Perfumer

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A mockup of a 'perfume organ' (lacks a weighing scale). The organ is traditionally where a perfumer works on the composition of various perfumes. However, samples are now weighed and blended by technicians in larger flavour and fragrance companies. Perfume Organ, Grasse.jpg
A mockup of a 'perfume organ' (lacks a weighing scale). The organ is traditionally where a perfumer works on the composition of various perfumes. However, samples are now weighed and blended by technicians in larger flavour and fragrance companies.

A perfumist is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a nose (French : nez) due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist [1] [2] who is trained in depth on the concepts of fragrance aesthetics and who is capable of conveying abstract concepts and moods with compositions. At the most rudimentary level, a perfumer must have a keen knowledge of a large variety of fragrance ingredients and their smells, and be able to distinguish each one alone or in combination with others. They must also know how each reveals itself over time. The job of the perfumer is very similar to that of flavourists, who compose smells and flavourants for commercial food products.

Contents

Training

Most past perfumers did not undergo professional training in the art, and many learned their craft as apprentices under another perfumer in their employment as technicians (in charge of blending formulas) or chemists. These people were usually given temporary jobs in the industry. A direct entrance into the profession is rare, and those who do typically enter it through family contacts. Such apprenticeships last around three years.

Until recently, professional schools open to the public did not exist. In 1970 ISIPCA became the first school in perfumery. Candidates must pass a demanding entrance examination, and must have taken university-level courses in organic chemistry [Jeremy Fragrance].

Since 1998 PerfumersWorld's school [3] has offered formal and informal training through university courses at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Biotechnology faculty, at Chulalongkorn University Pharmacy faculty and through online courses and private workshops in the United States, UK, Dubai, Hong Kong, Germany, New Zealand, and Thailand.

More recently, in 2002, another school was born, the Grasse Institute of Perfumery (G.I.P). Similarly here, candidates must have a foundation in chemistry or pharmacy to be accepted as students. Grasse itself is a world-renowned perfume centre. [4]

Givaudan, International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) and Symrise operate their own perfumery schools, but students must be employees and recommended by their managers. The University of Plymouth (UK) offers a BA (Bachelor of Arts) course in Business & Perfumery.

Employment

Most perfumers are employed by large fragrance corporations including Mane, Robertet, Firmenich, IFF, Givaudan, Takasago, and Symrise. Some work exclusively for a perfume house or in their own companies, but these are not as common.

The perfumer typically begins a project with a brief by their employer or a customer, typically a fashion house or other large corporation. This will contain the specifications for the desired perfume, and will describe in often poetic or abstract terms what it should smell like or what feelings it should evoke, along with a maximum price per litre of the perfume oil concentrate. This allowance, along with the intended application of the perfume, will determine what aromatic ingredients will be used in the composition.

The perfumer will then go through the process of blending multiple mixtures and will attempt to capture the desired feelings specified in the brief. After presenting the perfume mixtures to the customers, the perfumer may "win" the brief with their approval. They proceed to work with the customer, often with the direction provided by a panel or artistic director, which guides and edits the modifications on the composition of the perfume. This process typically spans several months to several years, going through many iterations, and may involve cultural and public surveys to tailor a perfume to a particular market. The composition will then be either used to enhance another product as a functional fragrance (shampoos, make-up, detergents, car interiors, etc.) or marketed directly to the public as a fine fragrance.

Alternatively, the perfumer may simply be inspired to create a perfume and produce something that later becomes marketable or wins a brief. This is more common in smaller or independent perfume houses. [5]

Credits

For a long time, perfumes were associated with the brand name on the bottle. [6] In 2,000, Frédéric Malle was the first to include on the bottles of the perfumes he launched the names of the perfumers who composed them, and who were considered by his house as their authors. In the following decade, perfumers became an integral part of fragrance messaging and were increasingly placed in the spotlight.

List of notable perfumers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grasse</span> Subrefecture of Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, France

Grasse is the only subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region on the French Riviera. In 2017, the commune had a population of 50,396.

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Perfumes can be defined as substances that emit and diffuse a pleasant and fragrant odor. They consist of manmade mixtures of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. The 1939 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, Leopold Ružička stated in 1945 that "right from the earliest days of scientific chemistry up to the present time, perfumes have substantially contributed to the development of organic chemistry as regards methods, systematic classification, and theory."

Firmenich SA was a Swiss company in the fragrance and flavor business. The company has created perfumes for over 125 years and produced a number of well-known flavors. Founded in 1895, it merged in May 2023 with the Dutch company DSM to form dsm-firmenich.

Givaudan is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of flavours, fragrances and active cosmetic ingredients. As of 2008, it was the world's largest company in the flavour and fragrance industries.

Chypre is the name of a family of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top notes, a middle centered on cistus labdanum, and a mossy-animalic set of basenotes derived from oakmoss. Chypre perfumes fall into numerous classes according to their modifier notes, which include but are not limited to leather, florals, fruits, and amber.

