A fact I found quite surprising was that there are more astronauts than perfumers.

Christopher Brosius will bottle the scent of anything. Forget your dainty floral scent or oriental spice, it’s all about the ocean, smoke and even beef. His business, “I Hate Perfume” really takes the whole “capture the moment” to another level. He’s not interested in smelling nice, he creates fragrances that really grasp a specific story. He spoke about wanting something that reminds him of something he loves, but not wanting it to smell of perfume.

A fact that I thought may be quite useful for this upcoming module is that lavender, a key note in the fern family, is very successful in men’s fragrances, and can be found in One Million by Paco Rabanne.

A line that I really felt summed up fragrance is it is a, "liquid expression of quality, craft and provenance".

Part 3 - The smell of the future

"Fragrance development is a journey" really sums up the progression and process that it takes to create a new fragrance. It was a real eye opener to see just how much thought and trial and error goes into practice before a fragrance is even made. 

It was interesting to learn about how different parts of the world favour different scents, for example while Brazil loves fruity and fresh fragrances, in Russia they prefer a richer, heavier scent. For the industry, Brazil and Asia is a vital audience. From a perfumer and brand's point of view, this means they have to constantly be aware of the changing trends not only in the US and British markets.

Research has shown that the market in Brazil is booming, with people showering more, therefore using more fragrance. For creators of the Lynx fragrance, known as Axe in the US, they were experimenting with coconut in their latest scent in order to appeal to the ever growing Brazil audience.