Man In The Mirror

Welcome back to a brand new season of ‘Man in the Mirror’. I hope you had a great summer. In this first episode of Man in the Mirror, I’m joined by Tomáš Ric, founder and creative director of Czech fragrance house Pigmentarium. Tomáš talks about building a contemporary perfume brand deeply rooted in Prague and Czech culture, and how architecture, art, photography and design all feed into Pigmentarium’s distinctive creative world. We explore the process of turning memories, moods and abstract ideas into fragrance, including the story behind the house’s newest scent, Aereo, as well as Tomáš’s ambitions to take Pigmentarium beyond perfume into art, objects and collaborations.Away from fragrance, we head into Tomas’s bathroom cabinet to discover the grooming products he actually uses, before talking about what he sees when he looks in the mirror and the things outside work that bring him joy.Tomáš mentioned the following products from his grooming routines:Phyris - Cleanser, Tonic & Face creamhttps://www.grandel.com/en/phyris-productsKevin Murphy - Free Hold Hair Paste https://www.kevinmurphystore.com/kevin-murphy-free-hold/You can find out more about Pigmentarium here:https://www.pigmentarium.com/enInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/pigmentarium_parfums/https://www.instagram.com/tmsrc/https://fiole.co.uk/collections/pigmentarium- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guests on the season finale are David Benedek, founder of bdk Parfums and Jordi Fernandez, Senior Perfumer at Givaudan. The pair have teamed up on a brand new trio of fragrances for bdk called ‘Collection Studio’. The collection comprises of ‘Stella Silk’, ‘Oud Paradiso’ and ‘Silver Ceremony’ - all inspired by haute couture and textiles. They use some of the finest ingredients in the Givaudan perfume palette at an ‘absolu’ strength of perfume oil (in relation to the alcohol) of over 40%. Suffice to say, the trilogy have presence, refinement and are a true statement of creative craftsmanship.David is one of the few guests to make a second appearance on the show, but he was in town doing an event at Horrods and it was too good an opportunity to miss, particularly as the brand is celebrating its 10th anniversary. I always find David to be such a warm, open person to chat to, someone who is also modest and humble. He clearly relishes collaboration and the excellent working relationship with Jordi Fernandez was palpable. It all started with ‘Impadia’, released last year and continued on to ‘Collection Studio’ in 2026. It was a real coup and a huge thrill to have Jordi Fernandez on the podcast - he’s one of the most in-demand perfumers in the world and he brought joy, energy and enthusiasm to our conversation. *Special thanks to Phoenix Beauty, Profile PR and bdk for arranging the recording. Dave & Jordi mentioned the following products from his grooming routines:Jordi:Magna - Shower Gel (Classic)https://www.lemonfreshuk.com/magno-classic-shower-gel-black-original-550mlNivea - Face Moisturiserhttps://www.nivea.co.uk/products/nivea-soothing-day-face-cream-spf15-50ml-40058089244170045.htmlDavid:Avene - Hydrating Creamhttps://www.avene.co.uk/p/hydrance-rich-hydrating-cream-3282779390132-b5405ca4+ lots of water!You can find out more about bdk Parfums here:https://bdkparfums.com/enInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/bdkparfumsparis/‘Collection Studio’ is out now.https://bdkparfums.com/en/collections/collection-studioI will now take a short summer break, but see you in the Autumn for Season 12. Thanks so much for listening!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is Pierre Ravan, a multi-hyphenate who is a fragrance brand founder (Eternal Journey) a world renowned club DJ, music producer and yoga practitioner. Pierre & I met earlier this year in London and I’ve seen him subsequently at a couple of big trade shows in Paris and Milan. We bonded over our mutual love of music and scent - and Pierre has the rare ability of managing to combine all his passions as part of a unified ‘whole’, rather than as disparate elements. It’s fair to say that Pierre has a spiritual and holistic outlook on life and his brand ‘Eternal Journey’ is a reflection of his beliefs. There are 2 collections that explore an inner and outer journey and the good news is that they will soon be available in the UK in the first Fraegra store in Manchester, opening this summer. He talks much more about the range during our conversation. It was a fascinating to chat to Pierre hand I greatly admire his positivity and spiritually connected outlook on life. I hope you enjoy our conversation - and do let me know what you think via the ‘Man in the Mirror’ podcast socials @maninthemirrorpod - or by commenting on your podcast platform of choice. Your comments and reviews really help the show!Pierre mentioned the following products from his grooming routines:La Prairie - Various productshttps://www.laprairie.com/en-gbNuxe - Huile prodigieuse Dry Oilhttps://uk.nuxe.com/products/huile-prodigieuse-100ml-multi-purpose-dry-oil-face-body-hairVichy - Deodorant https://www.vichy.co.uk/all-products/deodorants/deos-clinical-control-96h-manYou can find out more about Eternal Journey here:Brand website:https://theeternaljourney.com/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/eternaljourneyofficial/Pierre’s websitehttps://pierreravan.com/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is Jack Randall, the co-founder of luxury fragrance, candles and homeware brand RNDL. A British success story, RNDL takes a multi-sensory, multi-disciplinary approach, influenced by fashion, food, art and culture - and crafted with the finest raw materials.Jack talked to me about being inspired by his artist Father, being part of a cohort of supportive UK indie brands and the joys and challenges of building a business. We also chatted about his morning and evening routine and what he sees when he looks at the ‘man in the mirror.’Jack mentioned the following products from his grooming routines:Molton Brown - Bath & Shower Gelhttps://www.moltonbrown.co.uk/store/bath-body/bath-body-bestsellers/catUKBBestsellersAesop - Body Cleansershttps://www.aesop.co.uk/hand-body/body-cleansers-and-scrubs/Byredo - Body Washhttps://www.byredo.com/uk_en/c/body-care/categories-hand-and-body-care/categories-body-care-products/body-washAesop - Shaving Serumhttps://www.aesop.co.uk/skin-care/shaving/moroccan-neroli-shaving-serum/SK26.htmlBeauty of Joseon - SPFhttps://www.boots.com/beauty-of-joseon-relief-sun--rice-and-probiotics-50ml-10348088RNDL - Circushttps://rndl.co.uk/collections/fragrancesYou can find out more about RNDL here:Brand website:https://rndl.co.uk/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/rndl.ltd/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s guest is Ben Janoušek, the CEO UK & Europe for Kaorium, a company that builds tech to enhance the in-store customer experience with fragrance. Billed as ‘the scent sommelier’, Kaorium sits at the intersection between retail, technology and the customer. It’s an intuitive table-top unit that helps fragrance discovery using words around feelings, emotion and mood, rather than brands, perfume notes or materials.Ben and his team are keen to make the perfume shopping experience as frictionless and fun as possible, with no barriers to participation. It was fascinating to find out more about his career to date, his extra curricular activities in the theatre (!) and of course his morning and evening routines.Ben mentioned the following products from his grooming routines:Original Source - Mint & Tea Tree shower gelhttps://www.original-source.com/uk/products/originals/mint-tea-tree-shower-gel/Sure - Deodorant https://www.suredeodorant.co.uk/products.htmlWella - Shockwaves hair gelhttps://www.wella.com/international/about-wella/shockwavesParfums de Marly - Haltanehttps://uk.parfums-de-marly.com/products/haltaneGallivant - Gdańskhttps://www.gallivant-perfumes.com/products/gdansk-eau-de-parfumYou can find out more about Kaorium here:Brand website:https://www.kaorium.com/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/discoverkaorium- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.