Vero Profumo: The EDP Versions

There's no question as to the artistry involved when encountering a Vero Profumo fragrance, but because independent Swiss perfumer Vero Kern is basically a one-woman show, everything is done by hand (the selecting of ingredients, the formulating, blending and bottling) and in very limited quantities, which keeps the quality level consistently superior yet has the unfortunate side-effect of adding quite a bit to the final cost -- just the way that, say, a hand-painted silk dress carefully measured, cut and sewn by hand in a Paris atelier is going to be more singular and lovely, yet also cost considerably more, than a machine-printed viscose shift spit by the thousands off a factory conveyor belt in Bangladesh.

In summary: the very characteristics that make Vero Profumo fragrances so desirable are what have kept them out of reach for the mainstream consumer (over $300.00 for half an ounce). But change is in the air, and change, in this respect, is good!

Vero Kern and her fragrance samples: Onda, Rubj and Kiki

In November of 2009, I wrote about Ms. Kern's "Rubj", an opulent composition that single-handedly changed my opinion (for the better!) regarding the fruity-floral genre. Tucked away within that review, I passed on the rumor that Ms. Kern was set to release EDP versions of her three fragrances in the Spring of 2010.

Ms. Kern contacted me shortly after I posted the review of Rubj, and confirmed that she was, indeed, near completion of the EDP versions for her fragrances (at 12% concentration), a project she's been toiling at for several years. She stressed that her EDP formulae wouldn't be just watered-down versions of the extraits, but that she was, instead, following the traditional French style of perfumery by rearranging the fragrance notes to suit the lighter EDP concentration.

In her own words (with some slight editing): "The less concentrated Eaux requires a different structure, so I emphasized the top-notes over the base. The compositions are simplified, replacing the heavy animal notes with the unique scent of Passionfruit, which I love very much and which gives the creations a certain erotic readiness. The Passionfruit is a common thread that connects the three scents while still respecting the original style of the Extraits."

A link to a Luca Turin article on the Passionfruit essence in perfumery can be found here, titled Duftnote -- Passionfruit. About the Passionfruit specifically, Turin writes: "The proximity of beauty to ugliness is never clearer than in tropical fruit. Perhaps because they have to compete with powerful smells of decay for the attention of birds, tropical fruit have decided to play dirty. Adding tiny amounts of rot on an otherwise conventional fruity smell is as invigorating as finding out that a theoretical physicist colleague was once a stripper."

Fast forward to last Friday: I received a package from Switzerland, and it was the newly completed EDP formulations in small spray vials for testing. I immediately (and excitedly) dove into them.

Long story short, everything that Ms. Kern stated is true -- the scents are lighter, fresher, yet still true to their original intent. The utilization of the Passionfruit note doesn't transform them all into bottles of fruit punch; but rather, injects a sense of levity and everyday wearability into the mix. Ms. Kern was about duality in her fragrances to begin with, so the simultaneous sparkle and decay of Passionfruit suits her style, offering a sense of depth while veering the compositions away from their originally pervasive, and sometimes challenging, "animal" characteristics.

1.) The Onda extrait, a sharply rutting, roll-in-the-hay fragrance that I've tried (and failed) to enjoy numerous times in the past, is here a sunny, approachable skin musk that wears like an easy, casual glove; 2.) The EDP Rubj is a spruced-up plummy jasmine, still warm, wooded and musky, but with its perhaps overtly mature character brightened up with a shot of youthful fizz.; 3.) The Kiki EDP is cool lavender and warm caramel, with the buttery rich, decadent tendencies of the extrait lightened from killer dessert cart into frothy confection.

Longevity is good to excellent for all three (6-8+ hours), though the finish is less base-notes intensive, and the overall development is, as Ms. Kern stated, "simplified" due to the reduced concentration of fragrance oils.

Some Vero fans might find this disappointing, of course, but not to fear -- the extraits will still be available for purchase. Ms. Kern assured me that the EDP's were not created to replace the extraits, but to lend an accessible, contemporary zing to the Vero Profumo brand. The best part? Since the formulae are less concentrated and the bottling less labor intensive (they'll be produced in a small factory that Ms. Kern selected for its artisan-friendly reputation), the price point will be significantly lower, which should make the brand a lot more attractive to the general consumer.

And anything that brings Vero Profumo fragrances even one-step closer to world domination is all right by me.

***Note: The Vero Profumo perfumes are presently all parfum/extrait formulations, which is defined as containing 15%-30% fragrance oils vs. carrier base; EDP's are said to contain 8%-15% fragrance oils, while the EDT, the version of choice for most mainstream brands, contains a mere 4%-8% fragrance oil concentration. This is often why consumers complain that mainstream EDT perfumes don't last very long, as there isn't much "there" there.