Perfume is Pleasure

The Fragrance Foundation is the non-profit educational arm of the international fragrance industry. Rochelle Bloom has been President of Foundation since 2001. Before that, she had a rich corporate career in beauty and fragrance. In 1979, she launched Prescriptives and served as its Vice President and General Manager for seven years, building it into a major cosmetics brand. In 1986, Rochelle was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Manager of Estée Lauder International, where she tripled sales and quadrupled profit in her 13-year tenure. Under the Lauder umbrella, Rochelle also served as President of Bobbi Brown Professional Cosmetics, Inc., ushered the brand to its position of global prestige.

Perfume is Pleasure: What makes you most proud about the fragrance industry?

Rochelle:  I think the collaborative nature of the industry, which are strong competitors, but always think of themselves as an extended family and reach out to each other very often. It is not cut throat!

Perfume is Pleasure:  How are you seeing the industry innovate to assure that consumers continue to enjoy scent even in today’s challenging economic climate?

Rochelle:  Right now, the industry is in the mode of learning as much as possible about the (new) consumer, their desires and needs, and how they can remain relevant during these times. We realize that sampling takes on new meaning and smaller sizes are also important. It is a new business model that we all have to understand and accept before forging ahead.

Perfume is Pleasure:  What has given you most hope for the industry?

Rochelle:  Companies’ willingness to change. They are more willing to listen and learn from the consumer. In the past, the marketers thought they knew all of the answers. In this environment, the rules are broken and they are willing to start again. What is hopeful is that out of bad times comes good…even brilliant ideas. I am hopeful this will be the case in the Fragrance Industry.

Perfume is Pleasure:  For a long time, we’ve seen consumers behind the scenes with movies and into the kitchen with celebrity chefs. We would never buy a car before consulting Consumer Reports. But perfume has traditionally been clothed in mystique. Now, knowledgeable bloggers, critics like Luca Turin and Chandler Burr and even the perfume-lovers’ group Sniffapalooza are shining bright lights on the inner world of fragrance development and marketing. Have we lost something in the process? Though it is difficult to get the genie back in the bottle, does the industry yearn for days of a little more allure and a little less information?

Rochelle:  No. Informative and knowledgeable consumers are good. I think that is not the problem. The problem is that there are too many fragrances introduced, confused consumers and the aspiration and emotional connection has been lost. It’s not about critics and knowledgeable consumers, it’s about raising fragrance from a commodity as it is today back to being mysterious, sexy, and alluring. I also want to add that there is a lot of bad information out there. Fragrance gets a bad rap…..not good for the environment, can’t wear to work or school, causes allergies, etc. Consumers are asking for natural or organic fragrance without really knowing what that means. An educated customer is our best customer as Syms used to say. It applies to the fragrance industry as well. We need to stop giving incentives to get people to buy, making it a commodity and not a luxury, sample more, offer more affordable sizes and teach people what fragrance does for their psyche. It will do wonders for the business!!!

Perfume is Pleasure:  Wars about synthetics vs. naturals have erupted. The rhetoric gets pretty hot at times. What do we need to keep clear? Should we focus less on ingredients and more on the spirit of a scent?

Rochelle: It’s all about education. There are very practical reasons why you need both. In some cases, you cannot capture a scent in its natural form. Natural fragrances don’t last long which is a negative to some, etc. Synthetics are not good or bad and the same for naturals. It is just that the words ” natural” or “organic” seem to be the buzzwords for the consumer without knowing why. So I say, we need to educate and not focus less!!!!!

Perfume is Pleasure:  What tips do you have for consumers to get the most pleasure from their perfume?

Rochelle: Apply it correctly. You can go to our website to get all types of tips on how to wear fragrance. Also, find a certified fragrance expert at your local store and work with them on finding fragrance that will complement your current taste in fragrance or try a different form to add to your wardrobe such as a body lotion or shower gel. Also fragrant candles enhance your home life and relax you after a tough day.

