RAISON D'ÊTRE

 

Throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s, perfumer Germaine Cellier redefined what was possible in perfumery with her daring compositions based around doses of ingredients in percentages never used before. The technical expertise exhibited in her work is matched by the strength of character found in each fragrance - the I-dare-you smirk of Piguet’s Bandit, Fracas’s weaponized femininity and the quiet malice lurking in the depths of Balmain’s Jolie Madame.

In creating Sainte Cellier, I wanted to make a space for perfumes with the same strength of character. One of the things I love most about Cellier’s work is the way people relate to it. The parts of themselves they discover reflected in it, and the characters, lives and stories it inspires. It’s a shared understanding that serves as a secret password that grants entry to a space where perfume is interpreted in a way that goes beyond how it smells.

I would like people to have the same experiences with the perfumes they find on Sainte Cellier. I hope every smell is accompanied by great swaths of slow-moving colours, sweeping emotion or impure thoughts. None of Sainte Cellier’s perfumes smell beige. The only acceptable neutral here is leopard print. Sainte Cellier’s perfumes are for dreamers and deep thinkers, deviants and disagreeable characters. Bonus points if you’re any combination of either.

Sainte Cellier is an extension of my love of fragrance. I’ve spent the past decade exploring and collecting perfume. I’ve acquired fragrances from as far back as the 1930s to the most modern scents that came out just yesterday. I work with brands, studios where perfume is made and retail spaces.

I love the rich history that can be found in perfumery and the mirror it holds to our lives. Perfume is a spirit that’s accompanied me through so many moments; accentuating every memory and offering comfort, tranquility and beauty when it's most needed.

I hope every visitor to Sainte Cellier finds a fragrance that brings them the same.