"Luxury perfumes are not only dressed in gold and silver diamonds, people seek out scents for their soul, their unique beauty, their unmistakable style."
About the author
Known as “the scent expert”, “the perfume decoding expert”, ChQcQ is a writer who specializes in using beautiful words to honor scents. His sharp and charming writing style will take readers into the charming world of perfume.
You can read in-depth articles about ChQcQ's scents in fashion magazines or on the fanpage about lifestyle & the world of fragrances.Scent Me The Journeyyour.
Photo: Facebook Nguyen Quoc Huy
In the early 90s of the last century, perfume was considered a somewhat too fancy, sometimes flashy, makeup method. At that time, we were familiar with the small, modest bottles of Miss Saigon perfume, or a bit more luxurious, a few funny perfume bottles originating from Thailand. Those who “dared” to equip themselves with a bottle of Chanel, Guerlain or Dior perfume were, of course, “formidable”.
At that time, in Vietnam, Chanel from Paris was synonymous with luxury. That view has been maintained in a relative state until now. 30 years have passed, from the time when to send an email in the middle of Hanoi Old Quarter or District 1 Saigon, we would leisurely meditate and wait for about 2 hours, luckily or not, until now, the world of information technology has developed like a storm, what has changed in the world of fragrance?
The Rise of a Luxury Fragrance Empire
Before the 90s, perfume names were often associated with fashion brands. This perfume branch was called Designer Perfume House - fashion perfume house. In the early 2000s, the scent realm witnessed the revival of this branch.niche perfume, rare perfumes. The owners of these perfumes are perfume houses that specialize in making scents.
When the internet was still slow, these rare perfume houses were dedicated to making their scents. However, technology exploded, media became important; in the face of the terrifying dominance of the fashion perfume industry, rare perfume houses could no longer be conservative, they started to implement their own promotional plans. If Chanel or Dior used A-list stars as the faces of their best-selling scents, rare perfume houses have a unique and equally admirable strategy.
British perfume house Clive Christian was founded in 1872, serving a small but "quality" customer base, first the British royal and aristocratic "class", then wealthy perfume lovers around the world.
Among Clive Christian’s many aromatic creations, No.1, launched in 2001, is the most popular scent, partly thanks to the perfume house’s extremely smart communication strategy. In addition to the excellent ingredients and scent formula, Clive Christian decided to turn No.1 into a superstar. The meticulous perfume house devotedly dressed No.1 in a high-class outfit in a way that no previous perfume house dared to do. The soul-scent of No.1 is contained in a Bacarat crystal bottle, on the “neck” of the perfume bottle, there is a majestic 1/3 carat white diamond.
The perfume house dressed No.1 in a high-class outfit in a way that no previous perfume house dared to do.
Thanks to this luxurious and extravagant outfit, Clive Christian became famous because everyone was curious and tried to find out about the most expensive perfume bottle on the planet. The elaborate "clothed" version of No.1, whose full name is No.1 Imperial Majesty, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive perfume bottle in the world during the period 2001-2006, at about 215,000 USD.
No.1 itself is a beautiful scent, quickly becoming the most representative fragrance of Clive Christian perfume house. If No.1 for men is generous, elegant, open with woody notes; No.1 for women is youthful, radiant, golden, with lingering floral notes.
Clive Christian is a testament to being up-to-date and alert. To maintain his Guinness record, in 2014, Clive Christian once again replaced No.1 with a new outfit called No.1 Passant Guardant, a gorgeous gold-plated fragrance, priced at around $230,000, and sold exclusively at the Clive Christian boutique on the 6th floor, the Salon de Parfums fragrance department of the most famous British shopping building Harrods.
The stunning gold-plated No.1 Passant Guardant costs around $230,000.
However, when you are at the pinnacle of glory, very soon, the “top of the top” will appear. In 2019, the whole world was shocked when CNN reported on a perfume masterpiece called Shumukh - Supreme, displayed at a luxury shopping mall in Dubai.
Besides the material elements such as 3,571 diamonds and hundreds of pounds of pure gold and silver decorating the Supreme, the soul of the Supreme took more than 3 years to create from traditional scent notes of the Thousand and One Nights such as sandalwood, frankincense, mountain rose, agarwood... After 494 steps to perfect the scent formula, the owner of the Supreme, the perfume house Nabeel, confidently introduced the completed work worth 1.3 million dollars to connoisseurs.
These are two typical examples that demonstrate the increasingly refined and sublime luxury in the world of fragrance. The concept of expensive scents has gone too far. Going beyond the monetary value, works that satisfy the sense of smell are not simply dressed in meticulously inlaid gold and silver diamonds. People seek out scents for their soul, their unique beauty, their unmistakable style.
What is the difference between a 50 usd and a 500 usd bottle of perfume?
