“I know that scent can make you feel good, but what if it could really make you feel better?” questioned beauty veteran Veronique Gabai-Pinsky. “I felt that maybe there was something that could be done to go beyond the pleasure that perfume procures and go really into the benefits that natural ingredients can, indeed, give you.”
So for the Veronique Gabai Aroma collection, she worked with a doctor in aromatherapy, Isabelle Sogno Lalloz, on an accord.
“Then, I went to perfumers at Firmenich to create around that core something that would be absolutely beautiful to wear,” explained Gabai-Pinsky. “The idea is that you could wear those perfumes like you do any others, but you would feel [them] like you feel aromatherapy — creating a new category that I call ‘perfume-therapy.’”
Aroma’s three scents comes with clean, vegan formulas that are 97 percent natural (the other 3 percent stem from green chemistry) and 99.78 percent biodegradable.
“Those formulas are good for you, but they’re also good for the world. They make you smell amazing — and feel even better,” said Gabai-Pinsky.
A study conducted by neuroscientists from Immersion proved through biometric data that when people smell the Aroma fragrances, their brains’ positive activity rises by more than 58 percent.
“It was not a quick dopamine effect,” said Gabai-Pinsky.
The new collection includes Heart, Body and Soul, with each billed to have a different impact on well-being.
Heart, with bergamot, lemon and grapefruit, is meant to enhance joy, confidence, optimism and creativity. Each ingredient has a vibration, which in turn corresponds to a color, she said.
“We will be able to use color therapy as we do events or create experiences for consumers,” continued Gabai-Pinsky.
Body’s formula includes rose, patchouli and geranium, and was formulated to help people reconnect with their physicality.
“It’s about strength, balance, sensuality,” she said. “If you’re stronger, you feel better.”
For its part, Soul, with ingredients such as cedarwood, lavender and elemi, is related to peace, relaxation, spirituality and cleansing one’s mental horizon.
All of Aroma’s bottles are reusable, refillable and recyclable. Glass density was reduced to lower the carbon footprint. The caps made of ceramic second as mini diffusers.
As part of the experience, people can fill out a questionnaire created with a doctor to define their optimal Aroma choice.
“You can also choose intuitively,” said Gabai-Pinsky.
There is a guided olfactive meditation video around each product, too.
Pre-orders for an Aroma discovery coffret will be available on veroniquegabai.com starting on Earth Day, April 22. The full line should be sold there toward the end of May, before rolling out elsewhere in early fall.
Prices range from $55 for a 7-ml. eau de parfum roll-on to $150 for a 100-ml. edp spray. A candle and diffuser are expected in the second half of 2022.
Aroma shares the same motto — “Sunshine for the senses and the soul” — as the Veronique Gabai brand’s first, signature line of perfumes, which was introduced in 2019. That came from Gabai-Pinsky’s long-standing desire to launch her own fragrance brand based on memories of growing up in the south of France.
The brand has a deep commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, with refillable bottles and traceable ingredients.
“Clearly, if my perfumery line is about self-expression, my aromatherapy line will be about self-care,” she said.
For more, see:
Veronique Gabai-Pinsky’s Pivot to D-to-C