Iso E Super is an abstract synthetic molecule characterised as a cedarwood note with a warm, velvety cocooning sensation. Mandarin is a natural extracted from the mandarin orange.
“Mandarin is all about the instant hit. It’s so alive, the way it radiates off the skin with that citrus zestiness. But there’s more to mandarin, it’s very fruity and aromatic as well. It’s a beautiful ingredient. Its transparency means that it vanishes quickly. I’ve touched it up with a little extra shading to extend it, adding a mandarin ingredient used in flavourings to give it super-juiciness. Then as it begins to fade, Molecule 01 syncs in, bringing a warm, erogenous feeling to play with that zinging freshness. That’s unusual – for a top-note ingredient like Mandarin and a base note like Iso E Super to dance together naked like this, without other notes coming between them. And then the mandarin is almost gone and you are left with the elevated simplicity of Molecule 01. That’s what I love about Molecule 01 + Mandarin – it may be a dance of two but the story changes completely from beginning to middle to end.” – Geza Schoen
The most minimal fragrance is a single aroma-molecule: Molecule 01. The next most minimal adds 1 to 01: 01 + 1 This is Molecule + In 2006, Escentric Molecules launched Molecule 01, a single aroma-molecule in a bottle. The molecule was Iso E Super, an abstract synthetic created in a lab at IFF. Molecule 01 became a cult phenomenon, hailed as the anti-fragrance fragrance and the scent of the 21st century. A love song to minimalism. Now Molecule 01 gets a plus one. In three iterations, it is paired with a single scent ingredient.
“Molecule 01 is an exceptional molecule: radiant, velvety, cocooning. There’s nothing else like it, people find it irresistible. It’s mysteriously effective on its own as Molecule 01, it’s great in a fragrance as in Escentric 01. But recently I started to wonder if there might be another way to play with it. What if I could take the molecule and add just one other beautiful ingredient and see how they danced together in the bottle? That’s Molecule +.” Geza Schoen, perfumer
“Molecule + is Molecule 01 + 1 singular olfactoric element. If that element had been another aroma-chemical, this would not have worked. Each of the pairings has to be a natural. Only naturals have the complexity and radiance to work in a dance of two like this, while maintaining the simplicity of the concept.” Geza Schoen
