Arquiste's Carlos Huber on Capturing History in a Bottle

 

 SUZY: The Arquiste perfumes launched in 2011 to great acclaim, and the buzz has been building ever since, so you must be thrilled! Did you have doubts before launching the range that people would "get" the concept of a line of fragrances devoted to capturing specific moments in history?

CARLOS: "Thank you! I am indeed thrilled and very grateful. And of course I had doubts! I think it’s healthy to prepare yourself for whatever happens. I certainly was hoping that people would get the whole of it and I think we proved that we have the ‘product’ to accompany the concept; not just a 'pitch.' In the end, it’s all about honesty…I really wanted to share what I was looking for in a fragrance: an inspiring concept and high-end fragrance that doesn’t lose seriousness through its development."

SUZY: Could you explain to our readers the process you go through at Arquiste when first creating the perfumes? What comes first, the dominant notes you want to use, or the particular historical event you want to capture?

CARLOS: "It starts with a story: a visit to a site that you just can’t forget, or the discovery of a story that you want to experience yourself. I personally love reading history: looking into a specific era or period and digging in: What clothing were the characters wearing and what foods were they eating? What was the building they were in made of? What was the vegetation around them? The answers to these questions make it easier to 'experience' the time and place, and it is a cue to look into scents and materials of that particular time, which we then use in the perfume formulation. It’s that olfactive experience that we want to interpret and 'restore.'" (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with Jean-Paul Millet Lage of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier

When the House of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier ("Master Perfumer and Glovemaker”) was founded by the late Jean-François Laporte, the original creator of L'Artisan Parfumeur in 1977; at that time there were few, if any niche perfumery brands. M. Laporte left to start Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier in 1988. The brand was bought by passionate perfumista and nose Jean-Paul Millet Lage in 1997 and is somewhat under the radar for many perfume lovers. M. Millet Lage's first big success as thenose for the Company was in 2005 with Bahiana and he continues to preserve M.LaPorte's unique sensibility and commitment to old world quality and modern luxury as he evolves Maître Parfumeur et Gantier to appeal to a contemporary audience. 
 
Why was the brand named Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier?

JPML: In 1656, under the reign of the King Louis XIV, perfumers has been recognized by the King as a royal corporation under the name : Maitre Gantier et Parfumeur. Indeed, first, these artisans had gloves workshops as our gloves must be perfumed. Jean Laporte had the idea to use this glorious time in French History, so he chose and registered the brand name by reversing the words : Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier instead of Maitre Gantier et Parfumeur as his main work was to be a perfumer, not a glove maker. 



What did M. Laporte want to accomplish that was different from his work at L’Artisan Parfumeur? 

JPML: He wished to create a new brand with more references from and to the history of French perfumery which began during the Renaissance under Catherine de Medici. During this time, the city of Grasse was the center (as it is today) with its large fields of orange trees and the cultures of plants with perfumes such as Rose, Carnation, Tuberose, Violet and Jasmine. At the same time, the French companies of the East Indies had given perfumers a direct access to numerous exotic elements.Rose Opulente, Ambre Précieux, Secrete Datura, Parfum d'Habit are some examples of perfumes showing his approach. Even the baroque bottles and caps (I modified the bottles 8 years ago) evoke a sense of luxury from the 16th and 17th Centuries. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Scent and Chemistry - an exclusive interview with Philip Kraft

Schimmel, Dragoco, Firmenich, Givaudan - a century of research

Scent & Chemistry - The Molecular world of Odors

plus two special perfumes in my collection

By Octavian Coifan

Monday morning on a heavy rain I was with Yann Vasnier in his office. My eyes were mesmerized by a tiny bottle labeled "Wizard". I had in my mind a perfume I call Belladonna because it is inspired by Monica Bellucci and Florentine perfume secrets I studied. In the past I wrote an article about the old label used for perfume ingredients - The Alchemist engraving - in 2012 it's about a special type of science -  the chemistry of perfumes and the alchemy of beauty.

Dr. Philip Kraft is one of the authors of Scent & Chemistry, the new updated version of Günther Ohloff's classic opus I presented yesterday, and an inventor of many modern jewels. He designs new captive odorants for use in fragrances like the special musks used by Daniela Andrier in her amazing Prada perfumes. Serenolide is on everybody in Paris this season, it is also the case for the amazing Azurone I've discovered for the first time inside the highly original "Secretions Magnifique" and the daring "Bloom", one of the most unusual marine flowers in my collection. The new style for masculine perfumes in Paris, deep woody oriental with new original notes, often signed by Olivier Pescheux, is based on several powerful scented jewels he designed.

