Our Own Favourites

For this last article, we have decided to write it together and share our personal experience regarding fragrances. We hope you enjoy our different posts and learn more about the very interesting fragrances market.

Pauline: "My favourite fragrance is Envy Me by Gucci, it is one of my first perfumes when I was a teenager. When I smell it, a lot of good memories come out: it is my “madeleine de Proust”. It was the first perfume that I really chose and bought by myself.

I really appreciate the mixture of the tart notes of litchi and pomegranate, the freshness brings by the water jasmine and a hint of musk. In addition, I like the long shape of the bottle, even if it is less convenient than a squared bottle when I travel, but I find it original and the design is really simple... and pink! (Yeah, I totally assume this girly touch...) I still remember the advertising visual (cf photo), very simple also.

Unfortunately, it begins to be really difficult to find this perfume in perfumery shops as Sephora for instance. As I am picky about the perfume and very fond of this one, I will keep purchasing it on the Internet.’’

Maha: "My all time favorite perfume is LE PARFUM from Elie Saab.

Before discovering the perfume, I was first a fan of its design dresses that were desired by famous personalities all around the world.

I discovered this radiant and sensational eau de parfum that in the same time well represent the dress pieces, cut in a precious material. This eau de parfum represents for me the brightness and a radiant femininity.

I chose it because of its strong smell that reminds me my oriental origins since it is made of what we call Oud. A smell that you can not miss while visiting the Middle-East countries.

Not only the smell of the perfume  but i love also the shape of its bottle. At the first look you see a simple bottle... BUT when you give more attention you see an elegant one with delicate corners. The perfume seems to be inside a Crystal bottle !

I think the choice of your fragrance is very important because it is one of the only thing someone will keep in memory while thinking about you, your perfume is your signature !

I am sure I will buy a new one as soon as my bottle finish because I think I really found the one that suit me and my personality!

But still I like to test new ones according to the seasons and my mood as more floral, fresh and woody perfumes ;)"

Roman: "I don't necessarily have a favourite #1 fragrance, however most of fragrances I have bought by myself. I have tried Gucci by Gucci, Trussardi My Land and Kenzo Homme. Nevertheless, currently I am a Dior Homme man (obviously judging from my previous article). This fragrance is an exception from the rule since I have received for my birthday as the gift from my girlfriend. I'm not sure whether she wants me to look more like Robert Pattinson but I must admit I enjoy the firm blend of sweetness and freshness in my Dior Homme Sport. The bottle is minimalistic but stylish, nothing seem to be missing. Although it is essentially a summer scent I enjoy wearing it pretty much every day especially during the cold autumn days when it sort of reminds you of sun and fun summer moments. 

I believe whenever this bottle will be done I would go for a new Dior Homme fragrance but this time something even more spicier. I believe the Dior Homme Perfume or Intense would be an even better fir for me since it has a much stronger but softer touch to its smell. I feel like I finally found a fragrance that fits me pretty much in everything except the brand ambassador- not a big fan of Twilight :) I should probably give a nice hint to my girlfriend around Christmas gift shopping time ;)"

 
Kathrine: "My favourite fragrance is Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel and I’m never in doubt when I smell the Coco. I have desired this fragrance for many years now and I have either bought the beautiful bottle by my selves or received as a present. The Coco mademoiselle reminds me of my mother, she has been “wearing” it for many years and I have properly been using my mothers Coco Mademoiselle bottle to start with.

Coco Mademoiselle not only smells good, but I also love the shape of bottle of the fragrance – just like the bottle of Chanel No5. I always recognize the Coco Mademoiselle advertisements, which is usually done with style and being breathtaking, but I didn’t recognize them before I started to buy the fragrance.

But there is one limit for me as a students and that is the price of the fragrance. Therefore I have to live without Coco Mademoiselle for some periods, but then I need to save my money or make it as a wish."

 




Bart: ‘’For me, fragrances add something to your image. The way you are seen by others is influenced by your appearance and by your behavior, and the smell of a fragrance has an influence on both of these factors.

At the moment I am using two fragrances, Ralph Lauren Big Pony No.3, which I prefer to use during the day, and Abercrombie & Fitch’s Fierce, which I use before going out or for special occasions. When I bought these fragrances, I didn’t pay any attention to their appearance or to the brand, the reason I bought them was just the scents of these two fragrances that stood out.

Ralph Lauren Big Pony No. 3 is the green edition in the collection of the four iconic Big Pony fragrances launched by Ralph Lauren. The main notes of the fragrance are mint and ginger, and according to the official website of Ralph Lauren the fragrance is ‘an adventurous scent for the outdoorsman’. The fragrance’s main notes create a fresh scent which is not too strong but gives a pleasant touch to my general appearance during the day. When wearing this fragrance, I don’t feel the urge to stand out, however I know I smell good which makes me confident in my behavior.

