Escentric Molecules Just Dropped Its First Cologne

Escentric Molecules, the brand that brought cool-girl minimalism to perfumery, has finally ventured into the world of colognes. And honestly? We’re surprised it took so long.

The brand, founded by perfumer Geza Schoen and creative director Paul White, is best known for making us all obsess over lab-born molecules like Iso E Super — once something of an industry secret. Created in a lab at IFF back in 1973, Iso E Super was originally used behind the scenes to give perfumes a velvety, hug-in-a-bottle feel. It stayed under the radar of anyone without a lab coat until Geza Schoen started playing around with it in large concentrations before using it as the single note in the now cult-classic Molecule 01.

For its latest launch, the independent fragrance house is switching things up with a complete reimagining of the classic cologne, stripping it back to its bare bones and rebuilding for the modern era.

Forget those heavy, old-school scents your grandad might have worn. Cologne One is giving that fresh-out-of-the-shower energy. When creating the gender-neutral scent, Schoen leaned on the classic gin and tonic for inspiration, using juniper, lime, and citrus to create a fragrance composed almost entirely of top notes. But to keep it from being a one-note wonder, there’s a hit of ginger for warmth, cucumber for that crisp freshness, and a restrained heart of iris, rose, and hedione.

“It’s all about that burst of cold freshness you get with a gin and tonic. Nothing pretentious,” says Schoen. “With a scent like Cologne One, it’s more about what you leave out than what you put in. Juniper gives it that burst of herbal freshness while the dry down is very linear, a little musk, Ambroxan, Iso E Super, just enough to carry the freshness through.”

The clever bit? While most colognes vanish before you’ve even left the house, Cologne One has a 15% perfume oil concentration, giving a real hit of fragrance without the weight. The dry down stays linear and modern, using the brand’s signature Iso E Super alongside Ambroxan and musk for that second skin effect.

As Schoen puts it: “I created my first gin and tonic fragrance 25 years ago. Now, I’ve made it even better, even more valuable in what it offers.”

Escentric Molecules Cologne One is now available online at escentric.com, priced at £100 ($175), shipping to both the UK and US.