At the beginning of this year, I introduced you to the creations of the ARgENTUM brand here on our fragrance blog, which are characterized by some special features. Today and tomorrow I have the great honor of presenting you an interview with Joy Isaacs, the founder of the label. If you would like to find out more about ARgENTUM fragrances, I recommend these articles:
- ARgENTUM – Les Parfums Infinis
- Creator – No. 1, Lover – No. 2 and Jester – No. 3 by ARgENTUM
- Everyman – No. 4, Explorer – No. 5 and Caregiver – No. 6 by ARgENTUM
- Sage – No. 7, Magician – No. 8 and Hero – No. 9 by ARgENTUM
- Ruler – No. 10, Innocent – No. 11 and Rebel – No. 12 by ARgENTUM
Otherwise, I would like to give the floor to our guest today, because no one can give us such detailed insights into the brand itself, its history and fragrance compositions as Joy Isaacs, who launched the label in 2012. For this reason, I don’t have much more to say than …
Welcome to the Duft-Tagebuch: Joy Isaacs! 😊
Dear Joy, would you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a little about yourself and your career so far?
Originally from South Africa, I now live in London and am married to ARgENTUM’s Creative Director, Sam Gray. Between us, we have 5 children, 3 are mostly grown up so it’s not as hectic as it sounds but certainly enough to keep us on our toes.
I have had quite a meandering career covering IT, banking and then luxury marketing before starting ARgENTUM over 12 years ago. I believe not having a background in the beauty and fragrance industry was an asset as I have been able to approach our products and creativity, in a truly unique way. I focused on what I felt was missing as a consumer and what I would want in my beauty regime from science efficacy to aesthetics.
ARgENTUM was initially known primarily for its skincare products. What prompted you to enter the world of perfume?
We launched in 2012 with la potion infinie our silver day & night hydrating cream, which is still our hero product today. The scent created for this product and now used as our signature scent for our skincare was developed by Grasse Perfumer, Delphine Thierry, who specialises in natural and organic fragrance creation, something that has allowed our skincare to smell incredible whilst being friendly to the skin’s microbiome.
The feedback to bottle this scent was overwhelming, and it wasn’t long before we decided to embark on this journey. Since our launch, each of our skincare products contained an ARgENTUM archetype card, sent at random as an energy message to the end user, a nod to finding beauty and balance within. So, it felt natural to create a fragrance for each of these archetype energies and bring this philosophy to life through scent.
What makes ARgENTUM fragrances unique in your eyes?
I think it is unique for a dermo cosmetic science-led brand like ARgENTUM to have enough soul to launch fragrances with a true connection to being kind to the skin. Using alcohol and solvent-free formulas that are clinically proven to be microbiome friendly is certainly unique and essential to the health of our skin. We have always taken a 360 degree approach, which means we not only deliver on science but on the natural provenance of our ingredients and the overall sustainability of our brand.
We believe that beauty is balance on a psychological level and that is why we have created an archetype fragrance collection that links to our personal olfactory system, to be used as a tool for personal development and the expression of the energies we project and balance within our live
Your perfumes are alcohol-free. What challenges did you face during development and what general advantages does this bring?
First and foremost, we have always ensured that our skincare products are as natural as possible and microbiome friendly, so it did not feel right to use alcohol on the skin. The WPE® technology is a water plant emulsion that allows diffusion of the fragrance in a soothing milky texture, delivering a long wear eau de parfum.
A lot of love and research has gone into this patented technology, which is 100% natural. It was a longer, more complicated development process as we needed to adapt the fragrances to work within this unique carrier, but the result is worthwhile. It is an honour to deliver such sophisticated fragrances with exceptionally high ISO from natural origins ratings and to share that transparency and efficacy with our customers.
Can you give us an overview of the different levels and structure of ARgENTUM’s fragrance portfolio, as it seems very complex at first glance?
Everyone connects with different symbols, numbers, letters, words and imagery. We have used some of these primordial elements and imagery to connect with the subconscious understanding within us all. The twelve archetypes are very common character descriptions, with animal imagery and symbolism that is fairly straightforward and perceived by most cultures, bar the odd variation.
Instead of using the typical Michael Edwards Fragrance Wheel to describe the scents we have used elements of Fires, Air, Earth and Water, as these are very simple to understand ~ for example when we think of a fire fragrance we would imagine something more spicy and so on. We use numerology as numbers hold specific vibrations that we all unconsciously perceive. But this will depend on the person, so if you are more image led you may be drawn by a particular archetype animal or visual and identity with that.
The point is, everyone can find their connection to a particular archetype energy and the fragrances have been created to match those particular character energy vibrations so we have never had someone say this doesn’t smell like the archetype CAREGIVER or HERO, as the scent is aligned, so should you wish to project or balance a particular archetype this concept of fragrance allows this very conscious expression of these particular characters.
How do you assign a fragrance to a particular element and therefore to a particular collection?
Archetypes are multifaceted, but usually have a more central common theme that can be aligned to a specific element just to keep things on more general terms. For example, CREATOR fragrance is categorized as AIR – air is to do with thoughts and communication and creative energy is linked to ideas ~ they can start with a thought. Once creation has happened it can move into different elements, but we try and capture the start point of a particular energy.
Another example is CAREGIVER, which is aligned with EARTH element and mother nature is linked to earth, like a seed growing, supporting life. Generally, this can be an overall perception of a particular energy, but it is surprising how we all have an understanding of the elements around us and I would say things like scent and sound (music) can be created to align with how we imagine an element to feel or sound.
To be continued …
Be First to Comment