“Our vocation as a perfume house is rooted in a stylistic approach that brings together smell, sight and touch.”
Isabelle Masson (translated from French)
Remove the cap from a small, illustrated cylinder and glide the fragrance over your skin. SABÉ MASSON’s Soft Perfume focuses on the act of applying perfume itself. Its portable solid perfumes bring scent, texture and the artwork on the packaging together in a single design.
The Parisian brand was founded by Isabelle Masson-Mandonnaud, who helped develop Sephora. From creating shops where people could choose perfume freely, she moved on to exploring the relationship between fragrance and skin. That journey led her to alcohol-free bases and to two different forms: solid and liquid.
Basic Information
- Origins: Soft Perfume launched in 2013; the first shop opened in the Haut Marais district of Paris in 2015
- Founder: Isabelle Masson-Mandonnaud, now identified by the brand as Isabelle Masson
- Based in: Paris, France
- Main products: Solid Soft Perfume sticks, liquid Soft Perfume, refills and ceramic objects for applying fragrance
- Availability in Japan: Sold through Signal Right’s official online store and other outlets
The Founder and the Brand’s Origins
Giving Customers the Choice at Sephora
Isabelle studied business in Vichy and began working in the 1980s at Shop 8, the perfumery established by Dominique Mandonnaud. Dominique later became her husband, and together they developed the Shop 8 business into Sephora.
At the time, sales assistants controlled access to products in perfume shops, and customers could not easily handle them for themselves. Isabelle and Dominique wanted a shop where people could approach products, compare them and leave without buying anything. For Isabelle, working in perfume began with giving customers the freedom to choose.
“We leave the choice to the customer.”
Isabelle Masson (translated from French)
When Sephora passed to LVMH in 1997, she shifted her focus from perfume retailing to creation. Her experience of bringing many brands together in a shop informed the fragrance experience she wanted to offer through her own brand.
From Her Mother’s Solid Perfume to a Stick That Glides over the Skin
When Isabelle was a child, her mother always carried an Estée Lauder solid perfume. Its small container seemed mysterious and fascinating to her, although there was one aspect of using it that she disliked.
Isabelle recalled that she did not particularly like having to put her finger into the container.
She wanted to retain the intimacy of solid perfume while making it possible to apply it directly to the skin. That choice led to a lipstick-like stick. Solid perfumes have a long history; her work was to adapt them to a gesture that could become part of everyday life.
Before SABÉ MASSON, she had also created solid perfumes through Crazy Libellule and the Poppies. The experience of that company’s dissolution stayed with her as she began again. Her next challenge involved creating the scent, developing the base that would carry it, and shaping the sensation of contact with the skin.
Soft Perfume in 2013 and a Shop in Paris
In spring 2013, a new project developed with Philippe Vignon, formerly of L’Oréal, took shape as Soft Perfume. Sabé is a nickname for Isabelle, and Masson is her surname. Under her own name, she began a business proposing a new way to apply fragrance.
In April 2015, she opened a shop on Rue de Franche-Comté in the Haut Marais district of Paris. A creative atelier beside the retail space allowed her to keep making products while staying in contact with customers. Her interest in the shop floor, developed at Sephora, remained part of this small perfume house.
The brand later went through a period of inactivity for financial reasons. Its relaunch brought in Boris Gratini, cofounder of Nailmatic, and Hélène Ortola, a specialist in digital communication. Together with Isabelle, the three have developed the existing fragrances and the Soft Perfume concept anew.
An interest in the physical act of touching the skin lies at the heart of the brand.
“With the solid perfume stick, I liked the idea of getting back in touch with our skin.”
Isabelle Masson (translated from French)
Alongside solid sticks, the range now includes alcohol-free liquid perfume. It offers a choice between gliding a fragrance onto the skin and spraying it, while treating the base that carries the scent as a shared concern across both forms.
Japan and a Seventh Fragrance
In Japan, Signal Right’s online store presents the sticks, liquid perfumes and duos combining both formats. The names also receive Japanese interpretations: Et revenir à soi is presented as “Futatabi, watashi” (“Myself, again”), and Striptease flowers as “Hana no strip show” (“A floral strip show”).
The 7th is a reworking of the earlier Reine soleil. Vanilla and woods form its core, with jasmine, ylang-ylang and citrus layered around them. It carries an earlier creation into a new composition rather than simply reissuing it under its old name.