Jean Carles was a French perfumer who worked in Roure Bertrand Fils et Justin Duppont in Grasse in the early 20th century. He was the founder of the Roure Perfumery School (French: De L'école de Parfumerie de Roure située à Grasse) and served as its first director in 1946.

Bertrand Duchaufour is a French perfumer. He has had a prolific career, beginning in Grasse at Lautier Florasynth and continuing for a number of fragragrance firms as well as working independently and as the house perfumer for L'Artisan Parfumeur. He has drawn praise for niche perfume creations as well as mainstream hits.

Jean-Claude Ellena is a French perfumer and writer. He served as the in-house perfumer at Hermes from 2004 and 2016, prior to the appointment of incumbent Christine Nagel. He has collaborated with other major brands such as Van Cleef & Arpels, Aqua di Parma, Bulgari, Sisley, Cartier, Frédéric Malle, The Different Company, or Le Couvent - Maison de Parfum.

Synthetic musks are a class of synthetic aroma compounds to emulate the scent of deer musk and other animal musks. Synthetic musks have a clean, smooth and sweet scent lacking the fecal notes of animal musks. They are used as flavorings and fixatives in cosmetics, detergents, perfumes and foods, supplying the base note of many perfume formulas. Most musk fragrance used in perfumery today is synthetic.

A captive odorant, or short captive, is an odorant or aroma chemical retained by the originating manufacturer for exclusive use in their own perfumes to protect them from imitation.

TheInternational Fragrance Association (IFRA) is the global representative body of the fragrance industry. It seeks to represent the collective interests of the industry and promote the safe use of fragrances through regulation.

Robertet Group is a French fragrance and flavor manufacturer that specializes in natural raw materials founded in 1850. Robertet is a member of the European Flavour Association. In 2021, Robertet ranked 12th on FoodTalks' Global Top 50 Food Flavours and Fragrances Companies list.

Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud is a French perfumer, formerly with the Swiss fragrance and flavor company Firmenich, who currently works for Louis Vuitton of the LVMH Luxury Group.

Mathilde Laurent is a French perfumer. After studying perfumery at ISIPCA in Versailles, Laurent began her career as an apprentice to Jean-Paul Guerlain. She went on to work at Guerlain for 11 years. Since 2006, she has been the in-house perfumer for Cartier, creating perfumes like Baiser Volé.

Dominique Ropion is a French master perfumer. Born in Paris, he trained at Roure Bertrand Dupont in Grasse. After joining International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. in 2000, Ropion has worked for fragrance brands including Christian Dior, Thierry Mugler, Lancôme, Givenchy, Frédéric Malle, Issey Miyake, Yves Saint Laurent, Paco Rabanne and The Body Shop.

François Demachy is a French perfumer. He trained at Charabot. He was succeeded as Dior's House Perfumer by Francis Kurkdjian, but he remained a perfumer under the LVMH umbrella brands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Un Jardin sur le Nil</span> Hermès perfume by Jean-Claude Ellena

Un Jardin sur le Nil is a 2005 perfume created by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès. A unisex eau de toilette, the scent was inspired by the green mangoes Ellena smelled while walking through a grove of mangoes during a visit to the Nile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Nagel</span> Swiss perfumer

Christine Nagel is a Swiss perfumer. She has served as the in-house perfumer at Hermès since 2016. Prior to joining Hermès she created designer perfume hits like Narciso Rodriguez for Her and Miss Dior Chérie (2005), as well as niche perfume like Wood Sage & Sea Salt, one of 47 perfumes she created for Jo Malone London. She has been recognized with awards from the Fragrance Foundation France, the François Coty Foundation, and the Marie Claire International Fragrance Awards.

Anne-Marie Saget is a French perfumer. She is an influential creator and leading authority on aromatic raw materials of natural origin. She began her career at Guerlain, working alongside Jean-Paul Guerlain with whom she created classic perfumes including Nahema (1979), Derby (1985) and Samsara (1989). Her subsequent work at Mane SA and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) saw her specialize in the trade of natural materials. She later sourced rare perfumery, cosmetic and aroma-therapeutic ingredients from the Himalayas and Southeast Asia, assisting communities there to ensure fair trade, sustainable development and geographic protectionism.

References

  1. ↑ Glen O. Brechbill. "The Perfumers - An Index to the Aromatic Artists" (PDF). Perfumerbook.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  2. ↑ Lew, Jennifer (3 March 2023). "Fragrance Is An Art - Understanding the Role of a Perfumer". Karl Winters.
  3. ↑ PerfumersWorld. "Perfumery School | PerfumersWorld". Perfumersworld.com. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  4. ↑ Moulton, Nicola (2024-05-24). "Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud's guide to Grasse". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  5. ↑ Burr, Chandler (2003). The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses . New York: Random House. ISBN   978-0-375-50797-7.
  6. ↑ Hojlo, Anne-Sophie (23 February 2023). "Behind the scenes of the creative process: has the time come for perfume credits?". By Nez.
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