Artists & Perfumers: 106 posts

Indie perfumer Mandy Aftel’s new perfume Sepia was inspired by her explorations of California’s Gold Country ghost towns. During the Letters to A Fellow Perfumer series on Nathan Branch’s blog, Sepia went from a fantasy of a lost world to a perfume. It is includes notes of cedarwood, yellow mandarin, pink grapefruit, pink lotus, strawberry, jasmine grandiflorum, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, oud, indole, ambergris, cepes, and labdanum. I decided to ask Mandy a few questions about her perfume and the creative process behind it.

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A couple of months ago at the Elements Showcase, I had a chance to sit down with Neela Vermeire of Neela Vermeire Créations to ask her a few questions about her trio of fragrances inspired by India. A native of Calcutta, Neela currently lives in Paris, where she launched a line of three fragrances: Trayee, Mohur and Bombay Bling. The perfumes were developed by Bertrand Duchaufour, who was moved by Indian scents and Neela’s stories. I thought that it would be interesting to share with you what motivated her to plunge into fragrance development, what it was like to work with Duchaufour and how her memories of India shaped the perfumes.

What motivated you to start your own fragrance line?

I have always been passionate about perfumes and wanted to create a few based on my past. It was more organic than simply wanting to start my own line. There was a part of me that wanted to pay homage to the country of my birthplace, India. Having very close ties to it yet living so far away, I wanted to revisit parts of my life whilst I lived there with my family and all my travels back. I wished to pay tribute and also, in a way, to reconnect with the India I had left behind. This had to be done with a highly skilled perfumer who appreciates nuances and gives the best effect without excess—sumptuous, but never smothering, since some natural raw materials can be quite heavy and rich.

I researched three broad periods for the first trio. These will be the guidelines for the future, though there are so many other periods from which to draw inspiration as well. I developed my concept and delved into the periods – not just through history books but using all that is India for me: my olfactory experiences and memories from my childhood to the present times. In a way I wanted to create three perfumes for myself but also to share with others. These perfumes are meaningful to me because it is a personal journey.

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One of the best interviews I have read recently was posted on French blog Simon~says! (link no longer active.) François Simon, a food writer, talks with Catherine Deneuve in his article, Rencontre Avec Catherine Deneuve, about a dizzying range of perfume topics—her first perfume, her role as a fragrance muse, her favorite perfumes on men, the strange scents that she enjoys, etc. The original interview is in French, which I highly recommend reading. For those who do not speak French, I will post a few interesting excerpts. To round out the topic, I will also include mentions of Deneuve’s other scented references from her previous interviews. The legendary movie star is an avid perfume lover, and she even wrote a preface to Frédéric Malle’s new book, On Perfume Making.

Frédéric Malle Noir Epices

Deneuve mentions that she selected Noir Epices by Michel Roudnitska for the role of Princess Marie Bonaparte in the mini-series Princesse Marie (2004.) Noir Epices was a perfect way to slip into the character of a strong, bold, audacious woman.

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Jean-Claude Ellena, the exclusive perfumer for Hermès and author of “Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent,” admires [Thierry Mugler] Angel for its structure. “It has a strong shape,” he said. “People can recognize you in the street as somebody who wears Angel.” But he refuses to use sugary notes in his own perfumes. “When you use the sugary gourmand product, I know by experience that you please easily,” Mr. Ellena said. “And when you please easily, people are pleased for the moment, but after they forget. I prefer a perfume that is more difficult to understand.”

From New York Times’s article A Little Confection Behind the Ear. Thanks to Tom for a link!

“Surprisingly enough, Jean-Paul and I rarely discuss fragrance. We are two creators and two different kinds of animals. I once asked him, “You were mentored by your grandfather; what did you learn from him when discussing fragrance?” and he replied, “Nothing much”. Jean-Paul then went on to say that the way he did learn a lot from his grandfather (Jacques) was by quietly observing everything he did, rather that speaking about it. So I did the same thing with Jean-Paul. Watching the way he creates has taught me much more than any discussion we could have.”

From a terrific interview with Guerlain in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser, in which he discusses Guerlain legacy, material sourcing and many other interesting topics with Marian Bendeth.