Description
Club Majestic
Narcissus Chypre. Oriental fantasies in neo-arabesque architecture.
A place of exoticism and getaway. In the Roaring 1920’s, Lisbon too had it’s own good dose of bohemia and transgression. Nights of fun, art, wordliness, drugs, gamble and sex. Night time is the right time to explore these facets of life, and after the War, Lisbon started seeing a number of night clubs opening, most of them downtown, creating a circle of cosmopolitan movement, much associated with the sounds of jazz and foxtrot. These discreet but impactful underground places gave birth to some of Portugal’s most celebrated visual artists if the Art Deco period. Since 1920 and up until 1927 in Lisbon, cinema, vaudeville theatre and these unique cabarets (that we simply called Clubs) created this fun vortex and this time period that was never to return again. The buildings are still there and in some cases, it’s still possible to enter and feel the vibrations. But it’s a time shrouded in mistery and fascination. Flappers, singers, actors and actresses, painters, sculptors, prostitutes and criminals, they all came together in these caverns of decadence and glamour. I want to celebrate them. What kind of perfumes could you have smelled there?
Perfumer
Miguel Matos has been an arts and culture journalist for the past 2 decades, and some years ago he found a way of turning an old obsession into a job: he is a scent critic and Scent Art curator.
He is one of the editors and columnists at Fragrantica.com and Fragrantica.com.br. He organizes exhibitions on art and olfaction for galleries and museums: Synesthesia Project / Per Fummum (Miguel Justino Gallery, Lisbon, 2015), Making the Body Think (Casa da Cerca Contemporary Arts Center, Almada, and Institute for Art and Olfaction, Los Angeles, 2017). He wrote the books Artistas Portugueses em Discurso Direto (Guerra e Paz ed.) and O Zodiaco Perfumado (Pergaminho ed), as well as many art shows catalogs.
He is also the creative director of a fragrance capsule collection with his name within the brand SP Parfums (Suntanglam, Lisbon Blues, Funfair and the upcoming Nowhere Fast).
He likes to talk, and he regularly hosts the series of lectures Perfume Sniffing in Lisbon as well as scented experiences with wine and scent for the Enoteca de Belém (Lisbon). Honorary member of the Perfume Bottle Association. He is a collaborator and writer for special projects at Parfums Grès.
Miguel was recently recognized on the top 5 finalists at the Fragrance Foundation Awards for Editorial Excellence in Fragrance Coverage (2017) and was also nominated for the Perfumed Plume Awards in the same year.
Miguel Matos was the winner of the best perfume in the independent category at The Art and Olfaction Awards in 2020 with the perfume Young Hearts.
