We have to experience the rash celebration now through the window or balcony • The fragrance industry we have become accustomed to has to adapt to the challenging situation • But there are solutions that can make up for the missing scent and give us the pleasant scents

• The testers were taken out of the farms

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The Passover brings with it every year the scents of spring and flowering that accompany it. Although this year we will not walk in nature trails and smell the blossoms, but we will settle for the smell of the window or balcony, and perhaps a spring bottle of perfume.

As every year during this period, new perfumes are introduced all over the world that symbolize spring scents and join the holiday shopping celebration. The farm networks have already arrived in large quantities of new perfumes, which will probably give up without demand. The boutique stores, which specialize in custom niche perfumes and personalized perfumes, have closed their doors according to the hour's order and we seem to share a similar fate - they're on the shelves and we're in homes.

Even if you jumped to the farms and the marketing chains, you must have noticed that the testers were taken off the shelves for fear of being infected, and the scents we so enjoy will have to wait. "This year there is no holiday feeling at all, Passover is a perfume holiday," says Itzik Levy, CEO of the cosmetics division of Stowitz, which represents over 30 perfume brands. "Every year during this period a large amount of new perfumes are launched in light of the flowering and renewal season. To us Israelis, it always connects well because it is before Passover, a holiday where we love to be renewed with new fragrances and also to give as a gift to our loved ones in heaven. Unfortunately, this year is something we have never seen, even in times of security crisis. In fact it can be said that the cosmetics market is mostly closed. "

According to him, in a reality where cosmetic chains are closed, even those that remain open like the pharmacy chains and private pharmacies offering cosmetics and skincare are buying very little. "Consumption of cosmetics and perfumes is done in an atmosphere of solemnity, not when the head is preoccupied with other things. People nowadays go in to buy drugs and food with face masks, go past the cosmetic shelves and hurry back home," Levy describes the situation, adding: "While there is an increase in online sales, "These are not big numbers. New perfume has to smell and it's not possible right now. New perfumes are left on the shelves all over the world."

He said even if we left the quarantine, the resulting gap could not be narrowed. "What interests people is how to deal with the crisis is that everyone is considering and calculating their expenses."

Israeli overseas marketing companies are also feeling the losses. Ganit Alon, vice president of marketing for the Israeli brand for grooming and applying GADE, says sales have dropped dramatically, and orders have had to wait. "In Israel, there are indeed interest and purchases on the online channels. Customers buy face masks and nail polish bottles because you can't go to a beautician or manicurist and take care of personal care at home, too, but not to the extent we were used to during this time. The new perfume we have launched now has individual invitations through the site. "

Personal concealer

Shachar Schwartz has for about 5 years been dealing with perfunery for custom-made perfumery with branches in Jerusalem and Sharona Market and a particularly active site with overseas orders. "Not many Israelis recognize perfumery in personal perfumery, but this is still a time of year that they used to reach more stores. And we wish we had a perfume for them. Unfortunately because of the situation we have closed the stores for now and we make appointments via Skype and orders through the site, but it is very few and mostly orders from abroad, in the country there are almost no orders. Perfume is considered a luxury product and this is the industry that was hit first. "

Schwartz talks about their customers: "These are people who don't find the fragrance they want in the marketing networks, or those who want something special just for them." His uniqueness is in recognizing the person's personality and by means of which he is given his unique perfume. He says, "We mix about 80 personalized extracts and the result is a unique personal perfume that no one in the world has. The recipe is kept so that if the customer wants to order again we can bake it again."

Raanan Kahani, owner of the perfumery website 'Bashmat Eden' points out that the Corona epidemic also disrupted the business during a period when sales should be record high. "This is a time when people want to regenerate a new perfume, with the arrival of the spring season, but the situation has made people in a period of uncertainty give up perfume."