Perfume is Pleasure:  Some of us enjoy scent on ourselves and on those around us, while individuals and even lobbying groups who stand for the right for a scent-free environment are increasingly vocal. How did we get to this point? How do we strike the balance?

Rochelle:  It’s about educating the consumer…..and the environmentalists on the facts. There is no reason why people cannot wear fragrance, if they wear it properly and it will not disturb anyone or anything. We have all been assaulted by people who wear too much fragrance, fragrance on their clothes and hair. There is the correct way to wear fragrance in the daytime and in the evening and, again, the better educated the consumer, the less flack the industry will get.

Perfume is Pleasure:  I have done work with youth education on scent and believe this is tremendously important. The Foundation has also taken action in this area. What can you share about your goals and progress?

Rochelle:  I think our efforts working with Weekly Reader to bring the appreciation of scent to our school children. We are just completing a project which will go out to over 5,000 public school teachers as a class lesson about scent which encompasses spelling, reading and writing. There are scratch and sniff elements to the program as well as games etc. This is in addition to our annual career day which is for high school students to learn about the opportunities in our industry.

Perfume is Pleasure: How are you seeing the industry innovate to assure that consumers continue to enjoy scent even in today’s challenging economic climate?

Rochelle:  Right now, the industry is in the mode of learning as much as possible about the new consumer, their desires and needs, and how they can remain relevant during these times. We realize that sampling takes on new meaning and smaller sizes are also important. It is a new business model that we all have to understand and accept before forging ahead.

Perfume is Pleasure: What has personally been most satisfying to you as President of the Fragrance Foundation?

Rochelle:  Bringing The Fragrance Foundation into the 21st Century.

Perfume is Pleasure:  Thank you, Rochelle, for sharing your passion for perfume with us. And thank you for your work to promote the health of this great industry.

Women have agonized over perfume application forever. Some maybe more than others. Some a lot less. You know the ones who spritzed without scruples. Cleopatra and her barge of rose petals floating up the Cydnus River to Tarsus for the well-planned seduction of Mark Antony. Fragrance-infused sails announced her arrival long before she came into view.

Napoleon Bonaparte would never consider going into battle unscented and liked his women perfumed as well. Every week, he ordered two quarts of violet cologne and somehow managed to consume sixty bottles of jasmine extract monthly. His first wife Josephine reportedly tolerated Napoleon’s tastes, but generally fancied the stronger stuff, musk in particular. Eventually, he shifted his attention to Marie Louise who became his second wife, no doubt because she shared the emperor’s affection for violets. Josephine, in a transitional snit, saturated their boudoir with musk, and the scent lingered for sixty years.

My mother-in-law says: “A little bit is OK, but too much is too much.” This must be a French-Canadian proverb. But what is too much? The Fragrance Foundation of America encourages us to layer our fragrances. We should start with a perfumed soap, bubble bath, cleansing gel or bath oil. Body lotion or cream will follow on damp skin. Continue the ritual with a lavish splash of eau de toilette and finish it off with perfume on pulse points. On a hot day, remember the powder.

But wait! The Foundation instructs us not to dominate our surroundings with perfume. A personal “circle of scent” should extend no further than the length of an arm extended from the body. Be careful that vigorous layering does not extend your personal circle to the entire planet!

How much? There are different schools of thought. I have a wonderful girlfriend, originally from the Mideast. When I meet her after work she smells rich and wonderful - not having applied any fragrance since early morning when she leaves her house. The woman loves perfume. So one time I asked: “How many did you spray?” And she said: “I don’t know, let me think, one, two, three…” And I said: “Eight?” And she said: “Yeah, eight.” Another friend of mine lives to know that people cannot always see her, but know she was there from the scent left in her wake.

Me? I go light. I might spray once, twice, rarely more than three times. Three spritzes, perhaps, of an extremely volatile citrus splash that I know will be gone in a half an hour but I just can’t get enough. I would not use a heavy hand with a rich floral or an oriental fragrance. But many folks do, and I enjoy the wake when they pass.