On the official website of Abercrombie & Fitch, Fierce is described as follows: ‘Packed with confidence and a bold, masculine attitude, Fierce is not just a cologne, it's a lifestyle. The clean scent of fresh citrus will grab her attention and warm musk will keep her interested. Rugged, classic, cool... live the tradition of Abercrombie & Fitch with our signature scent.‘

The fragrance’s top notes are petitgrain, cardamom, lemon, orange and fir; middle notes are jasmine, rosemary, rose and lily-of-the-valle and base notes are vetiver, musk, oakmoss and brazilian rosewood. 

Fierce is a strong cologne with a long lasting smell. When wearing this fragrance, I want to stand out from others and very often this is assured by the many compliments I get about my smell when using it. Wearing this fragrance makes me feel confident and in fact more attractive.’’

...To end up this article of our own favourites, we would all like to point out what the future might bring for the fragrance market. There is still a growth in the fragrance market and market keeps being innovative. At the World Perfumery Congress  ‘eScent’ was introduced to be the future of the fragrance market. The new scent ‘eScent’, which will be a fragrance that can be pre-programmed from a Smartphone, will be embedded in ‘intelligent’ textiles or jewellery for the application of fragrances (Tectile Futures Research Centre, 2014).

References

Tectile Futures Research Centre. (June 2014). World Perfumery Congress 2014: The Future of Fragrance. Hentet fra www.tfrc.org.uk: http://www.tfrc.org.uk/world-perfumery-congress-2014-the-future-of-fragrance/

L’Occitane en Provence, the Traditional One!

A little of history...

L’Occitane en Provence is a brand of natural cosmetics created in 1976 by Olivier Baussan. The brand uses the principles of the aromatherapy and the herbal medicine and cultivates simple values: the authenticity, the respect and the sensorial aspect.

Olivier Baussan sells its own creation at the age of 23 and opens its first store in 1997. The first factory “L’Occitane en Provence” opens its doors in Provence at Volx in 1981 and in 2002 the first store in Paris is open.

The company is well involved into the social aspects, indeed the company established "workshops scents" for the not clairvoyants children, and provides itself in shea butter, stemming from the "sustainable trade" in Burkina Faso.

What a Product!

L’Occitane en Provence proposes 3 different types of fragrances: The women fragrances, the men fragrances and the Home fragrances.

All are inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle: using a L'OCCITANE product is always a moment of well-being and sensory delight.

The brand selects the natural components, stemming from responsible, local agricultural sectors. It avoids the use of the chemical solar filters, excludes gradually the parabène of its products, eliminates the phthalates of its formulae and limits the use of the silicone. It favors the plant extracts, stemming from the Provençal and Mediterranean soil (with Protected designation of origin, AOP), and bio fully qualified teachers (with the label Ecocert).

As a result the main components of L’Occitane en Provence perfumes are developed from declensions and from variations of flowers as the organic Immortelle, the organic Myrtle, the Almond, the organic Cade, the organic Angelica from the Drôme, the Rose, the P.D.O. Lavender of Haute Provence, the Verbena, the Cherry blossom, the Peony and the Shea butter. And all this smell of paradise is bottled in different sizes 50, 75, 100, 125 or 300 ml.

Today the brand own more than 2 350 shops in 90 countries. So all around the world, customers that prefer a famous French perfume and can buy these fresh bottles in the so-called L’Occitane en Provence stores.

It is also possible to buy its bottle of perfume through Internet on its own website http://uk.loccitane.com which is available in different languages to be more accessible.

But also in pharmacies, with skin care section products and where there is all kind of customers with all a different budget so that allow the brand to be at the scope of everyone on the market.

To attract more customers, L’Occitane en Provence take advantage of every year celebration as sales, Christmas, new year special flash… and celebrate your special occasion with the Provencal gift sets.

Then we can see the kind of offers that pushes the customer to buy more with the “$15 when you spend $40” or “spend $49.5 for a special collection pack worthing $72”.

Moreover, the company offers free samples, free gift-wrapping and free standard delivery over $25 when we order our perfumes through the Internet.

The promotions that the brand offer is to make the customer closer to the nature, the environment that he is living in. It favors the traditional and the family side by proposing baskets with a mix of products to be shared.

For the price of the fragrances it can go from 27 to 55in function of the size of the bottle ad its edition.

86% of the production of L’Occitane en Provence is exported abroad, the brand knew how to charm and implant itself in the foreign countries.

Follow the scent

References :

L'Occitane en Provence - http://uk.loccitane.com

Forbes, The Billionaire Behind L'Occitane's Asian Expansion - http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0411/features-billionaire-behind-loccitane-asian-expansion.html

Beauty blog, Tips using L'Occitane en Provence - http://beaute-blog.blogspot.fr/2014/06/ma-routine-de-soin-avec-loccitane-une.html

Youtube, La collection de Grasse by L'Occitane en provence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll0jNK3KxmM&list=PLU8HNbOgTw640pSQGngJEiH2Xi85vPlZv&index=11