Quintis Sandalwood, in partnership with American Society of Perfumers, has launched a global competition for perfumers of all experience levels to reimagine the ancient botanical of Indian sandalwood (Santalum album) within a fragrance.
This new fragrance competition is part of Q-Lab, Quintis’s new centre of education and creativity for sandalwood, which has also just launched, and is open to fragrance masters and junior perfumers.
"With this competition, perfumers have the chance to be recognised as a world leader in fragrance creation. We encourage entrants to have a spirit of curiosity, unbound by constraints, to reimagine the future of this precious botanical. Each entry should be sustainable, visionary, and artfully crafted, just like Quintis’s Indian Sandalwood," says Danae Christensen, Market Innovation Manager at Quintis Sandalwood.
The 'Sandalwood Reimagined' competition aims to elevate the role of the perfumer, celebrating the creative perfumery process. Participants will use Indian sandalwood oil (Santalum album), an endangered fragrance material in the wild that is now readily available through sustainable cultivation in Australia, which has helped to see its resurgence in perfume formulations in recent years.
With this competition, perfumers have the chance to be recognised as a world leader in fragrance creation
"When creating this competition, we removed the normal parameters of a commercial fragrance brief, like consumer profile and budget, and instead are encouraging participants to use Indian sandalwood as their muse," added Danae.
Perfumers will need to create an Eau de Toilette supplied as a base, featuring a minimum of 1% Quintis plantation-grown Indian Sandalwood oil. Along with the perfume creation, all entries need to be accompanied with a Statement of Creative Intent, providing an outline of the nature and ingredients of the base formulated.
An independent panel of fragrance masters chosen by the American Society of Perfumers, who have collectively worked with major fragrance companies like Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, and Mane, and have created fragrances for iconic brands like Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Coty, DKNY and Maesa, will decide the top 10 finalists by evaluating blind, judging creations on blotters and skin. The winners will be announced at the World Perfumery Congress in Miami in 2022.
“The American Society of Perfumers’ mission is to uphold and promote high standards of perfumery, so we are thrilled to partner with Quintis Sandalwood on this competition. Indian sandalwood has played an important part in the history of perfume, serving as a signature note in some of the most iconic and desired fragrances over the past century. Quintis’s initiatives to promote the availability of sandalwood in a sustainable way gives us peace of mind knowing this beloved ingredient is back… and here to stay,” says Sherri Sebastian, Vice President at American Society of Perfumers.
“We value technique, craftsmanship, and the ability to transform artistic ideas into masterful fragrances, so for this competition our independent judges will be looking for submissions that demonstrate these skills along with a unique expression of sandalwood.
Two prizes will be awarded - the Global Winner will receive AUD $10,000 and the Emerging Talent award for a perfumery student or junior perfumer will receive AUD $2,000.
“Quintis’s fragrance competition is the first initiative to be launched as part of Q-Lab, which will become a centre of excellence for sandalwood within a range of different industries such as fragrance, cosmetics and aromatherapy. As we continue to roll out initiatives, it will become a hub where brands, formulators and educators can go to access information about sandalwood and how best to maximise its capabilities in the development of products,” added Vanessa Ligovich, Chief Marketing Officer at Quintis Sandalwood.
Entrants must register during the Registration Period, from 28 October, opening 3pm AEST/12am EDT/5am BST/6am CEST/12pm CST/1pm JST, to 25 November 2021, and entries must be received by the 31 March 2022.
To register, visit www.quintis.com.au/q-lab.