February 2007 

 

The world of fragrance has grown tremendously over the past decade. With the gigantic explosion of celebrity styled scents (i.e., Desperate Housewives Forbidden Fruit), soon everyone including the women of “The View” will have a signature spray. Surprisingly, as this trend has blossomed other types of perfumes have taken center stage like the specialty and indie-like boutiques that cater to the not-so-mainstream olfactory senses. Franco Wright, co-owner of specialty online store, Luckyscent.com , educates us on his world of perfume.

LJ: What does fragrance mean to you?
FW:  Fragrance is so personal. It can tell a story or evoke a past memory, but at the very least it becomes a part of the individual, both from the way a fragrance wears on your skin to the olfactory effect it will have on you. Beyond that, fragrance is fun—an adventure of sorts, to experience the unique approach a perfumer will undergo in the creation of scent. It can be pure joy to wear the final result.

LJ: What makes LuckyScent so successful and popular?
FW:  We pride ourselves in offering the most comprehensive selection of unique and artisan brands. Our website is a fun and easy way to experience and discover these brands through engaging copy, descriptions, customer reviews, and of course, we offer hand-made samples of each scent. I think that at the end of the day, the compliments our customers get from the products we sell really says a lot about our fragrances, and the word of mouth just keeps on spreading.

LJ: Tell me about unisex scents and their popularity in the perfume industry.
FW: Women have often enjoyed more ‘masculine’ types of fragrances—basically less floral and fruity. Recently we’ve seen an upward trend in the new-style of unisex: woodsy, spicy and incense notes, becoming more prominent and sought after.

LJ:  Do you find many women using men's cologne?
FW: Yes, as there are many women who do not wear ‘girly’ or ultra feminine perfumes (florals, etc.), and they’ll seek out something more daring and exotic, which generally means a masculine/unisex fragrance.
 
LJ: What sells best for you-male or female fragrance?
FW: Our audience is largely female, so we sell more scents to women. The white florals (gardenia) and sweet fragrances (vanilla) still do well. However, men that discover luckyscent.com have really become more ‘hooked’ on our offerings and are really interested in the trend of niche fragrances versus the mass-market variety.
 
LJ: What makes a perfume so costly-like $300 a bottle?
FW: This results mainly from ingredients and packaging. In most cases, it’ll be the ingredients that might include a rare wood, fruit or spice, or even an ‘absolu’ (pure essence) of a flower.

Unisex scents that appease ladies and gents, L'Air du desert marocain Eau de Toilette Intense by Tauer Perfumes ($80, luckyscent.com) and Strange Invisible Perfume’s Magazine Street ($185, Barney’s).  

Ah Natural
Using less chemicals and more oils and ‘lifelike’ ingredients is a booming business for indie perfumery Rich Hippie. Their very popular Psychedelic ($125, rich-hippie.com ) contains only the finest organic ingredients of, vanilla bean from Madagascar, ginger root and sweet orange peel and organic alcohol derived via California grapes.