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Sensuous, the new signature feminine fragrance from Estée Lauder | |
US. Estée Lauder is preparing to write a new chapter in its fragrance history with the introduction of Sensuous, which was presented to selected international media at a major launch event in New York city last week.
The feminine scent – a distinctive woody amber that marks a deliberate departure from Lauder’s extensive floral portfolio – will make its debut in July in the US and the UK domestic market, before rolling out in August/September to Europe-Middle East-Africa and Americas travel retail.
Also included in the first phase of launch will be Canada, North America and Russia. The second phase of launch, which incorporates continental Europe and Asia, will take place in 2009.
“Any woman can be sensuous at any age,” declared Estée Lauder Senior Vice President, Creative Director Aerin Lauder, at the launch event. This conviction is highlighted by the advertising campaign, which for the first time features all four Lauder spokesmodels (Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley, Hilary Rhoda and Carolyn Murphy) and the tag-line “Every Woman Wears It Her Way”.
“This is very unexpected from us, and yet when you see it, it feels very on-brand,” explained Lauder. “I really like the idea of using four women, because they are all different”¦and together they appeal to everyone.
“Each model represents a different side of sensuality,” she continued. “Hilary conveys youth, while Carolyn’s classic look communicates elegance. As an actress, Gwyneth brings an emotional range to sensuality and Elizabeth portrays confidence and wisdom.
“All four models will be featured at our counters and in our [print] advertising. In some cases, the models may be split up to match the demographics of a particular magazine.”
MAKING IT PERSONAL
In the advertising images for Sensuous, all four models are clad in white shirts, revealing a hint of black underwear. “That white shirt is a global, iconic image,” stated Lauder. “It’s modern, chic, timeless and elegant.
“When Estée created Beautiful she chose a bride [for the advertising campaign] because she felt that people all over the world would respond to that, and because a bride looks her most beautiful on her wedding day. I believe the white shirt is the modern 2008 version of that bride idea, of having something that people all over the world can relate to.”
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Aerin Lauder: “Any woman can be sensuous at any age.” | |
Lauder cited the creation of the advertising campaign, shot by Craig McDean and conceived in collaboration with Doug Lloyd of Lloyd and Co, as a personal highlight of the project.
“I always enjoy creating the advertising, but the challenge of working with four models simultaneously was extraordinary,” she explained. “They are all wearing the same thing, and yet we have managed to make them all look so different. It’s their personality, and sensuality, that differentiate themselves from each other.”
Lauder was also instrumental in choosing the Sensuous colour-scheme, which features shades of rose gold and purple. “The packaging works very well with the general fragrance concept,” she acknowledged.
“The pink-gold design is very heritage – we’ve always used gold packaging. And there is fluting on the bottles, which is a signature element. The round shape adds to the whole sensual feeling.”
She continued: “Purple is a deep, rich colour that suggests confidence and sensuality, which is why it was perfect for this fragrance.
“And as a colour per se purple is going to be everywhere for Fall: in fashion, in home, in cosmetics. Obviously, we chose it way before the Fall shows happened, but again it confirms that we are completely on-trend with this project.”
The Sensuous product line-up comprises parfum, eau de parfum, a touch-on roller ball, body lotion, shower crème and a brush-on perfumed pressed powder.
“People are always looking for something new in fragrance, and the roller ball – which is great for women on the go and really easy to travel with, which is so important these days – has been very successful in the past,” explained Lauder, as she emphasised how important the sense of touch and texture was to the whole concept of Sensuous.
“The scented powder in particular shows how essential it is to create ancillaries that work with the concept of their corresponding fragrance. These products offer sensual ways to apply and wear Sensuous.”
BRANCHING OUT
Project Sensuous, which began four years ago, benefited, literally, from some phenomenal inspiration. “I had long been inspired by the Maya Angelou poem, Phenomenal Woman,” revealed Estée Lauder Companies Senior Vice President of Corporate Fragrance Development Worldwide Karyn Khoury.
In tandem with Firmenich Master Perfumer Annie Buzantian, Khoury channelled this inspiration, and the vision of “confident, modern yet timeless femininity” to create a new woody amber fragrance category.
But what prompted such a determined new direction? Two factors, according to Khoury. “If you look at our existing portfolio, and particularly our more successful fragrances, we are extremely strong in florals, which dominate the olfactory signature of our brand,” she explained.
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Karyn Khoury: “Sensuous is new and different, but within our brand DNA.” | |
“Florals are also the largest category globally; however we felt a need to expand that signature, to show another facet of our brand personality, and to appeal in another olfactory category.
“In addition, although I am in no way saying that floral fragrances will not continue to be very strong and very important, when you look at certain markets, for example, the US, the percentage of dominance is shifting.”
Khoury revealed that as of year-end 2007, floral fragrances represented 51% of the US market. However, in 2000, that figure was 72%, and 65% in 2005.
“This shift shows that consumers are willing and eager to explore new avenues of fragrance, and that they are more willing to experiment,” Khoury noted. “So both from a perspective of what our business needed, and the sense of what we feel consumers are ready for, the time seemed right to go into an additional fragrance category.”
And that category was woods. “I wanted to re-invent the idea of feminine woods,” Khoury explained. “When you think of woods you tend to associate them with masculine fragrances, or with niche women’s fragrances. So the challenge was to discover how to do woods in a new way that could be widely appealing.
“We approached that challenge by trying to reinvent the texture of woods. Existing woods, like patchouli or vetiver, are rich, fabulous iconic notes, but they tend to be a bit dark and solid.
