Concentrated Cool

Until just recently, perfume proper was the province of fine fragrance counters in department stores on the one hand, and drug stores on the other. But now gift companies are moving into the middle ground, with scents whose image derives more from the fame of brands celebrities, yet with the great packaging gift buyers expect.

Small start-up perfumers like Sharon Bolton can use the gift market to build a broader audience. “In Santa Barbara you have some visibility whereas in Los Angeles you have greater visibility to different buyers. Our objective at the L.A. Gift Show was to create brand awareness for Sharon Bolton Scents,” says Bolton.”

Established bath and body companies are creating scents that both coordinate with full lines of personal care and take them to the next level. As part of the increasing sophistication, these fragrances eschew one-note concepts like gardenia or chocolate in favor of more complicated, abstract and evocative combinations, such as Crabtree & Eveyln's new Lost and Found, Tocca's Touch or Sharon Bolton's Soul. “After the launch of the bath and body line, we saw a tremendous increase in the number of requests from Tocca fans to translate our fragrances into a fine perfume,” says Francesca Traldi, Tocca's vice president, marketing and communication. “All three [scents] combine the whimsicality of Tocca with a sophisticated sensibility. The success of a fragrance depends on the life of its scent. Meaning, like a fine wine, the fragrance should evolve over time. From top note to bottom, it should be a textured yet simple, ever-evolving bouquet that matures into a scent unique to each individual.”

Meanwhile, Sherri Sebastian of Sebastian Signs, New York, has an innovative concept that calls out for the specialty retailer's hands-on style of service: when enough customers want a signature scent of their own, she comes in person to custom blend a scent according to each shopper's taste, which can then be applied to perfume, personal care, even candles.