Confidential · VENUMENT × IFF
Confidential · VENUMENT × IFF
A working debrief on Round 1 scent submissions from your team, covering current status, the relevant name-change context, and per-sample feedback. Detailed olfactive notes per sample will be added to the DEBRIEF section under each card later today.
The final Phase 1 lineup is now fixed as follows:
The renaming is meaningful: the storytelling each scent is built around has shifted with the name. This is why we are flagging it at the top of the document, before the per-submission notes. Olfactive feedback on each Round 1 sample will appear in the DEBRIEF section under each card. The briefs the perfumers should now be working against are the renamed ones.
Round 1 submissions are being held for the next reformulation round. SLEEP 2 and DRY 1 are held because of the name change above and need a fresh interpretation against the new brief. FOLD 1 and FOLD 2 need adjustment for technical and direction reasons. Detailed per-sample debrief notes will appear in the DEBRIEF section under each card later today.
| Submission | Now under | Perfumer | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DRY 1 | AIR | Shinichiro Oba | Rework | Same perfumer, new interpretation under the AIR direction. |
| SLEEP 2 | DIM | Miroslav Petkov | Rework | Same perfumer, new interpretation under the DIM direction. |
| FOLD 1 | FOLD | Juliette Karagueuzoglou | Rework | Specific direction in the DEBRIEF section below. |
| FOLD 2 | FOLD | Delphine Lebeau | Rework | Specific direction in the DEBRIEF section below. |
For each submission: the brand concept the brief is built against, the perfumer's interpretation line, the submitted formulation, the brand reference imagery, and a DEBRIEF section reserved for the per-sample olfactive feedback (to be added later today).
A dry, sunlit fabric scent — airy, slightly metallic, with powdery texture and quiet depth. Gender neutral with a slightly masculine edge. (Now under AIR: the medium that surrounds the fabric — breath, the air through an open window, the room itself.)
“A crisp, green-tinged dryness that feels like fabric lifted into open air — cool, composed, and quietly sharpened by light.”
Thank you for the sample. The cool, clean character comes through very clearly and left a strong impression on us. To bring the original intention of the fragrance into sharper focus, we would like to ask for a few specific adjustments.
This fragrance is aiming at a calm, composed indoor air, the air inside a room rather than the air outside it. In the current sample, the balance of citrus, herbs, and dry wood is emphasised, so what reaches the nose first feels sporty and bold-lined. That places the impression a little outside the intended concept and closer to the cool, clear air of the outdoors.
We would like to soften that impression, keep the freshness, introduce an unexpected element, and adjust the texture so it wraps softly around skin and the surrounding space, so the more personal and dimensional character of the fragrance comes through. Please consider the following carefully.
Alongside this directed feedback, we would also be very glad to receive a second interpretation of AIR from you under complete creative freedom. Your own reading of the brief, unconstrained by the notes above. We would treat it as an additional, parallel submission rather than a replacement for the reformulation. If your schedule allows, we would be delighted to see where you take it.
Thank you, as always, for the care and sensibility in your work. We are looking forward to the next sample.
A warm, dimly lit fabric space — skin, linen, and a soft floral presence resting in still air. A floral that feels closer to skin than bloom, capturing the quiet flow of unconscious time. (Now under DIM: the light of dusk and golden hour, the threshold before the lamps are switched on.)
“A subdued floral presence resting in still air, where cool transparency and quiet warmth meet — skin wrapped in linen under fading light.”
Thank you for the sample. The refined opening and the depth of the rich natural palette came through, and we tried it with real interest. To bring the original intention of the fragrance into sharper focus, we would like to ask for a few specific adjustments.
The mood we are aiming at is a quietly sustained one, woven from a refined, soft leather/suede nuance in the register of Frassai's Ajedrez, the dense woody sweetness of tonka bean, and the velvety softness of gardenia. In the current sample, the refinement specific to tonka bean is somewhat buried, and through the opening and the middle a strong, sharp, fruit-leaning impression — closer to cassis or blackcurrant — sits at the front. We would like to lift that impression away and recover the original transparent, delicate texture. Please consider the following carefully.
Alongside this directed feedback, we would also be very glad to receive a second interpretation of DIM from you under complete creative freedom. Your own reading of the brief, unconstrained by the notes above. We would treat it as an additional, parallel submission rather than a replacement for the reformulation. If your schedule allows, we would be delighted to see where you take it.
Thank you, as always, for the care and sensibility in your work. We are looking forward to the next sample.
FOLD is not a new structure, but a softened state of READ. The structure remains, but the edges are diffused and folded into the skin. It should feel quiet, intimate, and slightly abstract — like the same line, but softened and closer to the body.
“A calm transition where dry woods and incense-like warmth lose their sharpness, settling into an intimate, skin-bound presence.”
Thank you for the sample. The refined texture characteristic of the top-grade LMR materials and a composed, neutral mood came through very compellingly, and we found the sample very satisfying. To bring the fragrance to its full expression, we would like to ask you to check a few details around the diffusion structure.
The overall accord is excellent and could hardly be improved on, but the spicy character at the top lingers slightly longer than ideal, and the composition as a whole is so delicate that the diffusion feels a touch quiet. The connection into the heart's olibanum reads faintly, which gives the impression that the appearance of the base notes is a little delayed. To address that, please consider the following carefully.
FOLD has been conceived as a more neutral version of our perfume READ, and we would also like to invite you to develop samples for READ and DIM as parallel interpretations alongside the FOLD reformulation. We are very much looking forward to seeing how this composed refinement evolves. Thank you, as always.
Full briefs for READ and DIM — concept and brand reference imagery — sit on your standalone debrief page.
FOLD is not a new structure, but a softened state of READ. The structure remains, but the edges are diffused and folded into the skin. It should feel quiet, intimate, and slightly abstract — like the same line, but softened and closer to the body.
“A more inward interpretation, shaped by resinous woods and soft balsamic depth, leaving a low-profile trace that stays close.”
Thank you for the FOLD 2 sample. The deep, contemplative residual trail formed by the peru balsam and olibanum in the base is very compelling. Keeping in mind the motif of this fragrance — the gesture of folding the corner of a book, of folding dry laundry in neat stacks — and its design intent as a neutral-feminine version of our existing perfume READ, we would like to ask you to check a few adjustments along the following directions.
Overall the fragrance currently pushes itself forward too forcefully, leaving an impression of olfactive fatigue on the nose. A faintly stinging, cool sensation also lingers in the residual trail of the later phase. We would like the base accord to be softened and pared back into a gentler, more gradual register. Please consider the following carefully.
Our hope is that the early phase reads as a composed texture with creamy warmth, and the later phase adds an elegant, classic fabric touch as it unfolds. Building on the READ connection noted above — FOLD as a neutral-feminine version of READ — we would also like to invite you to develop samples for READ and DIM as parallel interpretations alongside the FOLD reformulation. We are very much looking forward to the next sample. Thank you, as always.
Full briefs for READ and DIM — concept and brand reference imagery — sit on your standalone debrief page.
Thanks for the work to date. What we have seen sits close to what we are looking for, and the gap to the next round should be a narrow one rather than a wide one. Looking forward to the DEBRIEF notes landing with your team.
Best,
Kelvin