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Luxury

STYLE Edit: Couture house of scents in Hong Kong? Luxury French perfume brand Henry Jacques brings its bespoke fragrance service from France to Asia

STORYSCMP Style Reporter
French perfume maker Henry Jacques recognises the importance of customisation and personalisation. Photos: Henry Jacques
French perfume maker Henry Jacques recognises the importance of customisation and personalisation. Photos: Henry Jacques
Style Edit

  • One of the world’s most coveted perfumiers, Henry Jaques was founded almost half a century ago by jet-setter Henry Cremona
  • As everyone’s personality, lifestyle and skin type are different, the luxury brand’s experts walk customers through all its ingredients and olfactory options

As exclusive French perfume maker Henry Jacques recognises, customisation and personalisation are the soul of any truly great product; the ability to craft a product specifically designed to meet your personal needs is the essence of luxury. That’s particularly true when it comes to the world of scent.

The ways in which a fragrance can evoke and express your personality are endlessly varied, and designing a custom perfume allows you to wear a scent that precisely represents you. Plus, everyone’s skin is different, and the way in which the numerous volatile compounds in any given perfume interact with that skin is central to the final impression it creates. So it makes sense to seek out a scent that’s tailored to your individual skin type.
A wall of flasks, beakers and containers of essences, set between shelves of perfume bottles, greets visitors to the new Henry Jacques boutique.
A wall of flasks, beakers and containers of essences, set between shelves of perfume bottles, greets visitors to the new Henry Jacques boutique.
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Enter Henry Jacques, one of the world’s most sought after perfumiers, with almost half a century of history since it was founded by the globetrotting Henry Cremona, whose passion for fragrances was inspired by his many travels. The company began life focusing solely on bespoke scents, known in the industry as Sur-Mesure, and continued to do so for decades, operating like a luxurious couture house of the nose, its name known only in the most exclusive circles. In recent years, however, it has branched out, launching a network on discreet boutiques on three continents that offer a wide range of the maison’s ready-to-wear creations.

Henry Jacques Cremona founded his eponymous perfume brand in Grasse, France.
Henry Jacques Cremona founded his eponymous perfume brand in Grasse, France.
Among those is the stand-alone Hong Kong boutique that the brand opened at Elements earlier this year, its first presence in the city – and now the wheel is turning full circle, with Henry Jacques introducing its Sur-Mesure service at the boutique. It will be a chance for customers in Hong Kong to understand and experience what really drives Henry Jacques: the creation of absolutely individual scents, perfectly conceptualised and executed to meet a particular customer’s needs.

Production of perfume in Henry Jacques’ laboratory.
Production of perfume in Henry Jacques’ laboratory.

The process of crafting each Henry Jacques perfume takes place from first principles, with no existing blends of ingredients used. Instead, only the very finest natural ingredients are combined to ensure absolute quality in every flacon.

The process of designing the perfume begins with an individual consultation, usually at the boutique, with Henry Jacques’ expert staff guiding the customer through the full range of olfactory options, teasing out their personal preferences, tastes and emotions and sensitively interpreting them in scent. The customer’s lifestyle is also considered in the process of designing their perfume, including how and where they plan to wear it, and what they will wear it with. Lastly, the perfume will also get its own name, giving it a final stamp of absolute individuality. And, because a beautiful scent should look as good as it smells, they are presented in beautiful flacons and chests, which can also be customised.
Henry Jacques display in Hong Kong store.
Henry Jacques display in Hong Kong store.