Scents of Self: The Making of Henry Jacques’ Sur-Mesure Fragrances

A scent that smells like you – smells just like you – is the kind of bespoke, made-to-measure fragrance that French haute parfumerie Henry Jacques has long specialised in bringing to life.

Scent is personal. More than that, it’s evocative. For some, a mere graze of ylang-ylang might kindle the kind of wistful nostalgia that sends a visceral tingle down the spine. For others, it’s cedar and musk that brings to mind the weight of a father’s hand, held cradled in their own. The fired synapses that connect an olfactory impression to an indelible memory are powerfully idiosyncratic – so why should the catalytic scent-in-question be anything but indulgently, lavishly, precisely personalised?

Much like a suit made bespoke with specificity to the lines and contours of measurements meticulously taken, French haute parfumerie Henry Jacques’ Sur-Mesure perfumes, not unlike haute couture, are made-to-measure – then, made to perfection. Rather than simply adjusting existing fragrances in the parfumerie’s impressive history, the years which count close to half a century, Henry Jacques’ Sur-Mesure process brings every fragrance to life from scratch. Each a self-portrait of, first and foremost, the client’s palate and peculiarities, and each, too, a mastered portrait of the rare, natural ingredients a Henry Jacques perfumer is able to translate into distillation – a complex coalescence of approximately 250 ingredients, to be exact, from the floral accords of rose, tuberose, lavender and jasmine, to the heady sensuality of musk and marine ambergris.

And, like everything created through a respect for artisanship and craftsmanship, the making of a Sur-Measure scent is slow. Steady. It’s a metred waltz between client and maker, as the Henry Jacques eau de parfum is massaged into existence with as much care and expertise as can be mustered to create something truly unique. Then, as the scent settles, it’s bottled in a flacon designed, again, just for the crowning occasion and safeguarded in the maison’s archives for its one owner – and nobody else – in perpetuity.

At Henry Jacques, the onerous task of “finding oneself” has been perfected into an art. And here, your unique olfactory imprint awaits – and beckons.

Build your own Henry Jacques Sur-Mesure fragrance here. Shop 2036A, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, +852 2466 1688