The Art Of Tailor-made Perfumes Part 3 Perfume Creation and Manufacturing
After understanding the processes of Brand Concept and Packaging, Ivan Siarbolin, now takes us to the next part of the journey - The Perfume Creation and Manufacturing
Let’s begin with the Perfume Creation process before we move to the Manufacturing process.
Perfume Creation
For perfume professionals who deal with the brand creation process, it is a flexible and adjustable step that just requires time. For perfume brand owners, it is the most important step and they ignore the importance of other steps. It is actually one of the most artistic processes, indeed, but creating the brand concept and customer experience are creative as well.
Working with Perfume Creation is the most intangible work one ever did. There are not many people who can properly evaluate the scent and say: ‘yes, it is a great and successful scent’. There is always a yes-and-no factor, especially when a company plans to produce a big quantity, like 500,000 bottles or more. And one cannot provide ‘product description’ with it as it’s difficult to understand the language and hence we need to translate it into a language of emotions, lifestyle, and stories.
For me, designing perfume story, bottle design, and perfume composition are equally exciting and challenging processes.
Perfume Creation journey starts from Perfume Brief where we gather all information about the future scent. The list of this information includes requirements of a client, inspirational scents, desired olfactive category, lifestyle, brand concept and perfume collection inspiration, target market and audience, cost, expected order quantity, and much more that would help perfumers to understand the idea and sketch a direction of the scent.
To be honest, very few brands are ready to work well on a Perfume Brief
so in most cases, we create a brief based on a client idea and our understanding of it, and then all that we deliver to the perfumer who we are able to explain in his language what scent the client expects to receive.
After the discussions with the perfumer regarding the direction of the scent (usually we work on a full collection of 4-6 perfumes at once) it takes from 2 weeks to 1 month until the first results are received.
As a matter of fact, in the majority of cases, we work on a modification of the first samples, not because they were not great but because we simply want to make sure we get what we want. Often, we choose for final production scents from the first results.
Once perfume samples have been approved, we start the Production Process and this is an entirely different and actually a way longer process.
For example, these are just some of the steps we follow in the Production Process:
- Creating and Testing Pilot Oils
- Oil Stability Test
- IFRA Test
- Cosmetic Safety Report, Eye Irritation Test, Compatibility Test, ISO Tests, etc., etc.
As you can see, the creative process turns into one ‘helluva’ task of project management elements where only the first part is artistic, the rest is just tasks laid out that need to be properly completed.
Producing Perfumes
Where was your perfume made in, and how about the bottle?
I believe most of us were interested in where perfume was made (written on a perfume box) but not a bottle itself or any other element of perfume packaging. Each perfume that you buy in a perfume store may have 5-20 suppliers from different countries and be produced in completely another.
It all influences the price we pay for our perfumes. Why does one perfume bottle look luxurious, shiny, polished and attractive, while another feels harsh, unclean, and pale? The main reason is the production quality. Perfume bottles made in Europe tend to have a better quality and luxurious look and feel while the ones made in Asia tend to of lesser quality.
At Ivan Perfumerie, we work with different suppliers from Europe and Asia, and it all depends on budgets, clients' requirements, the complexity of the design, mould, or standard bottle etc.
The capital of perfume manufacturing is undoubtedly France with its strict quality control, requirements and procedures. Producing perfumes in France is the most advantageous but the lengthiest process at the same time.
Niche perfumes in UAE
We see an increasing trend in an attempt to produce niche perfumes in UAE, and I am of the firm opinion that it should be encouraged it but there are several conditions that must be followed:
- Perfume Composition must be created by a reputable perfume company in Europe with a proper brief and idea.
- The brand must have a strong concept and design (created by a professional perfume design company).
- If it’s produced in the UAE, there should be an element of pride and one should clearly mention it on the packaging.
Most of the time, perfumes made in UAE don’t have a very transparent reputation and there are two key factors that influence it: Brand Concept and Perfume Packaging Design. Brand owners would be well served to take these two factors into account to be able to create an internationally recognizable niche perfume brand.
