The Esxence 2024 Metamorphosis event collage by Olya

The theme of metamorphosis – the transformation of the self – seemed an especially apt one to me. I had to miss last year’s event – the first in Esxence’s new digs in the Milan Convention Center – so was a tad overwhelmed by the 361 brands displaying their wares this year. Esxence 2024 has morphed from the crowded but relatively contained event I first visited seven years ago to a gargantuan fair with a slightly carnivalesque vibe, exhilarating and exhausting. We’re all looking for that unicorn perfume that will rock our world or take us on a trip we never want to come home from. This year – although with so many brands it was hard to know which way to turn at times – there were plenty of lovely surprises – and even a few horned horse sightings. But boy, there was so much to choose from that it was hard to pare down the finds for a briefish rundown of my favourites!

 Masque Milano Le Donne di Masque photo by Amber Jobin©

Like others from ÇaFleureBon, my first stop was Masque Milano. Masque has long been one of my favourite brands because of the depth of detail, ingenuity, creativity and beauty its two directors, Alessandro Brun and Riccardo Tedeschi, placed into each fragrance. Alessandro, as most of you know, passed away on February 19,2024  and his sister, Emanuela Brun, has picked up the reins. She introduced me to the soon-to-be-released additions to the Le Donne di Masque collection: Catherine (green floral), Vaiana (tropical floral) and Diana (fruity floral). Catherine, my favourite of the three (all of which are lovely, btw), is a poignantly beautiful, stemmy jasmine-violet from Catherine Dumur. I am comforted knowing Alessandro’s legacy continues.

Friends … and more friends

Anatole Lebreton and Sarah Baker discuss peaches and murder at Esxence 2024 photo by Lauryn©

Of course, the most important part of these shows for me is reuniting with truly loved friends in the fragrance world. I was delighted to catch up with the fabulously talented and kind Anatole Lebreton, who gave me previews of two new fragrances launching soon – if you thought Anatole’s Eau Scandaleuse swam in some dangerous waters, you’ll need to try this naughty thing! London-based Sarah Baker, who is always great fun to hang out with, unfortunately lost her voice mid-show – yes, her booth was THAT popular. And for good reason. Sarah previewed her upcoming peach fragrance, Peach’s Revenge, a soignee, totally addictive bit of peachy naughtiness that just begs for an orchard, a slice of pie, a film script and a drop of murder. Did I mention film murder and scripts? Included in each box of Peach’s Revenge is an original screenplay by Sarah that could be straight out of early 50s film noir.

Esxence 2024 Metamorphosis Trends

Sustainability has thankfully become part of the business model for an increasing number of new brands, and a byword for seasoned houses anxious to ensure their practices are not damaging the planet. Florals of every configuration are everywhere this year – if you walked into the Esxence 2024 Metamorphosis event and closed your eyes as you walked through the show, you might think it was eternal spring in MiCo. But the taste for gourmands and ouds remains undiminished.

Dogs!

Milano basset hound  photo by Lauryn on the way to the show

It wouldn’t be a post from me without mention of the pooches who turn up to fragrance shows for a sniff. Double schnauzer sighting at 5 o’clock! Bonus: I met a basset hound on my way to the show who looked like a smaller version of my own dog. Fortunately for me, the owner was indulgent.

 Parties!

This year there seem to be more soirees and launch dos than ever. I was planning to tag along with some friends to the Nishane preview of Angelos Balamis’ gorgeous new white floral, Shinanany, but, alas, was too tired when it came down to it. This was the first year I was so fried at the end of each day I didn’t manage a single party, including the big shindig thrown by the organizers. Nope, I just trundled along to break bread with my friends and then fell into a taxi home.

Asia Rising

Mobius Perfume by Lauryn©

It quickly became clear to me that some of the most exciting work in independent perfumery is coming out of Asia, often using native plants and ingredients and playing with or throwing away the classical olfactory pyramid. Chinese brand Tombstone Perfumes, whose gothic presentation and inspiration practically dripped Rimbaud, was one I worried might be yet another goth girl line, but I was so wrong. Although death and the eternal are its inspiration, the brand avoids well-worn tropes of bloody bouquets and sooty fireplaces in favour of less travelled ideas. My favourite, the ruddy, warm His Lordship’s Backyard Roses, is quite elegant, full-bodied, woody-winey and, surprisingly, not overtly rosy.

Qimu and Musicians, whose four rock- n’ roll-inspired fragrances include one of the most grab-you-by-the-guitar string perfumes of the show. Guitarist twangs with sour berries and acid -green vines, all wrapped around what I think is chrysanthemum – utterly original, vibrant, and a real eye-opener. These two brands are squarely on my radar.

