A scent-ual guide to Paris and Geneva.
The fragrance entrepreneur on her inner bookworm, inflight masking and the ultimate pizza.
most of our airport experiences go something like this: an awkward juggling of suitcases and carry-ons, hours spent stagnating in security lines and a mad dash to the gate. We imagine that Clara Ferré Molloy, the artistic director of niche fragrance line Memo Paris, is immune to such chaos, that she’s the rare type who breezes through security and leaves an intoxicating scent behind in the packed airport lounge. Molloy, who co-founded the company with her husband, John, in 2007, says the secret to travel elegance is to keep it minimal. “I travel very, very light,” she says. “I really hate luggage; I feel heavy.” Memo Paris’ 24 scents, now available in Canada, are inspired by her and John’s travels to exotic destinations, like Brazil and Indonesia. “When you go to special places that are a bit remote, less touristy, you feel their strong spiritual power,” she says. “It’s this kind of atmosphere that we wanted to find with Memo. When you smell a fragrance from the start note to the end, it’s a small bit of travel in itself.”
BLACK BOOK: EUROPE
CARB LOADING “I live between Paris and Geneva. In Paris, I like a very thin margherita pizza. Italian restaurants are better in Geneva. I prefer La Closerie, in Cologny. The pasta alle vongole is pure joy, and their dessert carriage is to die for.”
LOCAL FAVE “Ca La Pilar Dumingu is my favourite coffee bar in La Bisbal d’Empordà, Spain.” WINDOW SHOPPING “I love the Campo Santa Maria Formoza flea market in Venice.”
RULES OF THE ROAD
THE NEW ROMANTICS “I love to read books more than once; I don’t use a Kindle, so I have to balance this because books are heavy! It’s like going on a holiday with someone you already know. Lately, I’ve been reading poetry by Sylvia Plath.”
BEAUTY BASICS “I always take a cream for the sun and a mask for the plane. Sisley’s instant beauty mask makes my skin beautiful—it just happens!”
WINDOW OR AISLE “Window. I want to see!” DON’T FORGET TO PACK “The right underwear. I was born in Paris. The rest I can live without.”
“We are a travel brand, so leather is in our DNA. [One of our perfumers said], ‘Nobody wants to wear leather.’ And I told her, ‘Let’s do it anyway.’ That was a challenge. We had to reinvent the scent in a way.” Memo Paris Russian Leather Eau de Parfum Spray ($378 for 75 mL, memoparis.com)