As Valentine’s Day approaches, Adeline tells the story of how she gradually adopted the perfume, &Horace, from her partner, Marc, the co-founder of Horace. A fragrance that the two now share.
I couldn’t wait for Marc to bring the perfume home. We had been talking about it for a long time, he had been talking about his scents, “his notes”, showing me ideas for the bottle, thinking about the name. This new project seemed to fascinate him. Making a perfume is powerful, intimate and risky. It’s an interaction. Will we like each other, will we work, will we succeed in fusing? For a brand, this is an important issue because it is a product that touches the very essence of a person. A subtle elixir that will refine your character, show your preferences and assume the game of social seduction.
The scent diffuses with your steps, as you walk along the streets, it enters your home, gets into your clothes, coats your hair, embraces your skin, seeps into your pores until it becomes part of you. We know your smile, we now know your perfume. It is anchored in the heads of your friends, your children, your colleagues... thanks to the perfume, your aura changes color and more importantly, the memory that people have of you becomes stronger, more precise, greater.
At no point did I imagine wearing the future Horace fragrance. Not because it was supposed to be a men's fragrance (I don't think there are scents more suited for men and others more so for women... everyone has the right to cocoon patchouli if they feel like it), but because I've been wearing another fragrance for a very long time, Mûre et Musc, from L'Artisan Parfumeur, which I've only "cheated" on a few times with Bal d'Afrique from Byredo. You know, that loyalty thing. Finding your perfume is like finding a partner. You wear it with love, you present it with pride, you know that it looks like you and you have this crazy desire for it to accompany you throughout your life. You would never think of changing it for another fragrance. It is a unique bond that we maintain with very few everyday products.
For as long as I've known Marc, I've never seen him use perfume. He may have tried, sometimes, but it was never him, he had neither the instinct, above all, he didn't feel any need for it. When he came home from the office that night shouting, "I've got it!" and handed me the box, I felt how much he wanted me to love this new companion. I carefully opened the cardboard package, discovered the sturdy and chic bottle and immediately saw the stickers. Marc had already explained to me the concept they had come up with with the creative teams: letters on stickers to write his name next to the perfume's name, "& Horace". A way to make the object his own, completely. Go ahead," he said. Stick the letters on, write whatever you want!" Reason would have had me write Marc & Horace, since he was going to wear it, but no, spontaneously, and as if I were welcoming a new member to the family, I wrote: Adeline, Marc & Horace. I think it was a way of saying to Marc, if you love something and want it to be part of your life, then I'll adopt it. I loved the scent right away. I'm a sucker for musky scents, so the subtle scents of & Horace told me of softness, warmth, protection.
Very naturally and without a thinking of my Mûre et Musc, I started wearing Adeline Marc & Horace every day, being delighted to take Marc everywhere with me; on my scarf, my wrists, my sweaters. It was also very well-received and I was, as you can imagine, very proud to reveal its origin. I wore my guy's perfume, like you wear your first real boyfriend's t-shirt – with passion. Very quickly, I took possession of the bottle. It was no longer in Marc's things, it was on the table in front of the entrance, with my rings, where I keep my keys, my wallet. It was one of the things I needed, the things that stay with me, whether I'm in or out. We then moved and inherited a very beautiful red marble fireplace, with a huge mirror above it: how could I leave the perfume in a vulgar entrance when it could sublimate this part of the living room? And here it is (!), now sitting next to a big golden Buddha that protects the house. It is an object that is part of the house, and part of my life – and when is say really, I mean really.
A few days ago, Marc, some friends and I were just talking about perfume. I was obviously expressing my love for musk, thanking Marc for putting it in & Horace and asking him what note of his perfume was his favourite. Why had he never worn perfume before and could he not do without it anymore? Was it the tobacco note? The white pepper? The floral touch of iris root? Then he gave me the best answer, "It's just that you put it on so much that now it reminds me of you."
The perfumer has been perfumed.