Ca Fleure Bon, -Mark Behnke, Managing Editor – JANUARY 22, 2014
Have you ever wondered what your favorite commercial perfumers could do if they had the freedom to create like our best independent perfumers? What would someone used to creating something for thousands do if they could create for hundreds? What if they could use a limited access ingredient or more fully explore an idea, or ingredient, they were personally interested in? Until recently that question could only be answered by those perfumers taking the financial risk of creating their own line. With the advent of the Fragrance Republ!c these perfumers have the chance to create a small limited edition for a community of aficionados which allow them unlimited creative freedom.
For those who are hearing about the Fragrance Republic for the first time it is a combination of perfume subscription service and online community. Every month Fragrance Republ!c releases a one-of-a-kind limited edition fragrance. This started in October 2013 and as of January 2014 there have been four of these released. If you choose to join as a Freepeople you can access the community and can buy each monthly release as they are released through the website. If you pay to become a Patrician you receive a 15mL bottle of each monthly release sent directly to you plus a 20% discount if you want to buy a full 75mL bottle. The top level of paid membership is Senator which includes the opportunity to submit a brief which could become one of the monthly releases plus free admission to all Fragrance Republ!c events.
I was immediately taken with the idea when I first heard of it last May and now that there have been four fragrances released I thought it might be a good time to assess the State of the Republ!c.
Nathalie Feisthauer
The first fragrance was released in October 2013, 01/01 composed by Nathalie Feisthauer. 01/01 is an iris centered fragrance which Mme Feisthauer opens with a crisp green pear. This is a pear a couple days short of being ripe it still has a bit more bite than sweet to it. The heart is a sheer iris paired with exotic saffron. The pillow fight between the floral and the spicy is kinetic but soft. It eventually leads to a base of ambrette seeds as a source of natural musk and vetiver. The use of ambrette seeds is common among many perfumers in the indie community and with 01/01, Mme Feisthauer also gets to show off its versatility as a natural source of musk.
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