Common sense with uncommon scents

I can already smell the copious amounts of freshly chopped garlic, herbs and lemon mixed in practically every dish of the Lebanese fare we are about to eat. I’m hungry. Ravenous. The aroma heightens my anticipation even more so. It is about 1 p.m. in Paris, at Escale du Liban where I am seated across two gentlemen who know the intricacies in matters of sensory faculties.

Luc Gabriel, the CEO of The Different Company, orders the same vegetarian plate as I have. Eman Pineda, president of Adora, looks at the glass display shelf of dishes and points out his picks to assemble his mezze. I am seated closest to the window, and my eyes squint as the afternoon sun begins to glare forcefully. I look out to face diagonally across the street from where we are and see the boutique of The Different Company, a fragrance house that redefines haute parfumerie.

Launched in 2000 by one of France’s famous noses, Jean-Claude Ellena and art director Thierry de Baschmakoff, the duo set out to create a line of high-quality perfumes packaged in contemporary, yet timeless, bottles. Both maestros have made their mark in their respective fields: Ellena has composed many of the best-selling scents for Bulgari, Hermès, Giorgio Armani, and Yves Saint Laurent, to name a few, while Baschmakoff is the design genius behind luxury items such as watches and leather goods for Cartier, Chaumet, Veruti, Celine, Yamamoto and Asprey.

Crystal clear and heaven scent.

On 10 Rue Ferdinand Duval is the white-washed façade of currently their only boutique in the world. Everything about their store is representative of their philosophy: straightforward, unique, and yet self-indulgent. Inside are rows of neatly organized clear bottles, and on the bottom, a column of colorful boxes accordingly arranged to the corresponding vessel above them. Their approach is seemingly simplistic, yet inside each bottle is a redolence so complex, that Eman has described his favorite, Bachmakov Le Parfum, as “one of the most intellectual scents.”

Back on our table, now laden with near-empty plates with residuals of olive oil and parsley, I dip my flatbread in my hummus. “Complexity in fragrances,” Luc says, “is understood in two ways. The first is the way the scent is built. The second is the way it develops.” He then reaches into his pocket, takes out two unlabeled sample bottles, and places them on the table. They are the upcoming oudh fragrances that they will be launching in the coming months.

Sublime Balkiss, one of The Different Company’s best-selling and best-smelling scents. Available at Adora

Oudh comes from a specific type of tree native to India, Laos and Thailand and other regions of Southeast Asia. The wood, in its natural setting, only has a seven percent chance of getting infected by a specific type of bacteria and takes about 10 years to degrade in order to produce the essence. In fact, it is so costly to attain such a rare extract that most branded perfumes don’t contain this prized ingredient.

Luc hands me a bottle, Oudh Shamash, the first of two that will be launched, and spritzes it on my wrist. “The scent will continue to change on your skin in minutes.” Luc says. I take one, two, three whiffs. Each time evolving, and in turn, understanding the complexity.

 But before Oudh Shamash, there were the earlier scents developed by Jean Claude-Ellena and his daughter Celine, that have given The Different Company its reputation for discerning clients who are looking for something, well, different.

“We are not about marketing, or celebrity endorsements. Our quality products speak for themselves,” Luc asserts. This is evident when I was at the store earlier, sampling their array of distinctive aromatic concoctions. I am immediately drawn to Sublime Balkiss, a warm, sensual mix of patchouli with blueberry, blackberries and blackcurrant.

The (sensory) faculty: Eman Pineda, founder and president of Adora, with Luc Gabriel, CEO of The Different Company in Paris.

Other standouts are Sens & Bois, a contrasting mix of black pepper and white violet; Jasmin de Nuit, inspired by Celine’s childhood of her father’s scented gardens of jasmine; and Parfum d’Ailleurs & Fleurs, often worn on weddings to dispel anxiety with its virginal white neroli blended with the seductive tuberose.

Take note, however, that not a single bottle in their store is labeled pour homme or pour femme. “Historically, perfumes were all unisex. So why should there be a gender bias in scents today?” Luc says. He then proceeds to tell us that humans have worn perfumes for three main reasons. One, was a way for the Egyptians to get in touch with their god, as they believe that the scent goes up to the heavens. The second is to appeal to our baser instincts, which is to attract and reproduce. Thirdly is to be recognized as part of a tribe. In modern-day parlance, that is to be identified with a social group. “To not even wear any fragrance, in fact, is a statement. Sweat gives a clear message: that they are part of the working class.”

Daughter Celine Ellena has been composing a symphony of scents for The Different Company since 2005. b>

With that said, does this mean that we should be grabbing a bottle of the latest or most popular designer eau de toilette? Not necessarily. After all, how distinct would you be in a crowd where 10 other women are wearing the same familiar scent? “This is why, I feel, that those who have ‘graduated’ from those name-brand perfumes and seek something more unique somehow find their way to high-end, yet obscure perfumeries like The Different Company,” Eman says.

 I hold my wrist close and take one more deep breath. The oudh has yet again developed on my skin, this time stirring up emotions of romance and adventure.

It is a very good thing, then, that I am in Paris. Ooh la la.

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The Different Company perfumes are available exclusively at Adora, in Greenbelt 5, Makati.