As part of the Esxence on Air program, the webinar entitled Artistic Perfumery in the Digital World continued the observation of web searches and online conversations begun in the previous analysis “Whispers about Artistic Perfumery” (2018-2019) presented at Esxence in 2019. The study was sponsored by the Essencional Study Center in collaboration with the Develon Group, and the panel members came from both organizations.

Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal, 2 lifelong friends have embarked on a new adventure. Under their expert hands, or rather eyes and noses, they take us to new horizons. The travelling game is utterly beautiful and exotic. Let’s discover what they are up to. Some fun. Positively.

As a child I was always fascinated by stories of the Arabian Nights, by the tales of Sinbad, by the lure of souks and markets in faraway lands selling artisan products and spices in a world that was so very different from my California suburban stores. As an adult I was able to visit some of these places when I traveled to Beirut, Istanbul, Marrakech and Tunis. I appreciated each country’s individual culture, history, art and above all, the people. Perhaps this admiration is part of the reason why I had a special affinity for the fragrances classified as “oriental”. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that this term was derogatory or offensive, but the world is not the same as it was in my youth.

Following the 3 waves of the pandemic, many countries around the world have started to open up and consumers are going back into stores. What experience awaits shoppers in the fragrance and beauty department? I wrote about this topic earlier in June when I visited six shops in central Paris*, and in this article, I broaden the scope to include Italy, China, Australia and the US. What is clear is that retail has changed and that there is still a lot of uncertainty and a lack of universal protocol. Let’s span the globe and dive into what’s happening and what the future may bring.