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Olfiction launches competition for Black owned beauty and fragrance brands

11 November 2021 by wpolfiction

An initiative led by our trainee perfumer Ezra-Lloyd Jackson alongside Olunife Ofomata of Sweeter Juice Skin, and blackperfumers.com, we’ve launched a fragrance giveaway for a Black-owned beauty/fragrance brand to create a bespoke scent without creative fees. The competition is open globally to any brand that submits a winning brief. 

By now, more and more of us are aware of the current state of the industry when it comes to Black perfumers and brand owners, and it’s crucial to maintain constructive conversations around these topics, but with this giveaway we’re very excited to highlight and celebrate non-Eurocentric stories and ideas, and share some insight into the practice and process of perfumery to audiences who previously haven’t had the access to it. 

For the giveaway brands are to submit a fragrance brief alongside an online form. The form will provide some context of the brand: its current market, next steps, social media presence etc. The brief is an opportunity for brands to explore the concepts and storytelling behind the fragrance. We invite entrants to draw from a variety of influences and mediums; from music to film to certain colour palettes to environmental scents, the wider the range of references the better.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, December 17th. For more information and to enter please see the Sweeter Juice Skin website. We look forward to seeing your ideas!

About Ezra-Lloyd Jackson – Ezra-Lloyd Jackson (b. 1996, London) is an artist of British-Caribbean heritage based in London. Raised in South East London, he was exposed to Black and multi-cultural city dynamics as well as rural British environments from a young age. His practice is multi-disciplinary: focusing on fragrance design, perfumery, graphic and visual arts, music production, and sound design. Jackson’s artistic practice focuses on experimental sensory experiences including the poetics in fragrance and the social and political legacy of sourcing and producing scents globally. Recently, Jackson has started collaborating with a variety of practitioners to investigate neo-colonial trade practices and non-European narratives in perfumery.

About Black Beauty Conduit – Black Beauty Conduit is a cooperative offering resources and solutions for new and established Black-owned beauty brands. Black Beauty Conduit will allow Black founders and suppliers to connect directly through a trade network and offer easier access to resources, supplies, education, mentorship and marketing to help Black brand founders from launch to success.

About Sweeter Juice Skin – Sweeter Juice Skin is an effective and melanin inclusive skincare brand. Founded by aesthetician, Olunife Ofomata, and her husband Dr. Johnson Ofomata, they are pioneering the advancement of innovative skincare products formulated with ancient indigenous ingredients backed by clinical research on diverse skin tones. Sweeter Juice Skin believes that the future of skincare is in our roots.

About BlackPerfumers.com – The BlackPerfumers.com digital project was established to connect, highlight, and support Black perfumers worldwide as well as bridge conscious consumers with their brands; explore related industry perspectives, provide links to education and events, and act as a hub of resources for emerging and established Black perfumers.

Filed Under: Fragrance Development, Olfiction news

Ford unveils fragrance for all-electric Mach-E GT

15 July 2021 by wpolfiction

Olfiction perfumer Pia Long was commissioned by Ford to create a fragrance to celebrate the launch of the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT, for those who “hold a fondness for the evocative smells of traditional petrol cars”.

The Mach-Eau fragrance was created by Olfiction perfumer Pia Long, with ingredients that each add a specific element of the scent’s story. Ford revealed the fragrance this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, an annual event that attracts petrolheads from across the globe. The scent, which is not available to buy, is part of Ford’s ongoing mission to help dispel myths around electric cars and convince traditional car enthusiasts of the potential of electric vehicles.

Pia’s starting point was to look into the chemicals that are emitted from car interiors, engines and petrol. This included benzaldehyde, which is an almond-like scent given off by car interiors, and para-cresol which is key in creating the rubbery scent of tyres. There were blended with ingredients like blue ginger, lavender, geranium and sandalwood that added metallic, smoky and further rubbery accents, as well as an overdose of Timut pepper, utilising the petrol-like topnote. An ‘animal’ element was also included, to create an impression of horses and underline the Mustang heritage.

In a Ford-commissioned survey, one in five drivers said the smell of petrol is what they’d miss most when swapping to an electric vehicle, with almost 70 per cent claiming they would miss the smell of petrol to some degree. Petrol also ranked as a more popular scent than both wine and cheese, and almost identically to the smell of new books.

The new scent is designed to help usher these drivers into the future of driving through their sense of smell. Rather than just smelling like petrol though, Mach-Eau is designed to please the nose of any wearer; a high-end fragrance that fuses smoky accords, aspects of rubber and even an ‘animal’ element to give a nod to the Mustang heritage.

Ford Mach-Eau perfume activation at Goodwood Festival of Speed. Photograph by Christopher Ison ©

“Judging by our survey findings, the sensory appeal of petrol cars is still something drivers are reluctant to give up. The Mach Eau fragrance is designed to give them a hint of that fuel-fragrance they still crave. It should linger long enough for the GT’s performance to make any other doubts vaporise too.”

