- which includes all the ‘niche’ brands, mass-produced nevertheless:
While briefly seasonal Alba truffles and vividly coloured diamonds have maintained – so far – their exclusive character, the status of fine noble Perfume went through a major crushing shift, a seismic shake to the core of its essence, literally
– first, thanks to the industrial revolution in chemistry – with synthesizing the coveted rare ‘key’ molecules on industrial scale, with mass production and assertive advertisement;
– and then as well – due to the profound modern changes in life standards and aesthetic norms of the whole societies in masses: rather suddenly, from being a noble exclusive accessory for millenia, in just a bit over a hundred years Perfume has descended to ‘a drop of luxury for everybody and a must for anybody’: for example, a certain very famous perfume with more than a hundred years in production (and number five in its name), is allegedly selling two bottles a minute worldwide – 10 million of them a year. Ironically though, the original formula – and with that – the true character of that famed perfume – is long gone, entirely remade over and over again – reformulated quite a few times by now, becoming at every turn ever simpler – not to say more primitive – blandly compliant with the ever-growing clout of the Industry and Mass Market, motivated not by authentic luxury but by catering the average mass taste, and thus eventually ending in a nebulous flood of crude, cheap and overall insipid fragrant tzunami.
And here we live in a clueless and complacent dream (nightmare?) of every modern-day domestic ‘Cleopatra’ and philistine ‘Caesar’, drowning in that sea of chemical perfumery and generic toiletry from the mass assembly-line, duped by the cunning engines of glossy advertisement, to believe in a mirage of speialty that covers up by its thin and cynical veneer – just a very cheap synthetic, simplistically vulgar concoctions, equally present in highly designed ‘luxury brands’ eau de toilette just as in floor soaps and dish detergents – and on occasion smelling, being blatantly honest, like accidents in a chemical factory – in tune of 3000 of them released each year to the global mass market (as of 2024)!
In such view, this mass-produced ‘perfumeric gruel’ promotes in reality only uninspiring conformism, mediocrity and bad taste of ‘the herd’, and eventually cancels into near-oblivion the Individuality of Perfume as a worthy, and lofty, concept – an original and personally fit, custom-made by artist of the craft, genuinely luxurious and classically refined through and through – piece of wearable Art.
It is clear, that in the circumstances of the present day, creation of a Personal Perfume, particularly if made from the genuine and most lavish essences, is a privilege for very few – gifted with a discerning appreciation, truly refined taste and unique style.
Kai Leon Art Perfumer Sui Generis
For inquiries and appointments: kai.leon777@t-online.de
