What’s the noun for a collective of perfumers? An accord? A nosegay? Or simply: Essential Parfums…?

On The Scent Editor Jo Fairley talks to Géraldine Archimbault, who has brought together an A-team of perfumers – above – to create sensational fragrances at non-bank-breaking prices. (Hallelujah.)

Stellar scents from Essential Parfums’ stellar perfumer line-up

There is certainly no shortage of people happy to splash out £300+ on a fragrance, as you’ll see with your own eyes when shopping in any department store or upscale perfumery. (And we have certainly succumbed ourselves, when falling in love with fragrances.)

But Géraldine Archimbault spotted a niche within niche – ‘an empty space, in terms of price-point,’ she says. ‘I truly wanted to democratise the perfume industry without cutting the essential – which is the essence, the juice. That is my priority, at the beginning and the end of the day – and it’s the secret of our success.’

Essential Parfums launched in 2018, and has been sold here in several savvy scent boutiques, including Parfum Le Dance and Jovoy. Now, the collection has arrived at John Lewis, where it’s been flying off the shelves.

A Selfridges launch is to follow, showcasing Essential Parfums’ first gourmand, by Jordí Fernàndez, just one of the ‘star’ perfumers recruited by Géraldine for her brand. The line-up reads like the ‘Who’s Who’ of perfumery – above, left to right, Bruno Jovanovic, Nathalie Lorson, Géraldine herself, Anne Flipo, Calice Becker, Antoine Maisondieu, Sophie Labbé, Quentin Bisch, Natalie Gracia-Cetto and Fabrice Pellegrin. (Only missing from the photo are Dominique Ropion, and the late Olivier Pescheux, who created Divine Vanille for the range.)

It was of course Frédéric Malle who really brought the perfumers out of the shadows in 2000, putting their name on the bottles. Revolutionary! And unquestionably, a gesture which helped to kickstart the boom in perfumery that continues to amplify, every day. Today – cue another French perfume revolution – it’s happening with a collection that will set you back just £86 for 100ml eau de parfum.

But it certainly takes guts to go knocking on the doors of some of the biggest fragrance houses in the world – Givaudan, Firmenich – asking to work with their top names. As it happens, Géraldine Archimbault grew up almost as perfume royalty; as she once said, she almost ‘bathed in perfume’. In the 1970s, her parents worked for Rochas – in its Madame Rochas/Femme heyday – before founding their own fragrance house, Aubusson Parfums. It was there that Géraldine cut her teeth, making contacts in the fragrance world that have helped her to create her own line. ‘I’ve known Nathalie Lorson for 20 years, Sophie Labbé for a very long time…’ she explains.

But while Géraldine’s name may initially have opened that door, she says, ‘I had to sell myself, before they said “yes” to the project.’ They duly did. Today, there are 11 fragrances in the range, produced wherever possible with sustainability in mind, and minimally – if beautifully – packaged. The square bottles are uniform, while feeling pleasingly hefty. But there’s no crunchy (throwaway) cellophane, and the box itself is created from layers of cardboard, secured by a ‘belt’ label. All of the investment, then, can go into the fragrances themselves.

‘For each perfumer, I give a direction,’ Géraldine explains – essential (sorry), to avoid an overlap in the range. ‘They need a framework. Imagine saying to an artist: “Do me a painting.” That’s too wide a brief.’

Among what is one heck of a line-up (all genderless), the bestseller has become Quentin Bisch’s Bois Impérial, whose success is underlined by the offering of many different layering options (not yet widely in store in the UK, but we have fingers crossed). Spicy with Thai basil and a nose-tingling note of Timut pepper, we find Haitian vetiver accented by cedarwood-adjacent Georgywood. The vibe is ultimately seriously woody, with the scent tethered by Akigalawood – an upcycled ingredient from patchouli – alongside an Indonesian oil of patchouli, all enfolded in Ambrofix.

Citrus, fig, roses… Cliché as it is, there is something for every fragrance-lover save the gourmand-lover (who only has to wait till July for Ambre Latte). ‘For Rose Magnetic, I knew I wanted to work with Sophie Labbé,’ Géraldine recalls. ‘She is quite simply the master of flowers. But actually, roses aren’t that easy to make; you smell a lot of awful roses! I wanted something a bouquet that you throw in the air.’ Sophie added peppermint for freshness, lychee for a juicy twist, a cedarwood that almost hums, wrapped in soft musks, and there are two different rose notes, here: Rose Essential™ LMR and the natural Turkish Rose Absolute LMR – both from LMR Naturals, sourced via projects which help local communities to enjoy a better, more stable income – which in turn is what helps them plan for the future.

My own personal favourite, if I’m allowed to share, is a banging patchouli – Patchouli Mania, by Fabrice Pellegrin. ‘I knew I wanted a patchouli, and it’s Fabrice’s favourite ingredient. I wanted something that smelled like the actual leaves of the plant…’ A little bit chocolate-y, a lot woody, and altogether world-class, I’d call it. (Always a divisive note, patchouli – but lovers will love.)

Our recommendation, always, is to spring for the Discovery Set, in order to work your way through the collection in a relaxed way, en route to finding your match. (Find it below, very reasonably priced at £25 for 11 × 2ml eau de parfums). But don’t be surprised if you can’t settle on just one from the collection; as yet, even Géraldine hasn’t quite identified which is her favourite. ‘I genuinely work them all. I have them in my bathroom, and I simply ask myself: “Who do I want to be today…?”’

The bottom line: haute perfumery at not-so-haute prices is surely welcome, for all of us, allowing us to expand our fragrance wardrobes without having to take on a side-hustle to fund our passion.

Merçi, Essential Parfums.

Essential Parfums Discovery Set/£25 – buy here

(To find the other fragrances online, priced £86 for 100ml eau de parfum, click on the names above.)