Dr. Philip Kraft joined Givaudan research in 1996, he has authored 78 publications and 27 patents and invented Super Muguet, Azurone, Pomarose, Serenolide, Cassyrane, Sylkolide. The musk "DNA" can be considered his specialty and from his lab in Swizerland emerged the new generation of musks which are shaping the style of modern creations because everything starts with the amber and the musk you put in a fragrance. He is also a perfume lover and connoisseur, one of the authors who unveiled the secrets of Rallet and Chanel in Perfume & Flavorist, one of the first articles where history is combined with perfume analysis. Dr. Philip Kraft co-organized the Flavor & Fragrance conference series of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of the Chemical Industry in Manchester 2004 and London 2007 (Current Topics in Flavor and Fragrance Research and Perspectives in Flavor and Fragrance Research). Among his well known papers/books are “Fragrance Chemistry“, “Odds and Trends: Recent Developments in the Chemistry of Odorants”, “New and Unusual Natural Products of Fascinating Flower Scents“, and a book chapter on “Musks”.
Now,  Dr. Philip Kraft continues the legacy of Günther Ohloff and Wilhelm Pickenhagen and updates the Bible of the fragrance chemistry, Scent and Chemistry: The Molecular World of Odors, a magnum opus in 2012.

1. What do you consider as the most beautiful, original molecules or elegant synthesis of the past 5-10 years?

Philip Kraft: It's really very difficult to say which new odorants launched most recently will turn out most influential. Such statements are obviously best done in retrospective as only time can tell. For that reason Fig. 1.4 stops in the 1990s with 'Galaxolide' and 'Trésor' (Lancôme, 1990), 'Calone 1951' and 'Kenzo pour homme' (Kenzo, 1991), as well as ethyl maltol and 'Angel' (Thierry Mugler, 1992). Yet, just as dihydromyrcenol became the "new lavender", I think of undecavertol by Dietmar Lamparsky and Roman Kaiser as a new trendsetter in the green leafy direction, certainly so since 'Be Delicious' (DKNY, 2004) by Maurice Roucel appeared on the market. Symrise's 'Ambrocenide' (8.141) by my co-author Wilhelm Pickenhagen and Dietmar Schatkowski initiated a new trend towards high-impact ambergris materials such as Belambre (8.142), Trisamber (8.143), Ambermax (8.145) etc. that led to powerful dry (almost dusty, isopropanol-type) ambergris notes; and Helvetolide (8.97), discovered by Ohloff's former co-workers Wolfgang Girsch and Karl-Heinz Schulte-Elte, keyed the white musk trend that led to 'Romandolide' (8.98), 'Serenolide' (8.99), 'Sylkolide' (8.100), and 'Apelide' (8.101), revolutionizing so many musk accords since. My own personal favorite is 'Pomarose' (6.80), which is also shown on the cover, superimposed on beta-damascenone. It introduced the dried-fruits note into masculine perfumery with its debut at 0.36% in  'Be Delicious Men' (DKNY, 2005) by Olivier Gillotin and Pierre Negrin. Then soon afterwards Pomarose saw its first overdose in 'Unforgivable' (Sean John, 2006), and set against a blond leather accord is essential in '1 Million' (Paco Rabanne, 2008) by Christophe Raynaud, Olivier Pescheux, and Michel Girard. In fact, '1 Million' is now copied so intensively that it becomes a trendsetter on its own, almost like 'Fougère Royale' and 'Chypre de Coty' did back then, or 'Fahrenheit' now ...   yet, Pomarose brought also interesting new effects to other families, such as that of aromatic fougères with 'CK free' (Calvin Klein, 2009) by Ellen Molner and Rodrigo Flores-Roux, the aldehydic 'hair-spray' rose of 'John Galliano' (John Galliano, 2008) by Aurelien Guichard and Christine Nagel, and contrasted by Evernyl (7.488) in Olivier Pescheux's 'Legend' (Montblanc, 2011), currently my most favorite perfume.

2. Chemistry is often misunderstood by consumers as a cheap replacement, but looking on RM price lists, it is not necessarily the case. What are the molecules which could be considered today as Haute Couture ingredients by their price or power?

