Esxence Milan 2024 proved again this year that it is the most significant event regarding niche and artisan perfumery. It gathers Industry professionals, buyers, distributors, press, content creators, and perfume lovers from all over the world. Extras in my Report Part 2 include a rich program of panels, workshops, and conferences, parties but also small perfume brand owners/perfumers coming to present their creations – off-Esxence.
Even after a whole day spent smelling fragrances with brand owners, perfumers, and art directors, the action doesn’t stop when all the visitors leave the fair – it’s party time! And while you are at the fair, there are so many interesting panels and irresistible learning opportunities! Even that is not all – in my Part 2 reports I like to list perfumes and brands I met with off-Esxence, new and interesting ones. Most of these brands are still too small to exhibit, so I hope that someday soon they’ll be featured among listed Spotlight brands. There are also upcoming releases you don’t want to miss!
My Esxence Milan 2024 report Part I is dedicated to notable new perfume releases and brands exhibiting, and Part II is about all the events and extras I enjoyed:
L’Osmotheque Versailles
Osmotheque is simply a category for itself, and I firmly believe it should be placed in a central position in an exhibition hall. They have upgraded their treasure trunk this year with chosen perfumes, but I’m thrilled that they didn’t forget to bring Iris Gris again (and again, and again, and again, please) for me to smell over and over again.
Their exhibition at Esxence Milan 2024 included one perfume I want to discuss: Parfums de Rosine, Le Fruit defendu, 1914. I haven’t had a chance to smell it ever before! Everything about this perfume back then was amazing, including the bottle. But, as it often happens with some perfumes and perfumers being ahead of their time, it didn’t sell well and it was discontinued relatively soon.
Why? Probably because it was a beautiful gourmand scent, not overly complicated, but formulated exquisitely. This is a very feminine fragrance with loads of fruits – done well, with balanced sweetness and a beautiful drydown. I mentioned in my Esxence Milan 2024 report Part I that peach was trending, but oh! It was already a blast in the 1920’ies!
Le Fruit Defendu does peaches & fruits justice! Now, this is a type of gourmand I can stand and wear easily, but I can also see just how revolutionary this might have smelled back in 1914! (Notes probably include aldehydes, apple, peach, plum, coconut, heliotrope, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, tuberose, honey, almond, patchouli, vanilla, sandalwood, and ambergris). What a beautiful creation!
Isabelle Chazot, President of the Scientific Committee/Osmotheque gave a lecture “The challenge of recreating the perfumes of the past for the Osmotheque”, talking about new sections of the olfactory heritage they’ve engaged in, such as historical reconstitutions, heritage smell library, functional perfumery, and about the Nomen Project and the nomenclature (classification of fragrant compositions and perfumes with historical purpose).
We smelled Pino Silvestre 1955, L’Origan Coty 1095, Le Fruit Defendu Parfums de Rosine 1918, the recreation of a Roman fragrance, Regale Unguentum 1st century, and learned how this fragrance was recreated from an old recipe.
You can find all the lectures and panels on YouTube, posted by Esxence Milano 2024.
Givaudan Presentation / Workshop – The Power of Sacred Woods
Eugenie Briot, History & Transmission Project Manager, and Arnaud Guggenbuhl, Global Marketing Insight&Image FF /Givaudan chose to present the following raw materials: Oakwood Extract CO2, a lovely woody material with touches of dried fruit, whiskey, rum, and even some vanilla facets (again, something I can wear), as smelled in – for example – Angles’ Share by Killian.
We also smelled Hinoki Wood Oil from Japan, Cedarwood Atlas NeoAbsolute, Sandalwood Album oil from Australia, Palo Santo (soon to become completely unavailable), and a few perfumes using these raw materials.
Nishane Party & New Perfume Launch
Nishane parties are always a blast, and the Esxence Milan 2024 party was exceptional (again)! We were summoned to a palace (again), this time it was Palazzina Appiani, and wow what a place for a cocktail party! Nishane used to exhibit at Esxence, for years. They have grown over the years, stayed strong, and even opened a flagship store at 266 Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris recently! I am so happy for Murat Katran and Mert Guzel!
The unveiling of Tuberoza X gave us a chance to hang out with Dominique Ropion – and let me stress that this is not just a re-vamp of the NishaneTuberoza you might recall, it’s a completely new fragrance! Notes are Ylang-Ylang, Mandarin Orange, Indian Tuberose, Lipstick, Violet, Sandalwood, Velvet, Amber, and Musk. For all Tuberoze and Ropinion lovers – don’t miss sampling this perfume!
Something else is new and exciting: Shinanay, created by Angelos Balamis!
Shinanay is an extrait, part of the Experimental Collection and an urban and upbeat floral rhapsody. It will be available soon, and I am so proud of Angelos! Congratulations!
Gallivant Stories – Nida, New, Limited Edition Parfum!
It’s always a pleasure to see Nick Steward, but this time he dropped by Esxence Milan 2024 – to share news, meaning samples of a new fragrance: Nida!
