With their stunning flagship store nestled in the trendy and chic Duxton Road, Maison 21G proudly expanded their locations by opening a new venue at ION Orchard, B2 and BHG Bugis last month. I was one of the lucky few invited to see the ION Orchard space when it first opened, as well as experiencing for the first time, their signature Maison 21G perfumery workshop. Each space offers pre-booked workshops as well as walk-in-guests and hasty shoppers, thus catering for all needs.
So who are Maison 21G?
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Maison 21G is a Parisian Haute Couture perfume house enabling consumers to tailor-make their own signature scent. A revolutionary retail concept powered by technology gives Maison 21G the power to make fragrance design accessible, sustainable and most importantly scalable. A revolutionising fragrance concept combining an AI-guided personality quiz to determine the right scent for each person and pairable perfume essences blended by Maison 21G’s own patented La Source technology. With full customisation of the bottle label and ingredients, all customers are given complete freedom to express their individuality through scent.
The Maison 21G Experience
As I slipped onto one of the high stools seated around the circular workshop table, I was greeted by Ms. Johanna Monange – Founder & CEO of the brand. She details her own extensive experience and knowledge as a nose and scent designer within the perfumery industry, and how Maison 21G came to fruition. Why 21G? Johanna asks me. I assume it has something to do with particles in a scent or percentages, but actually it’s much deeper than that. Based on a study conducted by the physician Duncan MacDougall, our soul weighs exactly 21 grams, Maison’ 21Gs purpose is to encapsulate the scent of each and every individual’s soul in a 21 grams bottle of perfume with 21% of perfume essence.
This is my first time creating my own scent or learning the basics to this art, and I lap up Johanna’s presentation, depicting the first ever perfume created (spoiler alert; it was by Ancient Egyptians), how perfumes are layered, what the word even means (‘to smoke through’) and how important and unique a scent is to an individual person.
“I want to revive perfumery by bringing the soul it has long needed back into the scents we create through an immersive experience. Customers can develop their fragrances for any mood or occasion without being afraid to let loose and explore. Developing your very own perfume should be expressive, informative, and evoke discussion amongst friends. Your only limit should be your imagination!’’ To Johanna, scent is much more than a mere sense. She explains, “Scent is a magical spell that brings us together with its mysterious powers. We want to share and thrive with other artists that celebrate the true power of the senses.”
So how do you begin curating your own scent? With a quiz of course! Maison 21G utilises a personality quiz which can be accessed via the website (which can also be done at home too as it is available for everyone online), to help customers on their aromatic journey. From the data points gathered, the artificial intelligence suggests two combinations of scents, one day-time scent and one evening perfume. I, however, had Johanna by my side, who offered her personal expertise on the ingredients I liked and disliked.
After sniffing everything I had previously no idea about, I settled on a concoction of Incense, Tuberose, Ocean and hint of Raspberry and Tonka – I adore sweet and fruity scents, with a deep undertone. Not only did Johanna help me pick and craft my scent from each layered ingredient, she also helped me add in the individual scents gram by gram on the weighing scales, testing as we go, until I am happy with the final smell – all in a personalized bottle with wording of my choice.
The parfum itself?
I. Absolutely. Love. It.
When I sprayed it at home, my other half immediately asked what that smell was, and said it’s lovely. When I sprayed it at work, my colleagues have all then asked what that scent is, because it smells so nice. I believe this scent absolutely describes me, tells my story via a perfume and epitomizes what I love and adore about a fragrance. It IS me, in a bottle. Now I can’t fathom going to buy a store mass produced product, when I have my own unique scent that I can go back and re-order over and over, that is personal to just me.
I loved the whole experience and my final product so much, a week later I took my partner there for his own scent-creating workshop on his birthday. All scents are unisex – Maison 21G doesn’t adhere to the societal standards imposed by usual perfumery brands. For example, rose can fit a gentleman just as well as vetiver would suit a lady and vice versa. My partner loved learning about the perfumery world and after taking his own test, he left with his personalised bottle and a combo of Sage & Amber scent – addictive, intoxicating and glorious. I must say, it is a great gift idea for someone’s birthday – or celebration of any special occasion.
No time for a workshop? Maison 21G houses many many ready-to-purchase fragrances, miniature rollons and solid perfumes, should you be in a hurry and need to grab and go. But, I must add, you do not need to spare such time to still create your own unique masterpiece, as the brand’s venue houses the company’s breakthrough blending technology La Source which enables customers to mix their very own eau de parfum in just 30 seconds.
Aside from all of the above, the brand for me is a gift that keeps on giving. They focus on care and attention to the planet, using cruelty free and sustainable products and reusable packaging – even if you don’t wish to continue with your perfume of choice, you can bring your empty glass bottle back in to the store and they will recycle it for future use. Check out the full brand commitments below:
Whats more, because Maison 21G has a core focus on sustainability and recycling products, if customers bring back their empty bottle, it will be refilled for only $60. If being environmentally friendly is your thing, the below applies to every product the brand sells:
Price? To blend your own signature perfume using two ingredients for a bottle that is 21ml, it is $80 for a walk-in customer. For the Private Creation Atelier workshop, it is $120pp. Want to do a couple’s Love Atelier workshop? It is $290 per couple and you receive one perfume each.
Where to find their outlets
Maison 21G Duxton Flagship Store: 77 Duxton Rd, Singapore 089536
Maison 21G ION Orchard Boutique: ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, #B2-48, Singapore 238801
Maison 21G BHG Counter: BHG Bugis Junction, 200 Victoria Street, #01-25, Beauty Library, Singapore 188021
