WE CHAT TO GLOBALLY-RENOWNED PERFUMER GEZA SCHOEN

To celebrate the launch of {The Beautiful Mind Series} - two compelling new {fragrances} from Geza Schoen (the nose behind Escentric Molecules and Boudicca) - in collaboration with two phenomenally inspiring women; Christiane Stenger – the youngest ever Grandmaster of Memory (a title for which entrants are challenged to memorise 1000 random digits in an hour and the order of a deck of cards in just two minutes), and internationally-fêted ballet dancer Polina Semianova - we pitched some questions to this world-renowned perfumer.

{Geza Schoen} I started as a collector - hoarding men's fragrance samples from as young as thirteen. It was an interest that developed into a fixation, and quickly became a quest to create the 'perfect' perfume.

{GS} It is a combination of experience and the willingness to try, try and try again - you can't be afraid of disappointment. What seems like a mind-blowingly brilliant idea, might not translate into a fabulous fragrance. Of course, there are lessons and guidelines - understanding the harmonies of certain accords and ingredients - but often, as in life, the most exciting things happen when you throw away the rule book.

{GS} I gave {Molecule 01} to a friend of mine in 1990. It was one of those experiments I thought could be something or nothing. We went together to a bar, and within ten minutes, my friend was approached by a woman demanding to know who smelled so incredible. I was staggered - it had worked. Here was a person inundating us with compliments, because of just one lone aroma molecule - it was a 'thumb bite' to traditional perfumery doctrine.

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{GS} {The Beautiful Mind Series} was a reaction to the mindless, mass-manufactured 'celebrity' fragrances flooding the market. I felt like enough was enough, and wanted to celebrate a woman with real skill, rather than one of these 'it' girls, adored for their hair, or their shoes or their handbags. Christiane Stenger was the perfect muse - a person with a phenomenal mind, who exercised the power of her brain to remember the most minute details. She can memorise literally anything using remarkably simple methods, and TBMS {Volume 1} is a tribute to her dazzling mental agility.

{GS} It's all about creating links, and layers between notes - a bit like neural impulses. To 'remember', for example, Christiane creates stories - conjuring fantastic mental images, to signpost her memory journey. The more intricate and multi-facteted the 'story', the more key words and images she can encapsulate. I employed a similar technique when selecting the notes, choosing accords which resonated as a whole, but also evolved to reveal their individual identity.

{CB}The more we think about fragrance, the more similarities we see between perfumery and the wine trade. Do you find oenology interesting too? What are your other hobbies?

{GS} I find wine tasting fascinating - I'm automatically enthralled by anything that touches my senses in a new way. And apart from that... you know, I appreciate art... and football.

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