Never Say Never (to Vanilla or Netflix): Talking Scents with Floral Street's Michelle Feeney
October 20 | 5 minute read
Words by Madeleine Boles de Boer
Michelle Feeney's CV reads like hit list of some of beauty's biggest (and most beloved) brands: Bumble and bumble, M.A.C Cosmetics, La Mer, Estée Lauder. But at the top is the one closest to her heart – Floral Street.
Feeney founded the British fragrance maison in 2017 on the pillars of sustainability and eco-responsibility. The result is an award-winning set of scents inspired by the aromatic spectrum of flowers – oh, and they're vegan, approachable and last all day.
Despite her prolific career, Floral Street's scent wardrobe is not one that was inspired by hours spent with beauty execs or in strategy meetings. Like all the best scents, it's intangible feelings and memories that build the olfactory experience. An afternoon in the garden, time with family and the most special moments are behind each note chosen by Feeney and her master perfumer Jérôme Epinette (whose CV is similarly impressive, citing BYREDO, Sol de Janeiro, Vilhelm Parfumerie, Victoria Beckham Beauty, PHLUR and Ellis Brooklyn as just some of the brands he’s worked with).
Here, Feeney explores the memories that go into each scent's bouquet, and how she embodies the brand's mantra: 'Who will you be today?'
My earliest scent memory…
MF: “Gardenia in my great-grandmother's garden in Ireland. It now evokes a gentler time when connecting to nature seemed natural. She had a tiny cottage with a sheltered backyard where she grew everything. Gardenia now takes me back to my very young self in that space.”
The first fragrance I wore…
MF: “The first fragrance that sparked my interest in perfume was Charlie [editor's note: launched in 1973 by Revlon, Charlie is a classic floral scent and the first American fragrance to become an international bestseller]. Not necessarily for how it smelled, but the TV commercial in the 1970s showed a confident single female striding across a street and I thought, ‘That is how I want to feel.’ I got it for Christmas, and I felt taller and more grown up; I think that is the power of scent. The first fragrance I consciously bought and drenched myself in at 17 was Anaïs Anaïs [editor's note: a feminine floral by Cacharel] making me feel sensual and sophisticated.”
Falling in love smells like…
MF: “Night-blooming jasmine with a hint of cigar smoke and an undertone of English rose – fleeting, human, with a grounding element of the past.”
My favourite person smells like…
MF: “Clean and fresh like a baby after a bath! I clearly LOVE fragrance but once you have held a baby and nuzzled them, that human-to-human contact signifies such a deep feeling, it is difficult to beat.”
The end of the day smells like…
MF: “In summer its sundown on the beach, the salty air combined with ozone and sunscreen with a margarita to add lime and zing! In winter, it’s log fire and merlot with a warm vanilla scent.
“Arizona Bloom has coconut, salted musks and jasmine for the perfect holiday in a bottle. Chypre Sublime has a heady combination of damask rose, patchouli and geranium guaranteed to warm your evening with style.”
Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand) smell like…
MF: “Australia smells like clean, fresh optimism, always with a hint of sea air – Arizona Bloom signifies this feeling. New Zealand smells like new world meets ancient world: deep earthy notes like galbanum and orris. For me that is Iris Goddess, one of our underutilised gems.”
The fragrance I wear everyday…
MF: “Honestly, I live by the brand mantra of, 'Who will you be today'? It depends on my mood, what I am wearing and what I am doing. This very hot UK summer I have favoured Sweet Almond Blossom which has a sophisticated, sweet, fresh feel. In the evening my go-to is always Black Lotus.”
The one note I would never wear…
MF: “I never say never! What I have learnt working with our master perfumer, Jérôme Epinette, is it really is about the blend of the notes and ingredients to create the overall perfume. Before I founded Floral Street I would say NO to any vanilla, but when I tried Wild Vanilla Orchid I was bowled over – it is comforting, confident and complex.”
The scent I wish existed…
MF: “Laughter… I know other brands are naming fragrances around quite obscure feelings but for me being in a room, large or small, with laughter is such a profoundly simple yet beautifully human experience. In a time of AI, I feel being more human will become increasingly important.”
The first step in creating a scent…
MF: “For me, it’s the visual inspiration. I have an idea stemming from fabrics in fashion and home, the zeitgeist, nature and more lately from one flower or ingredient. I then make my own mood board, send it to Jérôme and he creates something magical.
“With the Bridgerton collaboration it was the essence of the series, so we worked with Netflix pre-season four to understand the colour of the costumes, the storyline and all the floral inspirations. Jérôme created 10 fragrances to choose from, which was super difficult as they were all fabulous! We reduced it down to five scents, then sent samples to the Netflix team in LA, NYC and London where we hosted a virtual smelling session. From there, we chose the scent – but what of the name? It took us weeks to work out a suitable name: Enchanted Masquerade, a title that would inspire a magical scent if you were a Bridgerton fan or not.”
The scent I’m most proud of…
MF: “Wonderland Peony – It was one of the original eight fragrance we launched and has never had its own launch moment, yet it is our number one fragrance in the world. That scent speaks for itself.”
The scent with the most interesting story is...
MF: “Ylang Ylang Espresso – our very first award was for this fragrance. Jérôme created a tiramisu accord just for Floral Street – this is our ‘super gourmand’ that I think will explode this season! It has an irresistible quality with coffee, chocolate and creamy notes combined with the ylang-ylang – a fragrance good enough to eat.”
The note combination that surprised me…
MF: “Bellini accord with honey accord that exists in Sunflower Pop, which we created in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum. Jérôme is the master of these modern, surprising notes. The Bellini accord is peach and pop and the honey brings this warm glow to the scent in line with the Sunflowers paintings by Van Gogh.”
The most important thing I’ve learnt about fragrance…
“The last ingredient is YOU! All our perfumes are eau de parfum and have 20% fragrance oil, which makes them long-lasting and very individual to the wearer. That said, the way a perfume smells depends on many factors and how they relate to your body; the weather, what a person has eaten and also hormones all affect the overall behaviour of the scent.”
The hardest scent/feeling to capture…
MF: “I think modern perfumery can probably create environments that register with most feeling, however, for me I have yet to smell the feeling of being in an English garden after the rain and the fragrance of a full-bodied heritage rose – my utter happy place.”
