Escentric Molecules
Founded 2006
Escentric Molecules is an independent perfume house started in London in 2006 by German perfumer Geza Schoen and British creative director Paul White. Each scent comes as a pair: a Molecule built around one aroma molecule, and an Escentric that blends it with other notes. Schoen now creates new scents in his Berlin studio, where the brand also has its first own boutique.
Hours and prices change, so check with the shop before you go.
Escentric Molecules, one aroma molecule per bottle
Escentric Molecules was founded in London in 2006 by the German perfumer Geza Schoen and the British creative director Paul White. Schoen had trained for more than ten years at a large fragrance company before he moved to London. White co-founded the record label One Little Indian. The house set out to strip perfume back to its essence through molecules, art and chemistry.
The range runs in numbered pairs. A Molecule holds a single aroma molecule on its own: Molecule 01 is only Iso E Super, a woody material first made in a lab at IFF in 1973 that does not exist in nature. The matching Escentric uses the same molecule at a high dose with a few other notes, and in Escentric 01 Iso E Super makes up 65 percent of the formula. The house says its scents are made for skin, not for gender. Schoen now creates new scents in his Berlin studio, and its first permanent boutique is in Berlin, on Auguststrasse.
It has no shop of its own in London. Its stockist map lists shops across the city, among them Liberty on Regent Street, Selfridges on Oxford Street, Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, and Harvey Nichols and Harrods in Knightsbridge. On its own site a 100 ml Molecule 01 costs £125 and a 100 ml Escentric 01 costs £130. Smell Molecule 01 first: the house calls it a favourite of two decades, and it seems to fade and then come back on the skin.
- Molecule 01Nothing but Iso E Super, a velvety, woody molecule that blends with your own smell into a personal scent.
- Escentric 01Iso E Super at 65 percent with lime, pink pepper, orris, incense and musk, made to defy the rules.
- Molecule 02Pure Ambroxan, a lab-made material with the same structure as the ambrox found in ambergris.
- Molecule 03Vetiveryl acetate, a reworked part of vetiver oil that keeps the woody, grassy smell but adds a brighter, grapefruit-like lift.
Where to buy
- Liberty, Regent Street, London W1B 5AH
- Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, London W1A 1AB
- Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER
- Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RJ
- Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, London SW1X 7XL