Nathalie Baeten – Coucke introduced her own, exceptionally successful home and body care collection ‘Le Parfum de Nathalie’, three years ago. Today, the Mountain Chic home fragrance is extended with lots of products like two innovative eau de parfums created in the workshop of Belgian fragrance artist Laura de Coninck.
Laura de Coninck, daughter of writer Herman De Coninck, is an ‘artist in residence’ connected to the renowned Parisian perfume house Givaudan and last year created fragrances for the Belgian bags and travel accessories brand Hedgren and landscape architect Ronald van der Hilst, among others. As an ‘artist in residence’, she can use the laboratories of Givaudan for her projects and rely on the expertise of her mentor, master perfumer Sonia Constant, who has worked there as a perfumer for 23 years and created perfumes for Narciso Rodriguez, Tom Ford, and Thierry Mugler, to name a few. “A perfumer works imaginarily from his head and behind the computer,” Laura explains. “He calculates and writes a formula. A laboratory technician then makes the result based on that formula. I myself learned to make perfumes as an olfactory artist and thus in a very intuitive way, as I actually go about my paintings. I take a raw material that I like, and add another element to it. I smell, evaluate, supplement, build up. Just as I would apply blue and yellow to my canvas and see what it brings. I create a composition with scent just as I do with color. Layer, after layer, after layer.” With this way of working, Laura is unique and one of the first fragrance artists in the world. Moreover, with her method, she has already permanently changed the closed world of perfume. No wonder Nathalie and Laura found each other.
Irresistible
For the development of the new scents for Le Parfum de Nathalie, the duo based themselves on the existing ‘Mountain Chic’ home fragrance that characterizes the home range. “Just like the products from the home collection, the new fragrances ‘La F’ and ‘NATHAL 02/le parfum’ are oriental at heart, with an amber accord,” Laura says. “We went much further together, based on a totally new interpretation of an amber accord. Key ingredients from the body care line are also included, such as sandalwood, vanilla, cardamom, and patchouli. Both eau de parfums have the same soul, but received completely new accents. For the women’s perfume ‘La F‘, the emphasis is on the pronounced combination of amber and flowers. It has become a warm and sensual perfume, sultry, slightly mysterious, built around a unique amber accord that is worked out in completely different proportions. We added no less than seven different – modern and classic – amber raw materials to it, such as the highly sought-after ‘ambergris’ (synthetic substitute). It gives the perfume an irresistibly seductive touch.”
Nathalie Baeten – Coucke: “La F might just be the most important product missing from my fragrance line. It’s also the realization of a girlhood dream.”
Delightful Daydreaming
“I love fashion and quality,” says Nathalie. “Luxury for me is beautiful design but just as well the feeling of a soft cashmere sweater on my skin. I also love beauty: surrounding myself with beautiful things that make me happy and that are chosen with care and tell a story. Thus, La F had to become the ultimate perfume for me that I would want to wear in a bottle that I would love to have in my bathroom and that lets me and others daydream. A luxury product both inside and out. The prestigious, precious scent of ‘La F‘ demanded in my eyes a graceful, luxurious bottle. Because La F is a perfume with flowers and amber, I wanted a floral bottle that radiates femininity. The hand-blown bottle is elegantly decorated with a golden line pattern and crowned with a refined floral cap; the accompanying authentic pump sprayer is a nod to the chic boudoir perfumes of the past. Together with Eva Bos, who also makes my flower bouquets, I designed a bottle and had it custom-made in glass. The bottle was adjusted multiple times because every detail had to be perfect! Such a pump sprayer, by the way, I find delightful. I love the ritual of getting ready when we go out. The stylish way they did this in the past, as you can see in series like Downton Abbey and Bridgerton, for example, greatly appeals to me. Moreover, Paris is my happy place, and Parisian style is my greatest source of inspiration.” The cylindrical cardboard case with black and gold accents symbolizes class and luxury. All this makes ‘La F’ a symbol of feminine seduction in a bottle, a combination of character and super feminine elegance. ‘La F’ targets the driven, passionate woman who likes to wear a stronger scent as a silent witness to her inner strength, awareness of her own sensuality, and combines it all with refined class. “La F might just be the most important product that was missing from my fragrance line,” says Nathalie. “It’s also the realization of a girlhood dream. My personality in a bottle, so to speak.”
Gender-Neutral
“We wanted to evolve with society and trends,” Nathalie explains. “That’s why we’re already working on a ‘refill’ without a box. Moreover, the second fragrance ‘NATHAL 02/le parfum’ has become a gender-neutral eau de parfum for anyone who likes a fresher touch.” “This perfume opens with a top of bergamot and grapefruit, and light touches of pink pepper and lily of the valley,” Laura adds. “The heart is distinguished by a hefty dose of white musk and the white flowers of orange blossom, which make the perfume lively and give a ‘clean’ impression, like freshly washed linens drying in the sun. The amber accord gives the perfume intensity. In it, you smell a bouquet of benzoin (a sweet-smelling resin) from Laos, vanilla, vetiver from Haiti, and patchouli from Indonesia, complemented by Eastern spices and many different types of amber to give the perfume some modernity. A mix of woods, such as sandalwood and oud, gives the scent a warm, mysterious character.” Like the scent, the packaging is also sleek yet simultaneously classily luxurious. The no-nonsense bottle received a linen-look label with small gold leaf accents. The box also received the soft, southern Ibiza look, fitting with this ‘Island Edition’. “I would like to launch Nathal as an international brand,” Nathalie says. “We are currently developing a full line of products that, like the scent, will be distributed in Ibiza, hence the ‘Island Edition’ designation. The blue color of the Eau de Parfum also refers to this.”
Ghent Top Model
The face of this unisex perfume is Ghent’s top model Cesar Casier, who has already made an international career with campaigns for, among others, Porsche, Tissot Watches, and Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio. Now, his face adds an extra touch of international appeal to a quintessentially Belgian eau de parfum. “I’ve known Cesar for a while through mutual friends,” Nathalie shares. “In the past, he already attended an event of Le Parfum de Nathalie. From that friendship, the collaboration grew. We hope with Cesar to be able to initiate an international evolution because Nathal is a fragrance that should be able to seduce everyone worldwide.”
Waw ! !
Prachtige, lekkere parfum… Toppie ♥️
Dikke proficiat Mevr. Nathalie 😘😘
Helemaal mee eens! Het badzout is trouwens mijn favoriet!
Leuk artikel Anja !
Ooh dankjewel, Kris!