On creativity, emotion, and why a fragrance should be judged by more than how long it lasts.
Think the debate around perfume’s performance is a modern phenomenon? Think again.
Writing in the first century, the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder dismissed scent as the most frivolous of luxuries because it vanishes almost as soon as it is used. In Natural History, he complained:
“Perfumes serve the purpose of the most superfluous of all forms of luxury… ingredients lose their scent at once, and die in the very hour when they are used.”
His final grievance feels almost comically modern:
“All that money is paid for a pleasure enjoyed by someone else.”
It seems that, for some, perfume has always had a performance problem.
Two millennia later, the same grumble constantly appears in fragrance discussions. But why is there such scrutiny on a scent’s ability to linger, when the truest marker of its performance may be how well it expresses the idea that informs its creation?
To explore longevity, sillage and the life of perfume on skin, I spoke with Voyages Imaginaires' perfumers Camille Goutal and Isabelle Doyen, who argue that the modern fixation on longevity risks obscuring the things that actually make a perfume meaningful: its creative idea, its materials, and the emotions it awakens.
Is longevity something that can be designed deliberately, or is it more a byproduct of materials and structure?
It depends on the fragrances. For example, amber or woody fragrances are naturally long lasting, thanks to notes like patchouli, vanilla, sandalwood.
However, as the market is asking for more and more longevity, perfumers add woody ambery synthetic molecules in the formulas. The positive aspect is that, yes, it adds longevity, the negative aspect is that all the fragrances smell the same after two to three hours.
Roses, citrus, floral. A lot of them have these woody ambery notes nowadays. It's nonsense. It is coherent to put these notes in amber fragrances, but not really in fresh fragrances because it completely kills the idea of freshness in the bottom notes.
If you love fresh fragrances, you should accept that the longevity is not as good as in heavy fragrances, and just add more during the day.
How do naturals versus synthetics affect longevity and diffusion in a composition?
That depends on the formula. When we formulate only with natural ingredients, we can’t use all the very strong woody synthetics or certain kinds of powerful musks that are in each and every fragrances.
So, when we create an amber fragrance like L’Eau des Immortels, it’s pretty easy to have this sensation of longevity due to its style. But when we create a fresh fragrance like Tea & Rock n’ Roll, we have to find other ways to make it last, using tonka bean or maté for example. Because if we add long lasting notes like patchouli or sandalwood, then it will not be Tea & Rock n’ Roll anymore. We would lose the concept of the fragrance.
Why does the same perfume last all day on one person and seem to vanish quickly on another?
It depends on many things, but this is mainly due both to the amount sprayed and the quality of the skin. While some people only do one or two sprays, some others do ten!
Some only spray their skin, while others also spray their clothes (which is, for different reasons, the best way to perfume yourself: it lasts longer on the clothes than on the skin, and it reduces the risk of allergic reactions).
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about perfume longevity?
The biggest mistake is to think that longevity is a sign of quality.
And this is totally understandable! If you are not a perfumer, you can’t tell what’s in a fragrance. You can’t tell if it’s natural or synthetic, if the molecules and essences are cheap or expensive, if it’s highly concentrated or not.
A brand can call a fragrance an Eau de Parfum even if the concentration is very low, or you can call it Eau de toilette and be highly concentrated. There are no laws to legislate that. This is a marketing positioning.
So, apart from the scent itself (I like it or I don’t like it), the only way to evaluate the fragrance for customers is to see if it lasts. This is something they can measure easily, whereas they can’t measure the quality of the formula itself, because it’s a very well-guarded treasure.
But unfortunately, longevity is not necessarily a guarantee of quality of the ingredients. Most of the woody ambery notes are not very expensive for example.
And this is where it becomes more and more complex: what is quality for customers? The quality of the ingredients, the quality of the scent, the bottle, the value for money, the longevity? I don’t have the answer.
For me quality is in the raw materials, in the creative idea and in the emotions I feel when I smell a fragrance. Not in the longevity. But this is very personal.
Do you feel longevity is over-emphasised in how perfume is evaluated today?
A big company in the perfume industry recently did a survey. Longevity was at the first place of people's expectations. The scent itself was only in third place! Crazy isn't it?
The scent, the idea, the emotion you have when you smell a perfume… There’s nothing more important. Fragrance is your second skin. It’s part of your personality.
How do you feel when a perfume is judged primarily on how long it lasts?
It saddens me! This quest for strength and longevity is slowly killing the creativity in the perfume industry.
There is also another physical problem about this quest and it is very paradoxal: the more people are wearing strong fragrances, the less they can smell them! Their noses get used to it and always want more…
What do you wish wearers would value instead of, or alongside, longevity, and how do you think we can encourage that way of thinking?
A fragrance is like a romantic encounter. It has to be love at first! Something you can’t live without.
And like most relationships, they are all different: some are strong and passionate, while others are soft and tender. No matter the strength, it’s what you make of it that matters!
Play with your fragrance: don’t put on too much of it if it’s a strong one, and respray yourself if it’s a fresh one. The only thing that matters is that your fragrance makes you happy!