Some weeks ago I promised you a feedback about an event hosted by a leading perfumery in Zurich.

The Venue

The so called “scent night” was hosted in a château-like villa that was originally built for a wealthy family around 1910 and which is now used for a variety of events.

The event took place on a really sunny and warm day and one could enjoy the view and the park that surrounds the villa.

Exquisite were served to the audience. Some perfumers attended the event and explained the concept behind their products. The latter might be the reasons why some women were wearing stilettos without any training and with even less elegance completing their look with an excessive make-up.

Lengling Perfumes

Although the name sounds very oriental Mr and Mrs Lengling are from the German city of Munich. Their perfume is definitely not a mass product but the company is an exclusive rather small manufacture.

Mrs Lengling explained to us that she always liked to paint and when creating a new scent she is inspired by the images she paints from memories of special moments.

The brand is quite young and at the moment they have 8 different creations.

The thing that I remember best is the cap of the bottles. It is an exact copy of a real pebble-stone from the river Isar that flows through Munich.

Vilhelm

New York is the home of the Perfumerie Vilhelm. Also these Fragrances are based on the founder’s (Jan Ahlgren) memories. The same goes for the name itself. Vilhelm was Jan’s grandfather. The bottles are very modern and I much appreciate Vilhelm’s signature colour: yellow.

At the moment my favourite scent is called “Basilico & Fellini” and – at least according to my nose – it is full of summer and freshly mown grass.

Roja Dove

Mr Dove was of course the star of the evening. The maestro worked many years for the House of Guerlin before setting up his own shop. Just for the record; he has a shop in Harrods London.

Since I know many of his fragrances – out of his collection “Danger” is my preferred scent – and a lot of people surrounded him I did not test more perfumes but instead marvelled at the master perfumer’s exquisite attire.

Apart from an extravagant blue blazer made of a material which looked like brocade with a baroque pattern he wore striking shoes. (Yes, you know that I am crazy for shoes). I am not entirely sure about the material; it looked like black velvet but I am absolutely sure about the decoration. The shoes were star-studded. Just that the “stars” were crystals.

Mr Dove does not create a brand. He IS a brand.

Montale Paris

The founder Pierre Montale has a proclivity for the Orient. The House Montale offers more than 80 fragrances; traditional, yet modern.

The bottles are most striking. They are made of aluminium, reminding of hairspray and bearing an unbeatable advantage: the content never changes since it is protected from light and other environmental conditions.

The Longing for Coffee Beans

I am sure you can picture how many different fragrances my nose had been exposed to at this state. It was more or less unconscious. How to give it a quick recovery? Well, Coffee beans are magic not only for espresso but also to neutralize scents and to give your nose a break. Unfortunately among all this luxury coffee had been forgotten.

Although this prevented me from testing the other scents too I very much enjoyed the event and learned a lot of interesting facts about the art of perfume creation.