FRAGRANCE LABEL TRENDS - PERFUME PACKING

VISUAL AUTHENTICITY TREND

The visual authenticity trend has been in the market for a while now and it will continue to shine in 2016. As this trend has evolved, it has moved beyond small artisan brands and is becoming more mainstream itself. With the rise of niche perfumery consumers are fleeting away from mainstream products looking for more emotional and personal experiences with their fragrance (check my last article about NICHE) That said, visual authenticity is one response to shifting perfume consumer values to desire more real, quality and honest products. Products with uncomplicated appearance, yet are crafted; maybe even vintage inspired. Fragrances that can create inadvertent human connection.

The digital age is fostering a decline in human connection which is most prevalent office Gen Z consumers. Because of this, these shoppers are not responding to traditional established corporate brands. They want more. They demand more. They desire a real, trusted, human connection to the products and the brands that they consume. This connection can be expressed in different ways, from a connection to nature, to the written word, to the past, or to simply to other people. This is beyond hipster. This style is a rejection of technology. A pre-
computer era style, if you will.(Andrew Gibbs).

Some perfume brands have this in mind. To reconnect with perfume consumers. They do this by showcasing the craft, quality, and skill in both the product and the packaging design. Some of this trend's characteristics are: handwritten, raw, freeform or sketchy typography/ hand rendered, simple illustrations/ may include vintage inspired references or typography/ natural color palettes.

I have selected a few examples for you:

Le Labo manifesto defines that the idea that luxury relies on craftsmanship. In their website you will find the community craft which shows all craftsmen and craftswomen involved in the creation of a Le Labo fragrance. Le Labo labeling relies on customised labels with personal messages. All fragrances of the brand come with a Lab type of label with typewriter fonts, with the list of the ingredients, and all fragrances are mixed and labeled in front of the customers, so they can have a real and handcrafted experience. They are the pioneers of this type of uncomplicated and yet luxurious fragrance production.

Fragrance brand Demeter tries to capture real experiences and bottle them for you.

Their mission is "to create environments where people can rediscover the wonderful world of scents that is too often overlooked or forgotten in our modern multi-tasked world". In terms of labeling Demeter provides a simple label with little phrases such as "pick me up" Cologne spray suggesting a "conversation" with the consumer.

Maison Margiela is bringing a different type of labeling where you will find the inspiration, a fragrance description and a suggestion of the style on the bottle itself. Like Le Labo you will see here the trend of using typewriter font and simplicity.

Leo & Harper are innovating with a simple label that talks to you. It asks you questions!

Olfactive Studio chose labels that look like a cut piece of tape with handwritten typography. Very simple; very chic.

Swedish perfume house Agonist is now offering a new bottle and label design that brings just a list of the ingredients composing the fragrance and by that they are also bringing a clearer communication with consumers.

Authenticity and human touch is trending now due to social medias because they are allowing brands to be more accessible and more approachable and this type of connection is now extended to packing.The handcrafted look is brought by unique designs and handwritten fonts. The overwhelming amount of information that social media is offering is also overloading consumers in a way that they are longing for a simpler, clearer, easier and quicker way to communicate. Simple minimalistic designs are reflecting this need to quickly understand if the product fits their needs.

Like I have been saying for years "Less is always more!"

CALVIN KLEIN'S FRAGRANCE MARKETING STRATEGIES OVER THE DECADES

"Calvin Klein used to be raw. In the ’90s the brand was seductive, uncensored, and with the help of a topless Kate Moss, the essence of cool".

In 1993 Kate Moss met with Calvin Klein. At that time the brand was in a crisis and Kate was not famous. Calvin Klein loved the fact that Kate was plain, real and beautiful. They wanted her to be shot shirtless, although she had small breasts. She was always shot in black-and-white, sometimes nude, sometimes in a black tank and cotton underwear. Her stark, fragile beauty amplified by lank hair and little makeup. Fabien Baron, the creative director launched what was defined as the heroin chic look. In a culture scared of Aids the sex approach of the campaign was very risky, but somehow it actually worked. The campaign brought the finances of Calvin Klein back to profit and also launched Kate's career. She was soon the sole face of Calvin Klein jeans, underwear and fragrance.