Philip Kraft: I consider most of the captive molecules in every company as 'Haute Couture' ingredients today. Their syntheses are not yet optimized over decades by many synthetic chemists of competing companies, such as has happened for instance in the case of Hedione over the past 50 years. So captives generally need to make up their comparatively high price by a much better performance. You can get most citrus oils, even a less refined orange flower oil, below $30, while Ambroxan is still positioned well above $1000, as is the case for damascenone, for instance. There are special high-price grades of essential oils, but likewise we now have special grades of 'Hedione', from 'Kharismal' to 'Hedione HighCis' to 'Paradisone', or from 'Timberol' to 'Nimberol' to 'Dextro-Norlimbanol'. Synthetic raw materials are so useful since they allow a higher degree of freedom in perfumery composition. A perfumer can build his own signature rose, while otherwise he is limited by the palette of natural rose oils. He even can create a true headspace  --the real smell of a flower bud--  rather than what is left after distillation of the plant material, and he can create scents of flowers that do not yield an essential oil. So chemistry opened up artistic freedom of perfumery, and that is the critical price criterion.

3. Several years ago I was invited to discover the extractions of rose absolute and jasmine at Chanel, but chemical synthesis can produce even more potent scents during the manufacture process in a lab or in a factory. What are the most unforgettable experiences for an organic chemist?

Philip Kraft: End of 1996, Katja Schultz and myself (J. Essent. Oil Res. 1997, 9, 509--514) distilled some large quantities of Angelica root oil to investigate its macrolide fraction, and those very last, high-boiling fractions we isolated had a truly unforgettable, extremely lovely musky scent. This scent is still in my mind, and is amazingly close to the recently launched '(untitled)' (Maison Martin Margiela, 2010) with its 0.3% galbanum and its 17% of 'Serenolide'. In the discovery of Pomarose we were chasing a minor impurity, the NMR of which then gave the inspiration to synthesize a structural isomer, that finally even had superior olfactory properties and became 'Pomarose'. Also in the discovery of the patchouli ketol 7.171 (p. 255), we were chasing a powerful impurity that initially spoiled the olfactory purity of a woody-ambergris odorant. These truly were unforgettable experiences as well.

4. Perfumers do not often wear a fragrance when they work. Do you wear a fragrance when you work? What perfumes do you enjoy to wear or to smell around you?

Philip Kraft: I do wear perfumes most of the time, and in a lab there are generally many sorts of smells and solvent notes, so it is not too much of a problem. I usually wear it on the arms only, often one per arm, and more subtly in the morning, so that it does not interfere with a pre-evaluation of the freshly synthesized odorants, which anyway are more potent. Today I wear 'Amber Soie' (Armani/Privé, 2004) by Christine Nagel layered 2:1 with Sophia Grojsman's '100% Love' (S-perfumes, 2003). I do have a big collection of scents in my lab, which I also use for my lectures, but my desk at home is even more crowded with flacons, new launches, own composition, demo formulas. After work I can wear them more generously, but even at work, I often take out a flacon to distress, to focus or simply enjoy a certain smell or odor note. 

If I would have to give a current spring-time top 10, it would probably look like this: 

1. 'Legend' (Montblanc, 2011) by Olivier Pescheux; 

2. 'the One Sport'  (Dolce & Gabbana, 2012) by Nathalie Gracia-Cetto and Guillaume Flavigny; 

3. 'Artisan' (John Varvatos, 2009) by Rodrigo Flores-Roux; 

4. 'Egoïste' (Chanel, 1990) by Jacques Polge; 

5. 'CK free' (Calvin Klein, 2009) by Ellen Molner and Rodrigo Flores-Roux; 

6. 'Unforgivable' (Sean John, 2006) by Dave Apel, Pierre Negrin, Caroline Sabas, and Aurelien Guichard; 

7. 'gs01' (Biehl Parfümkunstwerke, 2009) by Geza Schoen; 

8. 'Escentric 02' (escentric molecules, 2008) by Geza Schoen; 

9. 'Wonderwood' (Comme des Garcons, 2010) by Antoine Lee; 

10. 'Eau Radieuse' (Humiecki & Graef, 2008) by Christophe Laudamiel. 

But I also love the complete 'L'Oeuvre Noir' scents by Kilian, and layering fruity female scents like 'Oh Lola!' (Marc Jacobs, 2011) by Calice Becker and Yann Vasnier on dark woody masculine ones such as 'Polo Double Black' (Ralph Lauren, 2006) by Ellen Molner. Wearing perfumes always inspires to work on certain notes, or certain odor aspects, so it is even more than only fun. A lot of fun and inspiration is compounding with your own products, as is getting demos from others with your most recent new odorant molecules. For instance, I just received a very excellent demo from Alain Alchenberger called 'Nemesis' for one of my most recently designed new high-impact odorants.

