Beyond the ingredients, it is the quality of intention behind our work that brings Alexandra Balahoutis of Strange Invisible Perfumes and Fabrice Penot of Le Labo together. Not obsessed by the bottom line; their work is a passion, which happens to be a business, and successful ones. But the success was not the obsession. Creation is.
Now we’re in 2012 and Mr. Buxton is giving the idea of a collection another attempt as he releases a five fragrance collection. He retains both Black Angel and Wood and Absinth and then adds three new ones: Devil in Disguise, Sexual Healing, and Sleeping With Ghosts. This time I was not disappointed as the artist I admired seems to have returned.
“Not everyone lives close to one of our labs and that, we know, creates great sadness around the world (to some extent. There are more serious and stinky things that create even greater sadness). To make your life easier however, one of our lab assistants will compound the perfume you decide to have by hand, print its label with the name of your choice, and send it to the address of your choice (you get to choose a lot).
Le Labo believes that it is about time that we open our eyes, breathe in deeply and take in all that life has to offer. In an ongoing series exploring design and olfaction Tim Girvin explores the connection Le Labo style.
Dr. Levi was traveling through the American Desert Southwest and they had stopped for the day. As Dr. Levi looked out the window he saw a fast moving storm full of lightning bearing down on them. He ran outside and as he arrived the air was full of turbulence and anticipation of nature’s power. He noticed the smells in the air had become sharper and more vivid. The artist deep inside Dr. Levi paused to remember that for future reference. Upon returning to Italy he decided to use that experience to create two different fragrances, Fulgor and Roboris
The object of the four-day exposition in Milan, Esxence-The Scent of Excellence, is to showcase all that is special about artistic perfumery. I just returned from my trip to Italy and based on all that I experienced this year’s edition did just that.