Today we know that Kate was closing the door of the excessiveness of the 80's. So did the fragrance the brand was about to launch - CK ONE EDT. 


CK ONE EDT was designed a fragrance that embodied, in its flat little screw- top bottle, the disaffected, sexually ambivalent grunge youth of the moment. CK ONE EDT, with its unconventional black-and-white advertisements filled with moping, androgynous models, was arguably the most perfectly tailored fragrance ever pitched to one market, breaking industry rules and records, selling twenty bottles per minute at its peak. 

A unisex brand that was so authentically grunge it was carried in record stores alongside albums by Nirvana.

The fragrance was created by Alberto Morillas and Harry Fremont, with top notes of pineapple, green notes, mandarin orange, papaya, bergamot, cardamom and lemon; middle notes of nutmeg, violet, orris root, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and rose; and base notes of sandalwood, amber, musk, cedar and oakmoss.

It broke gender barriers and was marketed as a SHARED fragrance instead of unisex. CK ONE EDT  had an introductory budget of $17-18 million, which may be largest budget for any of the so-called prestige fragrances introduced in 1994 and reached 250 million dollars in sales in its first year.

"Be hot. Be cool. Just BE."

In 1996 Calvin Klein did it again with CK Be EDT. It was one of the best selling new scents EVER. 

The company described the scent as “raceless, genderless, ageless, and shared statement. ” It was called “the new fragrance for people.” The ads, once again shot by Avedon, were like a amalgam of all the work that had been put into creating a unique aesthetic for the brand, it was Heroin Chic at its finest: waifish and disoriented models who were young, multicultural and highly androgynous gathered into shot looking bored and gorgeous. The commercials showed Kate Moss speaking into the camera talking about “one more bad habit you have to break.” The ad ends with a voiceover: Be hot. Be cool. Just BE. Calvin Klein had done it. He created a media virus, an answer to any question that Generation X might have had: Just Be. All this from basic denim, a quiet unisex fragrance and white cotton underwear. His empire was built.

Each Calvin Klein ad campaign had its own characteristic image and its own particular target market. While the ads for CK ONE EDT portrayed groups of young, multicultural, mostly androgynous urban men and women, the CK Be EDT campaign featured an intimate and raw close-up of the individuals within the CK ONE EDT groups. According to Pauline Mancuso - Calvin Klein's CEO back then, ‘‘The CK be EDT campaign pulls you into these people’s lives.’’




"Freedom and possibilities of young people to explore the world".

CK in2U fragrances were launched in 2007. The brand launched two separated masculine and the feminine versions and it was described as the fragrance for the internet connected or techno-sexuals, a term the company made up to describe its intended audience of thumb-texting young people whose romantic lives are defined in part by the casual hookup. CK IN2U expressed freedom and possibilities of young people to explore the world. That same year, during its launch, Coty executives gathered to explain that the fragrances were  a portrait of a generation physically bold, but emotionally guarded; having grown up using computers as a primary means of interaction. Now young adults, they are post-Abercrombie, post-Juicy Couture and over any number of scents derived from the essences of Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton.

As Coty's Vice president for Global marketing Lori Singer explained about the fragrances targeted group of 20-ish youngsters  “They don’t want to feel that they are being marketed to or spoken at. They are much more empowered, but they are unshockable. They have seen everything from 9/11 to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears without underwear. They see everything instantaneously that goes on in the world.” 