5. Perfumers have to learn an impressive number of ingredients before they start creating, but chemists usually create a big number of molecules before a selection is made. I did not count their number in C&S book, but do you know how many different molecules have you smelt since you began making them? 

Philip Kraft: Well, fragrance chemists have to learn all the perfumery benchmarks as well, and they best know all the ingredients a perfumer knows as well. When working on a certain family, you will soon know in fact many more materials. For instance when working on musks, we have synthesized certainly around 1000 different musks alone, which is almost as if the whole composition palette of a perfumer would constitute of musks only. The numbers of different molecules I made and smelled are immense, but of course we smell also the molecules of our colleagues. Therefore, it is really impossible to give any precise numbers.

6. More than one hundred years ago, the orris notes and flower absolutes, then musk, amber secrets and the rose … all delivered their key notes and became available generating new perfumes. What is today the Holy Grail of research?

Philip Kraft: There are several Holy Grails of Fragrance Chemistry: The 'next Hedione', a readily biodegradable, new and transparent neo-'Iso E Super', the 'best-ever' musk, the first synthetic commercial vetiver odorant, the first commercial synthetic patchouli odorant, the most potent orris odorant ever, a completely unprecedented new odor note, a new floral odorant of an 'unknown flower', the most radiant muguet ever, the possibilities are absolutely endless, and each single one of them constitutes such a fundamental breakthrough that it would revolutionize perfumery. We will surely see much more in the not too distant future. The current market needs new signatures, and these have to come from 'new molecules', and also environmental and toxicological issues bring about new Holy Grails.

7. Marine notes did not exist in a lab several decades ago. Are there scent territories yet to be discovered and what do you consider as a the future of scent and chemistry?

Philip Kraft: It is quite impossible to predict where trends will go. 'Azurone' for instance was initially developed for fine fragrances only, but is now much more sought after by wash and detergent perfumers. At that time, nobody expected people would like a marine note creeping out of a washing machine, and that's not even 10 years ago: There is always a new freshness, a new way to seduce, simply because the old fresh no longer is fresh anymore, or a stereotypical seduction no longer works out ...  scent and chemistry is certainly a matter of fashion.

8. In the enchanted forest of perfume ingredient some "flowers" might get lost. Are there modern ingredients from Givaudan (or other companies) which are not enough known and could be used to bring a stronger signature to perfumes or body products?

Philip Kraft: For sure, there are undiscovered treasures already in the Cardex (Givaudan), the Blue Book (Firmenich), or whatever the raw material inventory is called. 'Calone 1951' and undecavertol were around a long time before they became trendy. Maltol and ethyl maltol even longer. Yet, it requires the right brief, a daring and experimenting perfumer, who knows all the available materials of his palette, and a customer determined to go for the new and unusual. It is true that this might get more difficult with all the rush and time pressure, and consequently, the limited amount of time a perfumer can now focus on a brief. On the other hand the vast market requires signature and novelty, and we really did see a lot of exciting new fragrance launches, e.g. Christophe Raynaud's 'Decibel' (Azzaro, 2011) with a very prominent licorice note. It might however take a while till the market goes totally crazy for licorice, and since a few licorice-smelling odorants are existing, before a lovely licorice-magnolia-musk odorant I discovered years ago, and which a perfumery student girl ludicrously termed 'Kraftolide', will have a chance to jump in on that trend -- and extend it even further. However, perhaps 'Mystical' (7.514) byJean-Pierre Bachmann and Felix Flachsmann can now initiate an incense rush, as after major gourmand and marine trends, incense notes are already on the rise for some time, and now even outside the niche brands. Antoine Maisondieu's '7 de Loewe' (Loewe, 2010) may have shown a way into the future here already.

Interview with Kerosene of Kerosene Fragrances

From perfume collector to YouTube reviewer to serious perfumer, Kerosene (aka John Pegg) has created quite a stir in the fragrance world. With the release of his R’Oud Elements, late last year, he got our attention. His subsequent releases this year (Creature, Copper Skies and Whips and Roses) proved he was not a “flash in the pan”. His newest creation Santalum Slivers will be available soon. His perfumes are carried exclusively by MiN New York in the US and he is already starting to become popular in Europe. 

A humble and soft spoken man, Kerosene (his name originates in his love of motors, oils and garage aromas and reflects his Motor City heritage) prefers to let his fragrances do the talking for him. Between hand making all his own juices and hand painting and embellishing all his own bottles Kerosene has graciously taken the time to let our readers learn a bit more about him, his background and his “process”.

