EXCLUSIVE FRAGRANCE HONORE DELIGHT FROM EX NIHILO
- Jan 29, 2021
EXCLUSIVE FRAGRANCE HONORE DELIGHT FROM EX NIHILO
A WORD WITH:
Ex Nihilo
Ex Nihilo cofounder Benoît Verdier walks us through the euphoric process of creating a fragrance. Read the interview and experience the latest scent, Honoré Delight, available exclusively at The Webster.
TW: Can you share with us the creative process behind being a nose? Where do you find inspiration for creating new fragrances?
TW: Can you share with us the creative process behind being a nose? Where do you find inspiration for creating new fragrances?
BV: It's really often created from EX NIHILO – started from nothing, started from scratch. It involves many mood boards, and we use a lot of inspiration pictures, materials, movies, and creative materials, including, of course, raw materials.
We draw inspiration from many artistic community fields, such as fashion, architecture, design, photography, to propose a fresh version of what new French Avant-garde could be. Today we try not to be inspired too much by what we can find online or through social media because everybody goes to the same source like Pinterest or Instagram; I prefer to source old magazines and obscures books, and the most important comes from our conversations with the perfumers we work with.
For the rest of the process, I will write a little story – a storyboard or directly a concept. Then we go to see the dream team of master perfumers we work with at Givaudan and come with all of the material to discuss – that's the briefing part. I never studied perfumery in my youth, but I think the more you smell, the more you get confidence and knowledge. After that, we spend maybe three weeks to one month working on the fragrance, and at the end, we meet again. Sometimes there are five different ideas, and we make the choice together.
It's always the same process and can last from four months to almost one year to make a fragrance. It involves a lot of conversation and interaction with the perfumers because sometimes they bring you a new idea or new material. We are always open to improve, to change or trying something better or more creative. There is no limit in terms of the materials we use, and there is no limit for creativity either. So, that's how we do it. To be precise, we do not do any marketing or focus groups, and we do not conduct any studies. It's really a conversation between us as founders and the perfumers. Not having a classic perfumer’s background helps us think out of the box and bring fresh, disruptive ideas about the fragrance experience as a whole 360° journey.
TW: If you were a fragrance, what notes would be included, and why?
BV: So hard to answer, I love smells with character that are atypical or express their owner's personality.
I like Iris for its sophisticated touch, Orange Blossom for its sparkling effect, and all the Woods, including Tonka Bean and Cedarwood. Today we do a lot of research on sustainability and eco conception; I'm very intrigued and excited by the concept of upcycling and circularity in perfumery, how to give a second life to an ingredient already used once and transform it into something even more luxurious! What was the inspiration behind Honoré Delight? In these uncertain times, I think we have all this almost regressive desire to recenter ourselves, look for comfort, indulgence, feel at peace.
We thought about creating a new "Gourmand" as we had never explored so far this olfactory family. And we had some desire for long to work a variation on the Hesperidés (Orange blossom, Neroli) through their most addictive facets.
The name HONORÉ DELIGHTS itself has a dual inspiration: First, the St-Honoré street in Paris, nearby place Vendôme, where the EX NIHILO flagship stands at number 352 since 2013. It embodies the luxurious side of the fragrance and is a reminder of the house's DNA. Second, St-Honoré is a creamy and deliciously addictive French delicacy that originally inspired Master perfumer Natalie Cetto for this scent. Expect a beautiful bloom of Orange blossom captured in a veil of Iris, woods, and Musk! It's delicious!
TW: When selecting scent, what do you recommend a client look for when identifying what they like?
BV: Simple: Close your eyes, spray your favorite scent on your skin on one of your pulsation point. That's why we recommend always to try your fragrance on the skin and not only on paper blotters.
Sensations are the most important, don't be fooled by the name or the color of the bottle! Perfumes evolve over the day according to many factors, so be sure you are comfortable wearing it on the skin for at least a full day, so you will be able to "live" with it. It is intimate, as this is a mix of your skin, and your fragrance will be your own olfactory signature!
Imagine it like a perfect white shirt or your favorite timeless dress in your wardrobe; you can mix and match with as many accessories as you like and let the magic happen!
