If you’ve been following me (Julia, lol) on my personal social media accounts, I’m sure you’ve already been bombarded by my promotions of a little ol’ brand called Le Nez Parfumerie. While I can’t apologize for that–your girl has to make sales somehow–I will take this time to let you guys have a sneak peek into the brand that has so quickly burrowed a nest into my heart.
For those that aren’t aware yet, Le Nez (pronounced more like “luh nuh”, but we’re Filipino, so I think we can get a pass at just saying “leh nehz“) is one of my latest brain babies, launched alongside my sisters, Joyce and Bea–though Bea is non-biological, she’s a sister nonetheless!
Behind the Brand: A Walk Through Grasse
As much as I’d love to take credit for the brand, the idea of it all really came from my sister, Joyce. She had always had an entrepreneurial spirit, making and selling different things through her passion for finding new ways to make a little dough. She had sold perfume years ago, but had never really put a name to the bottles–until Bea and I came into the mix.
She approached us with her latest idea: a brand of local handcrafted luxury perfumes that could stand against the richness and longevity of expensive brand names while making sure our customers’ pockets didn’t bleed at the expense. As we sat down to brainstorm (but let’s be real: most of our ideation really came from 2AM WhatsApp conversations starting with “OMG WHAT IF?”), we realized that this brand was much more than just perfume. It was an experience–Ate Joyce’s experience, to be precise–that we wanted everyone else to be a part of.
See, many years ago, my ate went on a soul-searching trip to Grasse, France with my tita. There, her love for perfume was exacerbated. She had always loved perfumes, even when we were little; she would collect luxurious fragrances and would bring me to stores to show me the scents that she loved, therefore bringing me to love perfumes as well. However, Grasse materialized it into something much more. Being in the epicenter of the fragrance capital of France, she saw (and smelled) just how lovingly each little perfumery bottled their products. There she learned that the boutiques (each with their own master perfumers called “le nez”) specially made each scent for their customers, gauging their preferences to craft a bottle unique to them, then labelling it with their name to give them a once-in-a-lifetime scent experience.
With that story, our brand was born! And while we can’t replicate the exact ways of Grasse, we can do our best by giving you scents crafted meticulously by hand, sniffed endlessly until perfection was deemed, and tested over and over again to make sure that you get the same feeling of opulence that you would with branded items. We also wanted to replicate the homey, small-town feel of Grasse, so we’re doing our best to represent that through our eco-friendly and reusable pouches, recyclable seaweed paper wrap, and a little bit of twine to tie it all together–packed individually by hand, by the way, by our lovely Bea.
Our little three-person company does everything we can to work together to bring you only the best. While we shiver in our own respective singular-person-run departments, we absolutely love what we do, so we hope that you feel it too in every spritz of our perfumes.
Le Nez: Tell Us About It
While I wouldn’t want to bore you with all the little details, I would like to let you in on what we have and why you need (yes, need) to try it out.
First of all, we have 12 staple scents to choose from that each come in varying sizes to accommodate your needs. While there are scents whose notes may be generally geared towards either men or women, we like to let you decide for yourself. Though many of our scents are actually unisex in nature, as I said above, we like to show off all of our scents sans the gendered label. For example, there are some masculine scents, such as Tease (deep, musky, and the right amount of spicy), that actually work well with my personal preferences. That being said, we like to allow you to discover the scent that best suits you, as a unique individual, with our androgynous descriptions, packaging, and overall brand sense.
Let’s get into sizing. Want the most bang for your buck? A 50ml spray bottle of the scent of your choosing is perfect. Just a few sprays is enough to last you the whole day, so you’re sure to make the most of your purchase. Travelling or need something convenient for your purse? We have 10mls and 5mls that are sitting pretty on our shelves just waiting for their perfect perfume lover to snag! Bonus tip: since our 10ml and 5ml bottles are rollers, it’s ideal for controlling the amount of perfume you’d like to apply. For example, you’d like your scent to come off a little stronger, then layering it on is literally just one roll away.
Each scent is made with high concentrations of imported French oils–only the good stuff for our lovely customers, of course! This high concentration also means that it lasts longer on the skin. Whether you’re out all day or staying in all night (iykwim), our scents will stay put. This is tried and tested, mind you! A few spritzes on the wrist and pulse points would give me a lovely scent that lingered from the moment I’d leave my house in the morning to the second I’d take my nightly showers.
While I’d love to chat your ear off about each scent, it may be best to give our socials (@lenezparfumerie on Facebook and Instagram) a follow to get a feel of each of them lest I make this article take twenty hours to read.
We also let you personalize your 50ml bottles with handwritten calligraphy (courtesy of our multi-talented sales head, Bea) to give you a Grasse-esque experience. Plus, it’s adorable for gifting to your loved ones! Who doesn’t like things with their name on it? It just makes things feel more personal, you know?
What’s Next for Le Nez?
A LOT! This is a Julia Benito guarantee: there is SO MUCH more to come from our three-month-old brand, so do make sure to stay updated. Of course, I can’t reveal too much right now, but one of the most exciting things we can say is that we have many new scents (maybe new products?) in the making!
We’ve actually released two just the other day: Maverick and Valentine. These two were practically made for February date nights, so if you’re hoping to woo a special someone, a little whiff of these scents is all you need send them into a sensual frenzy. Warning: this may or may not be confirmed by The Ladies of Le Nez. Hahaha! Because this is such a new scent, we even decided to mark it down for you for its opening month! Buy 1 scent each (so 1 Maverick and 1 Valentine) in 5ml bottles for only P350 until the end of the month only–I know, right? Such a steal.
Aside from the new scents, you can expect some freebies along the way! This February, we’ll be giving out some Le Nez tote bags to those that buy two 50ml bottles of any scent of their choosing. Why? Well, why not? Everyone loves tote bags! Got errands? Going to the gym? Hitting up a beach? Tote. Bag. Plus, it’s the season of love, so think of it as a little Valentine’s Day present from us to you for supporting us through and through.
What’s Your Fave?
This is literally so hard for me because I genuinely like all of the scents we made–duh, otherwise I wouldn’t sell them, LOL! But if push comes to shove, I would name my top three to be: 1) Eclipse, 2) Valentine (new, but so good!), and 3) Delirium.
I’m not one to typically gravitate towards bright, citrusy scents. So, when earthy, neutral, and kind of spicy scents like Eclipse and Delirium hit my nostrils, I am a goner. Valentine is a newbie in the lineup, but the initial soft, floral-but-not-lola-floral scent hits your skin, it really gets you in a flirty kinda mood. It makes me feel some kinda way, you know? Then, as it sits and melds into your skin and body heat, it gives off a deeper, vanilla note that’s perfect for getting cozy with my mans–hi, babe, if you’re reading.
I hope that little deep dive into Le Nez Parfumerie was interesting for you! For the supporters who followed us from day one to those that just got aboard the fragrance train, I deeply, deeply thank you. Words will never be enough to express how much this brand, being the first actual entrepreneurial venture I’ve ever had that was my OWN, means to me and my family.
From the stone cold recesses of my heart, I, the Marketing Department of Le Nez, thank you.
Now, go on and slay safe, babes! Don’t forget to drop a follow on your friendly local luxury parfumerie’s socials if you want more scentacular updates!
💋 julia
A 25-year-old writer with an obsession for beauty and an ineffable love for all things sharp—from cacti to hedgehogs to intense winged liner.
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