Wafting of individuality
April 23, 2006
FORMER Miss Malaysia 2003 Elaine Daly has taken to spraying herself with her Grand Amour perfume whenever she heads out to high society events these days.
Part of the appeal of the perfume created by French perfumer Annick Goutal, says Daly, is that “no other woman is wearing the same scent as mine!”
The fad now is for fragrances that people do not recognise easily. Ken Lim, of multi-brand boutique Kens Apothecary, says the trend began in Europe last year and Malaysians have caught on.
“A brand speaks of individuality, of you,” he explains. “People are seeking individual scents to distinguish themselves from the rest. Imagine wearing a perfume to an event and picking up that scent from five people aged from 21 to 50. Or imagine a boss wearing the same scent as her secretary on the same day!
“A hundred years ago, only the rich could afford perfumes. Guerlain, France’s oldest perfumer, revolutionised the industry when it commercialised modern methods of extracting scents. The mass perfume industry was born when fragrances became affordable and marketed to the ordinary people. While the perfume industry boomed, it meant the loss of personal scents.”
Now that trend is reversing; people are yearning for exclusivity in the way they smell.
Reiner Evers, founder of trendwatching.com, an Amsterdam-based trend firm that scans for the most promising global consumer trends and insights, agrees that perfume is going the way of every other luxury item.
“We see more personalisation, more exclusivity, more niche (for) perfumes,” says Evers in an e-mail interview.
“If luxury (is about) being special and different but not necessarily visually showing off your brands, it makes sense that perfumes will go niche instead of mass. Mass production doesn’t make you very special.”
It would appear that the class conscious want to give off scents that mark them as different from the hoi polloi, adds Evers. Not only that, they want others in their class to “recognise their unique scent and thus know how much it costs!”
Elle magazine beauty director Emily Dougherty says in a recent issue that limited edition scents are an indulgence women are going for today.
“Single-note essential oils that can be worn individually or layered depending on your mood are another way to personalise your perfume,” she says.
Perfume Legends author Michael Edwards further adds “there are many women who favour a single fragrance because they believe it expresses something important about their personality. The fragrance becomes her signature. You usually find that a woman who has a signature fragrance feels very comfortable with it.”
“Our signature scent should turn people’s heads as they wonder about that mysterious fragrance instead of thinking, ‘Now isn’t that XYZ perfume advertised today?” says Lim.
He adds: “Perfumes embody our personalities, evoke sentiments and emotions. Perfumes are a symphony of notes. When these notes are played, they should be a reminder of something, or a face. It would be ideal if the face is yours.”
Despite a trend towards personal scents, celebrity-endorsed fragrances look set to stay in 2006.
Last year alone saw the likes of Antonio Banderas, Cindy Crawford, Shania Twain, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Beyonce and Britney Spears launching their scents. Hillary Duff and romance author Danielle Steele scents are expected this year.
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