Molecule 01
Escentric Molecules (2006)

The teasing there-not-there woodsy, spicy and floral notes can either be charming and enigmatic, or completely baffling and maddening.

The sample that I bought, which was probably concentrated, was lovely; as an essential oil, this could probably work. The full bottle was much less successful: one spray, two sprays, four sprays can do nothing, but if you spritz more than that, you'll just be rewarded with an alcoholic blast. The constant guessing game of finding the right balance for your body chemistry, on the particular day that you're wearing it, just so that you can get an occasional whiff, can be frustrating.

Sweet woody and inoffensive. Can’t see many people objecting to this being around them. Easy to wear but not really for me.

The fragrance features a soft musky woodiness with a subtle hint of sweetness. Some days, you may not be able to detect the scent at all, which can be confusing if you've heard great things about the brand. Other days, you might get a pleasant surprise with a sudden waft of the fragrance. The composition is unconventional and not like a typical fragrance where the notes are apparent from the start. You have to pay attention when smelling it.

When testing the fragrance at a department store, it might not be apparent on a tester strip. To truly appreciate the fragrance, it needs to be sprayed on your skin and given a week of testing. It's worth giving it a chance because it's one of the few fragrances that has received compliments from others, even when the wearer couldn't smell it themselves.

You'll either love it or be indifferent to it. It's not a fragrance that many people will find repulsive, so it's safe in that regard. It's not a fragrance to blind-buy, but it might be perfect for those who don't typically wear fragrances. While the reviewer doesn't love it enough to purchase a full bottle, they will keep a sample to remind themselves of its interesting composition.

Yeah this one's hard to explain. It's there, it's not there. It's subtle, its sillage is incredible. It's a skin scent, it projects massively. It's a conundrum. Obviously it's just the one note of Iso-E-Super, which has been used to great effect in all kinds of fragrances, but here, the solidarity of it is what makes it unique.

I wore it to work the other day and got three unsolicited compliments, even though I could smell very little and suspected I was wasting my time with this one. Later that night, I got a waft of it up from my arm and was blown away at how clean, delicate and woody it smelt. I suddenly understood and agreed with my work colleagues.

The next day I layered this with another favorite scent that unfortunately just doesn't last too long. It helped carry that fragrance an extra few hours, seriously. I am now looking forward to using Molecule 01 with ALL of my underperforming, yet really good, fragrances.

This stuff really is something special. Maybe as close as you'll get to just a pure pheromone, it seems to just make my skin delicious, nothing more, nothing less. I'm a new fan.

There have been many soliflors in the past - scents based on a single flower - but when Geza Schoen first made a scent out of 'une seule molécule' it must have seemed like a gimmick.

The novelty may have worn off these days, but this 'solicule' is still an interesting scent. It smells of Iso E Super, which has a light powdery-woody and ambery note; but 'note' doesn't do it justice, it's more like an accord than a single note.

Iso E Super was nothing new when Molecule 01 came out, it was being heavily used in things like Trésor and Fahrenheit. And even though the style of 01 is very modern, it's derived from the way Iso E Super was used in the monumental structures of these past works. Iso E had become a bulking material, dosed to 25 or 30%, but Schoen used it in a different way, he overdosed it to the max - 100%.

The way he reached innovation comes from a time honoured tradition. The perfumer sees the potential of some new molecule the chemists have invented, and then finds a way to use it. It's the same insight that lead Paul Parquet to add synthetic coumarin to his Fougère Royale - the first Modern perfume. But where Parquet added a synthetic note to his natural oils, Schoen removed everything else but his one synthetic note and - in so doing - created the Minimalist Perfume.

If the supply of new synthetic molecules were to disappear there would be no more landmarks like 01; and what's more, it would be the end of modern perfumery as we know it. So let's hear it for the scientists, as well as the visionaries.

*****

The conflicting reviews prompted me to buy a 30ml portable bottle of Molecule 01 which arrived an hour ago, together with the complete „discovery set“ of all 8 EM scents.

The discovery set is really big fun and a stunning lesson in how single substances evolve into wonderful and very modern perfumes.

I tend to like the Escentrics 01 to 04 very much. To my nose they all are surprising yet eminently wearable and elegant perfumes of a kind nobody near you will ever have recognised before. Truly cool.

Molecule 01 is a rather different beast. Sprayed on paper, after the overwhelming alcohol evaporated, I had a very pleasant impression of a somewhat sweet woody note. Which disappeared completely in a matter of minutes.

I first thought this was the often discussed phenomenon of blocked receptors. But when applied to my skin Molecule 01 does not disappear at all. It lasts, and continues to produce a VERY strong impression. It is so strong indeed that I‘m not sure if it will be a safe choice for the office. The concentration of ISO E Super is so high that a single spray dose leaves a shining layer on my skin.

It is said that Molecule 01 acts more by accentuating or even boosting your personal body or skin scent, rather than being a distinct perfume in its own right. If this were true, my skin is a perfect match for me, because Molecule 01 produces a somewhat chemical aura around me, and I indeed happen to be a chemist. Stunning. (Molecule 03 from the „discovery set“ does even smell exactly like a substance I remember synthesizing in the lab decades ago.)

I don‘t yet know if I will be able to like or even love this strange substance. But it clearly is a brilliant idea, and I am very happy to experience this most unusual performance.

The Escentric line of fully composed and very elegant perfumes is a safer bet than the single substance Molecule cents, me thinks. But M01 is very well worth the experience.

Edit. While my review is still on hold to be approved by admins I had the chance to wear M01 for a couple of days. Now my verdict is clear. This fragrance is simply magic. It has never again been too strong or too chemical. It just compliments me in a way I have never thought possible.