The scent is a woman
In the movie Perfume: A Story of a Murderer, adapted from the Patrick Suskind novel, the serial killer protagonist Jean-Baptiste Grenouille tries to create the perfect scent out of the essence of 13 virgin girls. In the climactic end scene, Grenouille dabs on this pungent potion, causing the townspeople, who can’t escape a whiff, to rip off all their clothes and engage in one frenzied public orgy.
Another point of reference: The Axe ad presently being shown on primetime TV. Set in a pristine, deserted tropical island, it casts your run-of-the-mill, short-of-geeky-looking average Joe looking on with flabbergasted awe as hounds of rabid-looking females (hot bikini-clad females, may I say) purposefully descend on him from all directions, like zombie-fied sea nymphs out for fresh meat. His come-on: two cans of Axe, which he liberally sprays all over his body.
Can scent really have that hypnotic an effect on people, to the point that they indulge in unabashed, uninhibited acts? No. A definite, matter-of-fact no. Although they do a lot in gaining you that first speck of interest. This from Ann Gottlieb, the woman responsible for all the five new Axe fragrances, and basically one of the most sought-after “noses” in the fragrance industry.
Ann Gottlieb’s professional portfolio would fill up a cosmetic counter of the world’s best-known perfumes. Her first major success was Calvin Klein’s Obsession, the social potion of the mid-‘80s that aroused the Generation X with its spicy romantic scent and controversial, Bruce Weber-photographed black and white ad campaign. Next came a whole gamut of CK scents, all those best-selling fragrances you can think of: CK Be, cKone, cKin2u, Contradiction and Euphoria (and you thought Kate Moss was the brand’s secret weapon). She is also the nose behind women’s fragrances such as Christian Dior J’Adore, Carolina Herrera 212, 5th Avenue by Elizabeth Arden and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Covet.
“I never really thought I’d get into this kind of business,” the New York-based fragrance expert reveals. Not as a child and not as an adult trying to make a name for herself in brand management. She started her career with Revlon, eventually ended up working with Estee Lauder herself, before realizing that she actually had a talent for literally sniffing out success. “I’ve always had a great sense of taste, though.” Which, if you follow up on your Biology 101, accounts for a lot.
She has been designing fragrances for 23 years and is president of her own company, Ann Gottlieb Associates. In 2006, the Fragrance Foundation honored Ann with the Circle of Champions Award, presented annually during Fragrance Week to an individual who has made a notable impact on the fragrance industry in the previous year. (This was the time when Euphoria was also enjoying worldwide recognition.)
While the fragrance industry builds its products around the notions of love, seduction and fantasy, the development of these scents are actually not so magical. “I’d love to tell you that creating scents is a very dramatic thing. But it’s not. It’s very clinical,” says Ann in a clipped, direct tone that matches her no-nonsense demeanor and suggests a mindset that is very precise and methodical.
It is probably this systematic and logical way of thinking that convinced Unilever that Ann was the right woman to create the new fragrance collection for Axe, the ultimate one-up for every regular Joe. This collection includes five fragrance variants include Click (remember the Ben Affleck ad?), Dimension, Pulse, Touch and Vice.
Click is essentially a cocktail in a spray bottle, its top note inspired by a concoction of cranberry-orange and vodka. Ann gives the scent an extra dimension by adding bergamot and a trace of pepper accentuates the effect.
With Dimension, Ann mixes oriental citrus notes with aromatic herbal verbena, lavender and thyme. If it sounds too feminine of a scent, you should take a whiff before pronouncing judgment.
Pulse is a personal favorite. Men should smell like this: a fresh mix of citrus, basil and pear blended with subtle floral notes of jasmine and geranium.
If Click is a cocktail you’d order in an urban lounge like Martini’s, then Touch is the happy-hour treat you’d be sipping as the sun sets over a tropical isle. A refreshing fusion of watermelon, mandarin peel and fresh-crushed leaves smoothly eases into a fresh combination of black pepper, cardamom and honeysuckle.
Ann played around a bit with Vice, blending sensual fougere notes with naughty fruity notes and woody elements.
This quintet of a collection takes its cue from what every other fragrance tries to do: kick one’s confidence level a few notches higher and set the stage for possible attraction. Ann Gottlieb will tell you that Axe, or any fragrance, probably won’t have a hottie suddenly swooning at your feet proclaiming eternal enslavement, but it may certainly clinch you her number.
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E-mail comments to ana_kalaw@pldtdsl.net.