John Reasinger: Many people already know your YouTube to perfumer story. What can you tell us of your background?

Kerosene: My background in perfumery over the past two years has been strictly the study of essential oils and aroma molecule research. When I put my mind to something, it is not a half-hearted effort. I researched and experimented with oils on many long nights and weekends. It was all so fascinating to me how the combination, of let’s say, two notes could create a blooming complex scent. Sometimes adding more notes didn’t make a scent any more complex, but muddled it instead. I found if you add the right quality ingredients together, you didn’t have to add as much to the recipe. Those quality ingredients were complex on their own and when mixed together, magic could happen.

JR: Do you find having no formal perfume education has helped or hindered you?

K: In being self-taught, I happen to like the raw style I have developed. In all of my failed initial experiments, I learned so much, and am still learning (one should never say they have reached their pinnacle). I learned the aroma strengths of the oils, and just as with cooking food some spices don’t “play well” with others. I took a very long methodical approach to my studies. For example: adding a single note to vetiver. How did it change? Did the added note work well with the vetiver? What could now enhance it further? I did this with many, many base notes, which are obviously the foundation for a scent and (for me) the most important. They enhance and help progress a scent’s journey, but at the end of the road, you are left with the base. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

 

Zen Against the Chaos - Geza Schoen

Geza Schoen
By: Serguey Borisov

I have been always surprised by the popularity of the Escentric Molecules project. To buy one molecule online, dilute it in alcohol and sell it—isn't it too simple for a perfume art? Who would ever buy it?  But it is a fact that the number of loyal customers of the brand developed by Geza Schoen continues to grow every year. Customers and sellers talk about the sensual powers of Escentric Molecules fragrances (code for "aphrodisiac").  I met Geza at Esxence 2012 in Milan and we talked about his work.

Serguey Borisov: Geza, tell me the truth: is Escentric Molecules a joke?
 
Geza Schoen: Yes, if you want, but for me this project was a very logical step. Iso E Super has been included in 95% of my perfumes, I love to work with it. I can call it the best perfume material from the price/radiance/longevity point of view. Ambroxan and vetiveril acetate are also very popular in modern perfumery. I decided to create abstract perfume-auras, almost invisible. But I couldn't imagine that "molecules" would become so popular.

Serguey: If people like it, the joke has turned. But could we call perfumes made of one molecule a perfume art?

Geza Schoen: I always choose zen rather than chaos. The same is with food:  two to three good ingredients which go well together are better than a mess of different nuances. Only then you can enjoy the taste of each of them. In the modern world we are overwhelmed with information. New signals reach us from everywhere, sometimes contradicting with each other. Complex aromas with epic development only complicate our world even more. It's important to get relaxation at least at home, to make a cocoon of peace and cleanliness around yourself. Escentric Molecules fragrances are made for that—a special personal relaxing aura. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with Christopher Brosius of CB I Hate Perfume

If you are a certain age and lived in New York City in the late 90s, you might remember that Demeter, which was co-founded by Christopher Brosius, was sold at Henri Bendel (their display was right next to Jean LaPorte for L'Artisan Parfumeur).The concept was radical -perfume that smelled like Dirt and Rubber? Demeter Snow and Sugar Cane won two Fragrance Foundation awards for Best Fragrance in "Nouveau Niche" -2000 and 2001 respectively (taking their place in FiFi history alongside more 'conventional' perfumes such as Dior Dune, Narciso Rodriguez 'For Her' and Calvin Klein Eternity). 

 After I interviewed Christopher Brosius in 2008  I wanted to know more about  one of the world's most creative and outspoken perfumers. I wanted to follow up on some of his answers, thought of questions I hadn't asked  and hoped for another opportunity.  

You were raised on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, what was your childhood like and when did you realize you had an olfactory gift?

CB: Have you ever seen Lasse Halstrom’s “My Life As a Dog”? My childhood was very much like the small Swedish town in that film but in English. I realized I had an olfactory gift during a conversation with Michael Edwards shortly after I won my first two Fragrance Foundation Awards in 2000. 
 

Did your mother wear perfume?

CB: No. She had a few very old bottles of Prince Matchabelli perfumes on her dresser but never wore them. Women didn’t wear perfume were I came from – I suppose it was considered a vanity. or cheap – I’m not sure. My aunt was the exception. But she was an Avon Lady and wearing perfume was part of the job so she did. And she wore a LOT of it. My siblings and I knew instantly that she was in the house or had been there when we came home from school. This was very exciting. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with Mathilde Laurent In-House Perfumer at Cartier: Freedom Is To Be Taken!

