Can a perfume be perfected? Can a new generation of perfumers continue the work of predecessors, correct and even surpass them? Can we look inside a perfume from another era searching for its soul, purifying its essence and re-frame it in the best light?
There is a subtle difference between interpretation and recreation. Many modern perfumers are giving interpretations of a classic theme, twisting and bringing a personal touch, and from this exercise often a new fragrance emerges. But could a master perfumer bring all his knowledge to perfect the Work continuing what the previous generation was not able to achieve?
Today it is utopian. Brands would rather ask to cheapen their classic formulae (as does L'Oréal with Opium and many classics) than asking to perfect a perfume / idea from their collection. However, many formulae from the previous centuries belonging to family businesses were "improved" several times. I wish to see the day when "the beautiful scent" will be the ultimate goal of a brand. I do not use the name "perfume house" because a house is living, has a garden with plants, while these brands are only concepts conceived in scentless glass boxes and mass produced in factories.
Reading many professional writings published in the XXth century, I am often surprised by the constant quest for a cheaper formula. The notion of Beauty is rarely evoked, but there is a constant "desire" to replace good ingredients with less costly materials until the original shape is totally mutilated.
Preserving the original quality of a perfume, as it was the year when it was born, was often a challenge and when a fragrance achieves a commercial success, there is the temptation to make changes in the formula (often for price reasons) and almost never the effort to improve it. The perfume should be conceived like cognac and all alcohols - something that improves with time. Many modern perfumes are extremely badly composed, they age extremely fast. They deteriorate physically and morally. I have many 100 years old perfumes and they are perfect.
Since the XIXth century, the champion was the Eau de Cologne note. I have a huge file with formulae from late XVIIIth century to 1960's but the most surprising are those before WWII. They were replacing bergamot, lemon, and constantly polluting the neroli note with dissonant molecules. However, from all the defects around the orange flower note emerged a masterpiece about a decade ago, rearranging harmoniously these elements.
An idea, the true essence of a perfume, can achieve perfection somewhere in time, which means the best choice of ingredients and their best proportions for the harmony. This idea can be "modified", showing the path to a new direction and possibly a new perfume shape, it can be "corrected", eliminating useless ingredients or changing the proportion, it can be "improved", adding those elements that were not available at the time of the original creation giving a new dimension and sparkle to the IDEA.
Modern Jean Marie Farina (Roger et Gallet) and 4711 (Muehlens) are not well orchestrated, they have several "defects" inside their evolution while Eau de Cologne Impériale (Guerlain) is in very good shape.
Analyzing my formulae from late XVIIIth century and early XIXth century, it is easy to notice the number of good things that were lost in 150 years of commercial success when this type of the scent was the ultimate "mass market" creation for the new countries, where new customers were not used with the sophisticate and expensive French extracts.
The original versions of the Eau de Cologne show the shape of a real perfume, with all the elements, shades and constituents, while the next generations retained only the citrus bouquet overdose. The first dramatic change occurred when distillation was replaced by essential oil mixing. In fact, the secret of an exquisite Eau de Cologne is the shade, all the secondary and tertiary accords, plus the ultimate quality of the citruses.
While working with citrus notes, one must completely forget they are citruses ready to be mixed inside a fresh salad and it is important to understand the role, the dimension brought by each of them. The perfumer is not a formulator, definitively not a blender.
For instance, there is a beautiful floral accord inside the Jean Marie Farina formula from 1800's and the question is: What is the missing ingredient(s) unavailable in that century and what is the true note hidden inside the perfume? Also, what is opposed, what contradicts the shape, what note is a stranger even in small doses?
For me, the floral heart of the original Eau de Cologne asks for a very specific fresh flower growing in Italy.
The original Eau de Cologne represents a particular moment in time that was captured several centuries ago and this image, an Italian Souvenir, is clearly represented by an olfactory universe found in Italy at a certain moment of the year. For this reason, the poetic understanding of the original idea is fundamental in reproducing the note or in perpetuating an old formula.
Reading the papers of Jean Carles, an innocent reader would think that the 8th Art is about combining elements in different proportion. That was the method to find new ideas and eventually balance them, not to create a perfume.
For instance, in an Eau de Cologne, is it correct to introduce any element at a right dosage to be in balance with the other notes? Not being overdosed, the mixture will be pleasant anyway, but is it good for the original IDEA? What is the opposed, what is the "antonym" of this Eau de Cologne idea?
The original Eau de Cologne was what I call "a total perfume", a composition where everything is in harmony with everything (up to the trace notes) and for this reason the accords can be inverted. There are at least 4 major XIXth creations which are precisely a new balance of the same formula, each being at the same time original and familiar. This technique of the ideal perfume was used by Paul Parquet in many Houbigant creations. In fact, this aesthetic idea is what perfume houses should look for - their "ideal" formula, a fragrance harmony allowing the immediate identification of the signature and a constant reinvention, modifying the original accord and slowly adding new materials enriching this harmony. When brands address to masses hoping to gain their hearts for several decades, they MUST be faithful to the original emotion of the perfume, done with the best ingredients.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
