Marie Aneas welcomes us behind a counter where a generous number of black bottles await us, with the labels appropriately oriented towards the opposite side from where we are, to increase the degree of mystery and the divination process. Imagine a blind wine tasting, but in this case with different aromas. Thus begins this olfactory adventure, which lasts approximately an hour and a half, until we obtain our Opar perfume.
The action takes place in a corner of Lapa 71, the commercial space on Rua García da Orta that also houses this small fragrance laboratory. Well, actually, the experience begins a little before we enter an enchanted world for brave noses who love to try combinations; For others, the process can be challenging. When you make your appointment online, you must complete a form short questionnaire which allows us to create a first profile of the client. Questions include indicating the perfume of the moment, what aromas you don’t like, identifying your favorite dessert and wine, and even your favorite flowers.
Pass by a cabinet of curiosities, in this case dedicated exclusively to the bottles from which the raw material is extracted © Luke
“When we look at this information we manage to gather material that makes sense, that’s why I already eliminated some hypotheses, but I also add elements that make people leave their comfort zone,” presents the perfumer, born and raised in the Parisian neighborhood of Marais. and who works here Grasse raw material, epicenter of perfumery in the south of France. “We will smell each one and give it a score from one to five. Tell me if we are going in the right direction or not, but the starting point is to bring together a little bit of all the olfactory families that are here.”
Cap after cap, the perfumer discovers elements from different families, from aromatic to floral, from woody to citrus, in an orchestra of notes that challenges the senses and attention. To relieve a nose saturated with intense ringing, you can use “menthol” to get ready to “get back to work.” “When we have a good selection, It could be between six and eight., we move on. There really isn’t a rule, it could be more or less. Never just one, because in a tailored process like this we want to enjoy it.”
It is through trial and error that progress is achieved. We confuse the pear with the strawberry tree, we confuse the cassis with the passion fruit, we weigh the influence of sweetness and citrus, and we let Marie rectify everything that needs to be rectified. When we reach a set of notes that deserve a high positive, it is time to mix everything, thus beginning a meticulous job. “Every drop counts”confirms the perfumer, who uses beads to pour each of the chosen ones. “I follow the order of the formula but there is no specific order when we pour the bottles.”
Each original perfume is born from the combination of an average of six to eight references © Luke
And ready! Marie deposits some of the original mixture on our doll and waits for feedback. “You can tell me if you want more raspberries or rice, for example,” she says expectantly. This would be a good time to leave a warning: you may love each of the chosen parts, but the sum of all of them does not necessarily correspond to the expectations you came in with. “There are people who get surprises”. You may find yourself reconsidering the use of white musk, rejecting the initially desired “beach smell” (Ozonic, sorry, but it won’t work), or giving tomatoes and grapes a chance, like a subtly bottled fruit salad.
Of course, it all depends on the objective when arriving. Between a national and foreign audience, Marie can glimpse some patterns. It is a fact that in summer citrus freshness is clearly the majority, but there are also those who arrive with a very closed concept before launching into this “amusement park”, as the perfumer calls it. “Can you say that they want to feel sexyFor example, they want a perfume for a night out, or to do something for a special occasion, like a wedding. We also have couples looking to create their special fragranceand even a client who couldn’t stand the smells since she became pregnant and we did something to her.”
Cover after cover, the customer embarks on an intoxicating journey (too intoxicating if you have a low tolerance for odors) © Luke
Opar opened its doors in June 2023, with a name that evokes both a lost colony of Atlantis and a Polish “mist” and also, of course, “the couple,” in the Portuguese sense of couple (in this case, the meeting between client and perfumer in search of a fragrance). Marie arrived in November. It is through word of mouth that they have attracted interested parties, she describes, who may be as lost as she was when she had to close roads. “I knew and didn’t know that I would end up in perfumes. Since she was little she smelled everything, but at 18 it was very difficult to decide what I wanted to dedicate myself to.” The doubt disappeared the day former students visited her school talking about her current professional experiences. One of these people attended the perfumery school where Marie would end up studying, she was so excited to share. After five years of training, she graduated in January of last year. “I traveled a bit and stopped in Lisbon.”, he says, while asking us again to lend him a space on his skin to evaluate the second attempt. “The rice is exploding, I smell a lot of raspberries; What can we adjust?”
Another warning: it’s best not to get it right on the first try and everything will be fine. Marie suggests adding jasmine for balance and perhaps that slight hint of mint from the geranium. “Musk absorbs everything else,” we acknowledge, while bergamot demands mercy, which is like saying a little more prominence.
The third time is. When we finally achieve a result that we like, the time comes to see the liquid content emerge completely. “Now let’s go up. It’s not that it’s boring, but it’s the most repetitive part, where we add larger quantities.”
By now you will have realized that no two perfumes are the same. Not the same perfume reacts the same on different skin. When we finish the process, in addition to taking you a single 100 ml Eau de Parfum, you will not have to worry about the chosen combination, in case you need a refill. Everything is recorded in the Opar database.
“We have a profile of clients who know very well what they want, and others who don’t know where we are going, which is also fine. My first version is always the one that seems most balanced to me, but we can refine it. We have sessions that we held for two days because that way people had time to sleep on the topic. Sometimes it is simply a difficulty in expressing what they are really looking for,” explains our guide.
It’s time to use the machine to seal the perfume, so it doesn’t spill on the way home. All that remains is to baptize it. “Let’s label it now.” with the name that the client chooses. In this case the yellow steals the attention and is due to the use of tuberose in our formula.
The interior of the new space, on Rua da Alegria, in Lisbon © DR
A year ago, this artisanal perfumery was created with the intention of being a laboratory to develop exclusive fragrances for each client, through an appointment service, behind closed doors. Now, Polish-born founder Karolina Oledzka opened the second perfume store this week. At Rua da Alegria, 41D, there is a more commercial side, and here you can find fragrances for the body and also for the home. The inauguration also coincides with the launch of the first two perfumes. Opar, Maresia and Veraneio. Added to these is another new feature: aromatic candles. “Opar Alegría marks a debut in the launch of products with our brand and signature. We will maintain both stores: the one in Lapa for a private experience, which must be scheduled; and the new store of our fragrances and also perfumery workshops, where we can receive groups,” defines Karolina Oledska.
Maresia is inspired by a car trip to Guincho, among sea foam and fresh herbs from the Sierra de Sintra. Veraneio, for its part, takes advantage of the intensity and asks to be used on long summer nights. The two fragrances are available in two formats: perfume (100 ml – €149) and candle (280 g – €59). Private experiences (€169) can be booked online.
Opar Alegria, Rua da Alegria, 41D, Lisbon. Opar Lapa, Rua García da Orta, 71C, Loja 11, Lisbon
Source: Observadora