To seem more authentic, Calvin Klein was trying to reach consumers on their own turf by creating an online community, whatareyouin2.com, patterned after sites like MySpace and Facebook. The company invited students at film schools around the country to submit shorts addressing the theme of “what are you into?” and their clips were to be found on the site. The response to CK in2u among fragrance retailers at trade shows was so strong, the company said, that it delayed its introduction by a month to increase production to close to two million units, nearly twice the 258 initial volume of its Euphoria women’s fragrance in 2005. (Eric Wilson edited)

Gottlieb, the perfumer who created the fragrance explained that because Millennials are used to fast-moving information and images, the fragrance is meant to be quick-acting and immediately recognizable on the skin. Their food and drinks, like Smartwater and coffee-flavored colas, and gum charged with flavor crystals, all come in high-definition, intensified varieties. So their fragrance should also seem busy. 

“It is about two individuals defined by who they are, not what they are”

The newest launch for 2016 - CK2 EDT


Ten years later Calvin Klein is putting its chips again into a fragrance for a new generation - The Millennials. Not as unisex or shared, but now it is introducing a new term: gender-neutral. As Coty describes it: "CK2 embodies the thrill of life and celebrates the diversity of connections between two people. Two individuals defined by who they are, not what they are. one gender-free fragrance for a man or a woman, without prejudices, to unite and create an experience that can be shared together in love, lust and friendship. We come together void of stereotypes and free of conformity; a youthful connection between 2 people to celebrate the differences that make our connections richer and define what makes us, us. Life is better when we are 2."

The composition

Defined as urban woody - fresh scent, CK2 EDT is developed by International Flavors and Fragrances with notes of  wasabi, mandarin and violet leaf, wet cobblestones and orris concrete accords, rose absolute and a woody base of vetiver, sandalwood and incense.

According to Melisa Goldie, interviews by WWD, the brand wishes to target young consumers: “The launch of CK2 represents an extension of our overall brand strategy to reach a younger consumer base through modern, authentic storytelling. Given its relevant cultural messaging and youthful spirit, CK2 aligns well with this evolving approach to consumer engagement.”

Camillo Pane from Coty explained to WWD that they are targeting a new generation that values authenticity and fluidity in their everyday lives, and CK2 encapsulates this in every facet of the brand, whether via the scent, packaging, or campaign creative.

The company also gave details about its distribution strategy: “The launch of CK2 brings a new fragrance proposition to the marketplace with its relevant and disruptive brand messaging. We will launch exclusively in Macy’s in the U.S. in February, and then broaden distribution through alternative channels, while telling the story of CK2 through engaging media tools that resonate with the target audience.” (Distribution is expected to top out at 2,000 doors in the U.S. by yearend 2016).

The design of the new bottle

The bottle, a thick glass cylinder set in a clear base that allows the fragrance to be viewed either upside down or right side up, is intended to reinterpret minimalism and the minimalist design continues on the outside packaging, which is a drawing of the bottle inside.

The advertising campaign, shot by Ryan McGinley, includes both TV and print and is intended to celebrate the diversity of people’s connections. “It is about two individuals defined by who they are, not what they are. The campaign features four stories that fold into one another in unexpected ways. Four couples play out free spirited, raw narratives of today’s youth. The connections emphasize the thrill of life shared by two people and magnify the uniqueness of each relationship in our lives.

From what I watched, I saw young people finding sex partners via social media...pretty real. Twenty years later Calvin Klein is doing it again - portraying one entire generation in one fragrance, one concept.


Twenty two years from the launch of CK ONE EDT, twenty years after the CK be EDT and nine years after the launch of  CK IN2U EDT, one can affirm that if Luca Turin once said that fragrances are not about sex he was wrong. One can even study the sexual behaviour of generations just by analysing the marketing strategies to sell Calvin Klein's perfumes!

All photos are credited to Clavin Klein brand.

NICHE PERFUMERY LECTURE/ CURSO DE PERFUMARIA DE NICHO

The lounge minutes before starting

This blogger has a long term relationship with CDCP - A center for diffusion of perfume knowledge in São Paulo, Brazil. Through this partnership I have been invited to be one of the jurors of the perfume award Atualidade Cosmética and I have been making brainstorming sessions with fragrance houses and marketing strategy projects.

