Renegade Faces
Renegade Faces

Project Renegades is definitely a brand that packs a punch. I mean, let’s talk about the avatar in the room here and just acknowledge the fact that the bottles are presented with detachable magnets fashioned into caricatures of three iconic perfumers. The visual impact is cacophonous and bold, with shiny kaleidoscope-printed boxes, bullet holes and of course, those detachable magnetic caricatures of the perfumers… All of this comes right out to say that this brand and its perfumers are gonna do whatever the heck they like. In an industry that often relies on the same old formulaic way of making and launching perfume, we can only give Project Renegades kudos for bucking the trend.

With Project Renegades, three of the industry’s most iconic cult perfumers have teamed up to create a trio of olfactory cowboys who are going to swagger into town to teach them there locals about how perfume should be done proper, you hear. They are Mark Buxton, the man behind so many of Comme des Garçons’ cult fragrances, Bertrand Duchaufour, the world’s most prolific and varied perfumer, and Geza Schoen, the nose responsible for Escentric Molecules (I like to call him ‘Molecule Man’). The idea is to do something exciting with perfume and allow the perfumers to just make whatever the heck they want to without the constraints of marketing briefs, focus groups or trends. The results are unexpected.

Le Cinéma Olfactif - Movies Capture in Scent by Folie À Plusieurs
Le Cinéma Olfactif – Movies Capture in Scent by Folie À Plusieurs

Perfume is so often sold as a gimmick hiding behind a loose concept, so it’s quite easy to become despondent and bored of the lengths niche brands will go to fill a gap in the market. We’ve got to the point where we have perfumes named after blood types and fragrances bottled in flacons crafted in the shape of the human heart, for Pete’s sake. I get that a brand needs to have an identity, and needs to say something unique, but so often the result is nothing more than pretentious fluff that is more style than substance – a fatal flaw of the industry.

That said, every now and then, a brand comes along with a solid concept that is executed to perfection, and most importantly, ties in with the juices in the bottles. Germany brand, Folie À Plusieurs is one such instance of substance working in tandem with style, and their fragrances are as strong as the concept from which they were born. The fragrances are inspired by great works of cinema and aim to capture in scent, specific moments in movies that are poignant, whether that be because they are beautiful and moving, or even because they challenge or disturb.

The five scents in the collection are created by rebellious perfumer Mark Buxton – the man behind Comme des Garçons’ great works (CDG Eau de Parfum, 2 & 2 Man etc.) and Le Labo’s Vetiver 46, and are easily some of his best works. Inspired by memorable moments in Michel Gondry’s Mood Indigo, Sion Sono’s Love Exposure, Matthieu Kassovitz’s La Haine and Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, Folie À Plusieurs oeuvre opens up a world where cinema and fragrance meet in a collision of senses, resulting in a whirlwind of experiences that really strike a chord with the viewer/sniffer. Be prepared for some NSFW content below the jump…

Mark Buxton Perfumes

This week on the Escentual blog I take a look at the newly arrived Mark Buxton collection. Those of you who are familiar with Buxton’s work will now that he is a perfumer of great standing, having created fragrances for brands such as Comme des Garçons, Van Cleef & Arpels and Salvador Dali.

The five perfumes in his collection are intriguing to say the least, with some being quite un-Buxton-esque in their style. So, please click on the image above to head over to Escentual and read my take on Sexual Healing, Sleeping With Ghosts, Wood & Absinth, Devil in Disguise and Black Angel – oh and don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments box whilst you are there!