Artists & Perfumers: 106 posts

I would like to share a very interesting interview with Serge Lutens I discovered via Barney’s catalogue. After reading it, I feel inspired to wear Ambre Sultan today.

Why fragrance? After years as a make-up artist and photographer, what attracted you to this world?
I don’t think that I’ve switched from one world to another. I believe that it is an extension of myself in other realms of creativity. In that sense I can say that my fragrances make me grow creatively. As for my choices, things are not always what they seem. For instance, in the first part of my life, make-up for me was not really about make-up. Images were what it was all about. For me, perfume making is a language. Essences for me are what words could be for a writer. They are tools of expression. …

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One of the first famous female perfumers, Germaine Cellier (1909-1976) was a creator ahead of her time, relying on short formulas to paint dazzling abstractions and treating notes as colors, much like a painter would. She was not afraid to use a large quantity of the aggressive aroma-chemical isobutyl quinoline in creating of the leather accord for Robert Piquet Bandit or 8% of galbanum for infusing Balmain Vent Vert with a fierce verdancy. She was also responsible for Robert Piguet Fracas (1948), Balmain Jolie Madame (1953), Balmain Monsieur Balmain (1964), and Nina Ricci Coeur-Joie (1946).

It is said that she was a striking woman—elegant, tall, thin, blond, blue-eyed. She had a sharp sense of humor and was full of vitality. She posed for André Derain and counted other famous painters and sculptors among her friends. …

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Estée Lauder and her husband Joseph started a business in 1946 to market her uncle’s skincare preparations. Lauder launched her first fragrance Youth Dew in 1953 (created by perfumer Josephine Catapano), cleverly marketing it as bath oil. Although at the time perfume was considered a luxury item reserved for special occasions, bath oil could be applied every night. In 1964, Lauder introduced her first masculine fragrance, Aramis, which like Youth Dew has become an enormous success.

Photo: Estée Lauder, read more on osmoz.com.

Isabelle Doyen says that she became a perfumer through a convergence of circumstances. At the age of 4, she asked herself how a pear can smell of rose and a rose smell of pear. She found this mystery dizzying. She was intrigued by the notion of perfume and she thought that it was a very unique pursuit. Now, it has been 18 years, since she has been practicing the art of perfumery.

She created the following fragrances for Annick Goutal: Ce Soir Ou Jamais, Duel, Eau du Fier, Eau du Sud, Gardenia Passion, Grand Amour, Les Nuits d’ Hadrien, Mandragore, Petite Cherie, Sables, Vanille Exquise, and Songes, to be released in 2006. Her other fragrance is Eau du Prince Jardinier by Prince Jardinier.

Prix François Coty for 2005, which recognizes the perfumer’s achievements, both over the span of the career as well as the most recent ones, was awarded to Sophie Labbé, a senior perfumer with International Flavors & Fragrances. She is the first woman to receive the prize, which has been in effect since 2000. Her creations include Nina Ricci Premier Jour, Givenchy Organza, Hugo Boss Boss Woman, and Comme des Garçons Series 1: Tea.

Previous recipients of the prize were perfumers such as Alberto Morillas (the creator of Giorgio Armani Emporio White She, Bvlgari Omnia, Calvin Klein cK One), Maurice Roucel (the nose behind Helmut Lang Eau de Cologne and Parfum, Gucci Envy, Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist) and Francis Kurkdjian (Jean-Paul Gaultier Le Male, Christian Dior Eau Noire and Cologne Blanche, Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile). From cosmeticnews.com.