Leather and Lace The Fragrance: Discover the Scent that Sends You, at the ScentSorium
The Scentsorium sounds a little naughty, but actually, it’s a palace of discovery –of scent discovery, that is. I created Leather and Lace, The Fragrance. You can discover the scent that really sends you, at the Scentsorium, too!
Created by the elegant Sue Phillips of Scenterprises, this custom fragrance studio named “The Scentsorium”is located in Manhattan in Tribeca (85 Franklin St., by appointment only). The exclusive atelier is designed to create bespoke perfumes. But if you visit, you will not only discover the scent that sends you at the ScentSorium, you will learn more about fragrance than you ever thought possible, as Sue generously shares her considerable knowledge about fragrance and fragrance history with those who visit, thereby enriching their experience.
Sue has a different approach to both blending and educating her clients. She guides you but not in an overwhelming way. Scent is very personal, and if you’re going to build your own, you have to have some idea of what you like, love, loathe. You may think you know, but smelling a lot of different notes in different variations can get confusing. Sue organizes your “journey” so you won’t get too confused.
The first thing you see is a lot of different fragrances — on shelves and in front of you in tiny samples. Feel free to pick them up, take a sniff. Sue will help you figure out what you like and what you don[‘t. But first, she will show and tell you about the different scent categories (assuming you don’t know them), tell you a bit about how perfumes are developed, and pepper this with tidbits of fragrance trivia and history. The end goal of course, is for you to confidently know your style, and create your own fragrance at the end of the “journey.”
A lot of hard work for major fragrance companies, and even some difficult days on the sales floor at a major department store, built Sue’s experience in fragrance and she pulls information out with ease. Since I like Chypres, she told me a bit about their history and shared some tasty tidbits about them that I didn’t know. Like every fragrance fan, Sue owns a lot of perfumes — 400 fragrances! She said she wears a different one every day. Of course, since she owns the Scentsorium, she can whip up a new blend any time she likes that is all her own.
Before we blended a bespoke fragrance for me, Sue asked me to fill out the questionnaire she gives to all clients with such weighty thoughts as who are your style icons and what kind of vacation do you like? Gamely, I took the quiz, although I was dubious. it isn’t scientific in the last, but I was really surprised when the questionnaire showed my fragrance profile as spot-on!
Sue’s 18 custom blends make it easier to create a bespoke fragrance
It was then time to do the blending of a signature scent. I have plenty of knowledge about fragrance and how it is constructed. Fragrances have top, middle and bottom notes for complexity, but also to work off one another and balance out the scent. The top notes are what you immediate smell when you spritz on a scent. The heart blends with those and ties with the bottom notes, but it is the bottom notes that are generally the ones that last the longest (the drydown). I personally like bottom notes because they tend to be spicy, woodsy, musky. But blending a great fragrance isn’t something an inexperienced person easily do. Even an experienced perfumer will take weeks, and months to get just the right blend of notes. Sue has made this process much easier and successful, by putting popular notes into 18 different blends that correspond to the traditional scent profiles.
Since a visit to the Scentsorium is supposed to be a process of discovery, Sue patiently let me try my top three (bottom heavy choices) first, although I am sure she knew (as did I) that it wouldn’t be great. Nothing but woods, spices and musk does not make a balanced fragrance. I added citrus to the top and a few other notes, but it still didn’t work. I felt a bit frustrated, but Sue gently suggested I try a few different notes to balance the ones I really liked the best. We finally came up with a formula I liked, and I called it “Leather and Lace” after this web site and the sister site, Leather and Lace SPICE *if I created a different version of this fragrance I think i would make a SPICE-ier version, too!
When I left, sniffing my “Leather and Lace” scented wrist and neck, I forgot I had the fragrance on. But I was immediately reminded when a stranger came up to me and said: “What is that fragrance you’re wearing, I’d like to buy it for my wife.” I had to think for a minute –and then I remembered that it was my own, new, signature, Leather and Lace fragrance. I told him it was one of a kind and not for sale. He looked really disappointed. Later that morning, a woman leaned over in the subway and said “You smell really good.” My new Leather and Lace fragrance –rocking the world of scent again in less than five hours! Later, my husband (who rarely mentions anything I wear) smelled my neck and said “whatever you’re wearing, I really like it.” Leather and Lace has staying power, too.. Do I need to say more?
Do you want it too? Contact Us. It’s my signature fragrance: Leather and Lace!
Scent is sexy and it can set a mood.Leather and Lace is a “fresh oriental” that is slightly spicy. It’s sexy but not too heavy. It is a people magnet. It is so exclusive it even has its own registration number. Right now, Leather and Lace is exclusive to me, but if you want to experience Leather and Lace for yourself, I can have Sue make more — if there is a demand– contact me! If you want to have Leather and Lace, the fragrance for yourself, you can get it if there’s enough of a demand — just contact me!
The experience of visiting the Scentsorium was more than just fun, it was unique. I didn’t get an exact price of the Scentsorium, but Sue did say that the normal cost of a visit is several hundred dollars, although it includes your signature fragrance. On the other hand, if you were really developing your own fragrance you couldn’t do it for a couple of hundred dollars. The sample vial you see in the photo is what she offered me as a journalist. Paying clients get a larger bottle and it’s genuine, concentrated perfume which is always costly. The experience plus the ounce of genuine fragrance is actually reasonable. You can upgrade to a fancier bottle, or a larger one.
some of the fragrances that Sue owns, attractively displayed
If you want to wow a special woman or group of women (or men too for that matter), you can get a discount for a group of 5 or more. There are Scenterprises “fragrance ambassadors” across the country who offer similar experiences in your home, your office, hotels, and restaurants.For more information visit: http://scenterprises.com/the-scentsorium/ call 646-350-6562 or 917-449-1134, or email info@scenterprises.com
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