Cecile Zarokian & Matthieu Appriou [IP]01 Mayfair, London: A Short Film by Alex Law aka MastersofStyle + Synesthesia Perfume Draw

cecile zarokian ip1 artistic collaboration

Cecile Zarokian and Matthieu Appriou Artistic Collaboration

Recently, Contributor Michael Devine brought one of the better You Tube perfume reviewers to  our  attention.  Alex Law has been posting thought provoking video reviews on his YouTube channel MastersofStyle over the past year. We really admire the way he weaves different artistic influences into his perfume reviews; he has a unique voice and perspective that is firmly rooted in the Arts and Pop Culture. That is why Alex's first assignment for CaFleureBon was the London opening of the collaboration between perfumer Cecile Zarokian and illustrator Matthieu Appriou called [IP]01, which many of you may remember from Neil Sternberg's written reviews in 2011.  In this short film, you will learn about synesthesia which is a subject that intrigues and is very personal to Alex. [IP]01 is one example of work with the "concept" of synesthesia, through sight and smell, illustrations and perfumes.

alex law masterstyles

Alex Law of MastersofStyle

Alex brings a different perspective and gives you a peek into the exhibition and how he perceives the Art of fragrance as something that goes beyond our sense of smell and enters into the realm of all our senses, moving beyond the obvious. Welcome Alex to the CaFleureBon family as our U.K correspondant and look forward to his contributions in the future. –Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

IP05lowdef©matthieuAppriou

Velvet fine art paper print, 100 x 140 cm

5. Bergamot,petit grain bigarade, orange blossom, almond, powdery, flowery, cinnamon, vanilla, balsamic, ambery, musky, virginia tobacco, leathery, suede, dry woods

Thanks to Cecile Zarokian we have a generous sample of No.5 (all [IP]01 perfumes are not available for sale at this time, however, here is the link for people who would like to puchase Matthieu's  illustrations online: http://telmolindo.bigcartel.com/ . The exhibit runs through October 4, 2013.

To be eligible, please leave a comment on what you found fascinating or learned after watching Alex's film and if you have ever experienced synesthesia yourself while wearing fragrance. Draw ends September 24, 2013.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

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25 comments

  • Soren says:

    Welcome MasterofStyles! It was really interesting to hear Cecile Zarokian speak and tour the exhibit vicariously. No3 got my attention
    I found everything about this film fascinating especially Alex recalling his childhood memories of Disney Fantasia
    As far as synthesia, I knew almost nothing about it before and think that it is very apropos to fragrance . The painter I think of to answer your question would be Francisco Goya
    Looking forward to more
    PS about Mathhew aproui’s watch as the tip off in the painting was a great observation

  • Lori L says:

    The perception that the art of fragrance goes beyond your sense of smell and that it’s multi sensory. I now have a clear understanding of synthesia. Great article and thanks for the draw!

  • PatriciaC says:

    Just recently while visiting an antique shop. I bought several vintage perfumes and tryed one on. As i looked around, i viewed several old portraits and landcape paintings as well as vintage clothing and household goods, i felt a better scence of what it must have been like being a woman during the turn of the century. Never have i felt more connected to a time period before, then when i dabbed a bit of Queques Flours on. I highly suggest the experience, I learned that i was not alone in my synethesia experience-Wonderful review.

  • Chapeau Clack says:

    Thanks for bringing a wonderful video reviewer to our attention. I find it incredible how many of the perfumistas are actually synesthetic, and how much what is medically thought of as a deviation of brain work is considered an advantage in our circle. Synesthesia does make for easier perfume writing though, naturally drawn comparisons and all. I always tended to percieve scent as having color and texture; sometimes a musical tempo or vocal timbre, and up until several years ago I used to just assume it’s the way human brain normally works.

  • julesinrose says:

    I found this highly entertaining! I know quite a bit about synesthesia from reading various neurologists on the subject. Chapeau Clack is right in that it’s more common amongst perfumistas, which makes a lot of sense. I do not have “classic synesthesia,” which shows up most commonly as hearing colors, but I agree that all the senses inform each other. Smell does indeed trigger more feelings and thoughts than any other sense, but the emotions are not senses but responses to sensual stimuli.

  • Claudia says:

    Very interesting. I did not know much about synthesia, but now realize that i do associate color with my fragrances. I also feel that all senses come into play. Sometimes fragrances are like music to me especially the ones i refer to as happy fragrances. Cafleurebon has always paired paintings, art and pictures with fragrances which I love. I know that certain smells trigger emotions and feeling associated with things and people in my life, former or current. #3 really caught my interest and so did #4

  • MariaA says:

    Welcome!! Very interesting video! Synesthesia is really common amongst perfume lovers I see- hear colours too flowing most of the time. Thank you for sharing, I am looking forward to more!

  • Mary K says:

    Interesting article and video! I did not know the term synesthesia, but sometimes have experienced an association of a scent with either a color or a certain place I’ve been.

