For more than a decade, this perfume has fascinated. A true genius idea in a very codified world, it smells different on each person, all thanks to one ingredient. Zoom.
An olfactory UFO that shook up the world of perfume. Fifteen years ago, a bold and minimalist fragrance appeared on the beauty scene, promising an incredible thing: never smelling the same thing on two different people, and adapting to all skin types, all worlds. A real bet in the codified world of perfumery! This juice, composed of a single molecule, is devoid of traditional top, heart and base notes. Whether you are looking for a discreet trail, like a second skin, or a more powerful scent, it has seduced everyone. It is often called “the perfume that is not one”.
This beauty secret has been passed down for over a decade. Now transformed into a worldwide bestseller, proving that sometimes simplicity is the most powerful weapon of seduction. It’s 2010, and the world is discovering Not A Perfume from the French brand Juliette Has A Gun. Its particularity? The perfume contains only one ingredient, Cetalox. “I chose to impose this unique ingredient in the notoriously structured universe of the olfactory pyramid. An essence with synthetic provenance which, again, was an iconoclastic approach to the traditional use of refined natural palettes“, explains Romano Ricci, the founder of the brand, in a press release. Indeed, Cétalox is an artificial material launched in the 1950s by DSM-Firmenich (a company specializing in the creation of fragrances), in order to replace ambergris, derived from the secretions of the sperm whale. Its musky and woody scent is found in the most sensual perfumes. Thus, with this composition and its provocative name, Not A Perfume succeeds a feat still unheard of in the world of perfumery: adapting to the person wearing it.
If each fragrance evolves differently depending on the individual, in this specific case the skin and the juice enter into symbiosis, creating a sweet, familiar and comforting smell, but above all specific to each person. The proof is in this review left by a consumer on the Sephora website: “I don’t wear perfume often, but when I do it’s this one. People often tell me how good I smell. On the other hand, it is not for everyone since it will absolutely not have the same smell. A friend bought it after smelling it on me and didn’t like it on her.”
The success of Not A Perfume is such that one is sold every minute in the world. The icing on the cake? It can also be used as a “fragrance booster”. It acts as a base under another fragrance, to prolong its trail and enhance it, without creating conflict with the latter. With this true olfactory enigma, Romano Ricci has won his bet: this “non-perfume” has become an essential classic that celebrates the uniqueness of the person who wears it.