When Mathilde Laurent left Guerlain to become the in-house perfumer at Cartier in charge of bespoke perfumes, the famous perfume critic Luca Turin wrote “it`s the saddest waste of human talent since Rimbaud decided to study engineering”.

But instead Mathilde`s talent bloomed at Cartier: she made a masculine mint-n-cedar Roadster and a number of  feminines; most recently Baiser Vole. That`s not even mentioning her brilliant extra-luxe collection Les Heures de Cartier which is praised by perfume aficionados as much as Les Exclusifs de Chanel, Hermessence, Tom Ford Private Blend, and Christian Dior Couturier et Parfumeur. Her talent is compared favourably to Jean-Claude Ellena, Jacques Polge, Francois Demachy…  

So Jean-Paul Guerlain should be proud of his apprentice Mathilde Laurent. What was the most important lesson she took from Jean-Paul – find out in my short personal interview.

Sergey Borisov: Please, tell our readers about your background.

Mathilde Laurent: I am coming from the artistic family, my father was an architect and everybody in my family was studying Fine Arts, that explained my fascination and passion for Art.

SB: When did you begin to feel yourself as a perfumer?

ML: I still, still don’t feel myself a perfumer, you know to create a perfume it is like a white page, I always have a feeling I know nothing; I am not able to do it. I would say that at first you always have vertigo,that is why I always have a feeling that I just start my career. I feel as a perfumer when I talk about the perfumes I have created, when they are finished I feel (like) a Perfumer. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with MARC-ANTOINE CORTICCHIATO of Parfums D’Empire

I remember exactly where I was when I discovered Parfums D'Empire; it was a warm afternoon September 7, 2008 and I was shopping at AEDES in New York City with a friend. Although I fell in love with Osmanthus Interdite, I was struck by the hauntingly beautiful iris in Equistrius and was intrigued by the entire concept of civilization, epochs and perfumery. Moreover, as I sniffed each fragrance, each evoked intense emotions. Who could create such fragrant dramas and such sensations? 

Last summer, I was visiting  Mindy Yang of MinNewYork and rediscovered with  great delight  the joy of embarking on these olfactive journeys – from Modern Japan (the cool citrus and bamboo notes) and  Yuzu Fou, the carnal candied fruits and pomegrante juices wafting from Ayizede and the sparkling neroli mingling with oakmoss and amber in Iskander.

It is with pleasure that I share with our readers this interview with Marc-Antoine Cortichiatto, the founder and perfumer for Parfums D'Empire.

When did you decide to become a perfumer?

 Marc-Antoine Corticchiato: As a child, I was not especially attracted by perfumes but rather by plant scents, because I was curious about the different smells of a plant along the day or at various time of the year, even of the season. I was also curious about the great variety of plant smells. I think that’s why I studied the chemistry analysis of plant extracts and got a doctorate degree. Later on, I integrated the Isipca, the international institute of perfumery in Versailles, to get a degree in perfumery.  After that, I worked in labs and around aromatherapy. Finally, I decided to create my own fragrances and I founded PARFUM D’EMPIRE in 2003 because I wanted to express my own vision of perfume. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview With Maria Candida Gentile

Maria-Candida Gentile was one of the perfumers I wanted to meet at Pitti Fragranze 2011 in Florence. I had never smelled her perfumes, just read some great reviews by others. So when we met, I began to smell all the perfumes first, and was really surprised that the perfumer was there too! I began to interview her near the perfume stand as I was charmed by her Barry-Lyndon perfume – but soon we realized that it`s completely impossible as new people come again and again every minute to join the conversation. You know – Italians are very open people, they love to communicate so a quiet tete-a-tete interview is impossible in this perfume crowd! So we made a business card exchange and arranged for an e-mail interview right after Pitti Fragranze. This is that interview .

What are your very first scented memories?

Maria-Candida Gentile: One of the first scents I can remember is the “clair matin” roses of the garden of my family house in Italy. The parents house is on a sea shore in Liguria, so the climate is good enough not only for roses but also to gardenias, camelias, verbenas, cedrinas, calycantus to bloom. I remember a huge magnolia tree of 15 m high, the oldest of the little village.

A lot of my family members were chemists, a sort of tradition in my family. My parents wanted me to become a chemist too, so I did chemistry studies and graduate The University of Florence as a chemist, while I was always fascinated by the fragrance’s world and its creation.

