Maxime Garcia-Janin, founder Sillages Paris

Maxime Garcia-Janin wants to create perfumes of our times. After a marketing experience at Giorgio Armani’s (L’Oréal) and Dior’s (LVMH), this young 27-year-old entrepreneur built his own project based on the sad discovery that people were disenchanted with perfumes, in particular young people.

In only five years, 1.4 million people stopped buying perfume through the selective channel and the market became standardized. People feel less pleasure when they buy perfumes now, and neither advice nor experience provide any added value anymore. The digital revolution is a real opportunity to reach people again, in particular young people, who have no problem with online shopping, as can be seen with makeup or fashion… Why not with perfume?” asks Maxime Garcia-Janin.

Sillages Paris stands out with a novel, high-end perfume personalization offering online. “I wanted everyone to be able to create a perfume that would best suit and correspond to them, and which would contain the beautiful, natural, sustainable ingredients of high perfumery,” he adds.

The principle is simple and quick. Thanks to an algorithm, the user selects six ingredients from a suggested list, which leads them to the formulas developed by four “new generation” perfumer-creators: Amélie Jacquin (Givaudan), Alex Lee (Mane), Mylène Alran (Robertet) and Sébastien Plan. The algorithm only suggests combinations validated by these perfumers.

It is a highly fast and playful solution that can be used in micro-moments, like when you queuing at the supermarket. At the same time, the emphasis on ingredients educates people to perfumery,” explains Maxime Garcia-Janin.

Once the women’s, men’s, or unisex fragrance has been determined, several choices are suggested: you order either the bottle delivered with its testing sample, or the three-sample box containing the perfume selected and two similar ones. Both choices are affordable: EUR12 for the sample box, EUR83 for the 50 ml bottle. Shipping and returns are free and 100% reimbursed if consumers are not satisfied. “There is absolutely nothing that prevents returns, that is important,” the creator adds. Sillages Paris will launch a new travel-size, 15 ml bottle in March for EUR27.

The perfumes are handmade on request in the brand’s Parisian workshops. Drawn by designer Pierre Katz, the bottle is featured in an original plant-derived polystyrene case manufactured by a company specialized in recycling.

Launched last November and exclusively promoted on Instagram, in particular by influencers, the brand seems to be reaching its public. “After only two months, we got more than 500 customers and 4,500 followers on Instagram. The buzz has started, even with older people, despite our off-beat tone,” Maxime Garcia-Janin comments.

Of course, Maxime Garcia-Janin has further ambitions. New formulas will soon be added to the algorithm. “The idea is to regularly release new compositions to offer more choices,” he adds.

The brand was meant to get global from the very beginning. They should also focus on the American market, the land of Instagram!