For the third year, the Six Scents Parfums fragrance initiative brings the experience
of creativity with a conscience to the world through a collection of six
unisex scents. These limited edition fragrances (only 3000 bottles of each fragrance were made) are designed to represent a global range of contemporary view. This time around, Six Scents: Series Three, “is an exploration into the nature of childhood memories and the influence of adolescence on identity.”
The Co-Founder & Collection Curarator Joseph Quratana describes the designer selection as, “We choose the rising stars of the fashion industry who will one day be big enough to have their own fragrance but who are too small to have it just
yet. So we steal from the future and offer it now.” And I definitely have to agree, the designers chosen, represent some of my favorite fashion superstars of tomorrow. The designers include Mary Katrantzou, Rad Hourani, Alexis Mabille, Junn.J, N.Hoolywood, and Ohne Titel in collaboration with perfumers from
Givaudan.
So I made my way downtown to 3LD on a Friday evening to a space that had elements of stark contrast. The super brightly lit, super white hall that had a space age vibe and the main party room where there were 6 types of cocktails being served in a large dark space. There was a DJ spinning fun tracks (I caught some Miike Snow) and 6 lit tables that had the fragrances available to test & experience. Tavi Gevinson was one of the party hosts but I never caught a glimpse of her. Perhaps she stuck to the bright hallway?
While I am no fragrance connoisseur I made my way down the tables twice with a friend to try and distinguish all the unique elements that we smelled in each fragrance.
Beau Bow – Alexis Mabille & :Strong Citrus base. Very fresh with woodsy notes and hints of fruit (pear/apricot) with a soft powder finish. My personal favorite.
Trompe L’oeil – Mary Kantrantzou: Strong Vanilla base. Smells very warm like sweet marshmallows and hints of cinnamon and cedar. Comforting smell. The designer says of the fragrance, "I remembered burnt matches, baked cake and the smell of clean hair from my youth."
Can’t Smell Fear – Juun J: Cedar base with a musk, spicy smell that smells very masculine. Would love to smell this on a man.
Ascent – Raad Hourani: Smells like soap, very clean and fresh like detergent with notes of pear and flowers. My second favorite. The designer states, "I used the smells of sperm, baby powder, leather and incense to mark life's moments."
#87 – N. Hoolywood: Smells very green. Like walking in the woods and fresh cut grass, hints of lemongrass. Super masculine “I am man” kind of smell
M – Ohne Titel: Smells very musky, spice heavy and exotic. There is a familiarity to the fragrance but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s like smelling the world through someone’s cloak. You can still smell everything but not know everything that you are experiencing. Notes of lilac and lemon. Alexa Adams (half of the design duo) says the fragrance is al about "cigarette smoke and concrete…It was all about that first time going out somewhere forbidden."
The perfume retails for $149 per bottle and comes in a keepsake box with an individually numbered bottle, an exclusive portrait by Robert Knoke and DVD with the Six Scents: Series Three documentary and short films exclusively commissioned from Alia Raza (story edited by Tavi Gevinson and starring Julia Restoin-Roitfeld), Rainer Judd, Olaf Breuning, Sue De Beer, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, Heather Sommerfeld, Tim Richardson, Lucas Michael and James Widegren. 
You can also feel good knowing that a percentage of proceeds will go towards the charity War Child International, which works with children all over the world to reduce poverty, to provide education and to defend their rights.
Beginning in November 2010 and culminating in February 2011, global launch
events for Series Three will be held in key cities including New York,
Paris, Seoul, Paris and Beijing. Some of the worldwide retailers include Seven New York, Opening Ceremony (New York), The Standard hotels, Lucky Scent (Los Angeles), Liberty of London, Colette (Paris), 10 Corso Como (Seoul & Milan), Adelaide (Tokyo), Assin (Melbourne, Australia), Club 21 (Singapore) and Joyce (Hong Kong).
