I don't think that any number of words or even pictures can fully explain what it's like to be at Esxence. A huge arcing hallway has perfume brands lining both sides, some booths with more than one brand. I was there for several hours yesterday before noticing a separate maze of booths across the foyer. For a perfumista like me, it is an incredible thrill. For a perfume writer like me, it is both thrilling and daunting. Fortunately, I am fairly intrepid, and have been having the time of my perfumed life.

Luc Gabriel

I started Day Two with Luc Gabriel, the CEO of The Different Company. Their new fragrance, Nuit Magnetique, is a warm woody scent composed by Christine Nagel. It is the last perfume she made before joining Hermés; Nuit Magnetique was launched on March 4th, and she officially started at Hermés on the 6th. This will be their only scent launch this year, as they want to grow the line slowly and carefully. Mr. Gabriel talked about the different kinds of perfumes in the line: classics, made of great materials; fragrances like Sel de Vetiver, which introduce a new aspect to perfume, in this case a salt note; and scents that are just okay, and that's fine. He likes to have fragrances that people new to niche can appreciate, a little unsettling, maybe, but wearable. As he says "to drive a Formula 1 car you have to take lessons first". He enjoyed working with Christine Nagel, because from their first meeting, they used the same wording to describe perfumes, like "vertical" or "square", and it was a successful collaboration.

Neela Vermeire

I finally caught up with Neela Vermeire, who was glad to meet me, and I was happy to get a squeeze from her. She is just lovely and her new Mohur extrait is stunning. It is the same formula as Mohur, but a much higher concentration. It is a limited, numbered edition in a deep lavender bottle. I think I was just as happy to meet Neela as anything; her perfumes are wonderful, of course, but she is one of those people you just instinctively want to be around.

Keiko Mecheri

Yesterday, every time I went by Keiko Mecheri's booth, she was swarmed. Today I caught her in a lull, and was happy to see she had a new scent to share, Bois Satin. She used her famous Loukhoum as a starting place, and then made it more sensuous, less candied, more adult. I got all swoony from this one, it is very yummy. Keiko is very sweet, too. I was glad to finally smell all three of the Loukhoum series, which I have been excited about. I think my favorite was the Loukhoum Parfum de Soir, which seems a bit richer than the Eau de Parfum and Eau Poudrée.

Nicholas Chabot and his assistant Elizabeta

As I scouted around for new brands to try, which I realized I was doing by gut instinct as much as anything, I happened upon a familiar name: Le Galion Sortilege. Wait, isn't that something from the past? As it turns out, Le Galion, which closed in about 1985, has been reborn under the guidance of Nicholas Chabot. The whole line was too large to resurrect at one go, so they have curated a selection that looks really diverse and interesting. Sortilege, in this reincarnation, is one of those great old-school floral aldehyde perfumes that bridges that gap between vintage and modern really nicely. I'm looking forward to exploring the line.

Philippe Neirinck

I was drawn to a new line of fragrances called La Parfumerie Moderne. For one, there were only three in the line, which to me can speak of careful curation. The display was simple, and the story is fun. The company was founded by Philippe Neirinck, who wanted to recreate the scent of the perfume he had found as a boy, creeping around in an abandoned grand hotel. The perfume is called Desarmant, and I was quite taken by the lilac notes. The other two are Cuir X, a really smooth leather, and No Sport, a delightful green scent with a rose-tobacco accord. All of the scents are inspired by hotels, and all were composed by perfumer Marc Antoine Corticchiato,  who we all swoon for… uh hum …Parfum d'Empire. Since that is one of my favorite brands, maybe that was why my instinct pointed me in that direction.

Your intrepid reporter at the Arco della Pace

It was time for lunch with the lovely Tanja Bochnig of April Aromatics, (and whose Calling all Angels is a finalist in the  Art + Olfaction Awards, who was just visiting the show. It was nice to finally meet her, and we had a nice relaxed lunch out in the open air near the Arco della Pace, or Peace Arch. I am constantly amazed at the easy rapport of the perfume community. Meeting someone new when you know you have things in common already takes away any awkwardness usually happens when you meet a stranger. I have been feeling that a lot at the show. More to come….

Tama Blough, Deputy Editor