“For Sensuous we imagined a fabulous wooden sculpture, and wondered, if you could take all that sleekness, all that sensuality, but then melt it so that it was fluid, almost like a river of wood, what would that smell like? That basically was the brief [to Firmenich], which endeared me no end,” she noted wryly.
ANATOMY OF A JUICE
There are three key accords to the Sensuous juice. The first is the Warm Accord, described as a rich, mysterious core of molten woods and amber. To achieve this element, the company used for the first time in perfumery a Melted Woods NaturePrint, to capture the experience of textured, melting woods.
The Feminine Accord, inspired by walking into an orchid greenhouse, is a blend of what Khoury describes as atmospheric floralcy. “Creatively, we knew that woods were a wonderful idea, but there was the business reality of needing to be widely appealing, while still being signature,” she explained.
“We felt we needed an introduction to the woody signature and theme, that would be unidentifiable as a floral; I didn’t want a consumer to be able to recognise [any specific flower]. But I wanted a subliminal floral comfort and appeal, to lead them into the surprise of the wood.”
The third element is the Luminous Accord, which blends black pepper, sandalwood, mandarin pulp and a new Honey NaturePrint. This is designed to create a captivating, lingering sensuality that reinforces the modern radiance of the core woods, according to the company.
Khoury noted: “What is very important, and not so easy to accomplish, is that we feel we have managed to make this fragrance convey something that is different from anything we have done before, yet it still feels like us.
“Sensuous is new and different, but within our brand DNA. It’s not shocking to have it come from us; rather it’s surprising, in a good way.”
Accordingly, Khoury refutes suggestions that Sensuous, thanks to its woody composition, constitutes something of an olfactory – and likewise commercial – gamble.
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Wearing it their way: the four spokesmodels for Estée Lauder Sensuous | |
“I think most people would anticipate a floral from us, so Sensuous is unexpected, but deliberately so, and we certainly don’t think it’s a risk,” she explained.
Aerin Lauder added: “What Sensuous does is finish the portfolio of fragrances that we have. It works with, not against, Pleasures, Beautiful, White Linen, Youth Dew and all our classical fragrances. It can live with all the others; they are all good together.”
Khoury continued: “One of the main reasons we are so excited about Sensuous is that when you look at the classically long-term successful fragrances on the market, one of the aspects they have in common is cohesiveness of fragrance to presentation, and we feel that we have done that very strongly with Sensuous.
“Quite simply, when you smell the fragrance it fulfils the expectation that is set up in the consumer’s mind by the advertising, and reinforced by the packaging.”
She concluded: “I have always described fragrance creation as a three-part process that is part science, part business analysis and part magic. And unless all three parts are in place and done well, you do not have a long-term global success.”
THE TRAVEL RETAIL TAKE
The travel retail channel will not be slow to reap the benefits of the launch of Sensuous. While Estée Lauder’s business in the channel remains very skincare-driven, Pleasures and Beautiful rank among the top five best-selling franchises worldwide. There are high hopes that Sensuous will perform equally impressively.
“That means fragrances are absolutely key, in demand, and we need to offer meaningful products within this category,” noted Estée Lauder and Tom Ford Vice President Travel Retailing Worldwide Virginie Descamps.
“This is very unexpected from us, and yet when you see it, it feels very on-brand”¦Sensuous finishes the portfolio of fragrances that we already have“ |
Aerin Lauder |
In particular, fragrance coffrets are enduringly popular among travellers, and Lauder is committed to updating and refreshing its portfolio on a regular basis.
From September, Sensuous will be available within the company’s revamped Spray Favorites coffret, accompanied by Pure White Linen, Beautiful Love, Pleasures and Beyond Paradise.
However, there will be no travel retail exclusive listings, and no launch gwp. Rather, the introduction of Sensuous will be supported at the point-of-sale by specially-created “rolling carts”.
“These are ideal for HPP outposts in a variety of locations,” Descamps explained. “They are extremely portable, with a fold-out design that incorporates product storage on the inside and promotional visuals on the outside.”
EVALUATING EMOTION
When Estée Lauder Senior Vice President Global Marketing Elana Drell Szfyer described the launch event of Sensuous as unprecedented, she wasn’t exaggerating.
“Never before has the company opened up so much regarding the development of a fragrance,” she declared, on day two of the New York reveal, which took place on-site at Firmenich.
The day began with an in-depth presentation and Q&A session with Khoury and Buzantian, which offered up more detail not just about the development of Sensuous, but about the fragrance creation process in general. Journalists were even allowed into the labs to observe the staff, ingredients and equipment.
“I have always described fragrance creation as a three-part process that is part science, part business analysis and part magic. And unless all three parts are in place and done well, you do not have a long-term global success“ |
Karyn Khoury |
“Fragrance is all about capturing emotion,” stated Khoury. “And Sensuous is not just an introduction to another product, it is a major opportunity for us to reconnect with consumers.”
Emotion was a recurring theme in the afternoon session, which featured a presentation and Q&A session with Dr Jeanette Haviland-Jones and Dr Patricia Wilson.
The former is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Human Emotions Lab at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The latter received a doctorate from Rutgers University in 2000; spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow investigating emotion and olfaction at a major international fragrance supplier; and maintains a Research Associate position at The Human Emotions Lab at Rutgers.
Both spoke of how accurately they could rate the actual effects of fragrance on humans, though a unique process of mood regulation using mood stressors. In the past they have shown that flowers, and even flower scents, promote happiness in people.
Haviland Jones and Wilson explained how fine fragrances in general could have a specific focused effect on mood. More specifically, they showed how experiments with Sensuous had positive outcomes in terms of generating “high confidence” and “low inhibition and uncertainty” memories and feelings.
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