L'Officiel Nose: Lyn Harris of Claus Porto
For Lyn Harris, fragrance is a deliberate art. After growing up in Yorkshire and Scotland, she headed to Paris and later Grasse to learn perfumery, an experience that made her the only classically trained nose in the UK. She built her reputation through the Miller Harris fragrance line, which she established in 2000 alongside Christophe Michel, then 14 years later founded Perfumer H, an elegantly minimalist endeavor that has allowed her to embrace her British identity and a blend of rural and urban themes. Two years after that, Harris traveled to Portugal. Her love for the culture (and its scents) led her to Claus Porto, and a collaborative relationship began with the brand’s 130th-anniversary fragrance.
Now, Harris’ smart yet dreamy approach has once again blended with the historic fragrance house through Agua de Colonia, a collection of five scents honoring Claus Porto’s tradition and future vision. The perfumer traveled Portugal, then returned to London to create with the country’s nature and movement in mind. Number three in this series, Agua Fougère, recreates Harris’ breezy night in Comporta using pine needles, jasmine, and sea moss, among other scents. It provides a modern interpretation on pine with the addition of pepper, and the combined effect is the very essence of a drive through varied terrain.
The new olfactory developments come alongside the recent opening of Claus Porto’s first international boutique, a stunning space in New York’s Nolita neighborhood featuring a cork archway by Jeremy Barbour. Like the new collection, the store looks to both past and future, with minimalist-chic LED lighting and a washbasin just like in Porto. And from Harris’ vision of Agua Fougère, it sounds like the scent might spend its evenings nearby at one of the Lower East Side’s intimate cocktail bars. Read on for an imaginative glance at Agua Fougère’s timeless class and some peeks at the beautiful new boutique.
If Agua Fougère was the star of its own movie, which actor would play the starring role?
Carry Grant.
What color does your fragrance smell like?
Moss.
Which city/place in the world does your fragrance encapsulate best?
Lisbon and NYC.
If you had to place your fragrance in an iconic decade past, which one would it be?
The '50s.
What item from your wardrobe would you compare your scent to?
A tailored suit.
What genre of music do you think your fragrance most aligns with and why?
Jazz.
If your fragrance had a night out on the town, what drink would it order at the bar?
A cosmopolitan.
If you were to relate your new scent to a book, what would it be?
Jack Kerouac's On the Road.
If your new fragrance had a soundtrack, what three sounds would play once you spray the scent?
A trumpet, but otherwise not sure.
If it wasn’t called Agua Fougère, what would it be called?
Green tweed.