This year they invited me to give a lecture on Niche Perfumery as part of the studies of perfume in a year round course they offer to professionals of the industry of perfumery and cosmetics.

It was a 3 hours lecture where I told them the history of Niche Perfumery; the concept of niche; the classifications of niche brands an niche perfumery as it is today and its future. We explored many brands and many different concepts in a whiff & think session.

It was very interesting to share ideas with marketing managers and perfumers and how professionals of the cosmetic industry and packing developers could use some of the ideas of niche perfumery in their businesses.

The brands presented were:

Annick Goutal, Jo Malone, Antonio Alessandria, Heeley, Yosh, Mona di Orio, Keiko Mecheri, Olivier Durbano, Maison Kurkdjian, Jovoy Paris, Victoria Minya, Editions de Parfums Frederique Malle, État Libre d’Orange, CB I Hate Perfume, S-Perfume, Blood Concept, A Lab on Fire, Juliette Has a Gun, Nasomatto, Histoires de Parfum, biehl parfumkunstwerke, Fueguia 1833, Olfactive Studio, Clive Christian, Creed, Xerjoff, Puredistance, Ormonde Jayne, Rancé , Creed, Penhaligons’, Fragonard, Maitre Parfumeur e Gantier,  Lubin, Santa Maria Novella, Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 156, Les Parfums de Rosine, Le Labo, Byredo, Ego Facto, Bond Nº9, Mandy Aftel, Rich Hippie, Pacifica, Tsi-La, Rebel Intuitive Perfumerie, Strange Invisible Perfumes, Honoré des Prés, Neela Vermiere Creation, Kerosene, The Vagabond Prince, Aus Liebe zum Duft, Aedes de Venustas, Min NY, Comme de Garçons, Aesop, Costes, Ladurée, Les exclusifs, Van Cleef & Arpels Colection Extraordinaire, Tom Ford Private Blend, Estée Lauder Private Collection, Cartier Lês Heures de Parfum, Dior La Collection Privée.

Shops mentioned: 

Aedes de Venustas, Min NY, Campomarzio 70, Nose, Crème de La Crème, Hip-Nose; and websites luckyscent and  Aus Liebe zum Duft.

SMELL IN THE CITY - AN URBAN OLFACTIVE JOURNEY IN SÃO PAULO CITY - BRAZIL - PART V

Continuing to draw the smellscape of São Paulo City I am bringing you today smells and odors that are very cosmopolitan, such as the smell of construction debris found everywhere in the city. 

São Paulo is a city in development and remodeling, so you will find parked in almost every street what we call CAÇAMBA DE ENTULHO or construction dumpsters/containers. Pieces of wood, ceramics, concrete, walls, cartons and plastics are deposited everyday in these containers under the sun or rain until contractors fill them up and call collectors to remove them from site. If you pass near these container you will smell dust, paint, rotten wood and wet concrete all together. It is the smell of change, modernity.

Although Brazilians try to copy movements coming from other countries such as being eco-friendly, selective garbage disposals are not very common. They exist but it is not enforced by any legislation. Usually you will find huge plastic bags mixing all sorts of meat, poultry and fish leftovers combined with fruits is decay, papers of all sort and used aluminum foils, broken glasses and vases etc... just waiting outside to be collected. In my neighborhood you can put the garbage outside 3 days a week and only 2 hours before the garbage truck passes by.

According to the City Hall website the city generates 20.000 tons of garbage per day which 12.000 come from private homes. Also it is known that Brazilian garbage is one of the richest garbages in the world. As experts explain, the more developed and richer the country is, poorer is its garbage. Our garbage still reflect a third world country condition.

If you take a walk in my neighborhood you will find a lot of plastic bags filled with broken tree branches, leafs and recent cut grass collected from the yards. They smell fresh, green with a hint of wooden decay and straw. 

