givaudan: 3 posts

How Many Hands Touch Your Bottle of Perfume : Perfumers

The first article in this series described the process through which the perfume brief goes before it ends up on the perfumer’s desk (Brief). Then, my perfumery school classmate and former colleague Lauren gave you a glimpse of what it’s like to be a perfume evaluator (Evaluator). Today, I will describe the role of the perfumer.

If you’re new to this series, I recommend starting with Part 1: Brief.

Ever since Frédéric Malle highlighted perfumers by adding their names on the fragrances created for Editions de Parfums, these actors, traditionally consigned to ghost writing scents, have become more prominent. We can find out which nose created our favorite perfume, read about perfumers’ work, and even hear them explain their metier. Names of houses that employ perfumers–International Flavors & Fragrances, Givaudan, Firmenich, Symrise, Mane, Robertet–even show up in the traditional media. Magazines call noses rock stars. Fans queue to meet them at store events. Isn’t then the perfumer the most important person in the process of creating a perfume?

perfume-lab1

Yes and no. With the exception of those who direct their own brands, most perfumers are only one of many groups that influence how a fragrance will smell. Today, it’s hard to speak of a perfumer’s fingerprint on a big brand launch because many fragrances are created as a collaboration among several creators, marketing reps, sales people, and evaluators. In most cases, an individual perfumer may not have a say in the matter and simply has to follow the given direction.

Continue reading →

How Perfume is Made

Givaudan has recently launched a series of videos about their perfumery school and the way fragrances are created. The first video is a fascinating glimpse inside one of the internal perfumery academies that produce creators who design your perfumes  (International Flavors & Fragrances, Firmenich, Symrise and Mane also have their own training programs). Presented by perfumer Jean Guichard, the director of the Givaudan perfumery school, this brief video takes you into the lab and explains how students are taught.

You can also then watch Video 2: The Structure of Perfume and Video 3: Introducing Olfactive Families.

Thanks to Jessica for a link!

A Glimpse Inside Givaudan Perfumery School

Students here are expected to master 500 of these substances “like the letters of the alphabet.” Then come the “chords,” as the combinations of materials are known, and last the “phrases,” families of scents as defined by the school founder Jean Carles — citrus, floral, woody, fern, oriental and “chypre” — a mix of citrus and moss. “But real skill is not about memorising ingredients,” [Jean] Guichard says. “It’s about invention, and that always involves a degree of chance.”

Givaudan’s school: ‘Noses’ hone senses at Paris perfume school

From the Archives

Latest Comments

  • Notturno7 in Recommend Me a Perfume : November 2023: Hi Amy, you might like Private Collection by Estée Lauder. I enjoy it and it’s a lovely chypre. Victoria gave it a 5 star review. I found a bottle of… November 30, 2023 at 6:30am

  • Tamasin in Recommend Me a Perfume : November 2023: I was given a 2mls sample of Arabesque by Ormonde Jayne a few weeks ago when I bought a candle. I actively disliked the perfume when I first tried it… November 30, 2023 at 4:00am

  • Nikos in Recommend Me a Perfume : November 2023: I second Alityke’s list. I would also add Halston’s classic. Again a Bernard Chant creation and wears amazingly on a guy. November 30, 2023 at 1:48am

  • Aurora in Recommend Me a Perfume : November 2023: Hello Gisele, we don’t have Sonoma Scent Studio where I am (UK), as it is described as a vanilla musk, you might look for some of the Al Haramain oils,… November 29, 2023 at 2:37pm

Latest Tweets

Design by cre8d
© Copyright 2005-2023 Bois de Jasmin. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy