Custom-made perfume: a false promise?

is the custom-made perfume a real or false promise?

In recent years, the fragrance industry has seen a new trend emerge and seduce noses in search of originality: the custom-made perfume. While creating a composition requires time and expertise, how can it work? Is it really an affordable luxury? Let’s take a look at the different aspects of this concept and find our opinion on the matter at the end of the article.

The custom-made perfume trend

We live in a society where personalization and home-made products are clearly in vogue… And perfume is no exception to the rule! While the shelves of mainstream perfume stores are overflowing with hundreds of more or less well-known references, we are increasingly looking for a unique essence. Because wearing the same perfume as your office colleague, no way! So instead of quitting, some people try to create THEIR scent, the one they will not share with anyone else. Others turn to custom-made perfume to try to find a specific scent from their childhood, a happy memory, a loved one. Finally, there are those who simply wish to live a unique olfactory experience, by collaborating with a perfumer.

If we look at the history of perfume a little more closely, we finally realize that custom-made perfumes are far from being a novelty. Indeed, the historian Elisabeth de Feydeau, underlines in her book La Grande Histoire du Parfum, that for centuries “perfumes were composed for one person at the court of kings”. It is only with the industrialization of perfumery that the fragrance for all appears. From the 1980s onwards, the desire to wear “fashionable” juices was felt and certain fragrances became iconic, crossing the ages.

A luxury service reserved for an elite?

From ultra-customization…

For a long time, the creation of a custom-made perfume was reserved for a certain very privileged clientele, with substantial financial means! For a “real” made-to-measure fragrance, i.e. a fragrance elaborated exactly according to your wishes and worked on and tested for many months, you will have to pay at least 1000 euros… And the prices can go up to 60 000 euros at Cartier in particular. The famous house of Guerlain offers an exceptional service by making two liters of custom perfume to feel (and smell) yourself for at least 5 years. The price of exclusivity: 35,000 euros minimum depending on the ingredients used. This (very) high-end service is really based on a personalized approach and is developed with the perfumer during several meetings… The ultimate in luxury perfumery!

… to the democratization of the unique perfume

If you don’t want to spend so much money to create your own perfume, there are much more economical solutions. Indeed, some actors offer the possibility to follow creation workshops to become an apprentice perfumer for a few hours. You come out of this mini-training with a perfume designed by you. It is generally elaborated by adding several bases together. This kind of workshop allows you to become familiar with the different olfactory associations and the methods of making a fragrance. Smelling the good idea (and the profitability), other offers are emerging since these last years, especially on the web. You can thus create your own perfume quickly by answering a questionnaire based on your tastes. A well-crafted algorithm then takes care of collecting your data. It then assembles a few notes and other well-known ingredients that correspond to you.

The custom-made perfume, a real interest?

A specific know-how that takes time

Creating a perfume is a long process that requires a certain know-how. From the inspiration to the research of raw materials, through the formulation and the various tests, the manufacturing of a fragrance is an art in itself! At Carrément Belle, working on a new scent can take months, even years to achieve the desired result! That’s why it is often complicated to achieve a really successful composition when you create your made-custom perfume on the internet in a few clicks. By composing your own perfume without the support of a trained and experienced nose, you could also miss out on scents and ingredients that you may not yet know but that could still tickle your nostrils. There is so much to discover in the olfactory universe that it would be a shame not to trust all these perfumers with a sharp nose!

How to find YOUR perfume ?

You don’t have tens of thousands of euros to spend to create your own perfume? We understand you! But don’t despair, you can still find the essence that will truly express your personality, without smelling like Mr. or Mrs. Everybody! Instead of browsing the crowded shelves of the big perfume stores, you can already turn to niche perfumery. You’ll be less likely to choose the same fragrance as your boss by opting for these more confidential juices.

Want to create a unique wake? Try the mix and match technique! By layering your favorite fragrances, you’ll create a new scent that’s even more like you! Finally, we are ready to help you find THE fragrance in our Collection that will make you fall in love. Join us in the chat room to discuss your desires and choose together the fragrance that will make you say yes!

What do you think of the concept of custom-made perfume?


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