5 Minutes with Renowned Luxury Perfumer, Kilian Hennessy

Last June, we met up with Kilian Paris Founder Kilian Hennessy at a swanky lounge at The Fullerton Bay Hotel to chat with him about his newly-launched fragrance – titled the Blue Moon Ginger Dash. Inspired by his favourite summer cocktail, Hennessy incorporated the sweet medley of lemon, vodka, blue curaçao liquor, and a dash of ginger in the scent to transport us back to warm summer evenings.

"When I create a scent, the inspiration is to always translate an emotion into a scent," says Hennessy. "Cocktails, in general, can be translated into perfume because I usually have the same ingredients. For the Blue Moon Ginger Dash, it’s vodka. It was vodka, lemon, blue curaçao liquor and a dash of ginger, so we have all of these ingredients in perfume."

Tell us about the creative process behind the scent. Is it any different from that of other Kilian Paris fragrances?

I have two collections in the brand. We call one collection the Don't Be Shy collection, where the names are much more emotional. The names already bring a strong emotion to the table, so in my mind, when I have names like that, I always have the notes that I think are going to express that emotion. 

In the case of the Liquor collection, the muse is the liquor. The challenge is to get as close to the liquor itself without having the scent smell entirely like liquor. You don't want to be smelling like gin, as if you've been drunk all day. The challenge is to transcend the liquor and make it into a scent. 

Did you envision the type of individual wearing this scent before creating it?

Never. My perfumes are unisex, so I never create for men or for women. My only obsession is to express the emotion carried by the name and do it in a way where in the end, it doesn't resemble any creation before me. And that it has the level of protection and diffusion that customers require today. 

There's a quote by Mozart. When someone asked him what his creative process was, he said, “I look for little notes that love each other.” And we go exactly the same way about perfume.

What are your top three go-to Kilian Paris scents? 

Good Girl Gone Bad, Angels’ Share and Don’t Be Shy. They are my top three in every country, which I think is fascinating. Good Girl Gone Bad is a bouquet of flowers wrapped in a cocoon of white musk; so there’s jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, and rose. Angels’ Share is a cognac-driven scent; it’s very woodsy, oaky, spicy, and full of cinnamon. Don’t Be Shy deals with orange blossom. Three completely different scents.

Which one's your favourite? 

Angels’ Share because it's my most personal one. It took me 12 years to create it, so this one has a special meaning in my heart.

How does Blue Moon Ginger Dash complement other olfactory ranges in the Kilian Paris family? Can it be layered with any?

I have one rule when it comes to perfume and that rule is: There is no rule. You do whatever you want, whatever works for you. In the Middle East, for example, they layer six to seven scents. Not only perfume, they layer with shampoo, which gives them a scent, a shower gel with a different scent, and then a body lotion. After that, they apply a perfume base. Usually, it's a white musk scent and then they apply another layer, followed by their pulse point. It is unique as the scents they choose themselves are very different and specific to them, and having an olfactory identity that is unique is the most important. 

Personally, I never layer. I like the perfumes the way I created them. If I felt like something was missing, I would have never stopped where I was. I would’ve added something. But some people showed me how they layer my perfume and it works great for them. 

I did create a perfume called Musk Butterfly. I don't know if it's sold in Singapore, but it is a white musk, a floral, transparent scent that Middle Eastern people use as a base. When you apply the Musk Butterfly and layer another scent, the Musk Butterfly amplifies your scent. 

Talking about Middle Eastern likes and preferences, have you noticed a difference in how they use perfume versus how others do it?

Middle Easterns do seven. Americans and Europeans do just one. It's so rare that I hear someone in Europe say “I combine the two”. 

Personally, what do you look for when you're choosing a luxury scent? 

I would look for uniqueness. I would not go towards the classic luxury perfume companies like Dior, Chanel or Saint Laurent because those perfumes are worn by millions of men and women, so I know I'm not going to be unique. I would look for smaller houses where I would try to find different perfumes that suit different occasions and moments of the year; spring, summer, autumn and winter, so you’re not wearing the same scents. 

If you are going to work like this today, maybe you want something a bit more fluid; a perfume that is going to work well in different environments. If you go on a date, I think you’ll want a perfume that is maybe a little stronger so that the person you're going on a date with will remember you or the scent you wore. But if you’re casually reading on a Sunday at home, you don't want a strong scent. Maybe you want something cool and fresh; something that's not too overwhelming. 

I think we should all have an arsenal. You are not the same person on everyday occasions. And that's why I like the night so much, because I feel like during the day, we all kind of endorse a personality that is not entirely you, but it's more the sanity that you have to express in your work environment. But at night, you’re free to be yourself, to explore more unique traits of your personality.