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Today I’m Wearing: Chergui by Serge Lutens


Who: Corinne Bensahel, Creative Director and the Marketing VP of luxury Belgian candle and diffuser brand Baobab Collection. The energy and enthusiasm Corinne exudes when describing her work is infectious, we were really impressed with her work with Malagasy women in Madagascar, where as well as using the indigenous ingredients for the candles, Baobab Collection supports the community with training and uses their craft work within the product, it all helps to fight against poverty in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Today I am wearing a combination of perfumes, I am mixing the fragrance of one of my scented candles named Perseus (I asked the perfume factory to do a special formula for me) and I’m wearing it with Chergui from Serge Lutens, which was a gift from my husband.

I love the mix because it makes me feel sexy. It gives me confidence. I love perfume with incense and wood, I love when a perfume is warm and religious. The mystery behind it gives the “sexiness.”

Fragrance is very, very important in my life. I always loved perfumes since I was a young girl. My mother once lost me in a store when I was three because I grabbed the fur coat of a lady, pushed my face right into it  – entirely because of the smell – and followed her. Perfume stays on furs. In the 40’s women did not put perfume on their skin but only on clothes and especially on fur collars…

I’ve diversified my taste since I started working for Baobab Collection. Each research project for the scents is personal, for me it’s about projecting a memory. But I am trying to be more and more open to different inspirations, I constantly write my feelings down when I am traveling in order to save them and maybe to use them in a future development.

Madagascar is a special island so rich in different resources. The three perfumes of the Trano Collection are encased in a beautiful raffia wrapper, crocheted in Madagascar by a cooperative of women. I also use ylang ylang grown on the island in the Manala Candle, the citrus in the Muzi Candle and the eucalyptus in the Mabogho Candle

I use the Baobab Collection candles all the time. This is the first thing I do when I get home. It makes me feel warm, it is almost as if my house was a person I love, wearing a beautiful nightdress. For the Women Candle we tried to make it a little bit special, it is like having my mother next to me again, sitting on the sofa and talking to me. She died a few years ago from breast cancer.

When you scent your own home it is always good to open the window for five minutes to clean the air and then light your candle. You will have a faster restitution of the perfume. Feel free to light more than one candle at a time and don’t be afraid to mix the perfume, it gives a very exclusive signature to your home. I do that all the time with perfumes, for example I love to mix in some Jo Malone!