Commodity x Ferroconcrete

When I was at work the other day Mark, one of Precept’s designers, stumbled on Commodity on September Issue’s blog. I couldn’t resist sharing not only their branding but also their innovative model for a new kind of perfume business: one that removes the pouting models and flashy bottles, and strips everything back to the scent with clean, minimalistic design. And as soon as I saw the packaging for the women’s perfume, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Tom Ford’s orignal white and gold lipstick cases.

As a brand, Commodity reminds me of Tom Ford in a number of ways. Primarily because I think it has that same elegant simplistic design that emulates confidence and doesn’t need gimmicks to sell itself. The concept behind the brand is equally as intelligent. It’s a perfume company that aims to help you find a fragrance that works with you; as opposed to selling you a heavy musk that overpowers anyone who steps within a mile radius of you.

Their clever service offers ‘scent tailoring’, where you specify the kind of scents which you prefer and they send you a sample of the fragrances they think you’ll like. You then pick the fragrances you like the best and they send you full size bottles. With unpretentious and simple names like wool, paper, gin and book, the scents are designed to be able to reflect your lifestyle and each are suited to different occasions. So whether you’re heading out for breakfast and just want to dab on a light fragrance, or spritzing yourself before heading out for the night, you know that there’s a smell tailored perfectly to your tastes that works for the time of day you need it to.

From the classically chic packaging to the simple but effective adverts, I’m sold.