Molecule
DISCOvery Set
As 2006 began, 21st century fragrance was still waiting to be born. Something radical would be necessary to break the spell of this hundred-year sleep, a marginal notion that would unhinge the mainstream. But the world wouldn’t have long to wait. A quiet storm was coming to wash away the old and advance the new — one simple, beautiful molecule at a time. It would be called Escentric Molecules, and it would become the scent sensation of the 21st century, causing a frenzy that no one ever saw coming. For if anyone could conjure the achingly cool energy of minimalism, it was the innovative maverick mind and nose of master perfumer Geza Schoen.
It was an entirely practical gesture on Schoen’s part. His proposal was this: two scents launched simultaneously in homage to a futuristic single scent ingredient or aroma-molecule that he would siphon into bottles printed with an abstruse-looking binary code. This had never been done before. Fragrances with no industry flimflam or bourgeois granny-smelling stuff, just a superficially simple, conceptually complex concoction that would spark an industry-wide revolution, breaking the constraints of old fragrance paradigms. The irony is, of course, that in setting out to strip away the myths that weigh down the fragrance industry, Escentric Molecules has generated a whole new mystique for an intense and loyal following of fans.
Fifteen years later, Geza has spawned a whole family of brainchildren following the same singular belief, five binary pairs — five Escentric and five Molecule fragrances. Each pair explores one aroma-molecule in two different ways and celebrates perfumery as the art of chemistry.
Schoen doesn’t just focus on the end-product of the fragrances; he analyses their social and artistic function. This has given him the opportunity for pure experimentation and the chance to push boundaries with olfactory art without any of the industry’s usual constraints on creativity and budget — fragrances created across the genres in a cross-modal fashion mixing art, science, and design.
Welcome to the enigmatic world of Escentric Molecules, where we sketch the future with scent. We want you to pull an olfactory hood over your head. Rediscover the world around you, but let it be of different nature.
Molecule — a molecule is a molecule is a molecule.
Whether it’s evoking old memories or shaping new ones, few presents are as timeless as a fragrance. But which one to buy? Enter: the Molecule DISCOvery Set, complete with our five Molecule offerings in 8.5ml vials perfect for any fragrance-ophile. This discovery set allows you to experience every part of the Molecule puzzle before choosing your favourite piece.
Pure and singular, the Molecule fragrances are radically minimalist and celebrate the chemical scents that make up the bulk of perfumes in their own right. Geza wanted to take a conceptual approach to olfactory creativity and innovate at a molecule level by reducing a fragrance down to its essential elements. Effects, not fragrances, where a single note aroma-chemical gives the most dynamic results: freshness and sex appeal.
All five Molecule fragrances are brimming with character and unbeholden to gender distinctions. These moody beauties all hold a web of multifarious meanings, definitions and sensations.
If you are polygamous in scent, play the field and flirt elsewhere with our Escentric fragrances. To discover our Escentric fragrances, purchase our Escentric DISCOvery Set containing our five 8.5ml cherished bottles of synthetic perfumery staples.
With a name plucked from the cosmos, Escentric Molecules is sure to take your fragrance game to stratospheric heights but BE WARNED: These fragrances are considered a dangerous aphrodisiac under whose narcotic influence men and women become intoxicated and infatuated.
“Molecule 01 is a modern classic that I like to compare with Malevich’s Black Square, a monochrome canvas from 1913 that promotes indignation in many people, even today, since: ‘Anyone can paint a black square!’ Which may be so — but only Malevich thought to do so.”
— Helder Suffenplan, Creative Consultant, Scentury
Molecule 01
Molecule 01 consists of Iso E Super pure and singular.
Molecule 01 has been said to cause animal magnetism — a latter-day love potion. Geza used the beautifully mysterious and democratic aroma-molecule Iso E Super as the star of this juice. He felt it expressed everything a perfumer could want: radiance, tenacity, and power.
So, what makes Iso E Super so super? Iso E Super lends radiance to the wearer, giving a pheremonic like effect, or, as some people put it, ‘pulling power’.
Characterised by a hyper-modern cedarwood note with a velvety sensation, Iso E Super sticks close to the skin, magnifying the wearer’s natural aroma.
“Iso E Super is one of those scents that makes you want to nestle into it. It’s comforting and cocooning,” says Geza.
Molecule 01 has a marked intermittence. To the wearer, it seems to vanish and then re-appear. This is due to the way it sits with receptors in the olfactory system, only slowly releasing to make it easy for a new charge of the molecule on the receptors.
Iso E Super does not exist in nature. It was created in a laboratory at the IFF in 1973.
“Molecule 01 is for the individual who might be a bit bored with fragrance and would prefer to radiate an aura. It’s difficult to call a single aroma-chemical a fragrance — it’s so much more personal,” says Geza.
Molecule 01 is a cult classic of today that remains as disruptive and avant-garde as the day it was first bottled. The velvety wood-tinged hedonism of Iso E Super (with effects that read like something from the pages of a Neal Stephenson novel) makes for an irresistible skin scent.
