Elizabeth Gaynes introduces off script through three new expressions of Cambodian oud
off script Starts With Oud
written + interview SARAH ARENDTS
After twelve years of strangelove, Elizabeth Gaynes is launching a second perfume house with the same non-negotiable at its centre — real, sustainably sourced oud. off script begins with three fragrances built around Cambodian Oud Al Safi, used at different levels across the collection. Gaynes describes the material as softer, rounder and naturally sweeter than the Indian oud used at strangelove.
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HEAVENSPOT, DOUBLETAKE + WALLFLOWER
WALLFLOWER, developed as the lightest expression, places oud alongside neroli, muguet, peony, orris and sandalwood, giving the fragrance the clean familiarity of freshly laundered fabric without losing the depth of the material underneath. HEAVENSPOT pairs it with coconut, mango, sea salt, jasmine, labdanum and vanilla, while DOUBLETAKE carries the highest level of oud, alongside raspberry, dates, mint, mate and leather.
The three fragrances were developed with Julien Rasquinet and Céline Herbette and are formulated at 25 percent concentration. WALLFLOWER proved the most difficult to finish because Gaynes wanted real oud to remain present within something fresh and clean. For Gaynes, off script is for people curious about oud but unfamiliar with the natural material itself. “off script is the way in,” she says. The collection makes its New York debut on September 14 with an event during Fashion Week in collaboration with R13, presented alongside a scent lookbook.
Sarah Arendts
What made you build off script as a separate brand after twelve years of strangelove?
Elizabeth Gaynes
The thing both brands have in common, and the thing that sets them apart from almost everyone else, is that we use real, sustainable oud. Pure oud. It's rare to find a brand that does, because it's one of the most expensive ingredients in the world, so most of what's sold as oud is a synthetic version of it. But once you've tried the real thing you can't go back. Real oud is alive. It changes on your skin, it changes with you, and it does something to your soul that nothing else in perfumery does. It's a magical ingredient, but only when it's real.
strangelove was built for people who already knew that and wanted as much of it as I could possibly put in a bottle. And I love those people. But for twelve years I've also been meeting people who smell it on someone else, love it, and then tell me they could never wear it themselves. Or they're curious about oud but don't want to jump into the deep end on day one. I didn't want to water strangelove down for them, it is what it is and that's why it works. So I built them their own brand. Still real oud, a different oud, used with a lighter hand and a very different attitude. off script is the way in.
Before WALLFLOWER, HEAVENSPOT and DOUBLETAKE had names, what did the first brief actually ask Julien Rasquinet and Céline Herbette to do?
The brief was intense. I know what I want and I put it all in there. I always knew what kind of scent I wanted at each level of oud, so I built the brief around that. For each one I gave them the ingredients I loved and the mood I wanted you to be in when you wore it. They weren't starting from nothing, they were starting from a very clear picture in my head, and the job was getting it out of my head and into a bottle without losing the oud along the way.
I should say it wasn't just me and the perfumers in a room. I have an amazing team who worked with me on all three scents, every one of them passionate about it and every one of them with their own point of view, which they were not shy about sharing. That's how you get it right. You need people around you who'll tell you when a sample is beautiful and when it's just fine.
Why Cambodian Oud Al Safi for all three fragrances?
strangelove uses Indian oud, which is the deep, dark, smoky end of the spectrum. Leathery, intense, the stuff the purists chase. Cambodian oud is a different animal. It's softer and rounder, there's a sweetness and a bit of fruit in it, and it's a much easier first love. But it's still the real thing, sustainably sourced, and that's not negotiable for me. Using one oud across all three also gives you a baseline. You can compare them, see what the same material does with different company around it, and figure out how you like to wear it. That's the whole point. off script is meant to be played with.
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DOUBLETAKE
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HEAVENSPOT
Do you remember a mod that changed the direction of the collection?
We worked hard on the mods for all three scents. Every round we'd move the ingredients around the oud to see what happened, and none of them came easy. But the one that changed everything was the WALLFLOWER mod that finally worked. That was the day I knew the whole idea worked. You can put real oud in something light and fresh and still feel it. People didn't think I could do it until they smelled it.
Which one took the longest to finish?
None of them were easy, but the most challenging was WALLFLOWER. Think about it. A light, fresh, clean laundry scent built on one of the most powerful, deeply intense ingredients in the world. Most people in this industry would tell you that's a contradiction. I knew we could do it, I just didn't know how many samples it would take. Julien was fantastic, he worked through every single one with me, changing the ingredients until it landed where I wanted it. I think it's a perfect everyday oud. Fresh and clean, but with real substance and longevity, which is not a sentence you usually get to say about a fresh fragrance.
At what point did you know WALLFLOWER needed less oud and DOUBLETAKE more?
From the beginning, honestly. Each one was built around a level of oud before it was anything else. WALLFLOWER was always going to be the one you wear close, where someone has to lean in to notice it. DOUBLETAKE was always going to have the oud right out front, because the name is a promise. If people don't actually turn around, I've named it wrong. The brief set the levels and the development was about making each one feel right where it sat.
What does 25% concentration give these fragrances that you weren't getting at a lower concentration?
Real oud needs room. At a lower concentration you get a hint of it in the opening and then it's gone and you're left with a nice fragrance and a slightly disappointed feeling. At 25% you get the whole story, the way it shifts over hours on your skin, and you get the longevity that makes real oud worth what it costs. There's less oud in off script than in strangelove, but what's there gets to do its job.
Why does a fragrance brand made for a new audience interested in oud look so deliberately pre-digital?
There is a whole new audience for oud right now. People are curious, they're doing their research, and oud has become very popular. But it's not a fad. Oud has been around for three thousand years. What's new is that the Western world is finally discovering it and finding out what the real thing can do. off script is for those people, anyone who's curious about oud and wants something they can actually wear out of the house.
As for the look, the name is the answer. off script means you don't listen to what's going viral, you don't listen to anyone else, you do what you believe in. It's honest and it has integrity. That's what strangelove has stood for since day one and it's what off script stands for too. A brand like that shouldn't look like it was designed to be scrolled past at 2am. It should look like something you want to hold.
After living with all three throughout development, which one do you reach for most yourself?
It depends on the day. WALLFLOWER is every day, it's my white t-shirt. HEAVENSPOT I wear for dreaming. And DOUBLETAKE is for fabulous nights out, the kind where people look twice and think, I want that.
off script
HEAVENSPOT, DOUBLETAKE + WALLFLOWER
WALLFLOWER, HEAVENSPOT and DOUBLETAKE are available now at Harrods and at offscriptnyc.com
— follow the brand at @offscriptny