A bespoke composition starts with what you bring – a memory, a place, a person, a mood you can't quite name. The process scales with the scope. Some sittings happen in a single afternoon with two materials and a small flacon. Others are five sittings over two months and end with a 30ml bottle and a printed formula card.
A first conversation, in Darmstadt or by video. You bring a starting point – a place, a memory, a perfume you used to wear, a problem you're trying to solve with a scent. I listen and ask questions. We end with a working brief.
I pull materials from the bench and we smell through them together. You react – interesting, uncomfortable, familiar, indifferent. From those reactions, I sketch a first composition. It's rarely the final shape.
We meet again, smell the draft, talk about what works and what doesn't. I adjust. Two to four iterations is typical, depending on how far the first draft is from the brief.
Once the composition is settled, I make a final batch, let it age for at least two weeks, and bottle it. You receive a flacon and a printed card with the exact formula – every material, percentage, origin, age. The perfume is yours, fully documented.
The same composition can be delivered in different bases, and we choose together.
Close-to-skin intimacy. A soft, warm feel on the skin. Good for everyday wear and tactile rituals.
Similar feel to jojoba, with excellent shelf life. A practical base for compositions you want to keep for years.
The strongest projection. Lets us work with a slightly wider range of materials – more volatile top notes can come forward that don't quite work in an oil base.
A pear tree in July
A commission for a friend that started as a chat with Joy and a brief that wasn't quite possible in naturals. It became a simple Jasmine sambac and Neroli composition in jojoba — and later grew a pear.
Read the case →An anchor
A scent to hold space while working, resting, meditating. Frankincense, nagarmotha, and sandalwood, with a three-week-old oolong tea tincture as the personal voice. Currently macerating.
Read the case →An idea sitting on the bench: iris butter, rose de mai, cocoa absolute, sandalwood and vetiver. Not yet made; the percentages are unrealistic. The one we want to make next.
Read the case →A short note about what you're hoping for. We answer within two working days.