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subscribe to beauty blog via RSSPerfume, The Love Letter
November 24, 2009 5:05 pm
Having entertained a lifelong fascination with perfume and its ability to transcend olfactory associations and impact the mind, Byredo Parfums founder Ben Gorham was fated to work in the fragrance industry. Never mind that stint as a professional basketball player in Europe or the interior architecture education. When it came to making his passion a reality, all he had to do was follow his nose; he launched his own line of fragrances last year, each of which is intended to correspond with a specific memory. “But not just my memories,” he told us over lunch. “I want to appeal to a collective memory.” Would-be wearers of his eaux aren’t just getting a whiff of Gorham’s father when they spritz on his vetiver-infused Bal d’Afrique, but perhaps also of their own paternal figures. Truth be told, there’s something about the musky scent that instantly took us back to the days when our father doused himself in Aqua Velva and Brut. But Gorham’s latest scent was definitely created with a specific person in mind: his wife. Blanche, which launched last month and is the line’s eighth niche offering, includes notes of white rose, violet, peony, and sandalwood for a sweet, soft effect reminiscent of clean linens. It possesses a certain richness, though, which keeps it from going the way of less complex fragrances. Gorham describes it as “pure and simple in structure, but extreme in character,” which we can only assume is a fitting description of the woman he loves.
tags: Ben Gorham, Byredo Parfums
