“Escentric Molecules is like a special club. The fact that its distribution is limited to only the very best doors globally means its audience has been limited. It’s the equivalent of a Bottega Veneta handbag with that beautiful intrecciato leather. You need to be in the know to recognize that. It’s the same with M01.” Harvey Nichols Group Commercial Director, Daniela Rinaldi stated in an interview with the perfumery brand.
Perfumer Geza Schoen has a reputation as a rebel in the fragrance world. Having founded the brand in London in 2006, Escentric Molecules has often been deemed the ‘anti-fragrance fragrance brand’. Among perfumers, it is prized for its velvety, cocooning effect, as Rinaldi reiterated when she described Molecule 01 noting that it ‘doesn’t smell like anything else out there.’ The effects are everlasting and often unbeknown to the wearer, but to passers by and perfect strangers - ‘I brushed past the cashmere scarf I had been wearing the day before and caught a wave of this otherworldy velvety scent. And then it vanished. I love that, that you catch Molecule 01 in passing. I love the mystery of it.’ This clearly had the same effect on their customers as M01 continues to be their best selling fragrance.
As human beings we have a profound feeling that nature is best, it would seem logical that natural = good would hold true for perfumery too... But it isn’t that simple. Some fragrance ingredients can be reactive, particularly for people with sensitive skin. Fragrances that are made of all-natural ingredients miss the radiance that only synthetics can give but on the other hand, all-synthetic perfumes usually smell pretty awful! They miss the complexity and beauty of the naturals. Schoen says that 'this is why only very few molecules would work for Escentric Molecules, where we foreground a single molecule. They are the rare molecules which have a complex character, closer in this way to a natural'.
There's no doubt that the Escentric Molecules range is unique, scientifically brilliant and leaves a scent on the wearer like no other. It's no wonder they have been and will always be a cult perfume.
