Lauder told WWD, "One of my earliest memories is fragrance. When I think about certain people and moments in my life, fragrance is always involved - whether it’s going for a bike ride and smelling honeysuckle for the first time or gardenias in my hair when I got married. They all evoke memories and stories and moods.” That's not surprising. Many of us have early memories of scents, perhaps our mother's favorite perfume or the flowers that bloomed outside our homes.
Lauder wanted to create a whole wardrobe of fragrances. She worked with Firmenich, a storied perfume company, to create the scents. Her attention to detail is evident, even down to the fragrance boxes, which feature patterns used in Lauder’s fabric license with Lee Jofa. Each glass bottle is topped by a different colored stone that incorporates the color of one of the ingredients in the juice (the bottles remind me slightly of Armani Privé bottles): green for Gardenia Rattan, pale brown for Amber Musk, pink for Lilac Path, white for Ikat Jasmine, and purple for Evening Rose.
Amber Musk is inspired by winter. It blends ambrox, coconut water, rose centifolia absolute, benzoin, and musk. The carton features the Aerin for Lee Jofa design, “Kenlyn,” a personal take on the floral prints that were always part of her grandmother’s home decor. The print is an adaptation of a French document in the Lee Jofa archive that features two birds among exotic flowers and foliage.
Lilac Path was inspired by the lilac bush that blooms at Estée Lauder’s summer cottage. It combines lilac with galbanum, creamy jasmine lactones, angelica seed oil, and orange flower. The carton features the Aerin for Lee Jofa design, “Marila,” which combines two unique designs to create a signature batik.
Ikat Jasmine is intended to personify a modern woman - effortless style and intriguing femininity. Key notes are jasmine sambac and jasmine Egypt infusion, combined with exotic tuberose fleur, honeysuckle, tuberose infusion, and sandalwood. I can smell it from here. Its outer packaging was inspired by the blue and white floral wallpaper in Lauder’s childhood bedroom.
Evening Rose is meant to be a day-to-night fragrance. Juicy blackberry and rich cognac are blended with voluptuous rose centifolia and Bulgarian rose absolute and incense. The outer box is of the Aerin for Lee Jofa “Hither” pattern, which was adapted from an English Jacobean hand-blocked linen from the Lee Jofa archive, dating back to the early twentieth century.
Each of the scents will retail for $110 for a 50-ml bottle. In the U.S., they will be available at about 100 stores, including Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks Fifth Avenue. They will also be available at Holt Renfrew in Canada and Selfridges, Brown Thomas and John Lewis in the U.K., as well as on Esteelauder.com and Aerin.com. I can't wait!
Photos and descriptions courtesy of WWD
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