A Special "Nose"
I recently had a conversation with a friend of a friend,
Judi Bradbury, who is indeed one of these fine noses, and has just set up a
business matching fine fragrances to individuals who want something more than
just a bottle of perfume.
“Most people buy their fragrances in a department store or
duty free airport shop – or possibly even smell something they like on other
people,” said Judi, “but I spend time with the client to understand what they
like and then find a perfume which is more of a signature fragrance for them.”
Working with Penhaligans, the English perfumers, Judi spent
many years honing her craft working with the finest ingredients, a tradition
she is carrying on today. “I am now
working with a number of genuinely creative artisan perfumers who have created
a wonderful collection of unusual fragrances which are not readily available in
the shops.
“They are niche brands which the artisans individually
create, and they steadfastly refuse to mass produce their products, because
they are passionate about quality.”
Judi’s work as a fragrance profiler is conducted from a
studio in her home in rural Cambridgeshire.
She will work with her clients to match them to a fragrance from her niche
collection of fine and unusual fragrances.
She finds out what kind of smells her clients like, using individual
scents, allowing them the luxury of time and indulgence as she allows the scent
to develop over an hour or two.
“I like to make it a relaxing experience, with a glass of
bubbly, making sure that I pay attention to detail and listen to what the
client wants. Most perfume shops give
you a quick spritz and expect you to make your mind up straight away, but
perfumes need to develop on the skin to get the true fragrance.
“Smells are evocative and can conjure up memories of happy
times, of nostalgic eras, of people no longer in our lives, memories and
special occasions. Fragrances can also affect how we feel and can lift your
spirit and lighten your mood.”
Some of the wonderful fragrances which Judi works with are traditional
French scents from perfume houses with a wonderful heritage of creating beautiful
fragrances, including Illuminum White Gardenia – which media outlets claim Kate Middleton wore on her wedding day – Bois which
was voted the best perfume house in the world by the perfume industry, and two
recently re-launched brands – Molinard (established in 1849) and Le Galion.
Other brands have wonderful stories attached to them. One of these is “Eight and Bob” – the story
of US President JFK who visited France as a student in 1937 and got chatting to
socialite and perfumer Albert Fouquet,
who gave him a sample of the fragrance he wore.
Back in the US he wrote to Fouquet asking him to send eight
bottles for himself and friends, and a bottle for his younger brother Bob
(Robert Kennedy). With his attention to detail, Fouquet reproduced the box to
exactly match the shirt JFK was wearing when they met. Fouquet was killed shortly afterwards and sometime
later, during the second world war, the family butler, Philippe, who had
assisted Fouquet in creating the unique fragrance, recreated it and instead of
sending it in boxes, he carved out books to hide the bottles from the Nazis.
That could have been the end of the story, but the family has since recreated
the fragrance which is now on sale – in book shaped boxes.
History told through fine fragrance
Going further back in time, Napoleon was a great advocate of
fragrances and was a huge fan of Francoise Rance, whose descendant Jeanne
Sandra Rance has also re-created the great Frenchman’s fragrance. Apparently he liked wife Josephine to smell
“au naturelle” though she favoured the fragrance of jasmine.
Another more modern fragrance which Judi has in her
exquisite collection is Bal A Versailles by Jean Desprez, loved and worn by
both Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor, and liberally used by actress Joan
Collins during her Dynasty days (for those of us who are old enough to remember
the TV series).
Back to Judi and her wonderfully fragrant studio – at the Chestnut Retreat - personal
consultations are available and she also loves to talk about perfumes. Your individual profiling consultation offers
a unique and insightful olfactory journey to discover your fragrance
preferences.
A few of my perfumes - some inexpensive fragrances up to my own favourites - Jo Malone's Lime, Basil and Mandarin, Viktor and Rolfe's Flower Bomb and Tom Ford's Black Orchid
She works with the world’s finest fragrances, and once
profiled, the selection process will narrow down to three elite preferences
that are tried on your pulse points to see how they dry and settle to your
natural skin type which will determine your signature scent. These fragrances are
not available on the high street and cost between £95 and £295 – but worth it
to know that you have a fragrance for life which is totally “you”.
She also “scents” venues for special occasions, including
weddings, and can also make up your signature fragrance into candles for your
home – a truly decadent option.
Judi's website can be found here.
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