Interview: Capturing The Essence Of West Village Perfumery Aedes de Venustas

I have my own favorite perfume that I wear, Chanel No. 5, but I've seen that sometimes stores will try to guide you toward a certain brand, try to tell you what to get.

[Photo via] I have my own favorite perfume that I wear, Chanel No. 5, but I've seen that sometimes stores will try to guide you toward a certain brand, try to tell you what to get. It’s very political. Most department stores have their own sales people, their own representatives for brands, and they get commission and such, so they clearly will try to have you buy a certain brand, A or B. Those are mass market brands, it’s all about money. Except Chanel No. 5. That’s such a classic story, to this day, the most-sold fragrance in the world.

Every 90 seconds a bottle of Chanel No. 5 gets sold. You should read the book, Chanel! It’s absolutely fascinating, how it came about, how she developed the story.

That’s a concept that we, from the beginning, didn't want to have. The look of the store – it’s an intimate commodity, a fragrance. We wanted to have a comfortable place. It’s all luxurious European brands, and a European look, and feeling. We don’t have commissions, it’s a completely different approach. And we want the customer to come back, knowing “yes they have a great, edited selection, it’s the best of the best, and we want them to know they’re in good hands [Photo via]