The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Sans Voir translates to 'without seeing', a concept borrowed from the world of chess. In certain variants of the game, players move pieces without knowledge of their opponent's position, relying entirely on instinct and strategy. Christelle Laprade designed this to capture that tension: bracing at first contact, balanced enough to trust completely. The challenge was building something that felt immediate and lasting at the same time, not a fleeting freshness but an extrait de parfum with real presence. The composition opens with sea salt and grapefruit, a bright mineral-citrus surge that hits the senses before the mind catches up. Cypress adds an unexpected maritime dryness that grounds the brightness without dimming it.
Sea salt opened the composition with the idea of minerals and mist, something that hits the senses before the mind catches up. Grapefruit added brightness that could cut through without becoming sweet. Cypress provided an unexpected maritime dryness. The heart required rose and freesia to feel earned, not decorative. Frankincense bridged the two worlds: the memory of something ancient, the sensation of something present. Palo Santo closed the arc with warmth and smoke, leaving a trace that lingers like intuition, still there after you've moved on.
The evolution
The first thirty minutes belong to salt and citrus. Grapefruit hits first, bright, almost tart, the kind of opening that makes you lean in closer. Cypress arrives to steady things, adding a dry herbal edge that prevents the top notes from becoming sweet. Then, somewhere between thirty minutes and two hours, the rose appears. Not aggressively, not loudly. Just there, softly connecting the citrus brightness to the woody base below. The transition is smooth enough that you might miss it if you're not paying attention. Palo Santo gradually takes over, bringing smoke and warmth with it. The salt doesn't disappear entirely, it deepens, settles into the composition like a secret. The drydown reveals itself as a skin-close warmth, the woody and resinous notes melding together, with the lingering presence of the citrus and marine elements still detectable beneath the surface.
Cultural impact
Sans Voir occupies a specific niche: the person who wants maritime freshness but finds most aquatics too linear or predictable. The salt-rose-palo santo combination is unusual enough to stand apart, common enough to feel approachable. It's the kind of fragrance that catches attention not through volume but through difference, something that smells like something you haven't quite encountered before. In the context of Mind Games, it operates as a calculated move within a larger collection, each fragrance building on the last to create a complete aromatic strategy.
The House
Mind GamesMind Games is a New York-based niche fragrance house founded in 2022 by Alex and Mariana Shalbaf. The brand draws its creative identity from chess, translating the intellectual precision, strategic elegance, and psychological depth of the game into olfactory experiences. Each fragrance within the collection represents what the brand calls an aromatic movement, inspired by moves on an imaginary playing field. The house operates under The Fragrance Group, the parent company Alex Shalbaf leads as CEO, with Mariana Shalbaf serving as Creative Director. Mind Games produces extrait de parfum浓度的作品，合作的调香师包括Annick Menardo、Christelle Laprade、David Apel等人。品牌以Extreme olfactive signatures为追求，致力于在香水中实现策略与感性的平衡。
The Creator
Christelle LapradeLaprade defines her aesthetic as "trash-glam": a fearless blend of refinement and rebellion. Her compositions embrace duality—sophistication meets crudeness, masculinity dances with femininity.
