Natalia Outeda of Frassai

I entered the perfume industry in 2005 working at Quest in New York City. There I met Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Yann Vasnier, who over ten years later would become the noses for three of my fragrances. I didn’t realize I was about to fall in love with perfume. I got into fragrance by chance, before joining Quest, I had worked at La Grenouille, a New York City landmark filled with lush flowers and exquisite food, and with former owner Charles Masson, who had a floral design business. This opened me up to a new sensitivity, working with textures, colors, and volume, which I now translate into my creations. It was at Quest that I encountered some of the most talented and knowledgeable people in this industry. I learned about the work that goes behind each creation and the passion necessary to carry it through. My first steps were in the fast-growing Bath & Body Works account. I was surrounded by an overwhelming amount of scented lotions and shower gels. It was an incredible learning experience which allowed me to connect further with my own sense of smell as well as understand the technicalities of fragrance. When you have technique, you can improvise and create magic.

Natalia Outeda with Rodrigo Flores Roux and Sophie Bensamou-Quest

Quest was acquired by Givaudan, one of the largest houses in the world. Some of the giants are criticized because they are, well, large and powerful, but one of the advantages is they have better processes and quality control, access to new molecules and rare ingredients, plus I find that within these global houses, you have individual souls that have crafted an incredible path in perfumery. There are perfumers thirsty for creative expression who thrive co-creating with niche brands. They can play more because these fragrances don’t need to have mass appeal, and the budget allows for the use of better ingredients. As an evaluator I had access to the material cost of our clients, so I am aware of this aspect in creation and allow for much flexibility in cost while striving adding value for the end consumer.

Scent memories: My fondest scent memories are linked to my childhood. I love the smell of books, the scent of my ballet school with its wooden floors and the white powder for the pointes. The baking of my grandmother: teisenddu (torta negra), mil hojas filled with dulce de leche (mille feuille), lemon pie and meringue. I enjoy the smell of earth and nature. Something very simple, like jasmine, linden and jacarandás in Buenos Aires can make me very happy. I did not have a signature scent growing up. I remember wearing Ysatis, Diva, Chanel 19. They were mostly gifts and I wore them happily. Later as a fragrance evaluator, I smelled hundreds of perfumes and worked on many creations for global brands, but I never found a scent that I could embrace as my own. The desire to create things I truly loved coupled with a search for a much slower pace led me from New York to Buenos Aires, where I started Frassaï. I began studying jewelry and founded Frassai with a collection of perfume pendants entirely handcrafted by me. This gave me a foundation to work on the fragrances, which I launched in late 2017.

For me fragrance is a journey, an experience to be lived. Scent is deeply personal and I create with that experience in mind. A perfume can accompany you and support you as you go through your journey. It can travel with you, awaken you, soothe you, ground you. It can evolve as you evolve. I like perfumes that evolve. This allows you to have a conversation, it makes the experience dynamic. I don’t see perfume as an accessory that you put on to finish an outfit. Smell has tremendous power over our emotions and well-being. Studies show that 75% of emotions are triggered by smell. I was astounded to find this out. It truly has the power to transform.

Natalia Outeda with Rodrigo Flores-Roux

The Brief:  Creation starts with a clear goal. Once I have an idea that sparks within me I start working on the concept. This can take several months. I don’t rush it. I like the idea of slow fragrance and I don’t want to release perfumes I am not in love with. The beauty of being independent is that you don’t need to succumb to the pressures of the market or seasonal launches. One must pour one’s heart and soul into each creation. Cohesion is also important. Working in the industry was instrumental as it allowed me to fully understand the process of creating perfume, from customer brief and pricing to coming up with creative ideas and developing them until launch. I trained my nose every single day and soaked in knowledge from experts around me, both in-house and from brands like L’Oréal and P&G, two major accounts I worked on.

