Elegance, attitude and aura

After entering the classic Parisian building with its tiled marble floor on a warm afternoon in July, I am greeted by the charming Marie-Lise Jonak and her son Baptiste Bouygues at the perfumery brands’ Ormaie “headquarter”, a quite, classy apartment that feels more like an atelier and is home to one of the most exciting new labels in perfumery.

From the texture of the cardboard packaging, the Italian paper-labels to the modern typography that is slightly altered for each scent to the Brancusi-inspired, wooden lit to the gracefully facetted flacon – the lineup of the eight fragrances (and soon to be launched new creations), presented Bouygues, who found Ormaie in 2018, is already intriguing, even before even smelling a perfume. There is a certain aura – where other brands might punch you with symbols, be it olfactory or visually, Ormaie acts elegant and artfully in every aspect.

“Each perfume has a very special story behind it,” tells Baptiste Bouygues, who runs French perfumery label with his mother Marie-Lise Jonak, a reowned fragrance consultant for mayor brands. The plot behind the perfume is personal, poetic – “Papier Carbone for example is inspired by the school I went to, the wood of the library, the paper…”, explains Bouygues. The herbal, woody scent fulfils this plot – but it also turns you to your own memories, or, a dream that you might find yourself labeling as a memory, because, either through the storytelling or actual notes, there is something familiar in every of the eight perfumes. But the true art lies in triggering this feeling without heavy nostalgia at all, although classic, there is an edge in every creation that give the fragrance modernity.

“We love a challenge, to turn known ingredients into something new,” explains Jonak, who previously worked for big beauty brands.
Take the lavender in “Le Passant” for example: there’s depth, a creaminess through its tonka and vanilla base, “To transform lavender was a challenge”, reveals Jonak.

“I really want every perfume to be perfect, I am very picky and keep pushing”, tells Bouygues, while his mother gently nods to his words. Turning the story and idea into a smellable version is also a challenge because it’s part of Ormaie’s concept to strictly use natural ingredients – which is outstanding in the beauty business. “I love the idea of being close to nature, and I think there is something very elegant about only using natural ingredients”, tells Bouygues. “Establishing this wasn’t easy, many didn’t believe we could create such quality without artificial scents, and it was also tricky to find sources for all the ingredients we need,” tells Jonak.
Today, ingredients are sourced as local as possible, however Ormaie is in direct touch with every producer – and this doesn’t only apply for the fragrance, also all bottles are made out of recycled glass, “The wood comes from renewable beech forests, all labels are printed here in Paris,” so Bouygues. Elegance at Ormaie also shows in attitude and quality.