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Affinessence Interview Sophie Bruneau
Today we have the great opportunity to interview the founder of the French premium luxury brand AFFINESSENCE, which offers some of the most amazing and extraordinary fragrances in the world, Mrs. Sophie Bruneau.
Mrs. Bruneau, thank you so much for carving out a gap in your busy schedule to do this interview.
Thank you, Bregner is a very beautiful brand, synonymous with luxury, which is what immediately attracted me!
AFFINESSENCE means imbuing your senses and your spirit with a truly original presence and signature. How does this brand name reflect your own vision?
AFFINESSENCE, has a meaning, it means "affinity with the senses".
Indeed, perfumery is a passionate profession that engages all your senses. The affinity with an essence, with a scent and its history that resonates in your memory, will arouse emotions and make a perfume attract you or not, that you will make it yours or not. When you feel a perfect affinity with a fragrance, it often becomes your signature.
How would you describe AFFINESSENCE and what is your goal for the future?
This is precisely my goal, since the beginning of this adventure (I launched the brand at the end of 2015): to create original signature fragrances, of the most beautiful quality, to attract customers, to make them experience strong emotions and build loyalty.
I wish to preserve this objective in all my future creations, by continuing to innovate and to search for ever more original, ever more exceptional raw materials.
What role does your own passion for perfumery play in the creation of the new fragrance?
I put myself in the customers' shoes and imagine what I would like to wear: for example, IRIS is a beautiful material but it doesn't lasts. I've never found a lasting Iris perfume on the market. So I created a CEDRE-IRIS perfume using IRIS PALLIDA from Tuscany, an expensive raw material, so rarely used, or in such small quantities... and I decided to overdose it! The result is a powdery explosion that lasts for more than 10 hours .. and weeks on a jacket or scarf!
What new things do you think you can contribute to the evolution of the perfumery?
In order to provide consumers with additional quality, I decided to break the codes. So I asked the perfumers to forget the famous olfactory pyramids and "everything they had learned", to create (for the first time in the history of perfumery) perfumes formulated exclusively with "base notes". As a result, we created, hand in hand 100% base notes perfumes, totally linear, without evolution on the skin (as they are much more stable), long lasting, more sensual, and with exceptional trails!
Whose opinions and offerings are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In the world of perfume, I am interested in the raw materials and the consumers: the men and women who will wear them.
When it comes to inspiration, I really enjoy finding new sources of inspiration in other areas. For example in the culinary arts and in cooking, and I am also attracted by the refinement of certain tastes or scents that are more exotic, or in any case new to perfumery: BASMATI RICE, an accord created with aromaticians for our best-seller SANTAL-BASMATI, CURCUMA (TURMERIC), a natural extract never before used in perfumery, used in our CUIR-CURCUMA, or even COMBAVA essence from Indonesia used to create our COMBAVA-CEDRAT.
How do you justify the pricing of your fragrances?
As you see our perfumes are highly concentrated, and with natural essences which are really original and rare. Another example: the AMBERGRIS blocs that we use to manufacture the perfume MUSK-AMBRE GRIS are 10 to 20 years old blocs! The oldest they are, the best quality they are, and of course the more expensive they are!
What about respect for social and environmental issues? Is this also your philosophy?
To build a better world, we are committed to bringing luxury and sustainable development together which is challenging.
We prefer reusable packaging, such as our luxury lacquered wooden box that we like to keep as a precious object or our cashmere pouch that proves to be the perfect ally of our travels by slipping in our perfume, smartphone or our sunglasses.
Whenever possible, we strive to design the product in the most virtuous way. A few examples:
The interior foams of our products are all recyclable. More specifically, the 50ml is a bio-based foam made of 80% cane sugar, recycled and recyclable, the first 100% renewable. A moss of plant origin, its cultivation directly absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and its “zero-emission” production process gives it a negative carbon footprint. All our cases are made from FSC certified cardboard, sourced sustainably and recyclable, made from forest fibres and contributing to responsible forest management. They are recyclable, compostable and biodegradable.
How is AFFINESSENCE different from your competitors and what do customers find at AFFINESSENCE that they don't find at other brands?
Original perfumes, scents you never smelled before, but not unwearable! All the contrary: when people discover AFFINESSENCE, and smell our 9 perfumes, they immediately fall in love with minimum 1 of them! And this is unique.
What would you like to recommend to the customers of the luxury industry and in particular to the customers of BREGNER Luxury & Lifestyle?
Try Base Notes perfumes, and the new collection Top Notes perfumes (intense and fresh!): this is a new kind of perfumery. A more luxurious one.
Do not be fooled by brands that copy each other. Refuse the drop in quality, be demanding. A good perfume is a perfume that lasts, that has a long trail. It's an original, different perfume, one that immediately makes all your senses vibrate, and makes you feel unique!
Mrs. Sophie Bruneau, thank you very much for the interview, we appreciate it a lot. We wish you and AFFINESSENCE much luck and success in the world of perfumery and luxury!
