Esxence Milano The Art of Excellence 2022 Collage of Esxence MiCo, Through the Mirror (courtesy of official Esxence) & Cafleurebon Team by Ida Meister.

At this point, dear readers – you’ve already relished the impressions and wonderful photography of Karl Topham, Ermano Picco and Emmanuelle Varron. They have done an expert job of recounting their experiences: the words and images fairly leap off the page. Now it is my turn to corral my thoughts and interpretation of event at Esxence Milano The Art of Excellence 2022.

This was my third time attending Esxence (the first was 10 years ago), and it was the first time I had traveled to such an event with my husband. We had planned months in advance to consolidate a visit to the Netherlands with a brief trip to Paris to visit our youngest – before moving on to a week in Milan to participate in Esxence. We were travel-weary when we arrived, but such an event is capable of reawakening one’s gusto and enthusiasm. When you walk into a venue of this scope adrenaline kicks in, and you are ready to go-go-go!

Meeting & Greeting at Esxence with Cafleurebon Team, Emmanuelle, Ermano, Ida, Alexandre, and Karl at Esxence Milano The Art of Excellence 2022 Images by Ida Meister and collage by Karl Topham

The Team: Meeting and Greeting at Esxence Milano The Art of Excellence 2022

Ermano and I are old friends; it was a joy to be with one another after three long years. An unanticipated delight occurred when I met other ÇaFleureBon team members with whom I had yet to acquaint myself: Emmanuelle Varron (whom I met the day before we each left Paris for Milan – we attended a tour of the Osmothèque in Versailles together which we’d planned in advance), Karl Topham, Cristian Marianciuc and Alexandre Isaie Helwani-Robert. It may not be essential [sic] to fall head-over-heels with your colleagues – but it surely does not hurt any, either. They proved even nicer than I had imagined, and very collaborative. Our Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen was sorely missed, and nearly every booth I visited inquired after her, conveying their love and support.

  Challenges at Esxence Milano The Art of Excellence 2022

One of the challenges of such an immense venue is the reality that by the time you may come around to visit – many exhibitors are thoroughly exhausted, have run out of samples or even the new fragrance which they are presenting. Some of the helpers who assist in the booths may have run out of things to say; they may not be well-versed in the fragrances, although they try valiantly. Several exhibitors on the list were not present – likely due to travel/expense complications, the presence of Covid. There were participants who had not been vaccinated, and several who had to decline presentation due to illness (some had traveled a significant distance).

Hiram Green Collage at Esxence, with Ermano & Ida courtesy of Ida Meister and Hiram Green collage by Karl Topham

Trends at Esxence Milano The Art of Excellence 2022

This new fougère is spellbinding, as Lauryn Beer’s recent review reveals. It is both pastoral and perfection. I would wear every single drop from a bottle; I would go through it like Ulysses S.Grant took Richmond in the Civil War. In fact, I just purchased a bottle – it was that envoûtant

Naturals and clean reign supreme. There were so many compelling fragrances composed with an abundance of marvelous raw materials, such as those from the French brands Bastille (95%), Le Sourceur (Behave), Unda Prisca from Lithuania, Hiram Green’s Arcadia, Sultan Pasha’s Sacred Scarab for Zoologist, and Santi Burgas’ new Verdant Delirivm. Many lines are aiming to present a clean profile with recyclable packaging, bottling and sustainable olfactory materials.

There’s always oud. Everywhere you look – or breathe. Some are more beautifully blended than others, but the trend is still going strong, and it is not going away. Even in our little B&B, the second you stepped out of the lift it filled the air – day and night.

Image of Behave collection collage courtesy of Ida Meister collage by Karl Topham

One of the most impressive displays was an extensive line of utterly magnificent botanical essences and oils by Stéphane Piquart: Behave. Stéphane’s oils beggared belief. He was incredibly generous with his time; we explored every single fragrance (I returned to the booth he shared with Parfumeurs Du Monde at least four times to smell them). What would you want to sniff? Santal Spicatum – for one – most unusual and exquisite; Ylang Solaire, Jasmin, Fleur D’Oranger, Cypres, and the mind-blowing Blue Ginger. The fir balsam was jammy and delightful. I am ordering them – yes. I am.