Also if you pass by my street early in the morning on sunny days you will smell the scent of fabric softeners. It is the smell of recently washed laundry. Slightly powdery, very flowery and sometimes very sweet. Brazilians also have the worst habit of washing the outside areas of the house with water, not minding the challenges of water shortage that we are facing. They pretend it does not exist. So the green fresh smell of garden waste combines with the scent of laundry softener and detergents plus some sort of powder soap that runs out of the houses to the sidewalks. I must confess I love that smell, even thou it is selfish and not very eco-friendly. 

The backfire of this misuse of water is that sometimes it brings back the smell of dried urine of dogs. It is simple unbearable, but sometimes something magical happens. The smell of urine is combined with the scent of flowers in a way that you can create an holographic white tropical flower as you pass by. I love when that happens!

São Paulo is not like New York City where the smell of human piss and dog's urine is so strong sometimes that you feel nauseated. Since we have even more dogs than New Yorkers, I take it our dogs piss less or are dog owners are more educated...

Another common smell is the one coming from kiosks located on the sidewalks. These kiosks sell newspapers, printed magazines, cigarettes, candy and sometimes beverages.

As you pass by a kiosk you can smell the scent of recently printed papers. It is a particular smell of ink, mixed with the smell of glue and varnish. The smell is dry and fatty. Oily I must say. When it comes to women's magazine you will also find hints of all sorts of perfume printed ads with encapsulated fragrances. The old scratch and sniff or open and sniff techniques. I love the smell of the kiosks in São Paulo. They give a hip and classy touch to the streets. 

And since we are mentioning ink...São Paulo embraces street art like no other city. We simply love graffiti! They are everywhere including on the walls of private home commissioned by its owners. They are colorful, creative and real pieces of modern art. We have embraced them and we have an open gallery located in the neighborhood called Vila Madalena where you will find wall after all covered by beautiful graffiti. Probably the most famous and the one you all know by name is Os Gêmeos - the two brothers whose street art has travelled the world. Everywhere I pass by I smell the scent of fresh spray paint. Frankly I am allergic to it so it is not my favorite. Visually I adore it!

Remember I said that São Paulo has a rustic side? Well we still have street markets in every neighborhood. If you pass near one the strongest smell you will find is of coconut oil cooking pastries. It is not a good smell IMO. It is the smell of fat, flour and cheese burning. 

If you stay close to the fish stands you will find a cold smell of ice mixed with the briny - salty smell of the ocean. Fresh fish actually smell good! The only problem for me is when fish vendors open the fish to clean. The smell of guts and blood are not my favorite. They wash them after opening and this water runs down to the pavement which later on starts to evaporate and stink. I can't stand that. So if you happen to be here in town, try to have a street market experience early in the morning when the sun is not burning the skull and you won't smell rotten fish vapors.

The aroma of vegetables and fruits are a one of kind experience. It is simply lovely and fresh. Very tropical, very intense. You will also find spice stands where you will smell a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, oregano and bay leaf. Very intense by the way!

These aromas are so beautiful that a Brazilian cosmetic brand called DUCHA has all its products inspired by them. The founders wanted to bring the street market experience to the homes of its clients; specially to the bathtub.

Street markets leave a residual smell that is as disgusting as the smell of an old opened trash. Oranges in decay and rotten fish odors are washed with tons of water after they dismount the stands. Truth is that you can still smell that disgusting residual rotten smell of garbage in decomposition the day after.  A tip for people looking for apartments - check if the street has an open market. If so, don't rent; don't buy it!

So let's make a quick list what was mentioned till now:

1. smell of Pinheiros and Tiête rivers (rotten eggs)

2. basaltic and limestone rocks, dust, pollution, pavement, abrasive metallic haze, rain water evaporating

3. flowers and plants of the park

4. humidity, moss, fungus, wood in decay, 

5. spray paint, construction waste, garden waste, garbage

6. frech ink, glue, varnish, encapsulated perfume

7. laundry softeners and soaps, dog piss

8. fresh fish, rotten fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, rotten fruits and vegetables, spices, fat+flour+cheese burning

Stick around as I continue to smellwalk in São Paulo!