Aesop has always maintained a cherished fragrance collection, an endearment that extends to their in-store bespoke fragrance armoires and cabinets. A luxurious and purely eau de parfum collection (a rarity on its own), each distinctive scent instils a sense of mysteriousness, with notes that you can’t quite pinpoint but just can’t get enough of.

This month, we dive into their Signature store in Harbour City for an olfactory experience featuring an installation of overleaf-sized plaster noses–yes, you read that right–created initially for the Aesop Nasothèque in Myer, Melbourne. From 3D scanning real human noses to 3D printing parts, assembling, and refining for moulding, the project fuses sculpture art with visual merchandising. There is something marvellous yet strange at the same time about admiring a stranger’s nose (albeit a replica in monolithic proportions) and getting up close to sniff it, an experience that also reminds me of The Noseum, an installation wall of plaster noses created for Liberty’s Fragrance Lounge in London.

Othertopias Range

Aesop’s fragrance range encompasses ten androgynous scents, spanning all aromatic profiles and designed with different moods and seasons in mind.

For the more poetic at heart, the Othertopias range is inspired by liminal worlds. Comprising six carefully selected fragrances, the series is a bold and unorthodox way to traverse real and imagined realms:

1. Miraceti: A fabled ship on a far-flung voyage

2. Karst: A rugged, mineral shore carved by the tides

3. Erémia: An urban wasteland reclaimed by nature

4. Eidesis: A journey beyond the surface of a mirror

5. Gloam: States of rest and reflection, distilled

6. Ouranon: The enduring stature of a silent monolith

Fear not if you don’t know where to start; it’s always a splendid idea to start by browsing broader aromatic profiles. We naturally gravitate towards certain aromas, and distinguishing our preferred notes goes a long way toward determining a fragrance that speaks to us.

Fresh Fragrances

Clean and zesty, evocative of herbs, citrus fruits and the ocean

Tacit

Fragrance notes: Yuzu, vetiver heart, basil

Aroma: Fresh, citrus, green

Inspiration: the Mediterranean coastline, the old-world grace of traditional colognes, Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love, Italian artist and writer Giorgio de Chirico, the shade of green known as Pantone 363

Karst

Fragrance notes: Juniper, cumin, sandalwood

Aroma: Fresh, marine, herbaceous

Inspiration: stormy seas, coastal air, concrete after the rain

Erémia

Fragrance notes: Galbanum, iris, yuzu

Aroma: Citrus, green, floral

Inspiration: earth, moss, musky florals, rain-soaked asphalt, tenacious wildflowers

Floral Fragrances

Light and fresh to deep and heady

Gloam

Fragrance notes: Mimosa, saffron, iris

Aroma: Green, floral, spicy

Inspiration: serene introspection, the quietness of imagination, a dreamscape between wake and rest

Rōzu

Fragrance notes: Rose, shiso, guaiac wood

Aroma: Green, floral, woody

Inspiration: the lifecycle of the rose from the earth to full bloom and fading petals, French modernist Charlotte Perriand

Woody Fragrances

Complex, aromatic warmth lent by spices

Marrakech Intense

Fragrance notes: Clove, sandalwood, cardamom

Aroma: Floral, spicy, woody

Inspiration: the city of Marrakech, from its aromatic cuisine to intense colour palettes and the surrounding desert

Hwyl

Fragrance notes: Cypress, frankincense, vetiver

Aroma: Spicy, woody, smoky

Inspiration: Japanese Hinoki forests, the stillness that comes with age

Eidesis

Fragrance notes: Black pepper, frankincense, sandalwood

Aroma: Spicy, woody, ambery

Inspiration: deep spice, damp earth, dry woods

Opulent Fragrances

Rich, sensual, with sophisticated florals and balsamic, resinous tones

Miraceti

Fragrance notes: Labdanum, ambrette, styrax

Aroma: Spicy, woody, resinous

Inspiration: perilous seafaring adventures, briny oceans, a peaceful yet isolating emptiness

Ouranon

Fragrance notes: Frankincense, hay, myrrh

Aroma: Spicy, woody, resinous

Inspiration: mysterious monoliths, a quiet, enigmatic majesty, celebratory endings for new beginnings

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