Names: Daisy Mason (North America Club Manager), François Duquesne (Co-founder) & Misty McMillion (Lady of the Republ!c)
Company: Fragrance Republ!c
Finalist Perfume: FR!01/02
Category: Independent

NB. Fragrance Republ!c was founded by Jonina Skaggs, Bradley Skaggs, Manuel Varliette and Francois Duquesne.

1. Where are you, right now? 
DM: At our headquarters on Broadway in Lower Manhattan, NY.

FD: In Paris just returning from the Milan exsense show.

MM: Sitting at my desk - at the FR! headquarters in Manhattan, NY.

2. What was the last thing you searched for, in Google?  
DM: How to conduct a google+ hangout LIVE for FR! Citizen Q&A Thursdays

FD: L'wren Scott. I met her a few time while I was making her fragrance last year and her loss remains a mystery to me

MM: How to make arms skinnier in photoshop…yep.

3. What's a song you are listening to, these days?  
DM: Marian Anderson singing 'He's got the whole world in his hands'

FD: Stromae. Amazing Belgian singer reminding me Jacques Brel iconic singer to me.

MM: Oh man, there's so many! I've been listening "Proof" (the demo version) by I Am Kloot quite a bit today - such a great song!

4. What led you/your company to perfumery?  
DM: At Fragrance Republ!c, we hold these truths to be self evident: That beautiful, original and avant-garde scents are not created by marketing departments, financial goals or celebrity endorsements, but by world class noses. The world class noses are artists who function best when they are freed from the shackles of budget committees, marketing campaigns and focus groups. Our desire is to return the art of perfumery to the artists.   We believe the exchange between the perfumer and the perfume aficionado can be a fruitful and educational one. We delight in the complex process of capturing emotions in a bottle  , and know that perfume lovers world wide have been waiting for this.

FD: Creative perfumery is something that touches people emotionally and i like everything of that sort (art, fashion, etc...). With Fragrance Republic I simply want to make creative perfumery more accessible to everyone.

MM: I actually started working for Skaggs Creative (which is owned by Bradley & Jonina) and got introduced to FR! that way… It's been such an amazing adventure so far!

5. What excites you about your finalist perfume? 
DM: Julie Massé managed to create a fragrance that became an answer to all tuberose lovers who desired something that captured the essence of it's ethereal beauty. Combining it with an absolute of Rose of May and Cocoa, adding a faint touch of bitterness to the composition, making it absolutely addictive.   Julie Mass é says "It was my passion for raw materials that made me become a perfumer... I don't remember having ever imagined doing anything else but create perfumes." She really accomplished telling a story with her scent, treating Tuberose in a modern way.

FD: We are talking about a very young and talented perfumer that has a lot to say in a classic perfume category that has been visited and revisited million times. Her creation: A beautiful simple light white floral.

MM: I really enjoy this fragrance once it's settled down on the skin… simply light in white florals and just all around a beautiful fragrance.

6. Name three scents (other than your own) that you are a big fan of. 
DM: Timbuktu by L'Artisan Parfumeur (Bertrand Duchaufour)
Figues et Garçons, for Nez à Nez  by Karine Chevallier
LouLou by Cacharel (Jean Guichard)

FD: BOIS FARINE by L'Artisan Parfumeur (Jean Claude Elena)
Santal 33  by le labo
Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior

MM: Miss Dior Cherie
Aedes De Venustas
and last but not least FR! 01/05 (I absolutely LOVE this fragrance).

7. If you could give a few words of advice to a young person trying to do something in the world, what would you say?
DM: Don’t be afraid to make a change

FD: Life is beautiful and go for it and believe in your little star up there watching you

MM: You can absolutely do anything you put your mind to… love yourself and believe in yourself and you'll go far.

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Learn more about ‘FR!01/02’ and the other perfumes that make up the independent finalists by clicking here.

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