Saturday, July 24, 2010

This is the last you smell of...

After a long time of trying to give these perfume a chance to make it to my customers, I've finally given up and I'm going to file all the vats in a box that will be labeled "Unloved" and just leave it at that. There is a bit of a relief in admitting one's failures, and I'm glad to share them with you as well as my guesses to why they are such a flop. And my definition of flop is selling 5 bottles or less, so please don't beg me to bring them back in. It's just not going to be worth it. Although as usual - I will be glad to make a minimum batch 15ml just for you if you are such a lover of any of these scents.

This is the last you will smell of the following scents:

Coeli - Apparently, my customers are not too keen on aquatic florals. Point taken.
It was hard to let go of this one, because it's one of the very few (if not the only) natural aquatic floral perfume.

Democracy - the name must have scared my customers away. Clearly, perfume and politics don't mix well.

Arsenal - either there is something offensive about this name (though I doubt it, by the reaction I see at my studio and other events, usually it induces giggles and humorous comments. I think the reason this is doing so pathetically bad is because it's such a light citrus scent. And for my price margin, you really want to get something more long lasting than a citrus. For a citrus kick, you will get more for your bucks by buying 4711. Another reason why nobody seems to excited about adding this to their arsenal of fragrances, is because it's a bit of a novelty scent: everyone likes to the refreshing aroma of gin and tonic, but who actually wants to smell like that?
There's a 10ml perfume oil of Arsenal, and that would be the last time I'll make this cocktail.

Sutul - This white floral started out as a personal joke about Samsara's name. I'd have really hard time to describe what this means in Arabic (and Hebrew slang). So those of you who speak either will probably get the joke... Anyway, it's a sheer white floral with lots of jasmine, sandalwood and rosewood. It's pretty, but it's not as exciting or unusual as my other white florals. There are a handful of sample, and the 5ml roll-on bottle we got now will be the very last of it.

I also have my doubts on bottles that have been selling more than the hopeless flops mentioned above, but very sporadically although they have been around for a while. So these ones too are going to go:

Guilt - Is it the name or the fragrance? I can't tell... And I got to admit: I'm still on the fence with this perfume and whether or not to discontinue it. While the perfume sells very slowly, the truffles named and flavoured after it (dark chocolate with orange blossom and wild orange) sell like hot cakes. Next year I will be launching my Guilt sugar scrub (those who are coming to my tea party August 8th will get to test it!). Perhaps the concept of "Guilt" works better for luxury food and body care products?! That being said, there is still a flacon left if you like chocolate, amber and orange blossom.

Coralle - this is a Ylang Ylang soliflore. Although usually a low-profile floral (albeit heady), it's not as alluring as jasmine, tuberose or orange blossom (Yasmin, White Potion and Zohar are my best selling soliflores). I think it did well for a limited edition, but now it's time is up. There are one flacon and one miniature left, and that's it. After they are sold there will be no more Coralle made in my studio.

Magnolia Petal - another limited edition soliflore, that should have been taken off the shelf long ago, but everytime someone wants it back. Magnolia is not usually a very popular soliflore theme, and I love the scent so that's why I wanted to create a soliflore. But I think it's time to let go. There is magnolia in quite a few other scents that are more sophisticated and interesting (Cabaret, Hanami, Razala). One parfum extrait flacon and one roll-on are still in stock, and that's that.

And last but not least - Ayala. It's hard to let go of the scent that has such significant personal history for me, but it's time to move on. Ayala was my first formulation, and I loved it and worn it a lot. It has its following, but I've definitely improved along the way enough to forget all about it.

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4 Comments:

At July 24, 2010 4:13 PM, Blogger Katy Josephine said...

Thanks for the post! I appreciate your honest assessment of you own formulations.

Sutul made me laugh a little.

You are wise to know when to let go and move on.

 
At July 25, 2010 5:00 AM, Blogger Gator Grad said...

Wow, that must be tough. Fagrances are art, and I never really thought about the impact of discontinuation on the perfumer before... it must be hard to balance the business and personal/artistic side of the business.

 
At July 25, 2010 1:11 PM, Blogger Ayala Moriel said...

Josephine,
Glad that Sutul made you laugh...
Moving on is not easy.

Gator Grad,
It's hard to admit failures of "flops" but it's better to clear room on the shelf for new things.
And yes, these are not easy decisions to reach.

I still have the formulas and the empty bottles smell like the perfume for years after they've been used up... So it's not so much about my attachment to the scents.

It's more about what would replace that void in my collection that, for example, Coeli was representing (i.e.: Aquatic Floral).

It ends up boiling to a business and marketing decision, hats that I need to wear simultaneously with the artistic direction and the formulation. The bottom line is - those who like aquatic florals are not usually "my customers". They wear Light Blue and l'Eau d'Issey and probably couldn't care less whether or not their perfume is natural.

 
At July 26, 2010 7:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ack! I adore Magnolia Petal and have it on the top of my list for my next purchase. Order incoming.

 

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