It’s simple for perfume geeks to identify the most frequently used notes in a scent. There are many adjectives to describe spicy, floral, sweet, and powdery scents. Our mind crashed when we learned that a brand was going to bring a fragrance made from air to the market. We were curious about what air smells like. It can be described in New York City as “pungent,” among other less appealing scents. Air Company, best-known for its vodka, had other ideas. It created Air Eau de Parfum, its first scent.
Gregory Constantine, cofounder and CEO of Air Company, clarifies that vodka and fragrance production are actually rooted in CO2. He explains that their patent technology allows them to take carbon dioxide and make ethanol by combining it with hydrogen at Brooklyn’s facilities. He explained that water is the only byproduct of the solar-powered process, and it is recycled. This leaves only oxygen to escape into the atmosphere. The brand’s signature spirit, which is usually made from corn, grains, or potatoes, was essentially the leftover ethanol. However, Constantine says that a fragrance was always on the cards.
He explains that the type of alcohol they make is what goes into things such as spirits and fragrances. “And because it’s made out of carbon dioxide, not just is it more sustainable but it’s also much better quality, because it lacks impurities.”
He was a long-time perfume wearer and saw the potential of a new approach for sustainability. This is especially important given the renewed interest in perfume safety, as well as its place in the clean beauty movement. No other brand, whether spirits or fragrances, can claim to have removed greenhouse gases with every liter they produce.
Joya Studio, a Brooklyn-based fragrance design and development company, was the brand’s partner for the juice. Constantine says, “I went there with a very clear vision of what I wanted the fragrance to smell like.” Constantine says that he wanted the scent to emulate the elements, air, water and sun. He also mentions his experiences growing up in Australia and New York as inspiration. “We wanted people feel out in nature, especially when they had to spend a whole year indoors.”
This fragrance is a citrus scent with top notes like orange peel and fig leaf, followed by sweetwater and violets, as well as a base of tobacco and powdery musk. “While I wouldn’t say that the scent is tangy or crisp, the dry down is warmer and more balanced. It is most prominently tobacco, but it is not in a smokey-bar type of way. The scent is more subtle and almost as if one were walking out of a crowded room to the bright sun.
Air Company made the conscious decision not to use natural scents in its formulations. This is because the environmental impact of the extraction of these ingredients can be more damaging to the environment. Constantine, a synthetics expert, says that synthetics are more sustainable and have a higher quality product.
The brand’s new fragrance is packaged in recyclable packaging. Customers can choose from a range of caps, including one that is completely uncapped. The co-founder says, “It’s just a pump with very small clips.” It’s innovative in design, but it’s also a waste-free product. These products are not being overproduced or overmaterialized.
The essence of air is also the scent. It is possible, but not likely. It is more of an invitation to inhale and breathe deeply while you can. Because, Constantine states, “The planet will live on and survive, but it’s going be really difficult for us to stay here if not we act immediately — like yesterday.”
Pre-order the limited edition Air Eau de Parfum now. It will ship in 2022.
