My life in perfumes
The most beautiful things in life cannot be captured in matter, but in moments. And moments are memories in the making. Lieke and Jetteke van Lexmond cherish memories and string them together. By celebrating moments, being in the now with ‘their men’, family, friends. Come into their homes and all the photos tell their own story. Gucci asks with their new fragrance Mémoire d’une Odeur to create and cherish memories. Duly noted.
What is the first scent you remember?
Lieke: ‘The smell of freshly cut grass. We lived in nature and were always outside. Climbing trees, building huts... That smell of freshly cut grass, preferably just after a summer rain shower, represents safety for me. My ground, my home.’
For the campaign of Mémoire d’une Odeur, Alessandro Michele asked Harry Styles to be the face. In the campaign, you see a free-spirited family embracing life by living freely and wanting to create memories together. What image do you see when you think of the scent that captures your family?
Jetteke: ‘I immediately think of the smell of the fireplace that always seemed to be burning at our home. That was really the heart of the house, where we crafted (we have very creative parents) and played games. It is the smell of safety. What also comes to mind is the smell of a warm surface where water lands. A warm day without end when your father suddenly grabs the garden hose and all the kids dance in the droplets. The smell of that joy represents for me letting go and being in the now. Completely.’
J: ‘Joy, when you have had a very warm day and water lands on a warm surface. A typical scent that represents joy, letting go, a special moment. Warm rice pudding from grandma with a cinnamon stick and cardamom.’
Lieke: ‘What also immediately comes to mind is the smell of rhubarb. We had a vegetable garden where we children were allowed to fill a corner. When we harvested our own rhubarb and cooked it with sugar, it had such a specific smell that equates to safety.’
Your first perfume
Lieke: ‘Every phase in your life calls for a different perfume. During my pregnancy, I had a certain scent that really symbolizes that period. It often happens unconsciously, but later you notice a pattern in your perfume needs. I really love the scent of mimosa, for example.’
Jetteke: ‘What I find such a beautiful story is that I once babysat for a family. That woman smelled so incredibly good that I was really drawn to the bottle. I even secretly applied a bit of the scent because I found it so nice. When I came home that evening, my mother said that I was wearing the scent she always used when I was born. Unconsciously, I felt and smelled that.’
Every moment a different scent
Jetteke: ‘We had mimosa in Île de Ré where we went on vacation, I really like jasmine and the tropical scent of patchouli, divine. I am really a rose girl. Yves Piaget is the most beautiful rose there is. The scent of a real rose is truly the most beautiful scent there is. Summer calls for orange blossom and lavender really represents vacation and France. Pine scents remind me of the coniferous trees that stand by the beaches in France. And in Comporta, but also in the forests near Wassenaar. That scent really brings us back to our youth, to safety. Carefree vacations where you can immediately see the De Waard tent in front of you.’
Just as Alessandro Michele knocks over more sacred cows, he does the same with scents. What about pour homme and pour femme, Mémoire d’une Odeur is a universal scent where individuality is more important than gender. As a stylist, you also think disruptively and walk outside the established paths. Were you also so free in your choices with scents?
Jetteke: ‘When I just met Alex, my husband, we both traveled a lot for work. I then gave him my perfume and I received that from him, that was the way to be as close as possible to each other, while we could actually be on another continent.’
Lieke: ‘The scent of your husband's skin, you want to crawl into that. I love a well-groomed man, but it doesn't have to be. Our father smells like figs, that is really his scent. When our children smell the scent of figs, they say: ‘Nonno (that's what they call him) is here.’
Every moment a different scent
Lieke: ‘Jet and I have just released a moon calendar where you can organize your life according to the phase of the moon. If the moon can move the sea with tides, then it would be strange if she (the moon is female) has no influence on who we are and how we feel. Therefore, it can very well be that you feel the need for a slightly more exuberant perfume at full moon than at waning moon.’
Image credits: Paul Bellaart
In collaboration with Gucci
