Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave at Pitti Fragranze 16

Gourmand perfume lovers like our Editor in Chief Michelyn Camen (I couldn’t help but thinking of her at Pitti Fragranze16) won’t be disappointed by the new Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave which completes the serie Les Eaux Imaginaires. Philippe di Méo enlisted Givaudan rising star perfumer Quentin Bisch to render the smooth, round sand dunes of a suave desert, or perhaps a suave dessert flawlessly fitting into the neo- gourmand trend. Like an exotic treat, dates and rose water are are at the opening.The  real  kick comes from grilled sesame and Atlas cedarwood playing off roasted, supple leather with a mineral touch that makes it unisex. This is the scented equivalent of meeting Lawrence of Arabia in your fantasies.

Jeroen Oude Sogtoen and Fredrik Dalman introducing me to Santal Nabataea at the Campomarzio70 Florence Store opening party at Pitti Fragranze 2016

 The Middle East  is an endless source of inspiration. Mona di Orio founder Jeroen Oude Sogtoen and in-house perfumer Fredrik Dalman take us to Petra, the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Nabataea with its magnificent ruins set amid rugged desert canyon for their new Santal Nabataea. Fragrant archeology has never been so mouthwatering thanks to a blast of peppery dried apricots smoothed by the smell of sunny oleander flowers. Its unique taste though is given by salty, roasted strokes of coffee absolute that let sandalwood shine like a stone carved by human hands, wind and centuries.

Nick Steward of Gallivant introducing me the new Tokyo edp at Pitti Fragranze 16

Despite no obvious connection  to  the ne- gourmand  trend, Tokyo by Gallivant amusingly renders an edible subtle, savory wood you’d like to bite. Working with perfumer Nicolas Boneville (who joined Firmenich this month), founder Nick Steward portrayed his early morning walks in Tokyo, with streets reeking of wasabi and modern buildings standing together with traditional wooden houses.

"Edibles" are finding its way  in cosmetics, and since this Pitti Fragranze 16 has  had  the strongest presence of skincare exhibitors I’ve ever seen in Florence,  and it’s worth mentioning two interesting brands. The first one is L'Odaïtès which leverages on mostly natural formulations with principles extracted from North-African edible plants like dates, almonds, olives and honey. The second one is Ecooking, which literally came out of the kitchen of the founder Tina Søgaard while she was facing a personal crisis. The result is a skincare line which products have smooth textures and are so clean she guarantees you can even eat them.

Etat Libre d’Orange I am trash / Les Fleurs du dechet at Pitti Fragranze 2016

More than a trend, a new direction for both skincare and perfumery is sustainability and social responsibility. This was the mantra I heard again and again speaking of raw materials at the WPC2018, but also translates in a new source of inspiration and a powerful marketing tool, why not! I became aware of this during the spring in Milan speaking of Parco 1923 that donates part of its revenues to the National Park of Abruzzo, Molise and Lazio. In Florence, Etat Libre d’Orange makes a bold statement on this with I am trash / Les fleurs du dechet (the flowers of waste) where Givaudan star perfumer Daniela Andrier uses high-tech extractions from flavors and flagrances industry materials like apple leftovers to build a youthful, crisp roses and apple fruity-floral with her understated-chic clean musk signature dashed by an intriguing earthy trail.

Naomi Goodsir installation introducing the new packaging

After a Cafleurebon Best of  Scent 2017, an Art and Olfaction Award in 2018 and a FIFI Award with Nuit de Bakelite, Naomi Goodsir displayed an amazing installation that gives a glimpse of the creative process for the new sophisticated packaging; an evolution of the old bottle with solid shoulders highlighted by an elegant long neck. She also invited me to the launch event of Les Bains X Naomi Goodsir “Le kepi”, an entirely handmade stylish Australian merino wool hat she exclusively developed for Les Bains boutique in Paris (which actually has its own line of scents Les Bains Guerbois as well).

Abel Vita Odor Nurture and Green Cedar

Abel Vita Odor founder Frances Shoemack has a winemaker background and a flair for natural beautiful fragrances. I enjoyed the new spiced wood Abel Green Cedar mixing the sawdust bite of Texan cedarwood to the leathery creaminess of Atlas. She’s also a caring mother and this led her to create with in-house perfumer Isaac Sinclar’s wife Fanny Grau (who’s also a perfumer and just become a mother) the perfume Nurture (now at Indigo Perfumery in  the USA), a natural cologne for the organic children’s clothing brand Grey Label based on soothing orange blossom, rose and lentiscus.

Details of the Dalliance and Noble Truth Beauty Freedom Love silk scarf.

Another noteworthy collaboration is the one between 4160 Tuesdays founder Sarah McCartney and Dalliance & Noble owner James Skinner. During an event they fall in love with each other’s work so James decided to portray the raw materials Sarah blended in Truth Beauty Freedom Love: together with irises, jasmine blossoms and apricots scattered all over, bees and butterflies dance around vintage flacons together with synthetic molecules structures that become an avant-garde motif perfectly matching 4160 Tuesdays London style.

Sarah McCartney & Ermano having fun with the floral display in the “War & Peace” series at Pitti Fragranze 16.

Special thanks to Sarah for making our fragrant fun pics a tradition

Photo by Ermano

Note: Shout out  to a talented young perfumer that’s doing terrific but above all a good guy I met long time ago,(was interviewed by Michelyn in 2010 when he was in ISIPICA school)  and whom I am really proud of. I’m speaking of Alex Lee of MANE who let me smell Salvatore Ferragamo Rinascimento, a beautiful floral he concocted for the exclusive line of the brand. Amazingly the star is a radiant gardenia made crisp by a special green pepper extraction from Mane and empowered by a melting sandalwood trail.

Ermano Picco, Editor

All photos  from Pitti Fragranze 16 belong to Ermano for CaFleureBon

Thanks to the exhibitors, we have samples of fragrances from Pitti Fragranze 16 to a registered reader worldwide. To be eligible, tell us what you thought of Part 2 of Pitti Fragranze16 and where you live. Draw closes 10/7/2018

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