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As of October, a new fragrance from beauty house Coty will be hitting the shelves of travel retail: Tiffany Intense.
The EDP is a fresh interpretation of Tiffany & Co’s eponymous fragrance, launched in 2017 (see sidebar below). It is designed to be – as the name suggests – a more intense incarnation of its parent scent.
Building on the identity of the eponymous fragrance, Intense EDP is a “richer and deeper version”, explains Tiffany.
The brand once again called on perfumer Daniela Andrier of Givaudan, who retained iris as a key note, this time in a richer concentration. The flower is joined by notes of amber and benzoin. “The musky and floral scent is a more powerful version of the original, wrapped in a warm, sensual accord that takes the juice a step further,” Tiffany adds.
The flacon follows the same lines as its parent scent, this time with a collar in silver (another of Tiffany’s favoured materials). The juice itself is a bolder blue, closer to the house’s trademarked shade.
[image_magnify src=”https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Intense_50ml_EDP_FOGRA-600.jpg” src_big=”https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Intense_50ml_EDP_FOGRA-1200.jpg” alt=”” /]
Winning an audience
The launch of Intense suggests that The Fragrance has been a success. A notable one in fact, given the burgeoning challenge from niche and independent perfume houses, which are stealing much of the consumer limelight. Big brands face a sterner challenge than ever when it comes to launching a perfume. The category is saturated and a scent must stand out to succeed.
Of course, as an established brand – and one of the world’s most recognisable – Tiffany was hardly starting from scratch. But today’s shopper is a discerning one and even a brand of Tiffany’s standing can’t get away with lending its name to an inferior product. Millennials, and through their influence the wider consumer, are looking for authenticity.
This is perhaps where Tiffany’s genius lies. From the very beginning, every element of The Fragrance was chosen for its intrinsic ‘Tiffany-ness’, from what the scent reflects to what it contains, to the flacon and the box that contains it, and of course the name itself. Tiffany knows its brand, and both the debut and follow-up fragrances are authentically Tiffany.
The price point* is another talking point. Tiffany’s previous forays into the fragrance world came with decidedly high-end price tags. The Fragrance and Intense, on the other hand, sit alongside the Chanels and the Diors of the perfume world: expensive yet attainable. Here a new audience opens up, members of which may not be able to afford, say, a Tiffany T bangle. But they can certainly purchase a perfume, and in so doing buy into a brand that might have been closed to them before.
As a jewellery maker, Tiffany & Co has a cultural clout that most brands can only dream of. As a perfumer, it remains to be seen whether it can hold the same sway. But the future certainly looks bright. Or should we say Blue?
*Tiffany intense launches in travel retail in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific in October, available in 50ml (£61.60/US$102) and 75ml (£87.10/US$127.50).
In the beginning… The original Tiffany Fragrance, born of the US jewellery house’s partnership with Coty, was the brand’s first new scent in 30 years, making Intense only its second women’s perfume on the market today. To understand Intense, it’s necessary to view it in the context of the original 2017 launch. This saw a completely new approach to the category for the famed US jewellery house, which sought not simply to put its name to a product, but to create a perfume that was as much a part of the brand (and a reflection of it) as any of its diamond rings. Every element of the product – from the packaging to the ingredients – was to be inspired by the history and heritage of Tiffany. But how do you go about bottling a brand? Capturing the scent  The task began with the scent itself. For that debut line, Tiffany challenged perfumer Daniela Andrier of Givaudan to come up with a fragrance that would evoke the touch of jewellery on bare skin; a scent (and sensation) that Tiffany no doubt knows well. Andrier opted for top notes of vert de mandarine with base notes of patchouli and musks. But it is the heart of the scent that most directly reflects Tiffany: Iris. Tiffany has a long association with the iris, says the brand, noting the flower’s appearance in some of the house’s earliest sketches. In 1900, Tiffany won the grand prize at the Paris Exposition with an iris-shaped brooch, and the motif has continued to be a frequent reference in the century since. Thus iris was a very on-brand choice for The Fragrance, and Andrier created its heart from the flower. French-grown blooms were chosen, harvested only in July and August, their butter obtained through an extraction method exclusive to Tiffany. The result was a floral musk that the brand described as “powerfully modern”.
 Diamonds proved the perfect inspiration for the flacon of a house world-famous for its work with such stones. The base of the bottle features faceting inspired by the Tiffany Diamond, one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered. The shoulders recall the geometric lines of the Lucida diamond, a signature cut of the house that adorns many solitaire engagement rings. The clear glass bottle is accented by a collar in Tiffany Blue, which complements the ever-so-slightly blue-tinted juice. The fragrance is – of course – presented in a Tiffany Blue Box. Creating the campaign The simple yet certain approach continued into the Tiffany campaign, which was shot by renowned photographer Steven Meisel. Four models were chosen to represent the “diverse spirit” of the brand: Vittoria Ceretti, Julia Nobis, Achok Majak and Georgina Grenville. In the video, they wear (or appear to wear) nothing but Tiffany jewels and The Tiffany Fragrance. It’s shot in black and white, save for the pop of Tiffany Blue on the bottle. The soundtrack is a specially recorded cover of The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love. It’s clean and modern, but romantic. It’s a strong campaign, and one that that cleverly navigates the age-old dilemma of the perfume ad: how can you advertise something you cannot see? |
Building the bottle
