Have you noticed that perfumes seem a little boring lately? Does it look like the big firms are re-releasing another copy of last year’s best seller? Do you wonder if they spend more on the advertising than the actual ingredients in the bottle? You are not alone, as a growing trend of savvy smart shoppers go online and have “discovered” niche perfumes and their creators. (See Natural Perfumers Guild).
Howard Jarvis of Bud Parfums noticed this “cheapening” of ingredients as he studied the art of making fine perfumes over the last 10 years. Under the patient tutorship of Jonathon Midgley from Damask Perfumes who together share the passion of fine quality ingredients, they began to reverse the downhill trend and return to traditional fine perfumes. They feel the money spent on making a perfume should be on the best of nature’s raw materials and NOT the ad campaign.
Based in Australia where there is a growing interest in not only planting crops for essential oils, but also a huge amount of research into the Australian native plants both for their fragrances and traditional medicine uses. These oils the world has not seen or even smelt. With enchanting names like “Budhawood”, “Lemon myrtle”, “Lemon scented tea tree”, “Huon pine”, “Western Australian Sandalwood” and “Fire tree oil” as the list grows. Newly discovered (yet, ancient some say 40,000 years old) resins, earthy, woody, fresh lemony, crisp, sharp, tangy wonderful scents.
A Pandora’s Box of treasures for a skilled perfumer. Now take a maverick or avant garde approach and compose perfumes exclusively for customers with whimsical names for a perfume like: ”Ooh La La ” to “Ugly Bastard”. While “Ooh La La” could be a fine French perfume with loads of vanilla, it still carries a dash of the sweet lemon scented tea tree which makes it very different.
Then, make the perfumes affordable by offering them in various sizes so people can buy the quantity that suits their budget. From 2ml vials to 200mls. Next, give people the freedom of choosing both a refill size and refillable bottles, so you can top up your own perfume and not throw away your old bottle. Or, better still buy an exclusive hand blown glass bottle made by a local artist to have a truly unique piece of art. You can now have your very own special perfume (custom blended) in its very own bottle, which no one else in the world has, or choose from the range of limited editions. In the words of Eckhart Tolle, ”You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are!”
Howard has listened to many customers about what they really want in a fine perfume. A yearning for romance, dreams and beautiful memories. It’s about wanting to feel special. A feeling that with all of life’s stresses that everyone deserves a “little” luxury. Meanwhile, Howard Jarvis of Bud Parfums is content that the world will smell a little bit better……