An interview with Alexandra Balahoutis, founder of Strange Invisible Perfumes

by Danielle Cooper, 28 November 2006

Strange Invisible Perfumes is the botanical perfumery owned by Alexandra Balahoutis. The boutique and perfumery opened on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, Los Angeles in September 2005. Botanical perfumery excludes the use of synthetic ingredients and advocates the use of natural flower and plant extracts. Basenotes had the opportunity to find out more about the woman behind the concept.

It is clear from her answer to my first question that Alexandra Balahoutis has always been deeply moved by scents and aromas. The question I asked was whether there were any particular smells from her childhood that had stayed with her and influenced her career. Balahoutis' response showed an incredible memory for detail and an appreciation for the subtle everyday smells that had surrounded her: "The smell of ripe mangos falling from the tree at my father's house in Miami, my mother's rose and violet perfumes, the smell of eucalyptus trees in the Hollywood hills where I grew up. I especially remember summers in Greece and the dramatic difference in aromas and flavors. The linens, towels and water smelled so different. The milk tasted different. The air had a different sound. That feeling of familiar aromas and tastes in a strange new version was exciting and these memories have inspired me tremendously. It was the feeling of being comforted and unsettled by the familiar unknown."

In view of these early olfactory experiences it is no surprise that Balahoutis has been quoted as saying "making perfume was never a choice, but an involuntary obsession." But when did she realise that this would be her career? "I had been collecting perfumes and one day, bored, restless, and full of ambition, I bought some essences from a little shop and started mixing them in water. I had no idea what I was doing but the whole idea and plan became so big and bright in my mind. That day I literally said to myself and others that I was going to do this. I put all of the silly perfumes I had made in my car and drove them to my mother's house. I told both my parents that this was going to be my career. They must have been rolling their eyes on the inside but they were very encouraging."

Having lived and travelled throughout America and Europe, Balahoutis found a joy for discovery and knowledge. These experiences influence her still, "I think that the most important component to travel and living abroad is discovery. Discovering new places and finding that they are in fact becoming your home is inspiring. I was simply high on all of the exploration. The tea that everyone drank, the food that we would eat, the aromas that were unfamiliar. I was like a child learning new things everyday about people, culture, a new language, the subtle but unmistakable differences in the way that people would walk, drink, speak. You are discovering the ordinary world all over again, and without taking it for granted."

Above, Strange Invisible Perfumes boutique and perfumery in Venice, CA (Courtesy of Duncan Stewart)

When she came to settle in Venice, Los Angeles, Alexandra developed a two-pronged approach to the creation of her fragrances. There is the botanical perfumery boutique where people can sample fragrances from the signature range, and generally submerge themselves in the botanical fragrance experience. If you would rather have a fragrance created especially for you, you can embark upon the thorough process that Alexandra employs to create her custom perfumes. The process begins with an interview in which the client will be asked various questions about the topics, themes and aromas that inspire them. This is followed by a floral water tasting in which pink and blue lotus, jasmine, orange blossom, frankincense and violet leaf waters are sampled. Finally a patch test will be carried out on the clients skin to ascertain suitability of ingredients. But what is she trying to create with all of this? What aspects of a person's character is she attempting to capture? "All aspects. These qualities are not represented separately by individual essences and then blended together. They are connected just as our characteristics are. A good and bad quality are usually different sides of the same coin. The principle behind my approach is to know the person so well that I am intensely intuitive about what is right for them. I internalize their essence and then I interpret it into a perfume. I must know their tastes and attitudes intimately. And when I smell the final result it has to feel like the person that I have interviewed."

With this in mind how does a perfumer decide which ingredients would best fit their client's profile? For example how do colour, music and literature suggest suitable ingredients? "Again, I am internalizing their tastes and finding the relationship between the things they like and think. Someone tells you that they love the color violet, that they adore Opera but prefer listening to it in the winter, that they love Dorothy Parker poems but don't like people to know that. Then they start talking about why they don't want anyone to know their love of poetry. They tell you about themselves in the most interesting way while a composition begins to unfold. They want you to truly get who they are and they don't include all of the negative, self-depreciating non-sense because they want the perfume to smell beautiful. They want to inspire you with their own identity and the things that they love. These details begin to tell a story, there is a new entity waiting to be put in a perfume bottle, a plume of color, opinions, emotions, and potential aromas. Somehow this plume is powered by the person who wants their own fragrance. Identity is one thing but who we are can sometimes be best distilled down to the things we love and hate. The details that we love and take pleasure in are always spoken about tearfully at our funerals."

With so much time and energy being poured into the design of a custom fragrance I ask Alexandra what she hopes people take from her fragrances? What is the effect that she hopes to achieve on a person's mood with her combinations? "I want them to enjoy discovering a composition that is unknown to them but also who they are. I want them to bond with the fragrance and feel completely happy with it. It should remind them of themselves and still be a little mysterious to them. I want them to experience their own mystery and find it beautiful. This is a very nice emotional effect and I have never found a better way to achieve it than with perfume."

Alexandra tells me that botanical perfumery offers more than she could gain from using synthetic ingredients, "botanical essences render nuances that you cannot achieve with synthetics. In wine-making, gourmet cooking, tea blending, fine chocolate making, only natural ingredients are used because they render nuance of flavor. It is almost as though you can smell and taste all of the careful work, time, artistry, integrity, and passion that has gone into the harvesting of all of the ingredients. These flavors and aromas resonate devotion, purity, and a heavenly collaboration between man and nature."

Above, Strange Invisible Perfumes boutique and perfumery in Venice, CA (Courtesy of Duncan Stewart)

The fragrances "Fair Verona" and "Antony and Cleopatra" and of course the company name – "Strange Invisible Perfumes" are references to some of Shakespeare's great work. Knowing that Balahoutis is a well-read and extensively travelled person I wonder how much of her inspiration comes from the arts? "Much of it. If I read Romeo and Juliet, take in its poignant narrative, and then decide to create a perfume, that perfume will form an actual link with that story. Once an association attaches itself to a particular scent there is no prying the two apart. The aroma will enable me to physically experience the essence, the feeling of that story. Scent is caught between two worlds. It is a real physical experience yet it is invisible and elusive. It can float about a room unseen and ask all sorts of questions."

Of course I cannot finish the interview without asking the botanical perfumer herself which essences would feature in a fragrance perfectly engineered to fit her character? "It has changed so many times. I love so many different aromas. I would have to say cedar wood, mimosa, tuberose, vetiver, blue lotus, and white rose."

Categories: Strange Invisible Perfumes

An interview with Alexandra Balahoutis, founder of Strange Invisible Perfumes

Editorial

Posts

Fragrances