Sandra‘s Closet

October is breast cancer awareness month and this year marks Estée Lauder‘s 25th anniversary of the iconic Pink Ribbon collection, a special range of beauty products with 20 per cent of the profits donated to research. A movement that started with one woman, Evelyn H. Lauder in 1992, The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign was born when the visionary became troubled by the lack of awareness, funding and resources necessary to overcome the disease.

Evelyn H. Lauder co-created the pink ribbon 25 years ago.

In the beginning, the brand started the campaign by handing out pink ribbons at its beauty counters around the world, and one year later, Lauder went on to establish the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), a non-profit organisation, to generate funding that would be solely dedicated to the study of the disease. A quarter of a century later, The Estée Lauder Companies’ beauty brands – among them La Mer, DKNY, Jo Malone London, Tom Ford Beauty just to name a few – continue to create a breast cancer-free world by raising funds.

Interesting to know is that a touch of blue in the design represents the less than 1% of men who are diagnosed with breast cancer. For more information on The Breast Cancer Campaign, visit bcacampaign.com.

For more information on the Pink Ribbon products, click here please.

By shopping one of the specially created products, you can support the campaign. Moreover for every post on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtags #PinkRibbon25 and #ELCdonates @bcacampaign until October 31, 2017, The Estée Lauder Companies will donate $25 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to fund a half-hour of breast cancer research. The goal is to finance 500 hours worth $25.000.

Time to end breast cancer!

LoL, Sandra

My Instagram post with my beloved Advanced Night Repair in pink by Estée Lauder.

Photos: Courtesy of The Estée Lauder Companies and © Sandra Bauknecht

Lately, I was invited by Perfumery Osswald in Zurich and had the amazing honor to have dinner with Frédéric Malle, a very captivating and inspirational gentleman, a father of four, and the man behind the niche fragrance house Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle. Born in 1962, he grew up immersed in the world of perfumery (his grandfather Serge Heftler-Louiche founded Christian Dior Perfumes, and Frédéric’s mother later worked as an Art Director for the same perfume house) and has a deep knowledge of raw materials, fragrance structure and accords that he shared with me that night. His ‘Editions’ collection includes scents by distinguished noses including Dominique Ropion, Jean-Claude Ellena and Pierre Bourdon.

With Frédéric Malle at dinner at the Widder hotel.

Malle studied art history and economics at New York University. In 1988, he began his career at Roure Bertrand Dupont, the prestigious perfume laboratory. After working in the industry for more than 12 years, Frederic was ready to embark on a new adventure.

4 of his first launched perfumes in 2000: Lipstick Rose (Ralf Schwieger), Musc Ravager (Maurice Roucel), En Passant (Olivia Giacobetti) and Une Fleur de Cassie (Dominique Ropion).

In 2000, using his connections and experience in the industry, Frédéric invited nine top perfumers to design their own original perfumes with no restrictions, not even financially regarding their ingredients they chose. Thanks to Frédéric Malle, the return to luxury perfumery took place at the beginning of our century. In an era in which most companies put more importance on brand names, Malle brought the attention back to the product itself: perfume.

Until today, through a simple “back to basics” approach, Editions de Parfums is challenging all prevailing trends. Frédéric Malle’s contribution to the creation of the different fragrances sold under Editions de Parfums varies depending on the perfumers’ desire. Perfumers appeal to him to assess their work in progress and to share ideas.

These fragrances are packaged in bottles that feature the name of the perfumer—a first in the industry, where the perfumer is traditionally behind the scenes and credit for the scent is given to the fashion house or celebrity on the bottle. While we were talking during dinner, I could sense that Frédéric Malle is very fond of Dominique Ropion‘s work. The two of them seem to build an amazing team.

The development of a signature scent is a lengthy process, generally lasting between 6 and 18 months. Each fragrance starts with an idea, an “olfactive sketch,” which can either take the form of a material base – the mix of two or three raw materials, like colors in an abstract painting – or of an initial feeling, the desire to translate or convey a specific emotion. From there, the perfumers gradually build a full-scale composition, tinkering and problem-solving until a perfect balance is achieved. The challenge is to polish and perfect without losing the impact and personality of the original idea.

“Eliminate all that is superfluous or merely decorative” – this, Frédéric Malle’s credo, is the only rule imposed on the house perfumers. Malle requests that each fragrance be designed to uniquely merge with the wearer’s skin rather than to just be a “pretty scent.”

Designer Frédéric Malle has more than 25 perfumes available at the moment, made in collaboration with perfumers Jean-Claude Ellena, Dominique Ropion, Maurice Roucel, Bruno Jovanovic, Carlos Benaim, Olivia Giacobetti, Pierre Bourdon, Edmond Roudnitska, Ralf Schwieger, Edouard Flechier, Michel Roudnitska and Sophia Grojsman.

New investments under the new helmet: Frédéric Malle’s London store at 14, Burlington Arcade.

Two years ago, The Estée Lauder Companies acquired Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle.

Frédéric Malle said about his decision to sell part of his company: “The Estée Lauder Companies has great respect for the art of perfumery and for the creativity, dedication and mastery required to create truly exceptional fragrance experiences. The company’s commitment to a high standard of excellence and ability to support the growth of entrepreneurial concepts in a way that preserves all that is unique and special makes The Estée Lauder Companies the ideal partner for us.”

A truly inspirational creator and a real business man!

TO SHOP FREDERIC MALLE ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.
In Switzerland a large selection is available at Perfumery Osswald in Zurich.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Frédéric Malle and © Sandra Bauknecht, via Mr Porter