Geza Schoen Volume 1: A Beautiful Mind Volume Intelligence and Beauty

Rewind the clock five years and you may remember a perfume with an IQ.  Entitled Intelligence and Beauty it announced the arrival of The Beautiful Mind Series Volume 1. The perfumer behind this fragrance was German independent perfumer Geza Schoen (you can read Michelyn’s November 2010 interview with Geza here) , with help from his muse, Christiane Stenger, a grandmaster of memory. Herr Schoen is known for challenging the status quo. He creates unforgettable statements- with the modern masterpiece Escentric Molecules Molecule 01 in 2006, Kinski in 2011 Steidl Paper Passion 2012 and recently Ephemera Unsound 2015. (Herr Schoen is also the perfumer who works in collaboration with Creative Director Linda Pilkington on all the Ormonde Jayne fragrances).

Polina Semionova Swan Lake -Black Swan

For Volume 2: Precision and Grace,  the classical ballet dancer Polina Semionova (principal dancer at The American Ballet Theatre as of 2012; she was also the youngest principal to join the Staatsballet Berlin in 2002 at the age of 17 ) has served as Schoen’s inspiration and collaborative partner. Precision & Grace evokes the dancer’s creative oeuvre. Ballet is renowned for grueling training regimes of Black Swan intensity, before the reveal of technical perfection and hard-earned moments of alluring perfection. There are many clips on YouTube that showcase her talents and I am guilty of getting side tracked. Her performances are mesmerising.  Semionova dances with a fierce combination of strength, yes, grace and precision.

Here is the youtube video clip that I love called Dancing In The Rain that is amazingly fluid and sensual and helps to bring the perfume to life for me.

Polina Semionova in La Bayadere. Photo by Jack Devant

A Williams pear note dominates in the opening stages of Precision & Grace bringing to life Polina Semionova’s childhood in Russia.  It’s sweet and tinged with green. As a general rule I haven’t had much luck with pear as a note in fragrances. That said, I love the sensation of eating a juicy pear that oozes ripeness.  It takes tremendous skill to reproduce the crispness or juiciness of the pear in a perfume without having it smell like a Glade air freshener. With the addition of a squeeze of citrus notes, Precision & Grace achieves this feat with the pear tending crisp as opposed to ripe.

Polina Semionova Sleeping Beauty

At first the perfume seems to have a shy innocence, but slowly stirs to shed the remnants of tulle as it’s swept aside to reveal an Egyptian jasmine.  It's a fresh, bright jasmine with a fruity aspect rather than the indolic heady bloom. Precision and Grace glides on the skin and is reminiscent of a dancer at the barre, warming up. Then moving unconsciously, unhindered by the mind, the body takes over. There’s a smidgen of Schoen’s beloved pink pepper and the fruity jasmine is amplified by supporting flowers that provide volume. These include mimosa, osmanthus and freesia. The perfume really takes flight now with swirls and pirouettes. The addition of plum blends with the flowers to create skilled smooth lines.

 

Polina Semionova and Ibrahim Önal in Roland Petit’s Carmen during the Staatsballet Berlin Ballet gala 2011. Photo by Bettina Stöß

The fragrance reaches its zenith with the introduction of the sandalwood and musky base that plumps Precision & Grace with a velvet like texture. This comes as a surprise and is skillfully blended so one doesn’t notice the transformation as it occurs. It’s a welcome change and lends some extra flight and frisson. It has an element of warmth and Schoen intimates that he wanted to give the impression of the dancer’s body becoming heated as the dance wears on.

Polina Semionova in Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude

It has a contemporary feel, with buoyancy that would wear well in the heated months to come. There’s a freshness here that offers those moments of excitement, when you’re at the theatre transfixed by the intricacies and exhilarating moments of a performance.   It is the ultimate expression of femininity;  tender but strength and determination in its posture. It may have been five years but Precision and Grace was worth the wait.

 Megan Paki, Senior Contributor and Author of Megan In Sainte Maxime

Disclosure : Sample received from The Beautiful Mind Series

Geza Schoen in his lab

Editor’s Note: I often refer to Geza as the great collaborator. It is important to note that both Volume 1 and Volume 2 were co-creations and partnerships.  Christiane Stenger and Polina Semionova worked closely with Geza in his lab. Art director here as well- Michelyn

Thanks to Geza Schoen we have a 100 ml bottle of Precision and Grace for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader anywhere in the world. To be eligible please leave a comment with what appeals to you about Precision & Grace and for extra credit a woman with a beautiful mind that would suit a Volume 3 Draw closes 5/9/2015

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