What was the call for perfumery – why did you decided to become a perfumer-creator? Have you had any other professional background? Maître Parfumeur – how did you obtain the title?  (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with Martine Micallef of Parfums M.Micallef: Love and Happiness

It is a great honor to 'meet' Martine Micallef who has been creating some of my favorite fragrances for over a decade. In this exclusive CaFleureBon interview (and one that is rarely granted) we are introduced to a woman, an artist, a wife and a mother who embodies the expression love and happiness.   

For the readers who aren’t familiar with you  or your background, please introduce yourself 

MM: I am Martine Micallef, and I live with my Husband Geoffrey Nejman, in GRASSE. I was born in NICE in 1961. We have 4 daughters and one boy.

I co-founded the company PARFUMS M MICALLEF with my husband in 1997, and since the very first day, it has been a “ joint venture” of love and passion in all we do and how we live .(clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with Amanda and Simon Brooke; Grossmith

Owners of English Perfume House, Grossmith 

We recently had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Amanda and Simon Brooke of Grossmith about the perfumery business that they miraculously resurrected. Their story is an amazing journey so please join us in this special in-depth interview. The Perfume Magazine warmly welcomes Grossmith London.  - Raphaella Barkley

Grossmith was founded in the City of London in 1835 and enjoyed a reputation for producing the finest perfume in the world. It played a significant part in the development of modern perfumery and occupied an important place as a fine English perfume house at a time when English perfumery rivaled that of France.

In the 1900s Grossmith had Royal Warrants from a Queen of England, the King of Spain and the Royal Court of Greece and presented its top of the range products in Baccarat crystal.

The gradual decline of Grossmith began in the 1920s with the deaths of two family members who were Grasse-trained perfumers. In 1940 Grossmith’s City of London premises were destroyed and the world entered a long period of austerity when raw materials of the quality Grossmith required were no longer available.

A brief period of success with synthetic perfumes like White Fire was followed by production of novelty soaps and eventually the company stopped trading in the early 1980s. A dormant company called J. Grossmith was all that was left.

TPM: Amanda and Simon, Is this correct and where do you then come in? Tell us a little history; you are the great - great grandson of the founder, John Grossmith, correct?(clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Orchids in Perfumery: Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfume House

By: Elena Knezhevich

Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfume is an independent perfume house from the Pacific Northwest (USA). It was founded in 2010 by Ellen Covey, the owner of Olympic Orchids orchid nursery. Many fragrances created by Ellen are devoted to certain orchid species. We invited Ellen to share her knowledge about orchids with our readers.

Ellen Covey: Orchids have been around for at least 80 million years based on evidence from pollen stuck to the backs of bees found in amber, so were probably around in the time of the dinosaurs. The flowers are delicate to look at, but the plants are amazingly tough. Some orchids grow on the ground or on rocks, but most grow on tree trunks or branches, never touching the ground. They’re epiphytes, meaning they don’t hurt the trees in any way, they just use them as a surface to grow on. All they need is a little light, a little water, and trace amounts of nitrogen and minerals, and they’re off and growing. I grow many of my plants on pieces of cork bark or wood, not in pots. Orchids are distributed worldwide, and have co-evolved with their pollinators. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Interview with JoAnne Bassett, a Natural Perfumer

By: Elena Knezhevich

JoAnne Bassett is an independent perfumer from California. For a long time she worked as a stock broker and never even thought of perfumery as her call and profession. But a creative sparkle, if only it exists in a person, will always find a way to break out. It will cause you to tirelessly explore unless you feel happy with what you do. We meet our future in childhood, inexplicably enjoying in our awakening abilities to do something or see, think, feel. Sometimes it seems so unreal when we look back and measure the distance.

JoAnne was raised on a big farm in Minnesota, among dozens of varieties of flowers and blooming trees, in the loving embrace of a family who valued traditions and enjoyed living. The house was filled with the delicious smells of baked goods, flower aromas and perfumes. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista)

Scent of a Museum

SINCE the Museum of Arts and Design opened in September 2008 on Columbus Circle in New York, it has sought to engage three senses, with shows, programs and hands-on workshops. Last December came word that the museum would soon go for a fourth by founding a department of olfactory art. Heading it is Chandler Burr, the author of “The Emperor of Scent” (2003), who wrote about perfume for The New York Times from 2006 to 2010.Mr. Burr’s first exhibit, “The Art of Scent: 1889-2011,” is to open in November. It will trace the evolution of modern perfume, from Aimé Guerlain’s Jicky (1889), among the first to use synthetic ingredients, through midcentury classics like Edmond Roudnitska’s Diorama (1949), which Mr. Burr calls “one of the greatest Abstract Expressionist perfumes in the world,” to several contemporary fragrances. Unlike typical perfume displays, which make lavish use of bottles and packaging, this installation, in a Minimalist space designed by the architect Toshiko Mori, will feature only sound and scent, dispersed by diffusion machines — used in the perfume industry to atomize a controlled amount of fragrance into the air. (clique aqui para ler o artigo e a entrevista completa com Mr. Burr)