The Brand’s Commitments
The Bases That Support Solid and Liquid Fragrances
SABÉ MASSON distinguishes between the fragrant composition and the base that carries it. The brand calls this base a “cosmetic matrix.” Both the solid and liquid forms of its current Soft Perfume are designed without ethanol as the perfume solvent.
The solid base combines oils and plant waxes with essential waxes derived from clary sage and blue lotus. The liquid version uses a microemulsion of water and oil called WPE, or Water Plant Emulsion. This is more involved than simply replacing alcohol with water. The brand presents both formats as perfumes with certified moisturizing properties.
Once a fragrance has been composed, it is incorporated into both solid and liquid bases, and each version is assessed. The glide of the stick and the sensation of spraying the liquid are treated as part of the creation. Differences in the materials carrying the fragrance become differences in how it is used.
The solid perfume glides directly onto the area where you want to apply it. The liquid is gently shaken before use and sprayed from about 20 cm away from the skin. Even under the same fragrance name, the texture and gesture differ. A stick suits carrying and reapplying; a spray disperses the fragrance over the skin. The choice involves both the scent and the way you want to wear it.
From Words to Fragrance, from Fragrance to Packaging
The fragrance names reveal where Isabelle’s creative process begins: returning to oneself, a relationship with someone, or the image of a flower. Before listing ingredients, she explores the scenes and emotions suggested by words.
“I start with a word, with what it inspires in me.”
Isabelle Masson (translated from French)
In the house’s early creative process, the perfumer would make two or three proposals based on that initial idea. Once the fragrance had been chosen, a graphic designer developed its visual identity. Names and images gave the scent its setting, in conjunction with the perfumer’s work.
The current Et revenir à soi stick is wrapped in an illustration of figures and scenery. The object used to apply fragrance is also something to look at. The connection between smell, sight and touch takes a tangible form in the product held in the hand.
Flowers, Woods and Sweetness in the Signature Fragrances
Et revenir à soi is a creation by Jennifer Jambon. Bergamot and mandarin join ginger, cardamom and pink pepper before leading into iris, jasmine and ylang-ylang. Patchouli, vetiver, maté, vanilla and benzoin are among the base notes. The composition extends the brightness of citrus into spice and more astringent botanical tones. It is also presented as a fragrance composed entirely of natural fragrant ingredients.
Georges et moi, by Heidrun Harder, is a woody, floral, spicy fragrance. Bergamot and lemon leaves meet rose, ylang-ylang, magnolia and ginger, supported by cedar and vetiver. Compared with the vanilla and resins in Et revenir à soi, it places the interplay of flowers and woods in focus.
For sweetness and resins, Eu vent de vous by Delphine Lebeau is an interesting example. It pairs iris with tolu balsam, opoponax and benzoin, followed by patchouli, vanilla, labdanum and amber. The balance between the warmth of resins and the expression of iris is central to its appeal.
Also by Delphine, Striptease flowers brings orange blossom, neroli and heliotrope together with caramel, vanilla, patchouli and amber. Where Eu vent de vous explores resins and iris, this composition adds sweetness to flowers. Even within sweet fragrances, the materials taking the central role can be quite different.
For rose, there is Né des roses by Serge de Oliveira. Rose and green tea are joined by blackcurrant, peony, patchouli, moss and musk. Garden greenery and a chypre structure surround the flower, distinguishing it from the sweet floral emphasis of Striptease flowers.
The small containers do not mean simplified fragrances. There is room to explore each perfumer’s treatment of flowers and woods, then choose between a glide-on format and a spray. These two levels of choice are part of SABÉ MASSON’s appeal.
Ceramic Fragrance Objects and Portable Formats
The interest in smell and touch extends beyond perfume packaging. Les Maîtres-Nez are ceramic objects for applying fragrance, created with ceramicist and gold-leaf artist Nadège Delaruelle. Shaped in the Batignolles district of Paris, they pass through firing and gold-leaf finishing. Named Le Mage and Le Berger, they give a tangible form to a tribute to the “noses” who compose perfume.
Sizes also vary with the way the products are used. The Et revenir à soi stick contains 5 g, while the current liquid bottle holds 100 ml. Refills are available for the liquid perfumes, alongside the small Tiny-Roll roll-on. The bottle offers the experience of spraying; the stick and roll-on bring direct contact with the skin.