For Frassaï, I am involved in each step of the process, which includes selection of ingredients and developing the perfumes, but also writing stories, designing packaging and being active on social media.  I was also involved in the photo shoot, which was done with the amazing duo from Buenos Aires, Luciana Val & Franco Musso. They’ve done covers for major fashion magazines and brands in Paris and locally, yet they’re really down to earth. While I created my scents, I looked at options for bottles and found this beautiful Italian glass that I immediately fell in love with. I paired it with wooden caps because texture is important and it speaks to the sensorial experience. I also chose to place the label on an angle to play with shape and perception, it becomes a new bottle this way. It was Balmain that first used the corner label in perfume.

Buenos Aires Summer from Natalia Outeda

Frassaï Fragrances: I have always had an inclination for beautiful things so I’m interested in exploring beauty and harmony in scent. I think many of us are looking for harmony in this fast-paced world. Harmony doesn’t have to be boring. If we look at nature, there is much diversity. I like to thread that into the scents, focusing on creating memorable yet enjoyable olfactive experiences. It is not about being shocking or provocative. I am not into scents that are unfinished or are hard on the nose. It’s important for me to have a story from beginning to end. The beauty of smell is that it allows you to be present but can also trigger sensations and memories from the past. We remember 5% of what we see, yet 35% of what we smell… that means scent has a profound impact on our lives.  I find that it’s more interesting to wear fragrance and share this intimate encounter with those we choose to rather than impose it upon others and have the fragrance wear us.

I play with the strength of each perfumer and strive to make the best of our collaboration. I know them personally, which is crucial because it establishes trust. It also allows for the communication to be smooth. The choice of perfumers wasn’t necessarily easy because there are many noses I’d like to work with, like Calice Becker, Marypierre Julien, Stephen Nilsen, one of the most knowledgeable perfumers and flavorists I know, or younger noses like Linda Song and Gwen Gonzalez that many haven’t yet heard of.

When creating a French fairytale with a thread of delicious salted butter caramel enveloped by flowers, I contacted Yann Vasnier. For Frassai Blondine (reviewed by Ida), we started with two ideas, then narrowed it down to one and began development.

We had already created some of Frassaï ‘s candles, Bebel and Gustav, a collection inspired by music legends (the other three were created by Roxanne Kirkpatrick). Yann had moved from NYC to Paris and I was in Buenos Aires so we did everything over email. He would send me samples and then we would chat about how to move it forward. We centered the idea on a salted butter caramel accord paired with cacao absolute, then added pear leaves and green mandarin to enhance the gustative note while keeping it light. The heart has Tiger Lily and Ashoka and the background is quite velvety and rich with hints of vanilla from Madagascar, suede, castoreum and civet. There are also some captive musks that add an airy and enveloping feeling which is very comforting. I never expected this ‘gourmand’ accord to have so much success. The truth is I never liked gourmands! But I found a way to work with gourmand notes in a way that doesn’t feel heavy or cloying. Now I realize how elegant they can be. Although Frassaï is still quite new, Blondine has become the best-seller from the line (Michelyn awarded it Best of 2018).

In the case of Rodrigo Flores-Roux, I approached him during one of my visits to New York. I mentioned that I wanted to create two beautiful jasmines one very radiant and another more deep and sensual. As soon as I told him about the idea, he was in. We spoke about making Verano Porteño (reviewed by Ida) very fresh and vibrant on top, we added cardamom, ambrette seed and Argentine maté to make it more disruptive. I love using maté in my creations because it is the Argentine ingredient par excellence. Verano Porteño is all about that gentle breeze that caresses you, infused with Imperial jasmine and magnolia. I find it to be an uplifting scent.

What I love about Rod is that I can say about Frassaï Verano Porteño  (reviewed by Ida) and A Fuego Lento is he gets it; he gets the meaning, not only because he speaks Spanish but because he also knows it’s subtly about tango. These two fragrances are a sort of homage to Astor Piazzolla, who was revolutionary in the tango scene. His music moves me and I believe perfume should strike a chord inside of us. Verano Porteño speaks of summer, it has Italian citrus notes that can be nostalgic yet invigorating — clementine, bergamot and cedrat, which remind me of my trip to Capua in Reggio Calabria. I wanted to work with their fabulous citrus fruits. I must add that in Argentina many, including me, are descendants of Italian immigrants.