Fragrance Guru Michael Edwards Talks History, Evolution And The Importance Of Niche Fragrances

On the eve of the 2011 Jasmine Awards, a celebration of excellence in fragrance journalism in Australia, RESCU caught up with Michael Edwards, one of the world’s premier experts in fragrance and the author of industry bible Fragrances of The World. Michael Edwards is one of the most fascinating and often quoted fragrance gurus; we love his passion, knowledge and encyclopedic mind on all things fragrance. We invited this living legend to talk to us about the modern history of fragrance and the significance of niche brands in a highly competitive market.

RESCU: What is the history of modern Perfumery?

Michael Edwards: It was a reaction against the war. Coty invented modern perfumery in 1904 followed by Guerlain and Chanel. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Illuminum - New perfume collection from Michael Boadi

Michael Boadi is a famous hair stylist from England, who has done hair for numerous fashion shows, and has worked with some of the top photographers and models. His career started with styling for a Vogue magazine photo shoot, in 1994. He was engaged in ad campaigns for brands such as Gucci, Missoni, Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel. He collaborated with photographers like Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Mert Alas, and celebrities such as JLO, Gisele Bündchen, Bjork, David Beckham, and Janet Jackson. From his unrestrained creativity emerged a quality perfume line, Boadicea the Victorious, which today counts more than 35 fragrances. Michael Boadi stepped into the perfume industry with this powerful collection whose concept is based on glory and power, represented by the Celtic route and dominant flavors, offering a number of thrills to perfume lovers. "The Illuminum collection is for those days when you are in the mood for something exquisitely simple and stylish."—Michael Boadi (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Exclusive Interview with Miriam Vareldzis of 40notes

The market for Niche and Indie fragrances has never been bigger than it is right now. Every so often, an Independent perfumer comes along with an impeccably tailored line that delivers on all fronts - exquisite fragrance, exceptional packaging, and an overwhelming attention to detail. This Fall, with the launch of her fragrance line, 40notes, Miriam Vareldzis proves to us that, indeed, "Love is in the details." I recently sat down with my friend Miriam for this exclusive Interview, her first with The Perfume Magazine.

TPM:  You were not originally trained as a Perfumer, but you and I both share similar training as Interior Architects. Do you think there is a connection to our interest in perfume and design?

MV: Absolutely! For me, I can sum it up in two words: Creativity and Beauty! I see perfume as beautiful design.  For some people, myself included, a beautifully designed space can have an immediate physical or emotional effect, through its light, proportion, use of materials, colors, and textures. I feel the creation of scent is exactly the same, only more personal, emotional, and visceral. Perfume is literally ‘inhaled’ and taken into our bodies; its effect is instantaneous and physiological.  Both architecture and perfume can have a profound effect on us, and with perfume, we literally take that creation into our being.  And the creative process for a fragrance or an interior space is not that dissimilar… quite the contrary. It is very similar.  But that’s another interview! (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)

Conversation with Andy Tauer at Pitti Immagine Fragranze

During Pitti Immagine Fragranze I could once again meet up with Andy Tauer; the outstanding independent perfumer from Switzerland. He was there to present his new trio of fragrances, named “Pentachords”: White, Auburn and Verdant, three creations made of five notes each (Penta is the Greek word for five), and all synthetic.  No flowers, no resins, no vetiver: a completely new approach from what he had been doing in these years. Aldehydes and woody musk’s take the stage in all three compositions with interesting effects of light and texture, but they offer completely different experiences:

White is soft and comfortable, Auburn is warmer and caressing, Verdant is intensely woody-green. How did you compose them? And above all… why?

In recent years I've been growing a lot and I started feeling boring at the idea of repeating my usual paths. I choose the challenge, to see if I could create interesting fragrances with only a restricted number of molecules. I felt I was ready to expose myself, with a completely different approach”.  Perfumes you created so far pair synthetic notes and gorgeous natural raw materials of excellent quality, aren't you afraid of creating something so unconventional, far away from what people expect from you?  (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)