After so many years in the fragrance industry, do you still enter the lab with the mindset of a perfumer searching for a new idea, or has your experience made you know, to a large extent, where you want to go from the very beginning?
After many years in perfumery, I am still looking for new ideas and new combinations. I always start from the client brief and from an initial inspiration. Usually, I begin with an original idea that is more like an accord, which then has to become a fragrance. I like to combine two strong elements that can complement each other, respond to each other, or sometimes create contrast. From this very clear starting point, the work is to develop the fragrance into something that can connect with consumers, while keeping the identity of the original accord. We are fortunate at Givaudan to have access to a very rich palette of ingredients, including captives.
Travel and your surroundings are an important source of inspiration for you. Is there a scent you encountered somewhere that is still waiting, even today, to be transformed into a fragrance?
Travel is a very important source of inspiration for me, especially the things I discover through different cultures, landscapes, and local gastronomy. I am particularly drawn to the Middle East and Asia, both for their atmosphere and their traditions. In Asia, I have always been fascinated by the scent of frangipani. It is a smell that stays with me and that I sometimes bring into my creations in different ways. But it is also a flower I would like to explore more deeply and place at the centre of a fragrance.
What raw material can still surprise you, even after decades of working with it?
I work a lot with oriental, ambery, and sensual materials, but I also have a special passion for violet (it is even my daughter’s name). It has a lot of character and many different facets. It is not always easy to work with, which is also what makes it interesting to me. Violet can bring a crisp, green effect with a masculine character, but also softer and more powdery nuances that feel more feminine. Violet can still surprise me because it offers many possibilities depending on how you use it. In fact, I recently worked with it in a new men’s fragrance that will be launched soon by a major brand. Stay tuned !
How do you know when a fragrance formula is truly complete?
Most of the time, it is the client who tells us when the formula feels complete, when it answers their expectations and fits the project correctly. Creating a fragrance is a process of exploration that we develop together with the client. We test different directions, adjust details, and refine the balance. And then, at a certain moment, both sides simply know that it is finished. It is difficult to explain precisely, but there is a point where the fragrance feels right and nothing more needs to be added or changed.
To what extent have modern technologies and new tools for evaluating raw materials changed the way you work compared with the early days of your career?
Perfumery has always been, first of all, about creating a formula and building an architecture. In that sense, it is an art, very similar to music or gastronomy. Technology and new evaluation tools can support the process, but they do not replace creativity or intuition. What has changed significantly over the years is the development of new raw materials, especially captive ingredients. They bring a real difference and a unique signature to a fragrance, and they allow us to create effects that are more distinctive compared with what already exists on the market.
If I asked you to choose just one fragrance to wear for the rest of your life—not necessarily one of your own creations, but any fragrance in the history of perfumery—which one would you choose, and why?
It is a difficult question for me because, most of the time, I wear fragrances that are still in development. Wearing only one fragrance for the rest of my life would almost mean stopping the creative process. But if I had to mention one fragrance that has stayed with me over the years, it would probably be a marine freshness like Acqua di Giò. I always appreciated its fresh and long-lasting character, and I wore it a lot for many years. This attraction to marine notes has also influenced me creatively. Recently, I worked on fragrances exploring this territory in my own way, and I hope they will excel the strong connection I had with that fragrance.