  • ChristineB says:

    I find the collaboration of the perfumer and the visual artist interesting. Whilst perfume for me may evoke certain moods and memories I find the strongest link is with the written word rather than visual art. I recently attended a perfume and poetry event which was fascinating.

  • Patty P. says:

    I learned there was even such a thing AS synesthesia. Which means I’ll have to look into it deeper now. 🙂

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    my experiences may be similar to Alex because one of the reasons I particularly seek out vintage fragrances is to imagine how culture and people might have been like in older times..of course the pictures from that era also help

  • Steve A says:

    I learned I’m not the only person on the planet to put blue food coloring in water to see what the blue tasted like.

  • Cynthia says:

    Welcome Alex, I enjoyed your posting. This is a new subject to me, so basically all of it was new information.

  • Maureen says:

    Very interesting article…new information to me. I do relate fragrances to times in my life…when I smelled vintage Miss Dior for what I thought was the first time. I immediately was thrown back to my youth, visiting my godmother, a very classy, stylish woman who was a buyer for Gimbels Dept. store in Philadelphia. She must have worn it…I saw her in her sheath dress with the circle pin on her shoulder, heels and a loving smile.

  • Dana says:

    Thanks for the interesting article. I also enjoyed the video by Alex and I look forward to more from him. I have definitely had certain smells take me back in time to a certain place or person, but I don’t think that is true synesthesia. I read more about it and it is a complicated subject.

  • Merlynn says:

    I liked the idea of synesthesia applied to music videos, i had never though of them as connected to that phenomenon! I don’t think I have experienced actual synesthesia in its proper medical sense but when I contemplate a fragrance I do often pick up a ‘mood’ which will sometimes come with some kind of scene.

  • Vick G says:

    I liked seeing how the paintings were linked to perfumes. I thought that was great!I do have synesthesia from time to time when wearing fragrances.

  • ca7 says:

    I found the different approaches interesting (perfume first, painting first), but I am not sure having experienced synesthesia yet.

  • Mar S. says:

    synesthetsia is one of my favorite mutations. i feel like i’ve learned to be synesthetic in the way i use my words. in the way we describe one sense through the eyes of another.

  • mim says:

    I learned that men notice other mens’ watches…heh. I wonder about that picture even more now.

    Sometimes when seeing a painting or movie I do feel like I’d like to smell it, but I don’t think that’s quite how neurological synaethesia works. Artistic synesthesia yes. Which I think is ultimately much more interesting–like a surreal drawing vs. a description of someone’s dream last night. This collaboration was fascinating–I like how they chose for the influence to go both directions.

    I’ve always had synaethesia and until 7 or 8 didn’t know it wasn’t completely normal. I mean we say that notes or smells or voices or tastes can be sharp or cold, people feel blue, etc.
    For me it was that numbers and letters and music had colors/textures/temperatures/shapes. Smells do as well–most perfumes I like are warm and dry, soft or woody or earthy, rounded and not sharp, or else gently green and cool.

    So far that just sounds like a normal description of scent. The difference is the details, I think, the way that a big blob of ‘white flowers’ can smell fluorescent pink to me, and feel sticky and cold. Or some vanillas smell golden but some smell a kind of chemically blue and are too wet. There is a sense of space as well, and not just the ‘I felt transported to a desert (Tauer) or a forest (Ormonde Woman)’ experience. It’s distance, density….

    But I don’t see fully-formed images like women with sewn-up mouths or in a kind of wind-ribbon. I’ve tried to draw music a few times but it looks like blobby ribbons with different colors/textures/sizes.

    Thanks for the draw, and the links! Alex Law is a reviewer I’ll be checking out soon!

  • Hernando says:

    I recently had the pleasure meeting Cecile at the recent Elements show. Her personality is truly captivating. When explaining the previous Parisian show and the upcoming London one I was fascinated! Here’s wishing for her to bring it to New York City next.

    The idea of fragrance being multi-sensory is quiet logical. And, art (in all its forms) combined with fragrance is a natural combination.

    I did enjoy Alex’s video and look forward to others.

    Thanx to Cafleurebon for bringing us not just fragrance reviews but the bigger picture here, the art of fragrance!

  • Greg Esa says:

    I learned that men look at other mens watches. I never noticed that haha. This is a new topic for me, so I don’t think I’ve experienced synesthesia

  • sujaan says:

    Thank you, Alex, and welcome to CFB! Fascinating topic, synesthesia, especially in perfume circles as many of us respond to and describe perfume with visual, auditory or tactile adjectives. Perfumes can be bright or green or melancholy. They can be cozy or dark or scratchy. Is it synesthesia? Or is it that we’ve had to expand our vocabulary to more accurately describe what we are smelling? Is it our muse who offers us the words to describe how a scent makes us feel? However it works, I know that anything that enhances my synesthesia, enhances my whole being; it broadens my mind and opens neurological pathways. It is good stimuli for the brain. And very pleasant, I might add. 🙂