The Scented Story

Who doesn’t love a good story? One passed down from family member to family member? These personal ones are the narratives that stay with us and are the tales we truly want to pass on to the next generation; a great story can be told in words, sounds and even scents. Olivier Cresp is a perfumer whose scents tell stories, he even describes his work as figurative . His family connection to perfume has been passed down as he is the son of long line of raw perfume ingredient wholesalers, as well as having a son who is a perfumer. His latest scent collection is the story of London magically crafted with his daughter after she spent several years in the city. These seven truly unique fragrances tell the tales of six different places she often went or the life she experienced that became her lifestyle. This is perfume story telling at its very best. Find out more here in The Scented Story.

One of the perfumery world’s most distinguished figures, Olivier Cresp has hundreds of winning scents to his name. Just to name a few think the legend that is Thierry Mugler Angel,  Estée Lauder’s Modern Muse, Penhaligon’s genius London Gin inspired Juniper Sling, Paco Rabanne’s XS, Dolce and Gabanna’s Light Blue and Parfums de Marly’s Sedley. This is just a tiny splice of what this hero of perfume has accomplished as he himself as said he often works on between five and 10 fragrances at once.

Olivier Cresp’s family heritage has its roots in the world of perfumery. With a grandfather and father spending their lives buying and selling natural raw materials for the world of fragrance from and around its international home in Grasse France, becoming a perfumer was an entirely natural step for him.

But what comes next for him right now, is not just a special collection of fragrances that are in many way so markedly different from anything they are also extremely personal and read almost as a love story.

Created with his daughter after her years spent in London it is an olfactive affair between father and daughter, daughter with city and finally the city and its addictive nature.

Meet Akro seven fragrances that will literally blow you away. But also think of those daily addictions we all have. Maybe yours is chocolate or coffee could yours be is a little more intoxicating say a great malt whiskey. This perfume tale echos seven of his daughters london loves.

Olivier talked of his work starting with an idea, a thought, a moment which will dictate to him the style of the fragrance. However he also said he has never worked so hard on a collection with his daughter being his fussiest client ever.

Anaïs’s moments in London, for her particularly the west London area Ladbroke Grove, like any good day in the metropolitan starts with coffee. So this is where the story starts. Awake the perfume is an ode to all things caffeine. That electric bitter hit of the mornings first addiction, black rich and sometimes with a hint of cardamom like all middle eastern coffees are. Her morning power punch this perfume is made up of notes that include Santos Coffee alongside warm spice of green Cardamom brightness via Italian lemons and finally earthy vetiver from Haiti to finish it and round if off

Well, Anaïs’s next fixation may well be the perfect accompaniment to her bright yet bitter coffee shot it is of course Smoke, that first drag of the morning ‘ciggie’, deeply inhaled to fulfil a bodily need. Smoke the fragrance contains Balkan Tabacco leaves, Cade (think dry woody hot tar like notes) Benjoin (a smoky vanilla facet) and Tonka bean (think sweet like vanilla, notes of spices, chocolate and tobacco) to finish and round off the perfume.

Another addiction one that also goes very well with coffee of course has to be chocolate, so meet the scent Dark. Truly seductive chocolate releases, when we eat it, one of the endorphins in our brains responsible for happiness, which is probably why so many love it so, and why for many also it is so addictive because lets face it love is the most powerful of all of our emotions, it gives us a great (and sometime eternal) rush after all. A moment on our lips a lifetime in our hearts. This fragrance is made up of Cocoa, Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Hazelnut and Vanilla, which makes it sound like a luxurious shopping list for praline chocolates to serve at a divine dinner party bought from the best artisan store, so the perfume itself sums up that elegance.

Another obsession comes via the reefer, spilff or may be just the simple work cannabis will give you the idea. Here this mellow but distinct smoke, called Haze lules to you via notes of Absinthe, Armoise, Eucalyptus, Spearmint, Clary Sage, think dry green notes with the added facet of the equally naughty noted of (that distinguished French drink) absinth.

Does it feel like the day has been filled up with delicious aromas? So why not move to early evening and fulfil your next vice. Meet Malt, a scent that brings the very British of drinks, to the perfume world. Think of a feeling of being slightly giddy after a glass or may be two glasses of whiskey which leaves a trace of this oaky drink on the skin, find notes of warm Whiskey, Rum, alongside Leather, Seaweed, Patchouli. Ease back and enjoy

Once the day is over there is only one thing left, those intimate times for loving and lusting, after the headiness of the day think skin on skin body entwined with body, flesh meets flesh. The perfume of lovers night, contains notes of Bulgarian Rose, Cumin, Saffron, Agaroud

May be these fixes are not yours so what about the new launch that reaches Fenwick’s on the 5th of April. For those of us that love (and are attracted) to tattoos, the inky skin, the rush of Adrenalin of the needle, a fix that may need to be fulfilled more and more. This elixir Ink, is made up of Black Ink, Tar Vetiver and Jasmine

We know that the Endorphins are not the only brain chemicals linked to chocolate consumption. Together with dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin these four neurotransmitters form the quartet that is responsible for our happiness and they are all released when we eat chocolate; hence our utter love for it. But joking apart addiction was thought of in the past as something being wrong, a somehow moral failing, is now seen rightly so, as an outdated treatment.

These perfumes are not about the negative connotations of our needs but the positive uplifting effects of the things we love most to spend our time doing; the olfactory journeys they take us to, is what is most important here.

These stories bring us back to or help create. To explore our loves and vices and they are a figurative expression of these loves, these stories lines of our lives that are larger than life. They are full of ingredients that bring moments that are a healthy drug of choice, one to coat the skin and join with the narrative

These perfumes have a very direct effect as these are clear, authentic minimal as is the approach of the perfumer Olivier. They are a conversation starter, a moment stopper as you walk past leaving the written lines of a page in your silage. All the lines make the story and one that happens to be a big luscious family dynasty style.

To explore these family stores please fo to AkroFragrances.Com Here The new Ink fragrance will be available as of 5th April 2022 exclusively at Fenwick Here

If you enjoyed reading The Scented Story then why not read Hands On Here

.Cent magazine London; Be inspired :Get Involved