So I am back from Pitti, the fragrance fair in Florence, Italy. It still feels like I am in the midst of a big Tauer Perfumes cloud after 3 days of intense spraying and spritzing and talking about my creations.

Time to get back to crisp and clear Swiss air.

Pitti is a glamour world, with a lot of gold and black, strong evocative visuals, perfume bottles without end, and in the middle somewhere, a guy in jeans and bright sneakers: Andy. Looking at it from a distance sitting here in Zurich and trying to get control of what feels like the perfect communication storm, I realize that the Tauer guy at the stand, me, is probably one of the only perfumers there in sneakers. I made a TAUER T-shirt: That was neat. But otherwise: Andy is a bit displaced there. Or is it that he’s at the perfect spot?

I think, me, Andy, is there at the perfect spot because what I do is a bit different.

Let me explain.

There were about 250 perfume brands at Pitti. Some brands, houses, I highly appreciate for their honest and authentic appearance, like Sarah from 4160Tuesdays or Oliver from Oliver & Company or Olivier from Olivier Durbano or Neela from Neela Vermeire and some others. We all share one piece of DNA. Phenotyp: Authenticity. For 11 years Andy is playing the perfume selling game in a corner of the industry, referred to as niche, and with every year passing by, the corner gets more crouded and confusing. So I am standing there, still not bought by Esthee and not financed by Puig, with what I have to offer and wonder where we are all heading and my Italian friends come by, visit my stand and wonder about the same questions, too. Because they are in the know.

They, perfumistas, and average consumers, do not buy in department stores, there are less of these mall kind environments anyhow, but they buy in perfumeries that are abundant, also for selective perfume offerings. In this country where you stumble over historic mementos of rise and fall of empires on every corner you have more selective perfumeries than in the entire US. Think: 10 times more. Italy is different.

And so are the Italians. You cannot cheat them into buying an industrial salami by telling them it’s the real thing. There is this thing in Italy that always amazes me; they all seem to be born with a style gene. The resulting phenotype: Whatever they put together it comes with style. And before leaving the house: Perfume makes the difference.

Italy has always welcomed Andy with cheers, and the Italians forgive the Swiss guy his missing style gene, but love the fact that his perfume creations are different because the Italians, they know their perfumes. Again: It’s in their genes.

So I presented two novelties, one in Tauerville and one in Tauer Perfumes.

Both novelties will be talked about here and there; the Italians deserved to get them first. Now, I use my Swiss busy worker genes to build up stock (we sold too much in Italy) and to continue telling the story to you, too.

There is time.

As I was jogging in Florence, running my way through centuries, I met David, the white marble beauty, the amazing, eternal, and I could not but look up and feel humble.