By the Way…
A Museum Visited with Her Children Inspired the Logo
Isabelle’s attraction to natural history appears in the background to the logo as well as in her approach to fragrance materials. Its inspirations included walks through the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution in Paris with her children, and her admiration for the naturalist Buffon.
Perfume retailing, contact with the skin, words as a starting point for scent, and the living world encountered in a museum all come together in SABÉ MASSON’s small sticks. Scent, illustration and the feel of the object in the hand are each part of the experience.
References
- SABÉ MASSON: Notre philosophie. The founder’s words, smell, sight and touch, and the Soft Perfume philosophy. https://www.sabemasson.com/pages/a-propos
- Entrepreneuze: Interview with Isabelle Masson-Mandonnaud (14 January 2019). Shop 8, Sephora, freedom of choice and starting again after Crazy Libellule. https://entrepreneuze.com/portraits/isabelle-masson-mandonnaud
- Délices: De Sephora à Soft Perfume (13 October 2015). The 2013 launch, the project with Philippe Vignon and the 2015 shop opening. https://www.delices-mag.com/beaute-beauty/parfums/sabe-masson-de-sephora-a-soft-perfume-le-parfum-comme-passion/
- Le Monde: Le parfum solide fait son retour (3 May 2025). Memories of her mother’s solid perfume and the choice of a stick. https://www.lemonde.fr/m-styles/article/2025/05/03/le-parfum-solide-fait-son-retour_6602476_4497319.html
- Premium Beauty News: Sabé Masson, la renaissance d’une marque (3 March 2025). The three-person team, contact with the skin, and solid and liquid perfume development. https://www.premiumbeautynews.com/fr/sabe-masson-la-renaissance-d-une,25366
- Le Cas Stelda: Sabé Masson, une autre vision du parfum (2016). Creation beginning with words, the atelier and shop, and the logo’s natural-history inspiration. https://stelda.blogspot.com/2016/06/sabe-masson-une-autre-vision-du-parfum.html
- SABÉ MASSON: Pourquoi adopter le Parfum de soin. Solid and liquid bases, fragrance concentration, and the brand’s description of moisturizing certification. https://www.sabemasson.com/pages/parfum-de-soin
- SABÉ MASSON: Et revenir à soi. Solid and liquid matrices and the fragrance’s positioning. https://www.sabemasson.com/pages/et-revenir-a-soi
- SABÉ MASSON: Et revenir à soi – Bâton de parfum solide. The 5 g format, current notes, Jennifer Jambon and packaging. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/et-revenir-a-soi-baton-de-parfum-solide
- SABÉ MASSON: Georges et moi – Flacon d’eau de parfum. The 100 ml format, current notes, Heidrun Harder and directions for use. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/georges-et-moi-flacon-deau-de-parfum
- SABÉ MASSON: Eu vent de vous – Flacon d’eau de parfum. Current notes and Delphine Lebeau. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/eu-vent-de-vous-flacon-deau-de-parfum
- SABÉ MASSON: Striptease flowers – Flacon d’eau de parfum. Current notes and fragrance positioning. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/striptease-flowers-flacon-deau-de-parfum
- SABÉ MASSON: Né des roses – Flacon d’eau de parfum. Current notes and Serge de Oliveira. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/ne-des-roses-flacon-deau-de-parfum
- SABÉ MASSON: Les Maîtres-Nez. The collaboration with Nadège Delaruelle and the ceramic objects. https://www.sabemasson.com/pages/les-maitres-nez
- SABÉ MASSON: The 7th Skincare Fragrance / Tiny-Roll. The reworking of Reine soleil, current notes and the small roll-on. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/the-7th-skincare-fragrance-flacon-deau-de-parfum
- SABÉ MASSON: The 7th Skincare Fragrance Tiny-Roll. Roll-on and bottle formats. https://www.sabemasson.com/products/the-7th-skincare-fragrance-tiny-roll
- Signal Right: Striptease flowers / Hana no strip show. Japanese naming, Delphine Lebeau, and solid and liquid formats. https://signal-right.com/pages/striptease-flowers
- Signal Right: Soft Perfume Stick, Futatabi, watashi. Japanese naming, the 5 g format and current availability. https://signal-right.com/products/sabe-era-s
- Signal Right: Announcement of participation in Salon du Parfum (5 September 2026). The 7th’s limited quantity and initial release in Japan. https://signal-right.com/blogs/infomation/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%91%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%A0-2026