Fun fact, and moments that matter: just as I greeted Nick, we met with Darius Krasauskas (@alltomorrowperfumes on IG) – originally from Lithuania – and it was so touching to see his reaction! I saw tears of happiness in his eyes!
Nida is “nature, water, and blue skies…” It is gentle, breezy, gently floral, and oh! Relaxing and refreshing! Coming soon, it’s a limited edition with a special bottle featuring Lithuanian art!
Neshama Perfume
The first time I heard about Neshama Perfume was last year because their Souls on Fire is an Art and Olfaction Awards 2023 Winner. I felt FOMO, I must admit – some years ago all Art and Olfaction Finalists were exhibited during Esxence, and we were able to smell them. This is no longer the case, and now I rarely get a chance to miss all the finalists.
Neshama is a new perfume brand, whose first creations stem from 2022, and the nose is Simon Shaer. When Simon messaged me to meet at Esxence Milan 2024 I was really looking forward to meeting him and getting to know more about the brand.
Simon presented all three fragrances to me: Soul on Fire, Ninth Wave, and Jasmine&Tobacco. I can really understand now why Souls on Fire won, it is a beautiful, atmospheric, mood-enhancing creation that feels like utter content one might feel after spending a beautiful summer day, somewhere where everything is dreamy, glowing softly, and comforting.
I love its muskiness and the feeling of hot earth, warm skin, and tingling herbs in a gentle wind. It has depth, volume, and movement and it’s easy to fall in love with. Highly recommended, you might also consider it Osmanthus-centric, but it really is so much more than just this ingredient. I guess that Soul on Fire might be a bestseller in this collection, but let’s wait and see.
I also enjoyed Ninth Wave, which felt like a great conjunction of sandalwood and oud, but also earthy and with sparkling spicy side-effects, quite woody too, and I couldn’t wait to try Jasmine&Tobacco, because – as you might know, I am a big fan of Jasmine & Cigarettes (ELDO). but this fragrance leans in another direction – Jasmine and Tobacco are there, but never too prominent or overwhelming, and it does have a sparkling quality of a dry incense, and I like the way it shifts from darkness to light, white florals to woody and ambery depths.
Ricardo Ramos Perfumes
During Esxence Milan 2024, I managed to meet with Ricardo and smell a few of his new creations while we were having drinks.
I smelled Mistress Tuberose, a dark and dangerous, juicy and bitter-sweet, fatal lady of the night; Cocotte  Muguet – what a fun creation, Devi (soothing and spiritual), and Trullobello – a lovely cologne! I would say – very classical but with a lemons-dipped-in-salt twist, dedicated to the small Italian city – Alberobello!
Amer Alradhi – MandarOud
Amer is a Saudi Arabian artisan perfumer, with two existing releases: Gardenia Absolute and Arabian Jasmine (this you should try, and I will write about it more!), and now MandarOud is his new release!
Fun fact: while Amer, Seb (The PerfumeGuy), and I were having dinner in a Saudi restaurant in Dubai, Amer was still wondering how to name his new creation. So, we asked him what are the main notes, and he answered – Mandarine and Oud. It was Sebastian who suggested keeping it simple and naming it MandarOUD! You can find him on IG, and his Arabian Jasmine is simply wonderful! Now, that’s an interpretation that makes perfect sense, coming from a true Jasmine lover.
MandarOud is what is claims to be – a happy marriage of mandarine and oud. Solar and shining brightly in the opening, it slowly assimilates with a smooth and warm oud, very embracing, the kind of oud even non-oud people would enjoy. It flows so smoothly, but I suppose I should wait for much warmer days to test it properly!
Amer knows I love dates. Saudi dates, these are the best! So, here I am now drowning in a kg of soft, honeyed, juicy, amazing dates, a present Amer brought me! I hope that he one day creates a date-themed perfume!
Sultan Pasha – Karnal
A carnal carnation, what a beautiful gift for March 8th, when we met. Because you see, International Women’s Date is all about carnation for me, a child raised in a socialist country.
And it took me back to those days when my mother came back home from work with bundles of red carnations, infatuating, intense smelling, red ripples of floral crowns that symbolized happiness, laughter, and the feeling of empowerment!
What a ripe and opulent carnation this is! Deep red, piquant, spicy, with a nose-tingling brightness in the opening, and opulent depths rolling over my skin in multiple layers.
Thank you, Sultan, for the waves of memories, ones I shared with my late mother as a child. It made me laugh and cry at the same time. If I remember correctly, he told me he’s still working on it, but I would say it’s done.
And now, something completely different! And exclusive news, I guess – as far as I can see, no one has published this information yet!
Annindriya / Amsterdam
Tanja is also a chemist and a perfume designer. But now, with Annindriya – something new is soon to be revealed!
I can only recommend you to follow @annindriya on Instagram!
Of course, even with Report Part I and Part II, this is not everything I’ve been up to. Coming up: an exclusive Esxence Milan 2024 interview with a very famous and beloved perfumer! Stay tuned!
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1 Comment
Hi Elena, I discovered your blog today and I love it, I also loved the world of perfumes (I’m illustrator artist) and in your website I discovered very interesting news 🙂
Greetings from Italy, Chiara