DIPTYQUE GOES BEYOND THE NOSE
The fragrance brand’s Philippine flagship boutique is the truest expression of its origins as the first-ever concept store.
Ifollowed my nose and found the Diptyque flagship boutique in Power Plant Mall in Rockwell. I allowed Baies' bouquet of roses and blackcurrant to lead the way to the newly opened space.
The interiors are inspired by the emblematic Diptyque boutique at 34 Boulevard Saint Germain on the Left Bank of Paris, opened in 1961 by three adventurous aesthetes, Desmond Knox-Leet, Christiane MontadreGautrot and Yves Coueslant. Artists with eclectic passions — drawing, calligraphy, origami, theater, cryptology, antiquity and travel — and discerning tastes, they invented a particular way of blending fine arts, tradition and nature into a sophisticated yet simple art of living and put it all in the first-ever concept store.
The 34 Boulevard Saint Germain boutique contains the founders’ creations — fabrics, wallpapers, cushions and potpourri — and objects they brought back from around the world. Today, this aesthetic travels further afield as Diptyque opens its second boutique in Manila, following the first one in Central Square, BGC, anchored by a wall evoking a diluted ink spill. The Power Plant Mall space is decorated with a mix of antiques and rare, beautiful objects with wood and brass furnishings. Emilie Durrieu, area manager for Southeast Asia, calls this aesthetic “bazaar chic.”
Emilie presents the personal fragrance lineup that the brand calls its Artiste Box. “Like an artist’s palette.” Eau de toilette and perfume are classified by olfactory family — citrus, floral, woody or spicy — and labeled with colors. The Diptyque flagship carries 29 local bestsellers, including the first in an extensive collection of body fragrances created in 1968, l’Eau, out of the brand’s 37 scents, leaving out exclusive editions for bigger boutiques.
“Discover fragrance with this little jar.” The lid of the tiny ceramic pot flips open as she lifts it to my nose. “You smell what the fragrance will do on your skin. This is a real feeling and sense of the scent. With the bottle, you can only smell the top note. The alcohol is too strong.”
Inside is a charm dangling from the lid. A tiny elephant dangles inside for Tam Dao, a swan for L’Ombre dans l'Eau, a fig for Philosykos and so on. It sums up the olfactory landscape depicted on the back of each bottle, a visual of what the fragrance represents. At the back of Tam Dao, it is a drawing of an elephant walking the jungles of Asia.
Diptyque cents are captured by the head-space technique. The 34 Boulevard Saint Germain range epitomizes this, encapsulating the invisible wafts of scent recorded as immaterial alluvium in the first ever store.
Diptyque’s use of visual recognition, like in its emblems — dancing lettering, shades of black and white, the oval of its bottles —are extended to its use of colors to match scents.
“Diptyque has made a signature out of its very specific way of packing products using silk paper brought from around Asia inspired by origami folding with three colors,” Emilie explains. “It follows a strict color code, each hue representing the raw material of each fragrance. Our gift-wrapping is a way of recognizing the scent even when it is wrapped.” For example, L’Ombre’s blackcurrant notes are represented by a purple gift box.
“The Philippines is one of the countries buying more of the personal fragrances than home fragrances. In general in Asia, home scents are not part of the culture, but it is becoming more popular,” says Emilie.
Diptyque carries handmade candles (some as big as 1.5 kg), room sprays, a cold-diffusion system in a decorative hourglass, an electric diffuser, and a car diffuser.
“Diptyque is very much inspired by traveling and being in nature. Our fragrances are inspired by our founders’ travels but the candles are on purpose made to represent each element of a dream nature or remind you of one that you visited. Combining them allows you to create your very own scent landscape.”
Candles were first added in 1963 — Aubépine, Cannelle and Thé. “It’s supposed to be mixed together. We’re really coming back to the spirit of combining scents.”
The Rockwell boutique carries 50 scents. Emilie instructs us to remove the wax from the glass and smell the lingering scent on the empty glass — the scent of the candle once it's burning.
Emilie lights Figuier with Cyprès at the same time. “Cypress is a tree that is all over my hometown in the south of France. It takes me back to my childhood.”
“Diptyque also carries new ways of fragrancing oneself,” Emilie says, pointing to the body range with its assortment of emulsions, soaps, hair mist — in Eau Rose and Eau de Sens — creams, solid perfumes, and roll-on perfume. “The percentage of fragrance is very high.” There are oils for the face and body as well as exfoliants.
“Diptyque’s expansion to skincare and body is a new way to express and explore the heart of living through the senses. This is the goal of the brand.”