Bu Feng offers the lovely Drunken Jade, a shimmery, tea-in-a jungle-garden-just-after-a-downpour fragrance that smells nothing like other rain scents I’ve encountered but of wet lotus blossom, unroasted oolong tea and rain spatter on green leaves.

To say I was impressed by Tianyou Lou and his brand, Mobius, would be an understatement. A third- year student at Penn State, he makes many of his own tinctures, some of which he shared at Esxence 2024 Metamorphosis. His tea tinctures were astonishing in their complexity, and the finished perfumes were equally impressive. Lou’s fragrance, Divined, was a finalist for Art & Olfaction two years ago, and the dude’s only 24. One to watch.

Edit(h) booth at photo by Amber Jobin©

From Japan, Jijide Riso is a lush rice-centric fragrance that shows off the grain’s floralcy, mixing it with traditional Japanese culinary notes of red bean, soy sauce and kumquat. J-Scent’s line of lovely, refined fragrances that celebrate Japanese culture has many gems, including the airy, origami swan Koiame, with its evanescent magnolia and water lily notes, and the brand’s latest trio, collectively titled Profound, my favourite of which was the gingery, watercolour Beyond Oblivion. Edit(h) is a sophisticated Japan-based brand with fragrances from French perfumers Alexandra Carlin and Suzy Le Helley.

Singaporean house Maison de Lasie presented quite a few elegant scents, my favourite of which was the nectarous floral tea fragrance, Nanyang. The whole line is high quality and quite refined: another brand to watch.

And Elsewhere …

Patrick Amouye of Olfacto  photo Lauryn©

Two newcomers who really struck me were Olfacto from Cote D’Ivoire, with fragrances are built around ingredients native to Africa and London based  Sentire, whose owner hails from Ukaraine. Olfacto’s irrepressible founder and creative director, the delightfully enthusiastic Patrick Amouye, worked with European noses to fashion a line of bold, confident fragrances. Favourites included a fresh take on incense, Blaspheme, which spikes churchy incense with zingy green ginger, and Indigenes, inspired by the African people themselves, which mixes oud, patchouli and labdanum into an earthy, almost bodily brew.

Nata Dyshliuk of Sentire  photo by Lauryn©

Ukrainian Nata Dyshliuk, now based in London, is a very talented self-taught perfumer whose passion for fragrance is evident from the moment you meet her. While her brand, Sentire, was not exhibiting formally at the show, she had samples that she kindly shared with me and others. And I’m very glad she did. Atelier14 is a wonder with its lifelike smell of hot iron and freshly laundered line shirt and woods and is surprisingly wearable; Emerald Wind, a bespoke jade-eyed narcissus, would have Germaine Cellier nodding in approval. This is no-holds-barred green, equal parts acidic, floral and leafy. If you like retro-tinged green chypres – and baby, I sure do! – this is for you. But the one that absolutely stole my heart is A Room with a View, which, along with Emerald Wind, is not available to the public right now. A Room With a View is an absolutely stunning, beautifully balanced Mediterranean floral with a dreamlike heart that sways between lilac and linden. With its echoes of Patou’s Vacances, A Room With a View was one of my favourite perfumes of the entire show. Nata tells me it will be available this spring. Keep your eyes peeled, folks.

Australian house Map of the Heart, which I first noticed at Esxence several years ago, previewed the fabulous Abundance V.8, a mineral fragrance from noses Jacques Huclier and Amelie Jacquin, that is surprisingly warm and alive. Its heart is one of the creamiest sandalwoods I’ve ever experienced, surrounded by earthy, breathing smells. I absolutely love this. One of my favourites from the show.

Europe

Filippo Sorcinelli Memento Extrait De Sacristie at the Esxence 2024 Metamorphosis event photo by Amber Jobin©

Filippo Sorcinelli gave Esxence 2024 Metamorphosis its most stunning new collection of the year: Memento Extrait De Sacristie, which draws its inspiration from the sacristies of notable churches. Few perfumers can bring as much range and subtlety to incense in fragrance as Sorcinelli, and I loved every single perfume in the line. Particular favourites were the green-tinged Basilica di Assisi and the tranquil, meditative walk in a forest, Sacriste des Arbes.

I’d been curious about London house Electimuss for a while and finally got a chance to try their ancient Rome-inspired perfumes. Newly launched Cupid’s Kiss, by Julien Rasquinet, is one of my top florals of Esxence 2024, a delicious, rich iris flanked by suede and syrupy immortelle. This is perfume for odalisques – you almost need a silken divan to wallow on while wearing it.

