Wes Viana Ferreiro spoke to the successful underdog of the perfume industry, Geza Schön – creator of Escentric Molecules.

Fragrances are strongly connected to memories - we all have that favorite fragrance that a former lover or current lover wears and reminds you of the great times you shared. For me that fragrance is Escentric Molecule M01.

The first time I got introduced to a creation of Geza Schön – the creator of the Escentric Molecule collection and considered by some as the master of perfume makers – was by my ex-boyfriend. The fragrance is powerful yet subtle and makes you go crazy for someone. It is made of 100% Iso E Super, diluted in alcohol with a little water. The fragrance is a bit of an underdog in the perfume world – a very successful underdog that is. And just like his creations, Geza Schön can be considered that as well. He only works on projects that he finds interesting, he takes as much time as he needs for them and each one of his scents do not seize to amaze. When I heard that Geza Schön would be in town to launch a long-awaited new pair of the collection I had to be there.

In 1990 Geza Schön got introduced Iso E Super during his perfume schooling in Germany and tried to pitch it to Diesel, one of his first clients. Iso E Super makes fragrances into a paradoxical product, once you spray it on you experience its attraction and sexuality, only to find that the experience is not long lasting and will return in the course of the day at unexpected times. The molecule responds to other molecules and can be noticed by some people, not all – this makes it one of the most unique and surprising fragrances. Diesel considered it to be too innovative and suspected the world would not be ready for a fragrance based on Iso E Super.

After a period of freelancing, Schön ended up in London and started to form the groundwork of Escentric Molecules. After a hard day of work he would be completely drenched in Iso E Super and dogs would chase him wherever he’d go. All his hard work paid off when Harvey Nichols gained interest and bought the whole first batch to sell in the department store. In this period Schön would still be the laughing stock of the established perfume makers, but they soon too realized that Schön had created something truly sensational with synthetic ingredients.

The new 04 pair is based on the ingredient javanol – a partial molecule of sandalwood. Le Labo’s immensely popular Santal 33 is constructed of a different partial molecule of sandalwood. This perfume brings out the warmth and heaviness of sandalwood, Escentric Molecules 04 has removed these two elements and is much more crispy, sparkling and silvery. The M04 is the stripped down variety of the pair and just as the other Molecules collections much more subtle and harder to grasp. The E04 is more intricate and is constructed of different ingredients of the earlier lines, various kinds of roses, iris, osmanthus and marihuana for a laidback and mellow feeling. The E04 is very bold and I can see it being worn by confident people, without being arrogant. It’s a happy fragrance that we certainly can use in these times. With the launch of the 04 – seven years after his last launch – Schön has yet again proven to be a true master and has again developed a unique product. No wonder his number of fans is expanding rapidly and some are even trying to re-create his most successful M01 – to which he says: ‘ There will always be copycats of products which do well in the market, having said that – the DIY kits are made with a different quality of Iso E Super and certainly not as good as the one I am using. Copies will always be just copies, won’t they?’

MM: Do you know a place where fragrances are combined with art installations/museums? GS: ‘There is not THE place for it, but occasionally the art world meets scent. There is now a perfume museum in Paris, which is well done with the help of IFF perfumers. Last August showed a fabulous installation here in Berlin by Wolfgang Georgsdorf who exposed the audience to time-based scent performance, which was absolutely stunning. Having said that society prefers visuals input these days and not smell, which is a shame.’

Mirror Mirror suggests visiting the cocktail bar Fragrances in the Ritz-Carlton in Berlin.

Escentric Molecules Escentric 04 €145 and Molecule 04 €145.00 is on sale at skins.nl