After working with fragrance brands for many years with his family, Thomas Saujet is ready to put his own name on one — and it exudes luxury in every sense. Think French crystal bottles and concentrations so high his perfumers certainly raised eyebrows.
Enter Saujet, his haute parfumerie fragrance house inspired by the glamorous Mediterranean lifestyle. It will launch Oct. 20 with a pop-up in Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills before expanding its retail presence throughout the next year.
Its debut collection, Lumière d’Azur, is priced at $2,250 for a 76-ml. bottle and will be sold at Bergdorf Goodman and the Lalique Townhouse in New York, in addition to Neiman Marcus. The launch also introduces Le Briquet, an 18-karat gold-plated fragrance atomizer inspired by the French cigarette lighter priced at $475.
With fragrance concentrations reaching up to 60 percent, Lumière d’Azur pushes the boundaries of what is possible in perfumery. For reference, an extrait’s concentration is usually around 20 to 30 percent.
“They thought I was crazy,” said Saujet of when he first presented the idea to the perfumers at Givaudan, who developed the fragrances. “Let’s stretch the limit. In the world of fragrance, people now want higher levels of concentration. We’re at such a high price point, we have the ability to not compromise.”
The collection is organized around sun, sea and earth elements and was developed with perfumers Yann Vasnier, Christine Hassan, Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Caroline Sabas and Shyamala Maisondieu at Givaudan. At its center is Saujet Cannes, a tuberose creation softened by coconut water, peach blossom, solar amber, jasmine, neroli, vetiver and vanilla. Other fragrances include Saujette, with a Champagne accord and cassis, and Saujet Tuscany, which features a black olive accord and mimosa.
His eldest son Théo Saujet worked on the scent Les Caves, inspired by the iconic Saint-Tropez night club Les Caves du Roy, which Thomas Saujet believes will be the most multigenerational of all the fragrances.
“We had carte blanche in interpreting Thomas’ vision for the Lumière d’Azur collection. The high concentration was exciting and challenging, giving Saujet its signature and then you top that off with a Lalique bottle. It’s a powerful statement. It’s a very special project for us,” said Flores-Roux, senior perfumer and vice president of fragrance creation at Givaudan.
For the bottle, Thomas Saujet partnered with crystal house Lalique Group on a special design complete with crystal caps modeled on the umbrella pine trees in the South of France for each fragrance.
Holding up to 450 grams of crystal, each vessel is handmade from start to finish, comprising more than 22 steps that can only be performed by multigenerational artisans in Alsace, France.
The bottle can be refilled with any fragrance in the collection in stores — the refills will, of course, be housed in Lalique vases.
“At Neiman Marcus, we are always looking for meaningful ways to bring our customers the very best in luxury through exceptional product and unparalleled experiences that cannot be found anywhere else,” said Tatiana Birkelund, senior vice president, general merchandise manager of beauty, jewelry, gifts and home at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. “Our partnership with Thomas Saujet, and launching his new brand Saujet, reflects that commitment, bringing together his unique creative perspective with our deep understanding of our luxury customer.”
Saujet is looking at opening stand-alone stores in Miami, Saint Tropez and Cannes, where Thomas Saujet spent his childhood before relocating to the U.S., while purchases will not be possible online.
“That’s not luxury,” said Saujet of purchasing online. “You can’t buy online because I think at the end of the day, when people say, ‘Oh, I’m luxury’ and then what happens is you can just go online to buy it. So you’re not exclusive; anybody can buy it. So we’re taking a policy that if you want it, you come to the store.”
The exclusivity continues with the fact that Saujet will most likely produce only around 1,000 bottles in its first year as the process to manufacture the crystal bottles and caps is so rigorous.
Saujet developed its brand strategy and creative expression in partnership with Studio ALIFFI, founded by former chief brand officer of Neiman Marcus Nabil Aliffi. “Thomas and his family are uniquely positioned to introduce a new luxury brand in the world of fragrances. Coupled with the momentum we are seeing in the ultra-high-end segment of this industry and the luxury client’s desire for authentic storytelling, the market entry is perfectly timed,” said Aliffi.
Thomas Saujet previously cofounded International Cosmetics & Perfumes Inc. with his family and spent more than 20 years building the House of Creed business in the Americas. It was sold to Kering as part of the conglomerate’s acquisition of Creed.
His father Claude Saujet created the first fragrance for Van Cleef & Arpels and went on to become the vice chairman of Cartier Americas, where he created the Must de Cartier perfume before becoming president of Harry Winston.
Last year, he launched Saujet Fragrances Group, the distributor-investor combo that sits under Saujet Holdings, which also invested in Barberino’s and distributes a portfolio of niche European fragrance brands in the Americas, including Saujet. It takes equity in each fragrance brand it distributes and its portfolio includes Fabricca Della Musa, Anti, Chambre52 and What We Do Is Secret.