ÇaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery: OK Superb Fragrances (Steve DeMercado and Michael Simpson)+ Behind the Barrel Draw

Steve DeMercado (R) and Michael Simpson (L) of OK Superb Fragrances 

Our Profile:  Steve DeMercado and I, Michael Simpson, have been collaborators, workmates, rock & roll bandmates, and nice pals for 20 years.  And this week, we’re thrilled, as Co-founders, to introduce you to our personal indie model, OK Superb Fragrances. The truth that it’s truly taking place this week continues to be sinking in, however in a manner, you can say it’s been within the works since we first met.  Every part concerning the firm, and the superb new inventive course of we’re pioneering, displays on our historical past collectively. It’s a direct reflection of our beliefs about what perfume is and what perfume will be. Principally, it’s about our ardour to create a model like no different for indie perfume lovers that get it.

Steve DeMercado Grasp Perfumer Co-Founder OK Superb Fragrances

Steve’s intro to the enterprise is a superb story. He was the bass participant in a rock band enjoying a gig on the perfume home, Naarden, the summer season of his senior yr in highschool.  The electrical energy went out and he struck up a dialog with newly employed grasp perfumer Johann Hydel. They instantly hit it off and Johann provided Steve a summer season job as his compounder. In the present day, Steve is the multi-Fifi award successful nostril behind scents for Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Michael Kors and others. An excellent lesson for all you younger rockers…proper?!!

I fortuitously found the great world of perfume as a junior marketer managing the basic after shave model, Pores and skin Bracer. (Thanks, I wanted that!) I instantly realized that speaking with individuals about perfume and creating merchandise that fulfill their needs and wishes is an amazingly enjoyable option to spend the day. I spent the primary half of my profession advertising manufacturers at Coty and the second half with Steve at Perfume Sources the place we collaborated on creating fragrances and product ideas on behalf of a variety of shoppers.

OK Superb Fragrances American Oak Barrels

OK Superb Fragrances is all about providing a rule-breaking, revolutionary, genuine, world-class artisanal perfume expertise to perfume followers who, such as you, who will accept nothing lower than WOW!  We’re proud to introduce you to the primary firm devoted to handcrafting fragrances aged in American Oak barrels. This course of has been used so as to add aroma, complexity and to clean wonderful wines, whiskeys and bourbons for ages, and now we’re pioneering this inventive course of for a whole vary of wonderful fragrances.

And the outcomes are superb. We start by crafting trustworthy, easy, artisanal fragrances which might be then aged in American oak barrels “seasoned” with components particularly chosen to work together with the unique scent. Steve displays the growing older course of, simply as a grasp distiller would, till he feels that oak barrel has labored its magic. In his phrases, “This method is extremely inspiring, and I’m all the time stunned with the outcomes. And I really like the truth that every batch is exclusive, by no means to be precisely replicated, even when I attempted! And limiting our batches to 75 bottles makes them and the expertise all of the extra particular”.

Steve and Michael jamming in between batches.

On American Perfumery: We’ve all been fairly fortunate to have skilled a golden age of perfumery within the US for the final a number of a long time. And it’s been a tremendous time to be within the enterprise in New York Metropolis as we’ve trended from powerhouse florals within the 80’s, to sheers within the 90’s, woods within the 2000’s, and again to all of them once more within the 10’s! We’ve additionally been fortunate to expertise the rise of area of interest manufacturers, lots of which now are corporate-sized or owned themselves. However we predict right now is probably the most thrilling time of all in American Perfumery.

In the present day, AMERICAN INDIE FRAGRANCE is completely the place the motion is!  Small, impartial makers are igniting the trade with new, revolutionary concepts, risk-taking scents and, lastly, with extra enjoyable, and undoubtedly much less pretentious, perspective towards fragrances and branding. It’s much less about developments and flankers and extra about artistry and expression.  Steve and I are having a blast as the latest members of this gifted, entrepreneurial and passionate group of Indie perfume makers.

Ready for Gracie rocking a perfume trade get together manner again when. Steve is second from proper and Michael is within the far proper

Our Favourite  American Artists: Our favourite shared ardour, after perfume, is making music. We fashioned a storage band referred to as Ready for Gracie years in the past with a couple of good pals from the trade and spent each Wednesday night time and plenty of Saturday nights rehearsing and gigging. We didn’t get fairly adequate to stop our day jobs, however we did have manner an excessive amount of enjoyable enjoying collectively. In the present day, we play in a number of totally different bands, and curiously, the genres are all distinctly American, together with the blues, jazz, nation and bluegrass.

Multi-genre American music musician, Ry Cooder.

That’s why our favourite American artist is Ry Cooder, a musician’s musician well-known for his curiosity in a broad vary of American roots music.

Steve and I are completely thrilled to be the primary firm devoted to this superb new method. And we’re proud to be small, rock and roll, rule-breaking American Indie makers.

–Michael Simpson and Steve DeMarcado of OK Superb Fragrances

OK Superb Fragrances VBO, Double Vanilla aged in Bourbon,PRO  Patchouli perfume aged in Rum (Michelyn’s choose), SGO, Santal aged in golden rum, OBO, Smoked Oud aged in Bourbon, AMO, Amber Perfume, aged in Mezcal (all seasoned in American Oak Barrels)

If you happen to’re within the USA, please enter to win a bottle of your alternative from OK Superb Fragrances. To be eligible you have to be a registered reader, register right here or your remark won’t depend. Inform us what you discovered fascinating about Steve and Michael’s perfume journey, the place you reside and which OK Superb Perfume you’d need do you have to win.  Draw closes 5/25/2019

Please like CaFleurebon Profiles in American Perfumery and your entry will depend twice. Please depart that in your remark.

Michael Simpson and Steve DeMarcado are our144th American perfumer(s) in our collection, which started in 2011. All photographs belong to OK Superb Fragrances besides the place famous

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We announce the winners on our web site and our Fb web page so like Cafleurebon and use our weblog feed…or your dream prize might be simply spilled fragrance.