Last week I headed to Bergdorf Goodman to meet Sylvie Ganter a few days after her 10 years-in-the-making fragrance line, Atelier Cologne, hit Bergdorf and Neiman Marcus counters. We immediately bonded over our shared love for Caleche (Ganter’s background includes serving as vice president of the U.S. fragrance division at Hermes), before the slender, wonderfully friendly soft-spoken creatrix took me through the inspiration behind the five fragrances that make-up her debut collection.
While many think that cologne is synonymous with a low-in-concentration fragrance, it actually ties into the presence of citrus notes. Further while most of the big-name perfume manufactures we know and love spend most of their budget on marketing and advertising, Ganter told me that more than ¾ of the cost of making each of her scents goes into “the juice,” the result is five simply – but very meticulously – packaged unisex scents each of which have a high (12 to 20%) concentrations of essential oils. The combination of these high concentration with citrus notes lead Ganter to create new fragrance category she’s calling Cologne Absolue. Jump for the low-down on the five scents!
Grand Neroli (my favorite and the most popular one at Bergdorf) has notes that include Moroccan neroli, Persian galbanum, vanilla, and orange flowers.
Orange Sanguine (Ganter said this one was the most popular of the five in France), is a wonderfully refreshing, especially for anyone who loves blood oranges.
Bois Blonds has the highest essential oil concentration, so it’s almost like taking a whiff of a fine scotch set beside orange flowers, incense, and musk.
Trefle Pur will make you feel like you just came-out of a lush garden after you spritz yourself with this scent that combines bitter orange with notes including patchouli moss and musk
Oolang Infini blends blue tea and bergamot with smoky tobacco flower and leather notes.