Santi Burgas with Ida & Verdant Delirivm courtesy of the brand collage by Karl Topham

Verdant Delirivm by Santi Burgas was one of the loveliest green florals I have smelt in a long while: juicy citrus mingles with mint, oregano, Indian jasmine and Bulgarian rose, nestled into a Haitian vetiver base flavored with two vanillas – yet it never waxes cloying. This one is a star.

 

 Unda Prisca with blogger Darius Krasauskas, perfumer Laimė Kiškūnė courtesy of Ida Meister & the brand collage by Karl Topham

Big thanks are owed to Lithuanian blogger (and friend!) Darius Krasauskas, who introduced me to the all-natural Unda Prisca line (the name translates as Ancient Wave), created by Lithuanian perfumer Laimė Kiškūnė. Everything in my tiny envelope smelt divine: Lavender, Incense, Jasmin and a deeply mystical perfume named Gardens of Galen!  The generous sample of crème perfume entitled Cyprinium is brilliantly resinous, complex and spicily floral/woody.

It was new to me, but WienerBlut Klubwasser was released in 2019. Let us simply say that there were no samples available – but my husband and I adored it so much that we ordered a bottle (yes, they will deliver to the U.S. from Vienna!). It is James Bond-elegant and no mistake: long lasting, suave, with its beautifully bitter greens of ivy, nettle, galbanum, angelica and a caress of banana leaf. Neroli’s there for pure pleasure, while the base tactfully smolders with smoked wood, guaiac, gurjum balsam and a little lentisque.

 

Dimitri Weber of Goldfield & Banks with Ida with picture of Purple Suede collage by Karl Topham

 Goldfield & Banks Purple Suede, the brand’s latest launch – proved a delight which incorporates my beloved lavender with a textured raw suede note, a kiss of rose and exquisite woody tones. Deep, elegant and highly nuanced, Purple Suede is a treasure.

Fragrant revelations

Image of Bastille Hors-Piste courtesy of the Brand

Fragrant revelations were too numerous to render justice; these are but some of the myriad impressions. Emmanuelle was spot on about Bastille Parfums! I adored the entire line – and confess to harboring an incredibly soft spot for Hors-Piste (translating as Off Road, or perhaps more accurately ‘off the beaten path’): an audacious olfactory cocktail comprised of tangerine, mandarin, juniper, ginger, mate and pink pepper lounging upon a discreetly woody base.

Just like Emmanuelle, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring all of the Cherigan perfumes. There were no samples available so I sniffed and re-sniffed, with several favorites: Edo Park, Fleurs de Tabac, Iris Coffee, Lovers in Pink and Adhara Oud (yes, oud.). Such a beautifully revitalized line of classic French perfumery!

 Gianluca Zin & Venezia 1920 by Ida collage by Karl Topham

Venezia 1920, a new brand created by product designer Gianluca Zin and Michele Cardillo – celebrates the innovative spirit of Venice in the ‘20s: home to the Biennale and a true intersection of East-meets-West for centuries. The perfume line consists of five extraits (a flacon of Blanc de Blanc was gifted me – a riotous explosion of the white flowers sequestered in Venice’s giardini segreti). There is also a luxury skin care line as well. Perfumer Roberto Dario has been at work developing new fragrances – and the modules I smelt were simply gorgeous. Thanks to Roberto, Danu Seith-Fyr, Tomoo Inabe Profice and myself were able to meet in tight quarters to review and sample the line. I look forward to further developments.

