A Story from 2001
This is a bit of an old story now.
It was supposed to be called “Cologne S”…
True or not, I don’t know, but once heard that the designer and the perfumer were overjoyed about the concept of the scent – Shower After Sex. Unfortunately the real shower-after-sex effect can only be experienced from the juice straight out of the lab, not the one from the factory. During the mature(oil)-macerate(solution)-chill-filter process the elusive “molecule S” seems to fade away. By the time the product reaches the store shelf the shock value is hardly there… at least for most people’s noses.
“S” was supposed to imply semen, shower, and soap. Cologne S… this great name also has evaporated during the maceration process.
Β
N.F. Shioya
A sculptor living in New York
11 Comments
-
Nobi
Hmmm….. my experience. You mean with xxx Parfums?
One gloomy April day in 2001, I was sitting in the office of Ms. VS (then the president of xxx Parfums) in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
VS: Our lawyers told me that it will be too difficult to trademark Cologne S. Is S-Perfume really registered?
N: Yes, it’s a registered trademark in the US and France.
VS: You know of course marks that describe the goods or services cannot be registered as trademarks? How were you able to register S-Perfume?
N: I don’t know how they did it but I worked with the best lawyers.
This is of course just a part of our conversation that took place that day, and there was more as you can imagine… you know, I had to fly into Paris from NY only a few months before the launch of Cologne. -
Dusan
Ha! Talk about browbeating you over a letter. It would be really Scary if it weren’t So hilariouS, well, from my Stance anyway. You know, I think you actually did them a favour Since the name they ended up with SoundS better aS it iS. And anyway, if the XXX ParfumS are Still So keen on the Spunk aeStheticS and on alphabetiSing their (men’S) perfumeS, they Should have Stuck to it with their lateSt launch. ‘CourSe, that perfume SmellS nothing like Semen. Nor of ice, come to think of it. And yeS, I know that moSt importantly, it ain’t Cologne no more.
I juSt hope the reSt of your trip to PariS waS enjoyable π -
Octavian
I like a lot this story. Quite nice for a fragrance with huge amounts of ambretolide.
I have no idea what that molecule S is supposed to, if it’s not only a marketing claim :))) What whith 10-15 ingredients you can replicate almost perfect the fragrance on the shelves.
I am realy curious to know the differences betwen the lab Cologne and the market one. -
Nobi
Bwahahaha! That actually is a valid point, Dusan. And I didn’t do them a favor. After all, it was for Ms. VS who always helmed the ship admirably. The designer TM had great ideas, but had Ms. VS listened to everything TM said, xxx Parfums would have ended up like Helmut Lang Parfums. On the other hand if xxx was helmed by me, you would alredy have seen C*Men by C*Laudamiel π
Β
Octavian, believe me, it wasn’t a marketing claim. 10 years ago there was only one perfumer who was experimenting with this molecule. Everyone else was frowning or didn’t know about it. I don’t think the molecule was made for perfume originally. I don’t know the percentage, but the max use level of this material is very very low, and it’s difficult to achieve a desired level of “shock” with it. -
Octavian
I am happy to hear that, and curious to know what this S is all about. Because in the last year I heard the most absurd things said by marketing people…. I am quite skeptical today unless I find someone reliable speaking about fragrance inside story π
-
-
-
Araujo
*LUST* was given to me last year as a gift. It is now almost finished and I went looking for more. Is it not going to be offered any longer?
-
Nobi
Araujo, sorry for the inconvenience. This may sound absurd, but it’s part of my experiment to quit things. You have successfully made me feel guilty, so I will send you one free π
-
Araujo
Thanx! I received it today and THEN checked this blog. Your generosity is very much appreciated. It made my day.
Your news of the desire to ‘quit things’ gives me alarm! I’ll have to ration your gift in order to extend it’s prescents. If it is offered again, I’ll definately stock up.
Once again, thank you for your kindness.
Araujo
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Dusan
Aah, so that’s what the mysterious S ingredient was supposed to be – semen and shower. I kinda figured it had something to do with sex. So in a way Cologne is the forebear of Secretions Magnifique, n’est-ce pas?
I just can’t associate Cologne with the post-coital shower smell. Guess I should retry it one of these days and carry out the actual experiment, all in the name of science of course π . What is your experience with Cologne, Nobi?