Electimuss Cupid’s Kiss by Lauryn©

Standout launches from European brands include Parfums Dusita Pelagos, a modernist aquatic that references Greece with white thyme, a “sea breeze accord” and sharp citrus. These angular notes refract off Pelagos’ softly radiant iris heart like sun glitter and is just as mesmerizing.

Parfum D’Empire – another favourite brand – brought out its new Un Bel Amour D’Ete, a lactonic, cool-bright white floral based around gardenia and champaca. To call this lush would be an understatement. Founder and perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, who I met at long last, is just astonishing.

Lauryn and Manos Gerakinis selfie

At last I met the man who put Greek niche perfumery on the map. The truly lovely Manos Gerakinis continues to go from strength to strength.  Not only did he produce one of the most gorgeous fig scents on the planet – Chris Maurice’s Methexis – this year, he is launching Wild Tuberose via nose Manto Liosi, that pairs that opulent flower with incense, accentuating its greenness with leaf notes and bergamot.

Astrophil & Stella IN EXTREMIS by Amber Jobin©

Astrophil & Stella In Extremis: Meo Fusciuni’s sepia-toned love letter to Caravaggio has a gravity and silence to it that I find mesmerizing. Few fragrances I’ve encountered have made me feel I’m part of the artwork I am meditating on. Here, Fusciuni captures the warmth or Caravaggio’s light tones, the subject’s abrupt, frozen passions with interweaving wood notes, incense, and chamomile, all surrounding a glowing heart of osmanthus and magnolia. Burnished and sonorous and the lowest notes in the piano’s register, it echoes as you wear it. One of the best new launches so far this year and why is this brand not in every perfume shop in the U.S.?

Speaking of Mio Fusciuni, the Italian artist and aromatorio’s  gorgeous, inky violet and incense Viole Nere from 2023 was one of my favourite scents of the show. This year, Meo Fusciuni Parfums introduced the mossy, herbal Last Season, an aromatic mood piece created by Meo aka Giuseppe Imprezzabile while listening to Dark Wood by David Darling and reading Thoreau’s Walden. Like walking slowly through a forest to a lake clearing where sea moss and algae dot the rocks and heaven feels so close you could wrap it round you like a blanket. This continues to be one of the most soulful and unique lines in artisan perfumery.

I am always elated to see the wonderful women of Osmothèque at Esxence, who always make visitors feel like honoured guests. Antonella was my host this time round, allowing me to time travel with original iterations of many Cotys, Guerlains, Carons and Rosines at my leisure. May Osmotheque thrive forever!

Atelier Materi display photo by Lauryn©

French brand Atelier Materi introduced Cedre Figalia, a woody fig with unconventional vegetal notes that emphasize the fruit’s smell when slightly underripe. This perfume treads well-worn ground – woody figs are a thing – but goes its own way with a fresh, aromatic take.

Finally, finally, after 7 years of correspondence, I met the man who revolutionized indie perfumery, Pierre Guillaume, in person. This guy is responsible for several of my favourite perfumes (though I am not sure I will ever get over the discontinuation of Querelle) and has been generously sending me new releases forever. Meeting him was a treat – he is witty, warm and charming and he just launched a yummy extrait version of Le Musc et La Peau.

New to Me

While Milan-based Brera6 launched a few years ago, I had not come across it before. The fragrances have an easy sophistication that is quite seductive; unsurprisingly, since they are created by perfumers Luca Maffei and Maurizio Cerizza. Hesperia, by Maffei, and Gothic, from Cerizza, were favourites of mine.

Psychotic, a London-based brand, offers six fragrances created by Celine Ellena and a soon-to-be-launched collection of four fragrances from Nathalie Feisthauer. Despite the whacky name, the brand’s scents are modern, vibrant and easy to like. My favourite is Feisthauer’s Magnetic Infusion, a smooth, coffee-centric potion.

… And a few missed opportunities

I did not get to sniff Le Jardin Retrouve’s new Violette Kew from Givaudan Perfumer Maxence Moutte, despite a kind invitation to the launch, because I could barely move at the end of the day. I can tell you, however, that Michel and Clara Gutsatz are two of the most lovely people I’ve met in the fragrance world and I truly enjoyed chatting with them. Such kind hearts! I also, sadly, missed The Different Company’s Red Burning Night. So, I definitely have a bit of catching up to do!

After nearly eight years as a fragrance writer, I am amazed that I can still be moved, entertained, surprised, rattled and excited by scent. I am forever grateful to Michelyn for unlocking this portal into the stuff that dreams are made on for me.

Until next year, mes amis!

But look at all the things you did and look at your metamorphosis
Finally, you’ve found your gift and now you’re on a rocket ship
You’re standing there on that stage, all because you had the faith- Metamorphosis by Infinity Song

–Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Please read Michelyn’s Esxence 2024 report here and Ida’s here

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