 Chez Molinard: after over 50 years’ affection for Habanita, it was reassuring to experience the reissue, which is very well done indeed. Several fragrances were relatively new and attractive, but it was the revamping of their Nirmala which also impressed me: a beautiful powdery floral ambery fragrance successfully rendered modern for current tastes. Except for the retaining of the original Lalique image for Habanita, all the other flacons were streamlined.

 Ida and the team with Le Jardin Retrouve owners Clara Feder and Michel Gutsatz

 Le Jardin Retrouvé: Random samples I had smelt in the past did not properly prepare me for how gorgeous these fragrances are. It was nearly impossible to choose a favorite amongst them, but Mousse Arashiyama, Jasmin Marjorelle, Cuir de Russie and Verveine d’Été placed high on my wishlist.

 Cristian Cavagna’s Murice Imperiale, the latest of his three tuberoses-to-date. The moderator of Italian fragrance group ADJIUMI is passionate about this indolic bloom, and Murice Imperiale charms with its moist salinity and lovely rhubarb and ginger notes.

Roberta Deiana: resolute perfume writer, cook and bon vivant Roberta is a friend of Ermano. She kindly gave me a copy of her new book, Atlante degli Odori Ritrovati (Atlas of the Rediscovered Aromas) – which I am determined to review soon. Within its pages are interviews which include Cristian Cavagna and our own Ermano.

 Ida Meister with friends-in-fragrance at Esxence 2022 The Art of Perfumery Event collage by Karl Topham

Friends Old and New

A favorite aspect of Esxence concerns the greeting of dear friends and the making of new ones. Meaningful relationship is crucial to me and being presented with this opportunity was edifying. It is one thing to communicate virtually with a human being, and quite a different story altogether to meet face-to-face. I am not fond of name-dropping – but if there were ever a time to do so, now would be it. How else would you know unless you were present with us? Cherished friends included Neela Vermeire of NVC Parfums, Céline Verleure of Olfactive Studio, Ulrich Lang, François Henin of Jovoy, Meo Fusciuni, Thierry Bernard and Gwenaelle Chauvin of Parfumeurs Du Monde, Rania Jouaneh of Rania J, Roberto Dario, Wim Emiel Janssens of J.F.Schwarzlose Berlin, Barbara Herman of Eris Parfums, Dmitri Weber of Goldfield & Banks, Alessandro Brun of Masque Milano and Milano Fragranze, Hiram Green of Hiram Green Perfumes, Pierre Guillaume, Mark Buxton, Sarah Colton of Bad Girls Perfume, Cristian Cavagna of the Italian fragrance community ADJIUMI, and the charming and enthusiastic perfumer and blogger Tomoo Inabe Profice. Apologies to anyone inadvertently omitted, please! It was most gratifying to spend time with new acquaintances: Anatole Lebreton, Manos Gerakinis, Andreas Wilhelm of Perfume Sucks, Angela Ciampagna, Diletta Tonnato, the charming Michel Gusatz and Clara Feder of Le Jardin Retrouvé, and Stéphane Piquart of Behave. Naomi Goodsir and perfumer Isabelle Doyen were generous with their time, allotting our team a special visit. Several perfumers were exceedingly kind and shared their precious time with me: I am grateful to all these folk and many, many more.

 Bernhard & Ida in Milan collage by Karl Topham

 Generosity of Spirit and Play

It is marvelous to witness perfumers enjoy themselves. I thank everyone who took the time to chat and discuss perfume (and many other things) with me; there were so many. I cherished my time with the team as we dined, drank coffee, strategized and let our hair down together. It is impossible to relate the level of candor and warmth emanating from such folk – or to list every booth which held new surprises and old favorites. Thank you, Milan! I look forward to visiting you again next year!

 

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

 

Thanks to the generosity of brands that Ida met at Esxence 2022 The Art of Perfumery Event, we have a mystery bag with many samples selected from Ida’s Best of Show for one registered reader in the EU, USA, UK. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what intrigued you about Ida’s report on trends, friends and new brands and where you live. Draw closes 7/11/2022

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