A magical night with Francis Kurkdjian
How does a unique perfumer like Francis Kurkdjian celebrate 10 years of success?
Naturally with the scent of uniqueness and a spray of magic, in a night at the Grand Palais in Paris that one just cannot forget.
Francis Kurkdjian is truly a perfectionist when it comes to details. It was evident in the Rotonde de la Reine inside the Grand Palais in Paris. Kurkdjian has been developing scents for Jean-Paul Gaultier, Narciso Rodriguez, Christian Dior, Acqua di Parma, Lanvin, and Salvatore Ferregamo, among others, in the last 15 years. In 2001, he became a pioneer for custom-made perfumes while working for various designer perfume houses. By 2009, he and close friend Marc Chaya co-founded and launched Maison Francis Kurkdjian. 
The fête proves to be punctilious as it is imaginative: the juxtaposition of the old and new, the intricate and the grand, and the simple and opulent. The guests become more like an audience witnessing a spectacle of the senses.
Earlier that evening, as Adora president Eman Pineda and I enter the premises, there is an installation of 120 delicate porcelain rose biscuits created by the Sèvres’ ceramics craftsmen. Each stem is mounted on a large chrome-like disc, and as the light fixtures from above shine on the display, it almost looks like a futuristic celestial garden.
We make our way upstairs, and the mood of the evening is immediately set by a blend of elements. Among the crowd are the young and the hip of Paris wearing oversized blazers, thick-rimmed eyeglasses and intentionally unkempt coifs, as well as the unrelenting societal dignitaries in their tailored regalia and urbane demeanor. They all sip a glass of finely crafted Krug Grande Cuvée, as sound designer Béatrice Ardisson plays covers of legendary musicians Bob Dylan and David Bowie, as well as a selection of textured world music from Jaipur, upbeat swing, and smooth Parisian tunes.
Around the Rotonde de la Reine, buffet tables of amuse-bouche are lined up in rows that look almost too pretty to eat. From the savory mushroom in gelatin prosciutto created by Chef Simone Zanoni, to the classic French macaron by pastry chef Eddie Benghanem, both culinary masters of the Trianon Palace Versailles have heightened the sensations of the evening.
Eman gestures for us to join a small group. I immediately recognize the man in the center, holding a giant fan. It is Francis Kurkdjian himself, who, despite his youthful grin, carries a distinguished demeanor. The white paper fan, designed by Sylvain Le Guen, is structured in an origami-like fashion. It is perfumed, of course, by Francis himself so that with each fanning motion, you can smell a fleeting, yet satisfying whiff.
The two gentlemen see Eman and make their way from the center through the assemblage, in radius trajectory. Kurkdjian is a Prix François Coty winner, which in layman’s term, is like the Academy Awards of perfumery. And for tonight’s milestone, the limited-edition perfumes are practically a display of trophies. “I have asked Cristallerie Saint-Louis to make the flacon, 10 of which are decorated in gold, and the other 10 in platinum,” he says. I also learn that the bottle stoppers are all gold-plated by orfèvre Segede using 24-carat gold by Galvanor. 
As if serendipitously, Marc Chaya opens the delicately crafted cabinet casing as a dreamy remix version of Here Comes the Sun starts to play. And out comes the ray of light from the box, indeed.
The glow, called Nanolight, is an organic technology that produces a thin, flexible, solar-powered faint florescent marine bioluminescence. This gleam lights up the base of the crystal bottle, and inside it is perhaps one of the most complex creations of Francis Kurkdjian . It combines all olfactory families that includes a redolent orchestration of the rarest essential oils. There are florals with Egyptian jasmine and creamy Damascus rose, fruity and slightly bitter South African marigold, the sophistication of Yemeni frankincense, and the tenacious woody-sweet Malaysian gurjum balsam. “It is like a magical box”, Chaya says with a beaming smile.
The cabinet, designed by Nicolas Basile, has a pullout drawer below with the Kurkdjian insignia. The rest of the cabinet is sleek, clean and classic. Once opened, the mirrored interior and its illuminating base give a reverential glow to the masterpiece held in the center: the perfume.
My jaw drops when Chaya tells me how much each bottle costs. “Seven thousand euros,” he says, almost a little too nonchalantly. “But,” he continues, “each customer will be able to engrave any name they would like on the bottle.”
A lovely lady comes up to Eman and me and hands us a swatch of the limited scent, and in one sniff, we completely understand its value. It is a prized possession not only for the cabinet, the flacon, or the gold trimmings. It is a 
reflection of Kurkdjian’s passion for perfumery.
They are so much more than a bouquet of high-quality extracts that brings together a luxurious scent. His creations are a representation of experience, emotion, and devotion translated into redolence, each ingredient denoting and invoking the deepest human desires.
“Day after day, perfume does exist for me as a part of the art of living, as a transcendent approach to life. The beauty of perfume speaks at once of the intimate and the universal,” Kurkdjian once said.
Whether creating for Bespoke or Maison, at the crux of it, he wants to inspire even the littlest pleasures for others.
It seems that tonight, Kurkdjian shows us his pleasures, from sweet pastries, champagne and ’60s music to spectacular displays of gold and crystal, all brought together in the heart of Paris. Some are simple, and others, indulgent and luxurious.
At the end of the evening, Eman and I make our not-so-French exits. As we leave, we are given a mètre ruban, or a tape measure ribbon, encased in a box with a golden marker engraved indicating the number of each fragrance in this limited edition.
Back in Manila, I slide the case open and hang the ribbon inside my wardrobe. And now, each time I open the closet, memories of Paris nights continue to beguile me.
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Maison Francis Kurkdjian perfumes are available exclusively at Adora in Greenbelt 5, Makati.
