The Yin to my Yang

  |   16-01-2017

Christian and Ursula Lengling

[Image: Founders of Lengling Parfums Munich, Christian and Ursula Lengling.]

Interviewing pioneering entrepreneurs leaves you with a sense of positivity. If there is one thing you will walk away with, it’s the idea that if you put a thought into action something great can manifest. This leads me on to Christian and Ursula Lengling – the German dynamic couple who started a Munich-based fragrance company. They are the first to highlight Germany as a base for creating perfumes. Their inspiration came from several factors: the idea of contrasts, contemporary lifestyles and inspiration from a pebble they found by the Eisbach, in Munich.

Established in 2015, Lengling is the first perfume collection by the husband-and-wife team. It is a passionate yet ambiguous line of unisex fragrances, comprised of seven scrumptious perfume extracts, each of which contains a harmonious blend of two contrasting notes – leng and ling. These combinations come together to form innovative fragrance experiences that are elegant, full of contrasts and overwhelmingly sensual.

Tell us about you and how you met.

Christian: I was born in Tokyo and grew up in Munich. I fell in love with perfumes at an early age. My father was in the perfume and beauty business all his life. He was responsible for big brands like YSL, Versace and others, which is why I grew up with perfumes.

Ursula: I grew up in Bavaria. Christian and I met 24 years ago at university. We fell in love and recognised that we perfectly complimented each other in life, and later in business. Four years later we got married and now we have three children.

Christian: And seven more babies now! We are a big family!

Lengling perfumes

[Image: The complete set of Lengling fragrances.]

How did the brand begin?

Christian: We always had a dream to create a company, a brand and perfumes. In 2007, we started our own company to distribute and sell niche fragrances. Five years later, in 2012, we felt it was the right time to create a brand. Lengling launched in July 2015 and it was the first perfume manufacturer in Munich.

Ursula: For me, the experience is important. We wanted to be luxurious, special and different. We learned a lot about perfumes and it was our dream to do something like this. It was a long project; it took three years to develop.

What makes your brand different and unique?

Ursula: We didn’t want to create just another luxurious perfume because there are so many. We wanted to create a complete work of art. It had to be high quality and special, but also modern. Our fragrances had to meet today’s trends and fit into modern lifestyles.

Our perfumes tell stories and these stories were inspired by our personal life. Life is full of contrasts and we feel these contrasts every day. For me it begins at 6.30 a.m. because I am not only a perfume designer but a mother.

Another contrast is our love for two very different places in the world: Bavaria and Japan. My husband was born in Japan and he has brought over a lot of things from Japan to Germany – these include memories and art. We often travel to Tokyo to see his family. Japan has not only impressed us but inspired us. We don’t need to choose one country over the other because we can have both worlds.

The challenge today is to find an ideal balance. If you find the balance you have the feeling of perfection. At least for that moment things feel perfect. We created modern perfumes that are contrasting but harmonious, and the aim is to create a balanced perfection.

Tell us more about these contrasting notes in your fragrances.

Ursula: Each of our perfumes have two contrasting notes. When you smell the fragrance it is harmonious; there is balance between warm notes and cold notes. Our first fragrance is called No. 1., there is ‘brilliant diamond’ a leng note that is cold, brilliant and shiny like a diamond. On the other side you have magnolia and vanilla, which are ling notes – warm and soft. Combined, they are contrasting notes, but at the end when you smell the fragrance it is harmonious. That is the conceptual idea that is very different from the usual head, heart and base notes. You feel and smell the contrasting notes from the moment you put it on until the end – it is a harmonious journey.

Christian: The fragrance is consistent from the moment you put it on. Since we are not a perfume house with a long tradition, we had the freedom to find another way of creating perfumes.

LengLing No1_AED 945_50ml

[Image: Lengling No. 1, 50ml.]

What about the design?

Christian: Let’s start with the bottle, the bottle is 50ml and it’s all handmade. The label is satin and luxurious. We put the label on the corner because the bottle doesn’t have a front or a back. By placing it there it shows the concept of leng and ling.

We found the design of the cap by the Isar River. It was a pebble. We were walking by the river and we noticed this particular stone; we liked it so we decided to keep it. We felt this would be the perfect cap. Nature was the designer and we made it in silver. It reminds us of our home in Munich.

Ursula: The bottle is packed in a luxurious box that is handmade in unique paper. It comes from a small company near Munich and they are famous for creating envelopes for the Oscars in Hollywood. Everything is made in Bavaria apart from the bottle which is made in France.

How has the first year been so far?

Christian: We launched in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Now we are in Russia,  Azerbaijan and other countries, including Dubai. People love perfumes in the Middle East, but there are a lot of brands in the region so it’s not easy to stand out and be successful. However, with our passion for quality and creativity we hope we will be successful.

What were the challenges?

Ursula: Being a German manufacturer, doing something new and creating something unique. There are many French, Italian and British perfumes, but German perfumes are unusual. It was a challenge. We don’t compare ourselves to other houses and we trust our hearts and our noses.

Christian: We took our time to develop everything, which was a challenge. To actually do it and say it is not only a dream, you have to invest a lot and take risks.

What do you think the future is for high perfumery?

Christian: I think more consumers are looking for something special. There is a need for authentic, high quality handmade things. Big, mainstream brands are everywhere and they are producing perfumes constantly. Nowadays, consumers are looking for something unique. 

Future plans?

Christian: The first step is to establish all seven fragrances, but we are working on more. We have so many ideas. Later this year we’ll come up with something new.

Do you have a motto you live by?

Ursula: Leng and ling are two parts that compliment each other. One alone is not so good. You have to find the right contrasting partner that compliments the other in a harmonious way.

Lengling Parfums Munich are exclusively available at Paris Gallery in the UAE.

By Hershey Pascual