The Art of Containment
At Charenton Macerations, we understand all fragrance, at its core, to be a pure form of expression… contained. It has no physical texture, no shape. It moves both inwardly and outwardly. Scent is a little piece of magic trapped in a bottle… and longing to escape containment.
“Through discussions on insanity we discover humanity.” – De Sade
It is fascinating to look at how as the environment becomes smaller, our experiences and perceptions shift. How behaviors change in confinement. The infamous Marquis De Sade lived out his final days inside Charenton Asylum, confined within four walls, and with limited outside world interaction. Within his cell, his only outlets were his writing, his staged theatrical performances, and his personal possessions. Locked away in near constant isolation, he became responsible for producing and reproducing his own sense of beauty, something he poured himself into in order to survive. He was beauty contained.
At its most rudimentary, a fragrance bottle is just another containment vessel. That being said, I prefer to think of a bottle as a little glass window of possibility. Sure, some may be more ornate than others, but regardless, each has its own unique story nestled away inside. The bottle is also an important aesthetic enhancer: A decorative flask that helps enrich the overall fragrance myth. Physically, it adds a tactile component to an otherwise textureless object. The fragrance bottle: so much more than just a beauty container.
The idea of examination in isolation can also be quite useful during the fragrance development process. In fact, it proved to be a creative eye opener in developing Christopher Street. Early in the process, as more people were interviewed, and more locations along the street explored, one ingredient seemed to be present throughout the story. From its merchant founding days, to its rise to infamy during The Stonewall Riots, there was always clove. This was something we decided to pay homage to in structuring the fragrance: To stitch the many nuances of clove throughout the top, middle, and dry of the scent.
For six weeks it was nothing but clove inside Charenton Macerations. We began by revisiting stories, looking for other possible olfactive connections, and smelling, smelling, smelling. Clove in the raw, clove in the wild, African clove, Asian Clove, clove bud, clove leaf, clove experienced through a GCO, clove dissected… We lived and fell in love with clove in isolation. Because of this, the way the final fragrance unfolds, you can always sense clove’s ghosting presence.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be taking a closer look at developing the Christopher Street Fragrance. For all the latest information on The Christopher Street Project, be sure to check out The Fragrance Underground or sign up for our newsletter.
For now, one final thought. The life cycle of a fragrance begins and ends with the cell: It starts as an idea locked away inside the cell of the mind, is crafted inside the walled cell of a lab, and finally is transported around the globe in a cell of a bottle. Throughout its journey, fragrance is always beauty contained. Only you can set it free.
To order your bottle of Christopher Street, click here.
