Usually after a Sniffapalooza event it is a fragrance which resonates with me for a few weeks after the event. For the first time, after the recent Spring Fling, it isn’t a fragrance that has me excited about the future but a new initiative called The Fragrance Republic.

For those of us for who fragrance is more than merely a fashion accessory I believe many of us want to experience fragrances that aren’t being pitched for a large commercial audience but a smaller, perhaps more risk taking, audience. The Fragrance Republic is attempting to build a community of fans and members of the creative side which will allow for fragrance to be experienced in a different way.

The Fragrance Republic has three levels of annual membership; Freepeople, Patrician, and Senator. The first level Freepeople is free of charge and allows the member to purchase the exclusive Fragrance Republic fragrances and to rate any of the fragrances they purchase. Patrician membership will cost $350/year or $35/month. What that gets you is a 15mL bottle of each of what is expected to be 10 exclusive Fragrance Republic fragrances per year averaging out to one every 5-6 weeks. You will get a discount on buying larger bottles of the ones received as well as invitations to special events. The top level Senator is $1500/year that gets you the opportunity to submit a brief which a perfumer might create a fragrance from plus the chance to sit on the advisory board for two months to determine the future releases. The Patrician level I expect will be the most popular because of the fragrance attached to it and it is those fragrances that have me so excited.

If you join now at Patrician or Senator level you will receive your first fragrance FR! 01/01 Iris Safran by perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer. This is a composition of iris and saffron in the heart sandwiched by pear on top with vetiver and musk in the base. Mme Feisthauer uses these notes as a beautiful frame to set off the titular notes.

Francois Duquesne at Sniffapalooza

Starting in October of 2013 there will be nine more fragrances coming to the members at the levels that receive them. The team behind The Fragrance Republic brought eight of the upcoming fragrances to Sniffapalooza Spring Fling and I tried all of them. I can say that these are fragrances that are being composed to a very niche aesthetic while allowing the perfumers a very high degree of freedom to be creative. The perfumers are a mix of the well known like Ralf Schwieger, Antoine Lie, Mathilde Bijaoui who are joined by up and coming perfumers like Karine Chevallier. I have been asked to keep most of the details of the future fragrances under wraps for a while. What I can tell you is two of the fragrances I tried were among the best fragrances I have tried all year, and all of them are chock full of unique small batch kind of ingredients like accords of fig mousse, mojito, or chestnut. This is a bit of indie perfume attitude carried out by professional perfumers from some of the biggest fragrance producers in the world. I am excited to see what this initiative can become. I asked Francois Duquesne what his hope for The Fragrance Republic is and this is his response, 

“We aim to create an inviting and interactive community of passionate fragrance lovers that is simply free of corporate and marketing influence and ultimately redefines the rules of how fine fragrance is created, distributed and enjoyed. Come and join the revolution, welcome to the Fragrance Republic!"

Our Table at Sniffaplaooza Spring Fling Experiencing FR!

It may not be Friends, Romans, Countrymen but the infrastructure is in place and now it just waits to see if there are enough perfumistas out there to form a Fragrance Republic. As with Rome, The Fragrance Republic will not be built in a day but I believe the potential for something great is in place and I am definitely going to be a member of this Republic.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

Editor’s Note: Until October 1, 2013 there is an early bird special for those who want to join at the Patrician level. You can save 30% off a yearly membership and join for $294. Even if you join today all memberships for renewal purposes begin on October 2013 and will renew a year after that. All of the information can be found at this link.