Just recently I showed you the collection of New Notes (read here, here and here) and now I present you my interview with Cristian Calabrò, the perfumer of the fragrances. Of course, we know him from various other projects as well. So he is involved in the also extremely exciting brand THoO and created here some fragrance compositions. He worked for Roberto Ugolini as well as for Bois 1920 and many others.
For me, it is always exciting to learn about a perfumer’s point of view, his approach to creations and their development. So it’s best to let our guest today have his say right away.
Welcome to the Duft-Tagebuch: Cristian Calabrò! 🙂
Dear Cristian, first I would like to know how you became a perfumer?
I started for a lucky meeting to work for a fragrance house, alongside a master perfumer. I trained there, and my passion for raw materials and fragrances grew.
You created all the creations for New Notes. Did you have any guidelines or did you have full rein?
Each New Notes creation is an olfactory interpretation of suggestive images that have emerged from various meetings with the client. I have done nothing but give shape to those images by transforming emotions and memories into liquid form, interpreting them.
For each of the New Notes fragrances, can you give us three keywords that describe the scent in your eyes?
New Leather: enveloping, harmonious, minimalist.
Rosa Limone: fresh, energizing, sparkling.
Talco: soft, elegant, sensual.
Queen of the Sea: innovative, immersive, audacious.
Musk Complexity: vibrant, prismatic, complex.
Caramelo Vanilla: sweet, delightful, deep.
Which of the fragrances was particularly challenging for you in terms of development?
Probably Musk Complexity. Introducing the concept of layering in a perfume was fun, but certainly complicated. Looking for musks, each of which took up a characteristic of the previous one, and making them work together was a great challenge
How long did you work on the collection in total?
If I remember correctly, the project started about a year and a half before the launch.
What makes New Notes fragrances unique in your eyes?
The idea of reinterpreting perfumery by freeing itself from overly classic and heavy patterns, trying to give it new shapes and shades.
Do you have a favorite fragrance from your portfolio?
I have many to tell the truth, but above all I really love the work of some perfumers.
What is the difference between the Contemporary Blend and the Hologram Collection?
Contemporary Blend Collection: From the unusual marriage between the most emblematic essences of perfumery, worked and blended with divergent touches, come eclectic notes, exquisitely contrasting accords and new olfactory directions. They are contemporary and multisensory blends that expand horizons beyond pleasure.
Hologram Collection: Like a hologram, which gives a 3D vision to a 2D image, each Hologram fragrance searches for new olfactory depths from the superimposition of luxurious raw materials. The layering of different tones of the same note, like a bridge of value for all the others, generates kaleidoscopic extracts that are definitely out of the box.
How exactly does this show up in Musk Complexity?
Musk Complexity is a contemporary work on Musk, which exalts the thousand facets of this exceptional raw material in a stratified mix, which gradually becomes lustful and devastating. I have always been fascinated by musk. It is complex, seductive and unique: it makes your head spin and can give a visceral sensation with a single whiff, and it is difficult to describe in words. It is the equivalent in fragrance of sex appeal.
In Musk Complexity the layering of six different tones of Musk which insinuate themselves between woods, spices, fruit and flowers, generates out of the box effects. The accords are intense, which evolve slowly on the skin and stay there for a long time, exalting the sensuality of its scent. A cocoon of Musk on the skin, intimate and wild at one and the same time.
And now a few general questions. What was the first fragrance you created?
I think it was Cypress Shade for The House of Oud, fresh but at the same time mature based on an idea of mimosa and vetiver, perhaps a little imperfect.
How would you define your creations and your olfactory signature?
Actually I go a lot to periods, periods where I am passionate about woods and spices and others that I immerse myself in citrus and flowers. The main thing for me is to always look for something that is new, a chord, a nuance, a feeling.
Is there a scent you can’t smell at all?
In terms of raw materials, I think it’s the Palo Santo essential oil that just bothers me.
What can you recommend to people who are new to the world of niche fragrances and are just getting their bearings?
Try as many scents as possible if you have the opportunity, and choose the one that makes you feel good. But take the time to savor them, do not judge them as good or bad in a matter of seconds.
Dear Cristian, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions.
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