When I met Rodrigo Flores-Roux at the London launch of the John Varvatos range of scents, I asked him about his work on the reformulated, 2010 version of Fougère Royale, a creation which he called “a complicated thing”. Would someone smelling the original and the current version be able to smell the difference between the two?
“Yes! The perfume that I made for Houbigant is a poetic licence. I actually wrote a long, explanatory – and apologetic – article about it. It doesn’t smell at all like Fougère Royale. Not at all. But I took elements of the original and re-orchestrated them. I was very distressed by the whole coumarin story [in the original], I didn’t want it, for me it was too powdery. So I approached it by putting in some tonka bean and some clary sage. However, a very classic fougère soap is Maja De Myrurgia; it’s a very well known soap in Mexico. A lot of people who like Fougère Royale, without knowing the story behind it, have told me that there’s something about it which reminds them of the soap. And so for me, that’s like: ‘Ok, I got it!’ And it was co-created by Roja Dove, and he’s a very knowledgeable person, so he was not going to allow this to be a disaster.”
Whilst we were on the subject of re-working classics, I asked him whether he’s worried about the new, anti-allergen legislation looming on the horizon.
“Yes, I am very worried. The thing is that sometimes we worry about these things too much, and then they become a non-issue. They become an option, not an obligation. But I do not know how these things that might happen in the next few months could become an option. Are we killing perfumery? Yes. We are destroying perfumery. I’m going to be very, very lax in what I’m going to say right now. For so many years, there’s been this law that we have to put a nasty label on a box of cigarettes, saying ‘Smoking kills you.’ And it has not deterred people from smoking. It has created a consciousness. So maybe we should put a horrible label on perfume, and that’s it. It’s a very tricky subject. I detest it.”
Persolaise
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I agree with Rodrigo, by removing key perfumery components on the basis that some people may be allergic to them or they may (if you ingested a huge amount) make you ill, is crazy and is killing an art as well as exceptional fragrant masterpieces. The 'Nanny' state, HSE 'gone mad', spring to mind. By all means list allergens, slap warning labels on if you must, but leave the choice to buy down to the consumer. I'd be more than happy to take the risk!
Sophiafh, thanks for your comments. Many consumers would seem to agree with you… but the industry isn't taking much notice.
Banning some aromachemical compounds who might stack up in human tissue, would be better. Brands like EDEN clearly did it and they can even recreate brands like Creed or Boss fragrances by using other raw materials. Second, you can’t explane asking prices like €200+ and use cheap synthetics for example hydroxycitronellal like many drugstore brands (Brut)do.
Thanks very much for watching and for taking the time to write.