J.U.S hero self-expression and creativity, with colourful packaging and vibrant juices. Placing responsibility firmly at the heart of the production process, here’s a niche house that makes caring très cool…
We think of France as the birthplace of fine perfumery. So many great fragrance houses were born (and still thrive) there. And here’s another in that great tradition, but one which combines both traditional standards and ultra-contemporary ideas in absolute harmony. Step forward J.U.S: a name created from the first letters of ‘Joyau, Unique and Sensoriel’ (a ‘unique sensory jewel’), while paying reference to the ‘juice/jus’ nickname perfumers use for the fragrance itself.
To say that J.U.S delight in doing things differently is something of an understatement. Think: the re-use of vintage bottles, painted in eye-popping neon colours. Think: commissioning ‘noses’ regarded as perfume royalty, but asking them to ‘give free range to their imaginations’ and go wild with their ideas. Think: making their formulas open-source, for anyone to read – J.U.S ‘freely share our formulas,’ as they put it, to satisfy any curiosity.’ All in all, this juxtaposition of rebellious spirit and paying homage to the past is very much part of the J.U.S DNA.
And it all began with a meeting of minds, when three friends – ‘Thierry, our Artistic Director, Brigitte, our Olfactory Expert and Jean-Baptiste taking the lead,’ as they put it, decided to combine their talents and launch their own perfume house.
Discovering an abandoned perfume factory further cemented their creative concept, with vintage bottles and moulds unearthed from dusty shelves, sparking the idea of utilising these designs for some of their own range – while making every step of the production process eco-forward – perfectly married their respect for traditional French craftsmanship and fine perfumery techniques, with their embracing of the exciting new design. ‘At J.U.S nothing is thrown away,’ they explain, ‘we reuse everything we can … old glass moulds and sometimes centuries old vintage furniture,’ while all their products are made to be kept and used again – the bottles can be returned and re-filled – or repurposed, like their beautiful boxes that could have a new life as pencil or paintbrush holders. This way, they feel that ‘Nothing is lost, everything is reimagined and reinvented.’
J.U.S is composed of ‘…a whole host of talented individuals including designers, illustrators, printers, glassmakers, decorators, friends … and of course most importantly, our perfumers!’ And WHAT perfumers: Céline Ellena, Fabrice Pellegrin, Aliénor Massenet, Aurélien Guichard, Alexandra Carlin – a roll-call that’s a veritable who’s-who of noses you should know. Although these perfumers have worked for some of the biggest houses in perfumery, and with several stemming from famous French perfume families, with fragrance running in their blood.
J.U.S seduced them with a freedom rarely found, saying ‘…We never run consumer testing or use marketing briefs,’ and going on to explain that ‘This is a brand where the greatest of fragrance designers are able to freely convey their creativity. J.U.S represents our perfumers’ self expression.’ So no wonder they were intrigued enough to begin a creative relationship, and enamoured enough to stay. Even though their formulas – usually top secret and jealously guarded information – are made freely available. An important part of the J.U.S ethos, they ask ‘Have you ever wanted to find out what was really in your perfume?’
With transparency and traceability very much hot topics in the entire beauty industry, J.U.S feel that perfume houses have ‘jealously guarded their formulas to give their perfumes an air of mystery’, but that making their formulae open-source will ‘…satisfy any curiosity.’ And furthermore, they believe ‘this approach further highlights the prestigious skills required by our perfumers to carry out their work.’
Though you may be immediately drawn to the rainbow of bottle colours and fabulous graphic ‘wallpaper’ wrapping their gift boxes, it is the perfumers’ work, ultimately, that will make you swoon. Split into two distinct collections, Joyaux Uniques reflects the history of French perfumery by utilising those glorious vintage bottles from the 1950s and 1960s, housing modern fragrances to surprise and delight your senses.
Joyaux Sensoriels, meanwhile, is youthfully exuberant, presenting scents inspired by tradition but rooted in contemporary perfume values. All of them are incredibly characterful, masterful blends that evoke opulence and provoke passionate reactions – but which will seduce you first…?
