Ages ago, I posted here that I was going to have a bespoke fragrance created for me. I was asked at the time to write and tell everyone how it went. It has taken months (because of me and my indecisiveness!) but finally, yesterday, I took delivery of Recital, my own signature fragrance.
It was created by Michaela Harvey of Pecksniff's in Brighton. Anyone in the UK, especially in the south, I would highly recommend a visit. Michaela is lovely, and Pecksniff's' own brand of general fragrances are grouped into fragrance families and are IMO very high quality. I love their classic chypre.
Pecksniff's is located in the Lanes of Brighton, which is in itself a lovely area to visit if you get the chance and haven't been there before.
I booked my session in April or May and went to see Michaela in early July. The process took a couple of hours, and Michaela spent some time talking to me about how perfumes are created (some of that was redundant, and she was surprised and delighted by how much I already knew - I guess most of her clients are just indulging themselves and don't know an awful lot about perfumes). I enjoyed sniffing various essential oils and working out what I liked and what I didn't like. She asked me questions about my personal taste, and my personality, and various likes and dislikes. It was quite in-depth, and very enjoyable and relaxing. At the end of this stage, she asked me to go away and get myself a cup of coffee somewhere (there is a lovely little cafe next-door, which is most convenient!), while she formulated 3 quite distinct fragrances for me based on what she had already discerned were my particular favourite notes, which I would then be able to take away with me. She wrote everything down in a file specifically created for me, and when I returned, I had 3 very different fragrances - one floral, one chypre, and one oriental. She said she would be happy to create more of the samples if I should need to spend some time choosing the one I liked (or if I wanted, I could have all 3, but I would have to pay extra for the other ones). I did actually ask her to do that by phone a month or so ago, and I received 3 new vials of the fragrances. They are in a much lower concentration than the finished product, which needs to be taken into consideration when making the choice. I discounted one fragrance because it faded quickly, but I imagine it would probably be fine in the eau de parfum. I was seriously torn between fragrance 1 and 3. Fragrance 1 was the floral and it was divine. Fragrance 2 was way too much like Rive Gauche for my taste - although my husband and daughter both liked that one on me.
As it turned out, I had a tough time deciding which one to go with, but in the end I chose the oriental (fragrance 3), and I named it Recital (because of my musical background, and also because I wanted something to pick up on the 'notes' relation with perfumes and music). All in all, it took me 3 months to make my choice (the longest I've taken to make a decision on anything!), and the perfume arrived in a beautifully presented box yesterday (complete with a note pyramid, and a printed card inside the box which states it's exclusively created for me - unfortunately Michaela spelled my first name wrong, so I'll have to get her to correct that for future bottles!). For the whole process, which includes your first bottle of 100ml eau de parfum, it costs £200 (which I think is more than worth it). For subsequent 100ml bottles the price is the same as for any of their usual fragrances. I think it's around the £50 mark. They also can create bath preparations and body lotion and so on in your own fragrance should you require it.
The web address for bespoke consultations and booking is here: http://www.pecksniffs.com/acatalog/Bespoke.html
It would make a lovely gift for someone, I always think. I might get my husband one of these, because he loves fragrances almost as much as I do.
So there you have it. The bespoke fragrance process, at what I consider to be an affordable price. I'd highly recommend it as an experience, and the reaction to Recital in the office yesterday was highly favourable. Everyone said it smelled 'expensive' and that it suited me beautifully. I have to say, it certainly made me feel special.
For those interested, this is the note pyramid for Recital, which is described in the box as an 'amber oriental':
Head notes:Rose and lily of the valley
Heart notes: Tuberose, jasmine, tagette and ylang ylang
Base notes: Amber, vanilla, patchouli, musk and oakmoss
(I was surprised by the oakmoss - there isn't a HINT of 'old lady' anywhere in Recital!)
It was created by Michaela Harvey of Pecksniff's in Brighton. Anyone in the UK, especially in the south, I would highly recommend a visit. Michaela is lovely, and Pecksniff's' own brand of general fragrances are grouped into fragrance families and are IMO very high quality. I love their classic chypre.
Pecksniff's is located in the Lanes of Brighton, which is in itself a lovely area to visit if you get the chance and haven't been there before.
I booked my session in April or May and went to see Michaela in early July. The process took a couple of hours, and Michaela spent some time talking to me about how perfumes are created (some of that was redundant, and she was surprised and delighted by how much I already knew - I guess most of her clients are just indulging themselves and don't know an awful lot about perfumes). I enjoyed sniffing various essential oils and working out what I liked and what I didn't like. She asked me questions about my personal taste, and my personality, and various likes and dislikes. It was quite in-depth, and very enjoyable and relaxing. At the end of this stage, she asked me to go away and get myself a cup of coffee somewhere (there is a lovely little cafe next-door, which is most convenient!), while she formulated 3 quite distinct fragrances for me based on what she had already discerned were my particular favourite notes, which I would then be able to take away with me. She wrote everything down in a file specifically created for me, and when I returned, I had 3 very different fragrances - one floral, one chypre, and one oriental. She said she would be happy to create more of the samples if I should need to spend some time choosing the one I liked (or if I wanted, I could have all 3, but I would have to pay extra for the other ones). I did actually ask her to do that by phone a month or so ago, and I received 3 new vials of the fragrances. They are in a much lower concentration than the finished product, which needs to be taken into consideration when making the choice. I discounted one fragrance because it faded quickly, but I imagine it would probably be fine in the eau de parfum. I was seriously torn between fragrance 1 and 3. Fragrance 1 was the floral and it was divine. Fragrance 2 was way too much like Rive Gauche for my taste - although my husband and daughter both liked that one on me.
As it turned out, I had a tough time deciding which one to go with, but in the end I chose the oriental (fragrance 3), and I named it Recital (because of my musical background, and also because I wanted something to pick up on the 'notes' relation with perfumes and music). All in all, it took me 3 months to make my choice (the longest I've taken to make a decision on anything!), and the perfume arrived in a beautifully presented box yesterday (complete with a note pyramid, and a printed card inside the box which states it's exclusively created for me - unfortunately Michaela spelled my first name wrong, so I'll have to get her to correct that for future bottles!). For the whole process, which includes your first bottle of 100ml eau de parfum, it costs £200 (which I think is more than worth it). For subsequent 100ml bottles the price is the same as for any of their usual fragrances. I think it's around the £50 mark. They also can create bath preparations and body lotion and so on in your own fragrance should you require it.
The web address for bespoke consultations and booking is here: http://www.pecksniffs.com/acatalog/Bespoke.html
It would make a lovely gift for someone, I always think. I might get my husband one of these, because he loves fragrances almost as much as I do.
So there you have it. The bespoke fragrance process, at what I consider to be an affordable price. I'd highly recommend it as an experience, and the reaction to Recital in the office yesterday was highly favourable. Everyone said it smelled 'expensive' and that it suited me beautifully. I have to say, it certainly made me feel special.
For those interested, this is the note pyramid for Recital, which is described in the box as an 'amber oriental':
Head notes:Rose and lily of the valley
Heart notes: Tuberose, jasmine, tagette and ylang ylang
Base notes: Amber, vanilla, patchouli, musk and oakmoss
(I was surprised by the oakmoss - there isn't a HINT of 'old lady' anywhere in Recital!)