To experience Escentric 01, a formula, see our Escentric DISCOvery Set.
“I see it as a bit of a ninja — it swoops in quietly, bringing dimension and space to dense compositions allowing them to expand, giving them a tremendous lift but also a fascinating material facet. To put it simply, Ambroxan is ‘the nuts’.”
— Thomas Dunckley, Award-winning Fragrance Expert, The Candy Perfume Boy
Molecule 02
Molecule 02 consists of Ambroxan pure and singular.
Ambroxan is a crystal-chemical structure identical to the ambrox derived from ambergris. For centuries ambergris was perhaps the most prized ingredient in perfumery. It is a somewhat mysterious substance expelled by the cachalot or sperm whale, which only attains its fine scent after a long maturation floating in the ocean.
Ambergris is rarely found these days, and the ‘amber’ in a modern fragrance will be a lab-created equivalent of some of the aroma-molecules that make up its scent. By far the finest of these is the nature-identical molecule, Ambroxan. Ambergris was always valued for its refinement as well as its sensuality. This quality persists in Ambroxan.
Ambroxan was isolated from plant sources in 1950.
The maximum percentage that can be dissolved in a fragrance compound is 13.5%. Any more, and it begins to crystallise out of the solution. Most fragrances with ‘amber’ contain 1-2%.
Molecule 02 is 100% Ambroxan in alcohol and a little water. This is best described as a fresh, almost mineral smoothness, which subtly expands to envelop you in olfactive layers of sensuous, sparkling molecules.
To experience Escentric 02, a formula, see our Escentric DISCOvery Set.
“There is a special sensuality to Geza’s fragrances, a totally singular woody-musky accord [….] It’s this detectable ‘Geza’ accord, like the signature of a painter.”
— Alexandra Kalle, Perfumer, Mäurer & Wirtz
Molecule 03
Molecule 03 consists of Vetiveryl Acetate, pure and singular.
Vetiveryl Acetate could be described as a hybrid molecule, half-synthetic, half natural. It is a fraction of vetiver oil distilled from the roots of an Indian grass, which is then ‘crossed’ with acetic and acid to remove the bitter and leathery aspects of the root.
In India, vetiver essential was an ingredient of ancient perfume and was referred to as ‘the oil of tranquillity’. Vetiver is known to reduce anxiety and promote mental clarity through the comforting and venturing powers of its aura.
For Molecule 03, Geza put a modernist spin on Vetiveryl Acetate, the refined vetiver note celebrated for its earthy-smokey facets and rich, enveloping nature. Think of uncut grass on a warm day, or envisage a forest muddled with warm balsamic undertones, and you’ll have an idea of what vetiver smells like.
“Acetylation brings out the grapefruit touch in vetiver, giving a more pronounced bitter-fresh top note,” says Geza.
The result is an elegant and refined molecule with vetiver’s woody, slightly grassy character, but far smoother and softer.
To experience Escentric 03, a formula, see our Escentric DISCOvery Set.
“But there’s the thing — what Schoen does without any pretension is to make you reassess fragrance, taking it back to its simplest form. And what’s ironic is that the more you strip back the ingredients […], the more powerful and intriguing the effect becomes. Which is a kind of magic.”
— Victoria Gaiger, Editor, Rakesprogress
Molecule 04
Molecule 04 consists of Javanol, pure and singular.
Javanol is a sandalwood-type molecule that retains the radiance and endurance of natural sandalwood but is sheer and transparent like no sandalwood in nature.
Javanol does not exist in nature. It was created in a laboratory at Givaudan in 1996.
“What I love about Javanol is its almost psychedelic freshness. It smells as if liquid grapefruit peel were poured over a bed of velvety cream-coloured roses,” says Geza.
Molecule 04 acts as a love letter to Javanol, celebrating the beauty of the molecule in a new light.
To experience Escentric 04, a formula, see our Escentric DISCOvery Set.
“At first spritz, I get a whiff of fresh laundry, a scent my lizard brain finds instantly soothing. Once it settles, l the warmth comes through, and it smells like my skin but woody and sweeter — my own animal musk amplified. I want to burrow inside myself. It feels as if I’ve draped my senses in a weighted blanket. I realise I’ve chosen correctly.”
— Taylore Glynn, Beauty & Health Editor, Marie Claire
Molecule 05
Molecule 05 consists of Cashmeran pure and singular.
Cashmeran is one of the greats of synthetic chemistry. Warm and woody, with a resinous pine note. It has an unusually complex character for a single molecule. It combines a cocooning, musky softness with a dry, aromatic woodiness and a sweet resinous pine note.
Cashmeran was created in a laboratory at the IFF in the late 1970s.
Molecule 05 is a scent that glorifies fragrance’s undefinable magnetism and gives it its rightful due as a subtle yet requisite element in our lives that stimulates all the senses.
To experience Escentric 05, a formula, see our Escentric DISCOvery Set.