Westport may not be the Perfume Capital of the World.
But between Baron Walter Langer von Langenhoff — the founder of Evyan Perfumes, whose 20th-century White Shoulders has been called “the iconic American fragrance” — and Claudia Cusani’s new Westport Parfum, we punch at least a little bit over our weight.
Claudia — a 1973 Staples High School graduate — is the owner of Cusani Perfumes.
She’s also a Berklee College of Music alum, a former jazz singer and holistic healer. But today’s we feature her new fragrance. Claudia writes:
Inspiration for a fragrance can come from almost anywhere. In the case of Westport Parfum, it came from my hometown. Last year, news of an upcoming high-school reunion got me feeling very sentimental about my old stomping grounds — what the French call la nostalgie — and I thought it would be interesting to translate those feelings into a fragrance.
Claudia Cusani
Westport, Connecticut is a small coastal town, full of history and pretty scenery and charming old architecture. When I was coming of age there, it was home to quite a few professional creative types, and the town had an air of genteel bohemianism. For me it was an encouraging environment, a place where I felt supported in exploring my own creative instincts.
At the same time, Westport is classic small-town New England, with its winding country lanes, rocky beaches and Colonial homes. A strong historical vibe pervades the town, perhaps best exemplified by the Revolutionary War cannons that have sat squarely on the town beach for 250 years (yes, really! — they’re a relic from the Battle of Compo Hill).
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry, Claudia. They’re replicas. But the battle actually took place!]
And Westport’s agricultural roots as a nineteenth-century onion farming community — at one time it was the onion capital of the country — preceded its reputation as an artist’s haven, which began around 1910 and continues to this day.
Westport’s dualistic town character … its bedrock of tradition on the one hand, and its large creative community on the other … has always kept it interesting. Not just another suburban outpost, it’s got an energy that’s both cosmopolitan and comforting which draws in visitors from far and wide.
To name just a few of the many enjoyable things to do in Westport, there are beaches and marinas, a vibrant shopping district, fabulous restaurants, the Westport Playhouse, art galleries and historical societies, and the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts (where yours truly was the teenaged singer in the first band to ever perform there, many moons ago).
Of course, like everyone everywhere, growing up meant navigating various rites of passage, some of which I managed more gracefully than others. I’m grateful for my family and friends in Westport who loved and nurtured me through those years.
There were wonderful townspeople as well, like Sally the Record Store Lady, everyone at The Remarkable Bookshop, the guys at Westport Pizzeria and Oscar’s Deli, and many memorable others. They were all a part of my formative years, and for that, and for the sheer fortune of growing up there, I feel blessed.
Westport Parfum — redolent of woody, smoky autumns and fresh, green-smelling springs, of rivers and beaches and saltwater and tides, of the deep cool of summer shade, of home and comfort and, most of all, of nostalgia.
It’s a place forever imprinted with cherished memories. And though I eventually went off to live in other parts of the world, in a certain way, it will always be home to me.
Westport is a fragrance in the aromatic fougère family. It opens with fresh citrus and herbal top notes, segues into a powdery green floral heart, and dries down to a smooth, woody-amber base. It has a dreamy, ethereal quality that is counterbalanced by the depths of its marine and amber facets.
Key notes are spearmint, sage, bergamot, basil, lavender, magnolia, rose, jasmine, ambrette seed, vanilla, benzoin, seaweed, opopanax and patchouli.
Westport is built around 2 olfactive themes. An earthy, agrestic theme — through the use of hay, oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli, seaweed and other notes — evokes the natural environment of beaches and saltwater, woods and grassy fields, bracing autumns ablaze with turning leaves.
And a nostalgic theme — expressed through a cozy amber accord of vanilla, benzoin and labdanum, plus the deep comfort of roses and magnolia — reflects my emotional connection to the town.
Like all of my fragrances, Westport is hand-blended, 100% plant-based, synthetic-free and unisex.
In composing Westport, I wanted to create a rich aromatic experience that resonates for you the way the town does for me. I hope you enjoy it.
(Inspired to try Westport Parfum? Click here. For more about Cusani Perfumes, click here. Hat tip: Susan Woog Wagner)
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Thanks Dan. I just ordered a sample bottle.