Love is ... heaven scent

Odile Lobadowsky is clearly happy despite having had a whirlwind few hours since stepping off the plane in Dubai.

Radiating inner calm, the president and CEO of Kenzo Parfums was the epitome of elegant composure at the carefully orchestrated launch of KenzoAmour, at Shoo Fee Ma Fee in Souk Madinat Jumeirah.

Now, with the bulk of the media thirst quenched, Lobadowsky turns her full attention to me as she discusses her company's latest creation in a soft French accent.

Universal

It's been six years since Kenzo's last women's fragrance, FlowerByKenzo, was unveiled. The natural question is, where do you begin in the search for a new scent?, I ask.

"Normally we begin with a story," she says. "We wanted a universal story and we thought, 'what is more universal than love?' "

From this starting point, the story developed into a journey of love through Asia — in reference to Kenzo's Asian origins — with a couple in love, travelling through India and Vietnam and followed by a colourful bird.

The visualisation of the concept has been captured in a commercial that will be used to promote the new fragrance.

"The idea of the bird is to make the connection between love and nature," explains Lobadowsky.

While the story may be simple, finding the right notes to illustrate it through an aroma is less straight forward.
Lobadowsky says: "We wanted a floral smell but with tenderness and softness.

"Then we remembered that in Bali there are offerings to the gods which are small baskets with frangipani flowers, rice and vanilla. The idea was to recreate the smell of the gifts."

Challenge

Perfumers were invited to meet the brief and it wasn't long before Daphné Bugey, of perfumery Firmenich, was selected as the ideal candidate to formulate the scent.

Having travelled extensively across Asia, Bugey knew from the outset the aroma she was planning to craft.

As well as employing the three ingredients from the basket within the story, she enlisted the characteristics of cherry blossoms and white tea as the top notes for KenzoAmour, and combined them with the attributes of thanaka wood and incense.

The challenge then was to strike the right balance in composition to make it harmonious and lasting – a task that took Bugey, Lobadowsky and the three-strong creative team at Kenzo Parfums around a year to achieve.

"Creations have a signature which is related to the spirit of the brand," says Lobadowsky.

"What we like is the expression of the values of the brand which are femininity, sensuality, elegance and poetry. We don't want to be ostentatious, overpowering or striking. You can smell our perfume on your skin but it is not very strong. It is for you and your loved one — it's intimate."

Competition

In a global market place saturated with scents from every perfumer, fashion label and self-obsessed pop star, competition has never been so great.

But Lobadowsky does not seem concerned. "A lot of people are making fragrances just to make money and you realise it when you see perfumes that are not real creations," she says.

"The objective for Kenzo is to create something new, to tell a new story. I don't know if KenzoAmour will be a success but I hope when it is presented to people, they will realise it is different. The idea is to tell a beautiful story and then people will feel the emotion behind the product."

While women can revel in the new creation that is KenzoAmour, now on sale, men must wait another year before the brand releases its new fragrance pour homme.
But that's another story.

About Odile

Odile says: "When I entered this world, I thought it was really perfect for me because it is very emotional and very creative."

Lobadowsky caught her first whiff of fragrant success as marketing director for Lacoste Parfums. In 1989 she became international marketing director for Parfums Rochas.

It has been 10 years since she joined Kenzo Parfums. She took the helm as president and CEO of the company in 1999 and has since launched FlowerByKenzo in 2000, the skincare line KenzoKi a year later and the men's fragrance KenzoAir in 2004.

The launch

As the inspiration behind the perfume was to tell a story, rather fittingly, the presentation of the product was a theatrical experience in itself.

Launched at Shoo Fee Ma Fee restaurant in Souk Madinat Jumeirah, the crowd that had gathered to witness the unveiling of KenzoAmour was so large it had to be divided into groups – K, E, N, Z, and O to be precise.

Honoured with the letter K, I was among the first to be ushered behind the white curtains into a room decked with comfy chairs and ample cushions set out before a screen.

After a brief introduction, a romantic full-length commercial began, telling the story of the new fragrance.

Stunning images of scenery through Asia shot to scenes of a couple in love, embracing, and an exotic, colourful bird flying high. Against a seductive soundtrack of Good Friday by CocoRosie, KenzoAmour is revealed.

At first sniff, the scent is sexy and sophisticated but with undertones of innocence and a floral charm that is distinctly feminine.

The fragrance wafts through the room like a wave of delight as tester strips are sprayed liberally before being handed out. With murmurs of positive agreement, the appreciative audience is ushered through to another room to see how the ingredients are broken down and to smell each individual component separately.

The bottles, designed by Karim Rashid and inspired by the work of the sculptor Brancusi, are elegant and fluid in fuchsia, orange and white, dependant on the size.

Although the glass designs are an abstract expression of a bird, they can equally be interpreted as the curves of the female form.

Making Amour

The new fragrance is made up of the following notes:
Frangipani blossoms from Bali or Borobudur for sweetness.

Cherry blossoms from Japan give a floral quality and a sense of happiness.

Thanaka wood – used in Burma by women and children to decorate themselves – provides a softness and contributes to the staying power.

Incense offers an "elevation" and a sense of spirituality.
Rice provides a milky softness. Vanilla adds softness too.

White tea from China has a subtle aroma and a sweet note.