Kahani notes that he owns a niche sky that you will not encounter in any other store in the country and the company has exclusive franchises for several French and Italian perfumes. Their sales are also done by advising and customizing each and every customer. According to him, each customer in the first stage fills out a preferences questionnaire and at the end they map the results and pharmacists based on 3 samples. "These days, we continue to diagnose the site in a computerized way and receive samples up to the house from a selection of about 27 in the sky that exist, but feel the significant decline in orders," Coheni describes.

Three individual boutique boutique stores also closed their doors with the decision to close. The boutique holds a wide range of specialty perfumes in imports and limited editions. "These are niche perfumes that are unrelated to fashion houses, perfumes made up of concentrated extracts. The customization is done by personal questioning and questionnaire filling, so we know how to offer some of the perfume options on the shelf," says Antoine responsible for the brand.

He says of the situation, "Before Passover, this is the sales record but now only the online site is running and you can buy samples to try and the price offsets if the customer then makes a full-size perfume purchase." He says about Israeli consumers: "The majority likes a fresh scent of soap - a day. Maybe it's because we are a warm country, but the evening has many who like a dominant scent that will leave their presence wherever they go. Most residents of the country return to the same perfume they ordered and the Israelis didn't fix it. And re-ordering favors a fragrance, but it's definitely important for Israelis that the perfume will be durable over time, mainly because we are a country with hot weather and a lot of sweat. "

Israeli perfume habits

Unlike the conservative Europeans, the typical trend for Israelis seems to be diversity and renewal. Also, the Israelis seem to prefer morning perfume with a light scent, a distinctive and fresh scent, and a more dominant - classic scent slightly spicy for the evening, and in any case the Israelis are looking for durable skies that do not evaporate quickly.

For those who are unfamiliar with the differences in the caption on the wrap between 'Oo de Toilette' and 'Oo de Parfium' and 'Parfum', the significant difference in price is the explanation: the main difference is in the concentration of the extracts, alcohol and water in the product. 'Parfum' is a product with almost no water or alcohol added, its aroma is powerful and may last over 12 hours. It is a pure concentration of the extracts and therefore the price of the product will also be high. One grade below is 'eau de parfium', it is pure paraffin but mixed with a little water or alcohol. It is still a strong and concentrated scent that may last between 6-8 hours but less than its predecessor and also lower price. The third category, 'Eau de Toilette', is parfum mixed with plenty of water and alcohol so its aroma is lighter and also tends to evaporate quickly between 2-4 hours.

Home production

Michal Levin, a homeopathic aromatherapist, teaches natural pharmacy and publisher Levin Teva says that these days her clients have not disappeared and are looking for content and information on how to care for themselves at home. "They want to get away from the routine and news releases and consult with me on how to maintain the grooming routine at home. They ask questions and many times I bring up different content, such as how to make a hand cream at home, how to maintain the facial skin and all kinds of recipes for grooming even from home. ".

She said you can even smoke in the sky at home. "Not everyone usually has time and the majority will prefer to buy ready-made products, but during this time there are women who are looking for information and how to keep themselves busy. So I happily upload daily information on how to make something like grooming in roll packaging, from ingredients that are in-house or available for purchase. From the site raw materials and I send them. "

Levine shares with us the recipe how to make a natural perfume with extracts of real scents that came straight from the flower and plant and were not synthesized in the lab.

According to the recipes, there are oils that even elevate the mood: "Dark oils: bergamot, grapefruit and orange have a well-known citrus ingredient that boosts mood and antidepressant, and Hilang Ylang gives a fragrance and makes the perfume sensual."

The ingredients can be purchased at nature stores. All you have to do is take a glass vial with a 10 ml roll closure and drip in pure essential oils.

Do it yourself

Woman perfume:

√ 3 drops of bergamot

√ 2 patchouli drops

√ 1 drop of grapefruit

√ 1 drop of orange

√ 1 drop ylang-ylang

√ ml cold pressed jojoba oil fill the bottle with cold pressed almond oil

perfume for men:

√ 4 drops of lime

√ 3 drops of cinnamon / cypress

√ 2 drops per lemongrass

√ 1 drop of sage

√ 5 ml cold pressed jojoba oil fill the bottle with cold pressed almond oil