For A Fuego Lento on the other hand, we wanted something very sultry. In Buenos Aires, you go to the milonga (tango dancing) at 11pm, so we spoke about this flower that blooms late at night, very sensual. We played with intense, heady flowers like jasmine sambac and orange flower and added a touch of blackcurrant buds to give it a sparkling juicy top. For the sensual bed we played with civet, tolu balsam and suede. However, the ingredient that I get asked about the most is flouve odorante, a grass that when dried has a sweet, coumarin-like, fresh hay smell. I did a preview of Frassai A Fuego Lento in 2018 (reviewed by Lauryn here) but it’s officially launching in the next month or so.

 

To create a deep woody incense that takes you to the Orient, I approached Olivier Gillotin. We had worked together on development of Ralph Lauren Polo Red and Big Pony #4 among others. Tian Di (Heaven and Earth) is all about the balance of yin and yang, contraction and expansion. It was inspired by my practice of internal martial arts and the peach tree of immortality in Mount Kunlun. This fragrance has a contrast of warmth and coolness with notes of iris, spices and calming woods. The green galbanum top is the emerging, ascending to the heavens, while the peach elixir allows for a slightly sweet mouthwatering contrast that takes you slowly to the fond, centering you, bringing you back to earth. Olivier has always been a great mentor and thanks to his support, perfumer Roxanne Kirkpatrick, who started out as his lab technician, went to the perfumery school in Paris.

Roxanne and I hit it off right away. She’s full of positive energy and I love her drive. We became friends and spent many afternoons smelling ingredients before she went off to France. For Frassaï Teisenddu (reviewed by Ida here),  I wanted to work with a woman perfumer. Frassaï is the first woman-owned perfume house from Argentina, and although it doesn’t mean I only work with women, I enjoy supporting them, especially when they are starting out like me. This fragrance was inspired by the black welsh cake (torta galesa) that my grandmother baked. It was a Proust moment, I was transported back to her kitchen, embraced by her warm smile and inebriated with the scent of her torta negra. Patagonia is a big part of my DNA, as both my father and grandmother were born there. My grandparents founded several schools in the region, in Tierra del Fuego and Chubut. This may be the reason why I loved books as a child. I loved to read, even before entering school. I find the smell of books, libraries and book shops centering. I spent many summers reading instead of playing by the pool, and each time I traveled from New York to Buenos Aires, I made it a point to visit book stores. It’s a big thing in Argentina, books and coffee, much more than perfume.

The nature of change & intuition:  I did not know what to expect when I embarked on this scented journey. In Argentina niche perfumery is a new concept and as anything that is artisanal and new, you have to explain it a lot more. My desire for Frassaï was to create something fresh, of exceptional quality, and that would offer locals an alternative to what they find in the duty-free. It was also my intention from the beginning to showcase the noses that I work with. In perfumery it’s a team effort that equates into success. I wasn’t about to launch a house with 100 fragrances, calling them my own. Authenticity and transparency are key pillars.

I’m a bit of a rebel, even if a quiet one. I like having the freedom to create with people who are passionate and supportive. Frassai is independent and self-funded. I follow my intuition. I don’t follow trends. I am open to evolving, to collaborating with other houses or even venturing into mixing my own scents. I want to look back and know that I chose my journey and not someone else’s. I am not on a race to grow quickly. I am interested in sharing what I love with people who can appreciate it, to start a dialogue. I only have a few points of sale and most customers buy directly from frassai.com or the closed-door showroom in Buenos Aires. I launched the fragrance line a year and a half ago and it’s been an exhilarating journey with much love and support from consumers and reviewers alike. This summer, I plan to enter the European market at a very special location. I am very excited about what’s to come.

–Natalia Outeda, Creative Director and owner of Frassaï

Choose from the sampler or 50 ml of Verano Porteño.

Thanks to Creative Director Natalia Outeda of Frassaï we have a draw for a registered reader for 50 ml of Verano Porteño or A sampler  of all five fragrance.

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