Artists & Perfumers: 106 posts

Guy Robert, the creator of fragrances such as Hermès Calèche, Christian Dior Dioressence and Rochas Monsieur Rochas, during the course of a lecture given in April of 1998 to the British Society of Perfumers brought up a very interesting point about perfume creation. He notes that “our art is so mysterious, most of the perfumers cannot explain the proceedings they use to build a perfume. Our method could be compared to the Art of Cooking, a sort of “rule of thumb” (empiricism), and I agree this is not looking very serious!”

Recognizing the relationship between music and painting, Robert proceeds to offer two theories, even though they have not been defined. First, “for every perfume note there are several levels, like what the musicians call “octaves”.

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What makes a fragrance masculine or feminine? In many ways, the distinction that women smell of flowers and men of citrus and musk is taken for granted, whether it is used as a guideline to select a perfume, or whether it is ignored by those of us who frequently cross olfactory gender boundaries. However, when one learns of the role of scent in other cultures, one begins to realize the sheer complexity of the issue. In the East, the scent would not have such clear gender divisions as it does in the West. In the Middle East, men wear rose based fragrances, because yellow rose is the cherished flower in Islam. In India, traditionally both men and women are perfumed with the same essences–sandalwood, jasmine, vetiver, henna flowers, attars. …

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“In music, a “ti” note will always sound like a “ti,” independently of the note played before and the one played after. This is close to impossible in perfumery. Even after 30 years of successful creations, experienced perfumers are down to trial and error when combining notes. This is explained by basic chemistry principles such as the second principle of thermodynamics. To predict the influence of a material in a mixture containing 60 other ingredients is difficult because of the real versus ideal chemical potentials in thermodynamics. The possibilities are endless, 1000 to 2000 scents are available to use in a fragrance, and they may be dosed at different magnitudes within the fragrance depending on the desired effect. Also, a molecule from one supplier smells different than the same molecule from another supplier due to the smallest amount of impurities derived from different synthesis routes or starting materials. In terms of natural molecules, a bergamot from South Eastern Italy smells different than a bergamot from South Western Italy. The nose, even a layperson’s, is very sensitive.” Excerpt from interview (thanks to Anya for sending the link).

Christopher Laudamiel is the creator of fragrances like Slatkin Fig & Absinthe, Clinique Happy Heart, and Michael Kors Island.

Talking about his favorite classical fragrance, Jean-Paul Guerlain, the perfumer for the house until his retirement in 2002, mentions “Lanvin Arpège under its original formula, Fahrenheit and Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior, Chanel No. 5, Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps and Pleasures by Estée Lauder.” “A classic perfume is determined by the quality of the raw materials you put in it and by its elegance, distinction and originality,” Guerlain says. “Above all it has to be memorable.”  An excerpt from a Reuters article (03/27/01).

My favorite Guerlain fragrance has always been Après l’Ondée, a beautiful melancholy composition of iris and bitter almond note of heliotropin, ornamented by a dusky Guerlainade accord of tonka bean and vanilla. I would love to hear what is your favorite Guerlain fragrance.

Photo from Grasse Perfume Museum.

Jean-Claude Ellena, the current Hermès nose, is a creator of an amazing range of fragrances, from elegant Van Cleef & Arpels First and vivid Balenciaga Rumba to ethereal The Different Company Divine Bergamote. Here is an excerpt from one his interviews, in which he discusses the materials he loves.

“I admit that there are some materials I dislike, with which I feel uncomfortable, vanillin, heliotropin, all that is sweetened in general. I prefer salty and bitter. Anyway, I always made sure not to confuse cuisine with perfumery. Among my favorite ingredients are hedione, of course, helional, and those which I like to call “trace” materials, because they are so expressive: violet leaf, lovage, and everlasting flowers.”