“Molecule is to perfume as Bauhaus is to Baroque.”
That is German perfumer Geza Schön’s description of his niche line Escentric Molecules. Starting in 2006, the line uniquely launches two scents at once: one a pure molecule (Iso E Super in Molecule 01) and the second a more complex creation centering on that one molecule (in the case of Iso E Super the second creation called Escentric 01 includes notes of pink pepper, lime-peel, orris and incense). The second and third pair are created around Ambroxan and Vetyveryl Acetate respectively.
Geza Schön has plenty of fish to fry though. He is the nose behind the Ormonde Jayne line, he did Paper Passion, a perfume that smells like a book, he created two of Biehl’s Parfumkunstwerke as well as two Clive Christian perfumes and several others. He has a big range, minimalism is obviously not his only mode of creating.
I am very honored that Geza agreed to do my very personal interview today. He seems to be a very laid-back and down-to-earth kind of guy with a streak of witty cynicism to me from our conversations and his questionnaire confirms that.
A good day starts with… a cup of tea and reading the news.
I’d never leave the house without… my keys.
I always feel good when… the sun is out.
My favorite thing in the world is… a lot of spare time.
The next thing I want to buy is… some milk actually
The place I always come back to is… my house, hence the keys !
My personal style is… quite classic with a little twist, I’d say.
My favorite perfume… can’t say just one. I love for example the original Jil Sander Man Pure for its spectacular leather note. Chanel N°19 for its floral woodiness. Feminité du Bois for its woody sensuality.
When I travel I always… close the door when I leave the house.
To relax I need… a vacation for a start.
When I have a bad day… I don’t feel good.
I like to gift people with… fabulous smells.
I find my inspiration… ideally when travelling (the further away, the better!).
Something I would never want to miss… friends and family and football!
My last mistake was… can I skip this? 😀
In my fridge there is always… an old glass of pickled cucumbers which has expired.
On my nightstand I keep… we are definitely not going there…
The perfect weekend starts with… a Friday, ideally.
My role model is… not existent as in one person. Anyone who devotes time to help others would be one.
Something I always want to be asked in questionnaires like this is… not to be revealed here.
I love Geza’s favorite perfumes and a weekend starting on a Friday? Count me in!
Are you familiar with Geza’s work? What do you think about the Escentric molecules? What’s your favorite Ormonde Jayne perfume?
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Molecule 1 – beyond clever. I like to gift this to people for the experience. Usually other people tell them they smell great but they can no longer smell themselves.
I do a Zizan zigzag now and again to visit Isfarkand.
This Geza man is cool cool cool.
He is cool, I think so too.
I don’t quite get the allure of Iso E Super, but maybe that’s just me. From a marketing perspective it is genius though to sell a single ingredient.
That’s a surprising one – interview, I mean! I am familiar with Gesa’s work of course; failed to ever interview him for a decade (!) despite having common friends 😀
Gesa also did Kinski. A perfumery hommage to that biest of an actor. You need to check it out, it’s quite unusual.
I smelled Kinski only in passing, but did not spend much time with it yet. It definitely fits its namesake in oddness. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed the interview, Nath.
I absolutely did. Gesa is très Berlin, niest-ce pas?
(I think the Kinski bottle is quite hate-it-or-love-it as well. personally I happen to hate it, but I appreciate the design idea nevertheless)
Thank you, dear B.! Mr. Schön is one of my favorites in Parfumland.
For me he’s the master of the olfactory minimalism – but he can do opulence as well (see Ormonde Jayne – the line I adore). And he seems to be very private, judging from his answers – I’d have loved to learn more about him …
Yes, me too, but he is not giving us that. More minimalism. 😉
!!! As I was reading his answers I thought that in their minimalism they were very fitting for the perfumer who “created” Molecule 01 (that I love and have a bottle to prove) and keeps using it in every perfume he makes since then (which gets a little tiresome).
I like most perfumes in Ormonde Jayne line with Ta’if being the absolute favorite.
Hehe, he is nothing if not consistent! 😉
Geza sounds like a good laugh as well as talented and super cool.
When I was with Vanessa and Lavanya at the OJ shop we named our top 3 OJs. Mine are Woman, Champaca and Ta’if.
The OJ line has an extraordinary high rate of winners, I’m always marvelling at that fact.
He is definitely a talented man! My favorite Ormonde Jayne perfumes are Ta’if and Sampaquita.
Those two are lovely!
what a range of personalities in this series!
Indeed!
I met him at Esxence Milano and I got impression he is som kind of “zen” person. So relaxed and confident in the middle of the hustle. We seem to have similar taste for perfumes ;-). And I like all perfumes in the Ormonde Jayne line, some more some less.
Great that you met him in person. He must be a really cool guy!
Very cool indeed.
Sounds like a cool guy! I’m not really into Escentric Molecules, but I actually do like Kinski, and Ormonde Woman i LOVE! Almost more than love, I want to swim in the stuff!
OJ Woman is great indeed. I like his work of OJ better than Escentric Molecules as well.
I clearly remember my first encounter with Escentric Molecules – no. 2 made such a big impression, I wanted to buy it! I adore so many Ormonde Jaynes…but I think my all-time favorite is Orris Noir – a warm, slinky, sensuous iris, and there aren’t too many of those.
And in a strange twist of fate, my sister and I have completely opposite tastes in perfume – but we can both agree that Kinski is sheer olfactory genius. Impossibly louche, impossibly wrong, improbably sexy, and incredibly original! I shall be visiting her next time armed with a decant bottle. 😉
Great interview, B!
Okay, that endorsement makes Kinski must-smell No1 on my list!
😉 B! I can promise you this – it will be wild!
Orris Noir (in spite of what Luca Turin wrote about it) and Taif
I find it is strangely satisfying to like perfumes despite what Luca Turin said. 😉
Manky old out-of-date pickles in the fridge?! I love that. We should all be so fridge honest. Interesting interview. Must try the line ……. xxx
Fridge honesty – a great phrase! 😉
I have a real problem with Kinski. The man, not the perfume…I know that nothing has been proven but still…
I wish they would recall it.
There are certainly disturbing stories surrounding him…
intriguing man…like that!
Me too.
Great interview. Tsarina is my fave Ormonde Jayne (and Geza Schoen scent for that matter).
I still have to smell that one!
Oh no – the cat deleted my comment! Loved GS’s dry humour – especially the LOL quips about the contents of his fridge and what’s on his nightstand. My favourite OJs at the moment are Ta’if and Tolu, followed by Orris Noir (my go-to perfume for funerals). Tolu just bumped Tiare off its perch in a surprise epiphany at the session to which Tara refers above! Geza created smells to evoke different parts of my home town, while his adopted city of Berlin is my favourite spot in Germany…to which I keep coming back (also this year!).
I’m worried that your feline lodger doesn’t like my blog! 😉
Oh yes, now I remember the smells of the city project you wrote about, Geza has surely done some interesting stuff!
Haha – an unfortunate paw malfunction as he was crossing the desk via my pc keyboard!
He has tea first thing! Most of your interviewees have coffee…
Very perceptive, Maggie! I belong to the tea-drinking fraction as well! You too?
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