– I knew right away that Javanol had to be one of our molecules. It’s a molecule that smells close to sandalwood, but sheer and transparent like no sandalwood in nature. What blew me away was its psychedelic freshness. It’s like liquid metallic grapefruit peel. And yet it still has all the endurance and radiance of natural sandalwood.
– Molecule 04 is pure Javanol and nothing else. Here you really get to know and understand the molecule. It’s super-fresh, but it’s also quiet, you want to nestle close to it. It’s as if the metallic liquid grapefruit is poured over a bed of velvety, cream-coloured roses.
– Escentric 04 takes Javanol in a completely original direction. Most sandalwood fragrances are stuffed full of vanillin and sticky candied fruit notes. I don’t like those ultra-sweet notes. And anyway, I don’t want to do the same as everyone else. My challenge for Escentric 04 was to make a sandalwood scent that is radically unlike any of the others. For a long time, this had me scratching my head.
It’s as if metallic liquid grapefruit is poured over a bed of velvety, cream-coloured roses.
– I found the connection when I smelt Javanol first thing in the morning, before I’d had my coffee. At that time your nose is super-sensitive. I cracked open a bottle of Javanol and detected this new side of it - a tiny grapefruit note. That's when everything clicked. I realised I could conquer the sweetness of sandalwood by playing up Javanol’s grapefruit kick.
– There’s a spaciness and fizz to Escentric 04 that's down to methyl pamplemousse. It has tons and tons of pink grapefruit, bitter, crisp and fresh. I also used another grapefruit in the fragrance. it’s not a fragrance material, it’s an ingredient normally used in flavouring. It’s fantastically tangy, close to nature. It’s this that makes the fragrance so juicy.
That almost supernatural freshness that lasts and lasts, that is always a dream of mine.
– I wanted to keep the freshness percolating all the way down through Escentric 04. So there’s lime in there, there’s bergamot, and some osmanthus, which has a apricot-peachy note. In the heart, I have made a ‘soft fresh rose’ out of four rose ingredients. One of these ingredients is citronellol, which occurs in natural rose oil. Citronellol is the freshness of the rose. That almost supernatural freshness that lasts and lasts, that is always a dream of mine.
– Javanol is like Iso E Super, the molecule in Escentric Molecules 01, in some ways. Like Iso E Super it comes and goes. You make your mark with it, but you yourself don’t smell it with every breath. I like that relationship with a fragrance, where you are able to forget about it and then have a moment of connection again later on. Escentric 04 and Molecule 04 will be available in stores from 25th April.