Article by: Ricardo Jose R. Lapak
If you’re a fragrance enthusiast, you’d be familiar with all the big designer and niche houses, and maybe even associated their signature scents with a certain memory or feeling. During the pandemic, this Filipino perfumer wanted to reach out and help others do the same, but in reverse.
Renato Lopena Jr. is one of the Philippines’ prominent perfumers and owner of Wren Atelier, a Filipino perfume brand that offers bespoke scent services so that anyone can immortalize their feelings into their very own perfume.
Back in 2015, Renato was one of 12 students selected for Grasse Institute of Perfumery’s (GIP) perfumery course in France. After honing his nose and graduating, he collaborated with local perfume brand Whiff, to create various scents – he’s even had the opportunity to work on a scent for Heart Evangelista (we all know how much Heart loves her perfumes).
While Renato has had quite a few runs with local brands and influencers, his unique experience at GIP made him realize how much untapped potential the Philippines fragrance industry has. When he was starting to get into perfumes, most of the local brands were merely inspired scents, clones of popular designer houses such as Dior and Chanel.
The Philippines is home to many aromatics such as Jasmine (Sampaguita), Ylang-Ylang, Elemi (Pili tree resin), Lemongrass (Tanglad), and many others. While the process of turning these raw materials into fragrances is a scientific process, knowing which notes go well together is an art, one which Renato hopes to perfect through Wren Atelier.
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In Renato’s own words, each perfume can be associated with specific emotions and feelings. Wren Atelier allows you to transform these emotions into a scent through their bespoke services. Just tell the Renato himself what sort of notes you want in your unique fragrance and he’ll get right into the magic.
While not all of us can be artists, Wren Atelier has its own private collection, a series of pre-made fragrances said to be on par with international designer and niche houses by the local fragrance community. Hacienderos, the first fragrance in the private collection, holds a feeling only a Filipino would recognize – the earthly (but clean) scent of provincial life bottled up and ready for the world to smell.
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Renato hopes to one day showcase Filipino perfumery on the international scene. With his unique skill and willingness to help uplift the local fragrance industry, he hopes to make Wren Atelier the go-to platform of not only local perfumers, but of anyone with an idea.
Renato Lopena, Jr.
Website: http://www.thefilipinonose.com
Wren Atelier website: http://www.scentsbywrenatelier.com
Wren Atelier Instagram: @wrenatelier
