‘Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty’: Aesop’s new floral perfume Aurner refuses to conform

It’s been ten years since Aesop launched Tacit, a perfume created by French nose Céline Barel. Last week, I met with Barel in Paris at Aesop’s Rue de Sevres store to mark the imminent debut of Aurner, her second fragrance for the brand. In contrast to Tacit’s citrussy notes, Aurner is a floral composition; its name comes from an Old Norse verb meaning ‘to be adorned, to be embellished with flowers’.

However, in keeping with the contemporary codes of Aesop, there is nothing florid or frou frou to be found in a bottle of Aurner, with Barel using the magnolia leaf, rather than its petals, as its hero ingredient. Cardamom, pink pepper, cedar heart and the ‘metallic’ aroma of roman chamomile provide nuance and complexity. (It is described by Aesop as a ‘subversive’ and ‘defiant bloom’, attributes which Bangkok-based fine jewellery designer Pattaraphan Salirathavibhaga has also interpreted into a limited run of bespoke rhodium-plated silver Aurner ear cuffs).

In the below conversation, Céline Barel shares the story of how Aurner was brought to life.

Aesop’s Aurner: a new floral perfume by Céline Barel

Wallpaper*: What first drew you to perfume-making?

Céline Barel: I am what you might call appellation d’origine contrôlée; because I’m a perfumer and I was born and raised in Grasse. (In my generation of perfumers, this is especially rare). As a child, I soaked in the atmosphere of Grasse, even though I didn’t grow up with a perfumer in the family. But, my nanny's husband used to work in one of the biggest factories in the town and whenever he would come back home at the end of the day, it was like he had almost bathed in perfume ingredients, such as ylang-ylang, patchouli and vetiver. I began collecting miniature bottles of perfume and I would enjoy describing how they smelled. Growing up in the 1980s, the bottles were like sculptures. It was also a time when you had the most marvellous and breathtaking perfume advertising campaigns. This is how I gained a huge knowledge of the perfume market, just through fragrance being a hobby and passion of mine.

W*: What was your first professional experience in the perfume industry?

CB: I wanted to take business studies at university, because I wanted to be on the brand side of perfumery, doing the marketing, building all those dreams. So, I did internships at different houses, including Dior and Chanel. But it was during an internship at Manne, which is another fragrance creation house, that I really discovered the backstage of perfumery. It was something that seemed so inaccessible, as in France you have to have studied chemistry, not business. But it was International Flavors and Fragrances, who gave me my chance, when it re-opening its internal perfumery school in Italy. They accepted just a few people onto the course and I was one of the lucky few and trained there for three years before moving to New York. I stayed there for 16 years before returning to Paris four years ago.

W*: How did you first come to work with Aesop?

CB: It was a very long process, but a natural and authentic one. It all started nearly 20 years ago when I met Dennis Paphitis, the founder of Aesop, here in Paris. I was fresh out of perfume school. We bonded over a mutual love of literature and philosophy. Also how we both loved travelling off the beaten track and preferred the ‘weirder’ things in life. So, we kept the conversation going. Sometimes he would be travelling and send me, without any context or a written letter, some elements of his trip: dried herbs, a particular bark of wood, spice, some Pantone colours. And I think this way, he was slowly shaping my creative process with Aesop. In 2012, seven years after we first met, he briefed me for Tacit. It then took a further three years to create due to his unique briefing process. We always start with a blank page. Then there will be a song, a colour, a film – and so on – that forms the inspiration for a perfume.

W*: And was the process the same for Aurner, too?

CB: It was rigorous. I always knew this was going to be a floral perfume. A ‘genderless’ floral perfume. There is a quote from Baudelaire that I love: ‘Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty’. This is how I approached its creation. Aesop is a brand that is rooted in antiquities and the meaningful quest for beauty. But at the same time, it’s a contemporary brand inspired by art and design, movements such as Minimalism and Brutalism. I had to find a way to make a floral perfume that felt in keeping with this universe. The song Lilac Wine by Nina Simone was a starting point for Aurner. When you’re listening to the song, it’s a bit melancholy. And there is a huge depth in it through her voice. There’s almost a ‘gong’ sound; a metallic vibration. But it is soothing, calming… Not strident or sharp. This song helped me to understand the tension and contrast required in Aurner; opposing the luminosity and the fragility of a flower with something deeper.

W*: How did you arrive at the final ingredients and notes in Aurner?

CB: We didn’t want to go down the route of rose, tuberose, or jasmine, for example. It was important to choose an ‘anti-conformist’ floral. Once we defined that the hero ingredient would be the magnolia, we subverted this by using the leaf and not the flower. Then, we had to find that element of ‘strangeness’, which comes from the chamomile; a ‘metallic’ sensation, so cold that it burns. I also used patchouli crystals together with cedar wood heart and sandalwood to give Aurner texture and strength. This woody background, by necessity, had to be very strong to become the backbone of the fragrance. And provide longevity; a vibration that would be working over many hours. But at the same time, I wanted a woody accord that could feel like it was disappearing and almost subliminal. Then, the inclusions of geranium, petit grain and neroli, which are Aesop signatures, anchor Aurner with a touch of familiarity.

W*: What are you most excited about in the world of perfume at the moment?

CB: I’m excited about the development of new ingredients and molecules, which allow a perfumer to innovate. There are exciting new geographic zones to be explored in countries such as South Korea, for example. But the most exciting part, I would say, is in working with different brands. Working with Aesop, and with Dennis, has had a huge impact on me. He’s one of the people in my life that really shaped me – a true mentor.

When you’re collaborating with a brand it is important to remember that you are not creating a fragrance for yourself. It’s for the customer and their consumer. I tend to lean towards the maximalist, rather than the minimalist. But Aesop has opened my eyes to other horizons, thanks to the briefs I was given for Tacit and Aurner. In a way, when I create a perfume it is almost like I’ve been an actor, getting under the the skin of a character. And the character is the brief; the story that is being told. I spend a few years with that character in my mind, writing dialogues between ingredients. When the process is over, you feel a bit blue – like an actor does when they say goodbye to a character they’ve been portraying. But, you’re also so happy to see it come to life and hopefully become immortalised by the people wearing it.

Aesop Aurner eau de parfum, £145, is available now. The Aurner ear cuff by Patcharavipa Bodiratnangkura is available at select Aesop stores in a limited edition run of 200 pieces.

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