It is no exaggeration to say that perfume is a cruel world of beauty, where the law of elimination is higher than any other beauty realm. Gone are the days when people were devoted to one scent and embraced it for life. Perfume has become a hobby, an interesting collection.
Some people wonder, well, diamond-encrusted perfumes aside, they're limited edition perfumes - what's the difference between a $50 perfume and a $500 perfume, both housed in glass bottles, with the same ingredients: sandalwood, rose, and citrus?
"Legendary" Chanel No.5, priced at around 3,300,000 VND
It is easy to imagine why, with the same alphabet, some writers become famous, while others write so that no one dares to read? From the basic material materials, depending on the creativity of each individual, the value of the finished product is decided.
Continuing to imagine, with the same piece of salmon, why is eating at a Japanese buffet restaurant different from eating at a Japanese fine-dining restaurant? The quality of the ingredients greatly determines the customer's feelings and emotions.
That is also the reason why a segment of fragrance lovers are becoming more and more meticulous. They no longer find pleasure in the overly popular perfume bottles. Fragrances are always personal, containing the desire to reveal hidden and instinctive meanings. People cannot standardize a scent. Fragrances cannot be too “common”. This is the opportunity for the luxury fragrance branch to shine.
As said, luxury here is not simply a matter of expensive or cheap, but luxury is an emotion. Frivolous but also logical and understandable, emotions often cannot be... cheap. And scent lovers gradually seek out luxury fragrance brands to satisfy their thirst for scent. These famous fragrance brands, independent and long-standing, have seniority and experience - finance to reserve for themselves experience in blending scents, a separate warehouse of rare, refined ingredients. Standing outside of short-lived trends, fragrance artists can live their true lives, they accompany fragrance lovers, bringing many valuable surprises to the world of scents.
Always personal, always expressing a secret and instinctive desire - one cannot standardize a scent. A scent cannot be too "overlapping".
Who are the luxury fragrance representatives today?
In the same culture as Nabeel, we must mention the perfume house.Amouage, was founded in 1983 by an Omani prince, with the ambition to restore the Arabian fragrance empire which was seriously disoriented at that time. Amouage's aromatic creations are made from the finest and specialized aromatic ingredients of the perfume house, of the land of Oman.
When smelling Amouage scents, it is difficult for the smeller to “pick out” specific single notes. The ingredients blend smoothly and vividly, weaving for each Amouage scent a diverse, lasting, unique, unpredictable aromatic state. Truly, these are endless poetic journeys told through scent.
Amouage calls its aromatic creations the Gifts of Kings. Many fragrance lovers call Amouage a luxury perfume, because of the wealth of fine aromatic ingredients, and because of the aesthetic and highly cultured appearance of the perfume bottle.
If the Amouage men's perfume bottle has the shape of a dagger, a traditional protective weapon of men in the desert, the Amouage women's perfume bottle has the shape of a sacred temple of the Thousand and One Nights. Amouage's typical, unique, beautiful and timeless aromatic creations include the Memoir duo, the Lyric duo, the Jubilation XXV duo, the Interlude duo...
Sharing the same nationality as Clive Christian, it is impossible not to mention the contemporary master of fragrance.Roja Dove. With a treasure trove of natural aromatic ingredients in a refined state and close to the "red book" - hard to buy with money, such as ambergris, agarwood, oak moss..., along with the vibration and ability to create beautiful, sophisticated scents that cannot be confused, Roja Dove has persistently built for itself a luxurious fragrance empire with a strangely attractive power.
Once you have “accidentally” come across the world of Roja Dove fragrances, it is difficult for you to ignore or not be haunted or “fall in love all over again” with the scents you once had. Famous for its Haute Luxe fragrance creations that sparkle with gold leaves floating inside the perfume bottle, Roja Dove wants to tell us one thing: In the world of fragrances, gold is just a bit of jewelry for fun, because many aromatic ingredients are more precious and valuable than gold.
Mentioning perfume without visiting France is really a big mistake. Besides the famous fragrant names like Guerlain or Jar Parfums, we have more hidden beautyHenry Jacques.
France has been one of the most important “warehouses” of aromatic materials in the perfume industry since the late 19th century until now, and Henry Jacques and his aromatic collection are the essence of French fragrance. Elaborately and meticulously collecting aromatic materials in the highest quality, Henry Jacques creates scents that preserve the poetic and ethereal value of French fragrance.
Surely movie lovers still remember the haunting spinning top in the movie Inception by director Christopher Nolan - Henry Jacques put his aromatic essence in a beautifully designed crystal bottle shaped like a spinning top. Besides the available scents, Henry Jacques or Roja Dove are willing to design scents for you. Because the most luxurious is when you are willing to have your own personal scent.
The world of luxury fragrances is synonymous with rarity, sophistication, meticulousness, secrecy, with the aim of bringing fragrance lovers more valuable, unique and unforgettable experiences and emotions. And are you ready to explore deeper into the art of fragrance?
