People are passionate about perfume. I’m not just talking about the industry here but about consumers too. Some have positively encyclopedic knowledge on the subject and make sure they know about and ideally smell absolutely everything that comes out.
Not surprising then that so many bespoke perfumery services have sprung up over the years, and why something as esoteric as Roja Dove’s Haute Parfumerie at Harrods’ Urban Retreat is such a phenomenal success.
Bespoke offers vary widely on quality, level of service and price; and with prices at Dove’s consultancy starting at £25,000 this is certainly not the cheapest. The idea is usually to create an individualised fragrance for someone based on consultations and evaluations of preferences. Whatever the route, ultimately the idea is to have something created that is unique to you. But in an unusual fragrance twist, a client of Dove’s is launching the scent created for her, blessings, on the market; apparently she feels it’s so good it should be shared. Perhaps I’m missing something here but isn’t the idea to have something genuinely exclusive.
There are already so many fragrance launches every year – how many more can the market handle if others start feeling the need to share the love? It’s hard enough to sell a fragrance from a known name!
I once concocted a little something of my own at a fragrance house. Maybe I should have considered a sideline here, though to be honest I couldn’t even bear to wear it myself.