I don't know if this counts as a custom-made scent, but you be the judge.
Nordstrom was running a promo of Susanne Lang scents, and the deal was you could design your own scent from any of her numbered accords. You could get three different 9 ml. roll-ons for a set price. So I sat down with the guy who was handling the deal, a pretty knowlegeable SA. It took us three sessions to get the creations finalized and made up.
The first was a blend of bamboo, green tea, and velvet musk, which I named Green Bamboo. The second was a combo of herb citrus, moss and cypress. My name for this is Cyprès Rose, because the Susanne Lang cypress accord had a distinct rose note in it. The last one is a mix of rhubarb, tobacco, blondwood, and ambergris, which I call Rhubarbe en Cuir.
It was fun to experiment with the blotters and figure out the proportions, and the SA was glad to spend the time with me that it took to get them right. We did it over three visits, and the final product was delivered with a card listing the composition of each mini-creation for future reference. They can be renewed as they were or modified as a further experiment.
The only drawbacks to this were a little uncertainty on a couple of points. In the first place, while the SA had a list of the ingredients in each of the numbered Susanne Lang accords, one had no idea of the proportion. So, for example, I know that the ambergris we used had some pineapple in it, but I don't know what the proportion of the pineapple was to the ambergris. I wish I did, because the fruit gave the ambergris a subtle but definite "lift" to the nose. The other shortcoming was the issue of "settling." When I smelled the combinations on the blotter, or even freshly blended in the roll-on vials, they seemed balanced; but after they had a chance to "marry," I found myself wishing I had increased the proportion of base notes to the rest of the formula in eachÂ*case. They're OK as is, but I think they would project better and have an improved longevity on the skin if I had known to do that beforehand.
Here's a general description of each of the three:
Green Bamboo: fresh,a tad dry from the green tea note, and with good projection from the musk. Pretty lively and refreshing; good for warm weather.
Cyprès Rose: an herbal, floral chypre-type perfume with good longevity and a rich oakmoss base. Good for evening events and special occasions.
Rhubarbe en Cuir: a fresh, fruity tobacco-and-woods scent, with a light "leather" background. Wearable in day or evening, a little more on the casual side.
I hope this was fun for you, as it was for me! Let me know what you think.
Best regards.
