Oscar Winner 2024: Sy Truong

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

Did you know? The Art and Olfaction Awards, established in 2013, celebrate independent, artisan and experimental perfumery — often called the “Oscars of Perfumery,” with winners receiving a golden pear statuette.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Entertainment fragrances and release champions
2. Story: Oscar Winner 2024
3. Quiz: Art and Olfaction winners
4. Aroma Chemical: IsoButyl Quinoline

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

Tomorrowland introduced “Elixir of Life,” an entertainment fragrance, and Cirque du Soleil launched its first entertainment scent. Marcus Nymand Jacobsen reported that niche brands launch ~3 scents per year on average (10.4 per brand since 2021), led by Xerjoff with 41, DS&Durga with 32 and Tiziana Terenzi with 30.

Story: Sy Truong 👃 🇻🇳

An interview with Sy Truong, a prominent Vietnamese perfumer who made history winning the “Oscar of Perfumery” with his debut. His journey began at 15 when his father gifted him Alien by Thierry Mugler, and took off after he found Jean-Claude Ellena’s Diary of a Nose. With no perfumery schools or local resources in Vietnam, he relied on books and imported raw materials from France and the USA.

He is emphatic: “Molotov Cocktail is NOT a fragrance; it’s a statement against war.” Inspired by the events in Ukraine and the loss of a friend, it includes notes of blood, metal and burnt rubber to evoke the horror of conflict. His brand Sylhouette combines decadence, drama and poetry; a new collection, Le Vanité, explores time and death. Many of his tattoos are chemical structures — his favourite being IsoButyl Quinoline.

Aroma Chemical: IsoButyl Quinoline 💧

A synthetic aromatic compound with a distinct leathery, smoky, slightly green scent, first synthesised in the early 20th century. A staple in chypre, leather and woody perfumes, especially masculine colognes, with strong fixative properties. Produced by Givaudan, IFF, Symrise and others. Blends well with woods, animalic notes, herbal/green notes and resins.