Blood is not the most marketable of products, but that hasn’t deterred Italian perfume house Blood Concept from launching a new line of fragrances inspired by the visceral substance.
“We wanted to tell a real story with the concept, not something based on fantasy,” says Antonio Zuddas, one half of Blood Concept’s creative team. The story that he’s referring to is one close to all our hearts: the story of human evolution.
Together with business partner Giovanni Castelli, Zuddas has compiled a range of four fragrances that take in everything from the primal plains of early earth to the ozonic air of the not too distant future.
From start to finish, the collection has taken the duo less than nine months to complete, but demonstrates the sort of attention to detail that you would expect from a company with a longer conception.
The medicinal aesthetic that has been applied to the range is of particular note. “We shaped a minimal medical look. It’s positive and playful and isn’t trying to be elegant.” You can’t argue that there aren’t many bottles inspired by hospital drips. Elsewhere, silicon stickers seal the fragrance boxes, all lined with individual graphic designs that reflect the scents inspiration.
Fortunately, as far as blood is concerned, the duo stopped short of dying the juice red, instead including a base metallic note in each fragrance to remind the wearer of the connection that binds the fragrances together.
Human evolution is a fantastic source for olfactory inspiration, especially when explored in such a scientific way. Avoiding fantastical conceits, perfume designer Castelli has instead created four fragrances that consider everything from man’s diet, to location and environment. Exploring blood types O, A, B and AB we discover elements of our evolution that help us understand our origins.
O
The first blood type in History, O is Blood Concept’s animal fragrance. Inspired by Africa, the birthplace of man, O is a wild identity: deep and intense. Like early hunters and their raw meat diet, O is carnal and primitive, containing notes of thyme, cyperus esculentus, leather, birch and cederwood.
A
The blood type A developed as individuals settled down and began to farm the land and eat a vegetable based diet. Living in groups, this was the start of civilization and is reflected in A’s exhilarating scent of nature: like a handful of fresh leaves. Opening with green garden notes, A also contains tomato leaves, basil and star anise.
B
As people started to travel and mix with different ethnicities, the blood type B evolved. With new spices, B is a melting pot of cultures and societies, where man crossed from an ancient way of living to a more nomadic existence. B is a complex woody/spicy composition, with more materials then the other fragrances including black cherry, Artemisia, black tea and teak wood.
AB
Born around 500 years ago, AB is the youngest blood type and is translated in Blood Concept’s entirely synthetic composition, a mineral identity representing modern man. Comprised from molecules, AB is the final evolution in the four scents. This experimental composition includes notes of iron, aluminum, slate and pebble.
The Blood Concept range is available in a number of applications; 40ml Parfum dropper bottles (£115), for a more personal drop-by-drop application, or 60ml Eau de Toilette spray bottles (£98). A compatibility kit is also available, containing each of the fragrances in a 10ml Parfum dropper bottle. The kit offers each of us the chance to explore the history of our evolution and adopt our own identities through Blood Concepts unique range of fragrances.
Blood Concept will launch in the UK in October at Liberty.
Images: J F Bowyer
