Feminine, chic, and sophisticated: Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s might have worn Headspace Tubéreuse, (here switching her cigarette holder with a tuberose branch) – Audrey Hepburn ©Breakfast at Tiffany’s, tuberose ©Pixabay, bottle ©Headspace, collage ©Emmanuelle Varron.

Discovered during Esxence 2022 and part of my “Best of Show”, Headspace is the new brand created by Nicolas Chabot (Aether, Le Galion) and it immediately hypnotized my gaze thanks to the bottles designed Jules Dinand, a tribute to the vials used in perfumers’ laboratories. Then a look at the labels, with simple and straight-to-the-point fragrance names: Santal, Myrrhe, Sauge, Genièvre, Absinthe, Styrax and… Tubéreuse aroused my curiosity. Even if the rhythm of Esxence is intense and we cannot linger too long on the booths, Nicolas Chabot nevertheless took the time to present to me some of the creations, all composed by IFF perfumers, immediately sending me the sample kit upon my return to Paris.

Headspace at Esxence 2022 – ©Emmanuelle Varron

There was the official press launch a few weeks ago at the Paris IFF headquarters, for a much more in-depth Headspace presentation. Nicolas Chabot was in attendance, of course, but also IFF perfumers Fanny Bal, Nicolas Beaulieu, Caroline Dumur and Julien Rasquinet; they all took time to present their creation(s), to explain their inspiration and the choice of raw materials. You might think at first glance that all of this is seems pretty classic and yet… that’s the originality of Headspace. Because before it was the name of a brand, “headspace” is a term designating a revolutionary technology dating from the 70s allowing the capture of any smell.

How to sum up headspace technology? I refer you to the famous Patrick Süskind “Perfume: The story of a murderer” Grenouille character, whose dream is to capture the absolute perfume, of love, embodied by a young woman he meets in Paris. In fact, it was the Swiss chemist Romain Kaiser who, in the 1970s, invented this technology that captures the odors that surround us, analyze them and then reconstitute them in chemical form. Initially developed to recover volatile molecules from rare plants (and thus not having to pick them), this science has been extended to Nature with a capital “N”. And Nicolas Chabot’s brand offers a daring concept that plays on our imagination and our memories: combining a natural raw material with a very special headspace that, of course, does not exist in the perfumer’s organ.

Headspace at the press launch event – ©Emmanuelle Varron

Headspace Genièvre: Fanny Bal used a gin headspace to pair it with juniper berry, pink pepper, mandarin and cedar for a dashing splash of freshness.

Headspace Sauge: The headspace here captured nature after a storm and Caroline Dumur has associated it with clary sage, spices, and frankincense to reinterpret the Fougère spirit in a 21st century version.

Headspace Absinthe: Nicolas Beaulieu was inspired by bodies in motion by working on an absinthe with leathery accords, where narcissus and patchouli raise the temperature of this ultra-sensual aromatic.

Headspace Santal: Imagine a French vintage rosé champagne, sparkling and delicate. Julien Rasquinet has chosen to combine this headspace using a warm sandalwood with accents of rose and frankincense, where patchouli and vetiver recreate the link with the earth.

Headspace Myrrhe: Change of scenery for Julien Rasquinet, the starting point being a sea rock capturing the rays of the sun. A warmth supported by cinnamon and patchouli, sharp with the minerality and freshness of a myrrh associated with frankincense.

Headspace Styrax: A warm breath of a galloping horse captured for the fragrance composed by Miroslav Petkov, combined with amber and labdanum for a wild spirit. Styrax and osmanthus add a leathery and fruity note with saffron for a spicy facet that raises the temperature even more.

Nicolas Chabot, Headspace founder and Nicolas Beaulieu, IFF perfumer – ©Sylvie Manfray and ©Michael Avedon, collage ©Emmanuelle Varron.

Reviewing Headspace Tubéreuse was obvious. If you read my articles regularly, you know that I am a “tuberose addict” and that I test as many fragrances that puts the “queen of the night” front and center. That doesn’t mean I like every tuberose perfume I smell. In fact over the years, I have become more difficult to please because I sometimes feel I’ve smelt everything!!  Discovering a new interpretation is like the start of a new relationship, where you take pleasure in learning all its facets. Headspace Tubéreuse surprised and bewitched me so much that I included it in my Top Ten perfumes of 2022.

The first seconds bring out three notes intertwined in total harmony: galbanum, tuberose and tobacco. A cold tobacco, close to the ashes of a barely extinguished cigarette. The exercise in style is not easy because let’s face it: it’s not necessarily the most attractive smell that exists on earth. My only previous memory is the famous Etat Libre d’Orange Jasmin et Cigarette but which on my skin, alas, did not retain the intense floral notes of jasmine at all, as is often the case on me. With tuberose, it’s a whole different story! Especially since this tobacco, which I would describe as urban, blends wonderfully well with galbanum, reinforcing its dry and earthy facets and yet finding a unique balance with the contrast of the greener and crisper ones. The galbanum – tuberose association particularly moves me, as it is the backbone of my dearest Naomi Goodsir Nuit de Bakélite and these two raw materials go together remarkably well.

The notes of tobacco and tuberose are omnipresent on the skin from the first to the last minute, and are woven into Headspace Tubéreuse throughout. Galbanum gets a little more discreet over the hours, giving way to vanilla which brings a slightly gourmand and round touch. Nicolas Beaulieu has managed to preserve the original scent, the headspace, of this carnal and cold tuberose, and to achieve a balance between sensuality and sophistication, that makes it a perfume that has everything it takes to become a “classic”.

Notes: galbanum, tuberose, tobacco, blackcurrant, vanilla, cedarwood.

Disclaimer: merci to Headspace for the discovery kit including Tubéreuse provided for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Emmanuelle Varron, Senior Editor and Paris Brand Ambassador

Headspace Tubéreuse 100 ml bottle – ©Headspace.

Thanks to Nicolas Chabot, we have a 100 ml bottle of Headspace Tubereuse for one registered reader in USA, UK and EU. To be eligible, please tell which ingredient or scent you would love captured using the headspace technology, your thoughts about Emmanuelle’s review and where you live. Draw closes 01/22/2023.

Headspace Tubereuse is available on the brand’s website and on Jovoy Paris’s website.

Please read more about Creative Director Nicholas Chabot who was Michelyn’s best creative director of 2016

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