                                                           Jay Ward, director, Ford of Europe Product Communications

Filed Under: Creative, Olfiction news, Perfumery

Olfiction celebrates its 5th anniversary

11 May 2021 by wpolfiction

Five years ago today, Nick Gilbert and Pia Long formed Olfiction Limited – and both would agree it’s one of the best things they ever did. Five years on, and the business has grown to a team of five, onto its second lab, multiple product launches and new projects.

Combining ways in which to help clients bring concepts to life; creating new fragrances with the support of some of the best partners in the business – and to help our clients tell stories has proven to be a good model to see the business evolve organically to a resilient and flexible entity. Here’s to many more anniversaries and to unique perfumery!

Filed Under: Olfiction news

Zoologist Chipmunk launches in August 2021

11 May 2021 by wpolfiction

Olfiction Creative Perfumer Pia Long has worked with Victor Wong of Zoologist to bring a new cute animal to the collection: Chipmunk! The perfume features oak absolute, spices and a green hazelnut accord (not a typical gourmand, more as you would find in nature).

This is what Victor has to say:

The lush green of the treetops fades to a dull gold. What seems a peaceful transition actually raises a blaring alarm to the creatures below. Time is running out. But for generations, mighty oaks have fulfilled a promise to provide, and leaves are not the only bounty tumbling to the forest floor. Chipmunks scurry among the detritus in their quest to collect the plumpest acorns. They eagerly gather what they can and, cheeks bulging with nuts, scamper home to line their snug burrows before falling leaves give way to biting snow.⁣
⁣
Zoologist Chipmunk captures an autumn forest bursting with ripe nuts. Juicy quince, dusted with cardamom and nutmeg, dangles tantalizingly among naturalistic woods and green, milky kernels. Chipmunk invites you up into the branches, offering a dazzling vantage point from which to enjoy the rich golden and russet hues of the changing seasons.⁣
⁣
TOP⁣
Quince, Pink Pepper, Red Mandarin, Cardamom, Nutmeg⁣
⁣
HEART⁣
Camomile, Hazelnut, Fir Balsam Absolute, Oak Absolute, Earthy Notes⁣
⁣
BASE⁣
Cedarwood, Amyris, Patchouli, Vetiver, Benzoin Resin, Opoponax, Guaiacwood, Animal Notes⁣

Chipmunk will launch in August 2021 and samples are already in circulation.

Filed Under: Creative, Olfiction news, Perfumery

Ezra-Lloyd Jackson is a Nose to Watch

11 May 2021 by wpolfiction

Ezra-Lloyd Jackson at Olfiction lab

We have been training our lab assistant and compounder Ezra-Lloyd Jackson on perfumery and his drive to become a creative perfumer has been inspiring to support. We were able to arrange remote training with the assistance of Marianne Martin and the olfactive smelling kits she prepared. Weekly review and additional external study (for example, with ISIPCA’s online training) has ensured Ezra’s training is off to a great start.

Ezra was recently featured in the Perfume Society’s Scented Letter magazine as a “Nose to Watch”, first of a new feature series. You can read the article here via the digital version of the print issue.

Filed Under: Olfiction news, Training

Olfiction launches Boujee Bougies

30 November 2020 by wpolfiction

Last week saw the launch of Boujee Bougies, a collection of five scented candles we’ve created as a perfumery playground and Olfiction’s brand debut.

The collection includes Queen Jam, inspired by a Finnish conserve, Gilt, a golden confessional, Cuir Culture, like leather in a library, Succulent, an ode to juicy cacti, and Hellflower, a sulphuric grapefruit-magnolia.

A collaborative full team effort to create, with perfumery by Pia Long, creative direction by Nick Gilbert, words by Thomas Dunckley, and illustrations by assistant and trainee perfumer, Ezra-Lloyd Jackson. We’ve worked with our clients (and friends!) at Parks London Ltd to bring these to life, and of course the fragrance oils are supplied by our partner Accords et Parfums.

Discover the brand and our playful fragrances at
www.boujeebougies.com

Filed Under: Creative, Fragrance Development, Olfiction news, Perfumery

Fashion Beauty Monitor lists both Olfiction founders as top 10 UK fragrance influencers

15 March 2017 by wpolfiction

Fashion Beauty Monitor – the destination for fashion and beauty intelligence – has compiled a list of 10 UK fragrance influencers they reckon you should know and Olfiction founders Nick Gilbert and Pia Long are both featured.

Nick Gilbert FBM

Nick’s career started in fragrance retail and quickly moved into social media, blogging, marketing and fragrance evaluation. He was called the “most knowledgeable person on fine fragrance I’ve met” by a renowned UK R&D perfumer.

Pia Long FBM

Pia first fell in love with fragrance during her after school part-time beauty counter job in the 80s. Since then she has worked across almost the whole value chain: fashion, distribution, training management, new product development, quality control, journalism and perfumery.

Click here to read the Fashion Beauty Monitor article.

Filed Under: Market Insight, Olfiction news, Social Tagged With: beauty, fashion, news, PR

O L F I C T I O N
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© 2021 Olfiction. All rights reserved. Olfiction is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registration no. 10294075. 16 Media Village, Liscombe Park, Soulbury, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 0JL.

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