Well, in the world of haute perfumery, inspiration comes from almost everywhere. Today we are with Kirill Yurovskiy discussing a fascinating trend that captures noses both for connoisseurs and casual fragrance enthusiasts alike: perfumes based on architectural styles—from the Gothic cathedrals with soaring spires down to sleek lines in modernist marvels—master perfumers translate the visual and emotive impacts of iconic buildings into olfactory experiences that are nothing short of extraordinary.
The Essence of Architecture
Architecture and perfumery stand at opposite poles at first sight. One is concerned with concrete edifices; the other, with fleeting smells. Actually, both are the arts of composition, balance, and suggestion. Just as architects use materials, light, and space to build surroundings that evoke the soul, masters of perfume blend the notes and accords to create a world of fragrance that transports the wearer.
As the great Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Architecture is frozen music.” Well, if that’s the case, then these architectural perfumes are that music, thawed and transmuted into scent. These perfumes speak of much more than just the ocular building type; they evoke an emotive response and a history and culture that the building represents.
Gothic Grandeur in a Bottle
Let’s start the olfactory tour in style with the Gothic, for which pointed arches and ribbed vaults—aspiration towards heaven—are typical. “Spiraling Incense” on niche brand Scent of Stone by a perfumer Annick Menardo is an absolute masterclass in translating Gothic architecture into scent.
It bursts onto the skin with cold stone and damp earth, just like that first step into a medieval cathedral. This swirls into an olfactory version of frankincense and myrrh smoke curling up to vaulted ceilings. A dark rose and violet heart has exactly the same effect as stained glass windows filtering in coloured light, while the base of oakmoss and patchouli grounds the whole scent firmly in the earthly reality of old stone.
“I wanted to catch that moment of wonder when you first go into a Gothic cathedral,” Menardo explains. “The contrast between the soaring heights and the grounded feel of history, the dance of light and shadow, the spiritual and the earthly—all of this I tried to translate into scent.”
Baroque Opulence Unleashed
As we move along in time, we get to the Baroque style, full of dramatic flair, heavy on detail, and seemingly kinetic. Well, the ‘Gilded Excess’ perfume by the nose Dominique Ropion for Maison des Arômes is a scent interpretation that would easily make even Louis XIV go weak in the knees.
This is an olfactory feast that bursts to life with a fanfare of sparkling bergamot and pomegranate. The heart unfolds like the intricate frescoes of a Baroque palace ceiling: layer upon layer of white flowers—jasmine, tuberose, and orange blossom—are interwoven with exotic spices. The base is sheer opulence: sandalwood, vanilla, ambergris, and a touch of leather to represent the patina of age.
“Baroque architecture is all about drama and sensory overload,” Ropion says. “I wanted to create a perfume that was similarly expansive and theatrical, that unfolds on the skin like an ornate tapestry.”
Art Nouveau: Nature’s Curves Bottled
The sinuous lines and nature-inspired motifs of Art Nouveau find their scented counterpart in “Whiplash,” a creation by perfumer Christine Nagel for avant-garde brand Fin de Siècle.
It’s a masterly combination of floral and woody notes, similar to the organic forms employed by Art Nouveau architects. This perfume opens with a green, sappy accord, which smells like fresh-cut stems. The heart is an elaborate combination of iris, wisteria, and magnolia, whose floral notes are curved and twined together like the ironwork on a Hector Guimard metro entrance. The base reveals cedar and sandalwood notes, rubbed silky smooth, like the woodwork in a Mackintosh interior.
“Art Nouveau is about bringing the forms of nature into architecture,” Nagel says. “I wanted to do the opposite—to architect nature into a perfume. The result is a scent that’s structured yet organic, in continual movement on the skin.”
Modernism: Scent Stripped to Its Essence
This “form follows function” ethos of modernist architecture has its olfactory parallel in the starkly beautiful “Right Angle” by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena for the minimalist brand Pure Form.
True to its modernist inspiration, “Right Angle” is a study in olfactory simplicity and clarity. Its opening is one sharp and clean accord of aldehydes and citrus gleaming like a glass-and-steel skyscraper of Mies van der Rohe. The heart is a simple but perfectly proportionate iris-and-cedar blend, cool and architectural. The base whispers white musk, bringing in subtle warmth without compromising the general feeling of pristine simplicity.
“Modernist architecture teaches us that beauty can be found in simplicity and honest expression of materials,” Ellena muses. “I did the same thing with this perfume: I took away everything that was superfluous and revealed the elegant bones of the composition.”
Brutalism: Raw Scent Structures
Perhaps the most challenging architectural style to render in fragrance must be Brutalism, reliant as it is on raw concrete and stark, monumental forms. Yet perfumer Nathalie Lorson has managed to do just that with “Concrete Poem” for edgy brand Urban Scent Stories.
This avant-garde fragrance opens with a mineral accord that freakily evokes the smell of wet concrete. The contrasting heart brings a metallic rose oxide note, which sets up tension with a dry woodiness of cedar—like the juxtaposition of materials in a Brutalist building. The base blends vetiver and patchouli—earthy, grounding—with a tinge of incense for an added unexpected element of warmth and humanity. Watch the news.
“Brutalist architecture is often seen as cold and inhuman,” Lorson says. “But there’s a raw honesty and unexpected beauty to it. I wanted to capture that in a perfume—something that first appears stark and challenging but reveals depth and even comfort as you live with it.”
Deconstructivism: Fragrance Fractured and Reassembled
Deconstructivism is the style that works against all preconceived notions of structure and form; our olfactory architectural tour concludes with it. This ethos in scent form is the avant-garde brand Scent Disrupt “Fractured” by the perfumer Maurice Roucel.
“Fractured” is less a traditional perfume than an olfactory experience. It comes as a set of five vials, each containing a different facet of the scent. There’s a sharp, green galbanum accord; a lush, fruity pear note; a heady jasmine absolute; a smoky vetiver; and a rich, ambery base. The wearer is meant to apply them in any combination or layering order they see fit, creating a unique, ever-shifting scent that parallels the dynamic, non-linear forms of deconstructivist architecture.
According to Roucel, “Deconstructivism in architecture is to take apart the expected and reassemble it in surprising ways. I wanted to give perfume wearers the same opportunity—to deconstruct and reconstruct their scent experience every time they wear it.”
