BBC PERFUME DOCUMENTARIES

'FRAGRANCE IS LIQUID LUXURY'

After watching the 3 parts of the BBC perfume documentary, it made me see perfumery in a different light.
Part One, explained how perfumery can be expressed as a story. It made realise how important marketing can be to sell the fragrance as well as the smell of the perfume. This episode featured two household brands, Tommy Hilfiger on the launch of their perfume LOUD and House Of Guerlain. Two very different company brand identities, it was intuitive to see how traditional House Of Guerlain is and how they cater to the sophisticated audience and rely on the older generation of mothers to introduce their offspring to the brand, which almost seems as a rite of passage or tradition. I found this part touching when the mother took her young daughter to a scent smelling, and how gentle the customer service was as opposed to the forced and abrasive selling techniques used in the metro super shops. I appreciate the old fashioned technique of perfumery seen in Guerlain, but worry that this will eventually fade and only be exclusive to luxury consumers and perfume will only be seen as a hesitant push from popular marketing rather than the actual smell of the bottle.

House of Guerlain, Paris

The process of the launch of Tommy Hilfiger's LOUD, was insightful as they make ten varieties of the perfume until they settle for their chosen one. The music and overall theme of the perfume advert worked well with the preppy brand but I felt this is where the perfume industry is moving into only consumer selling rather than delivering a true perfume. Whereas I feel Guerlain should feature advertisements to express the importance and history of their brand, an advert like 'LOUD' would not bode well with their identity.

Part Two, was comical in a way. I didn't know that the 'natural', literally, ingredients are included in some perfumes! Christopher Brosuis bottles up smells which include beef and soil which surprisingly are doing well for his brand! It was interesting to learn how some consumers are sick of sweet smellingg perfumes and I'm all for natural products, but has this gone too far from the concept of fragrance and wonder if it will last?

Part Three, holds a perspective into what perfume could be in the future. Learning that Brasil has the most successful and biggest market for fragrance and London and New York are only test runs to be included in Brasilian markets opened my eyes to the possibilities of perfumery. By learning the popularity of Brasilian market, it opened my eyes and made sense why, the hot climates force many consumers to purchase larger bottles to fight the odour.

I enjoyed watching these documentaries, as it prepared me for the next module and I learnt areas of the perfume industry which were new to me!

Happy Blogging!