Discovering the perfumer's profession

What is a nose? Part of our face, yes, but what else? Being a nose actually means being a perfumer.

It was in 1651 that Louis XIV granted the patent officially recognizing the status of "master glover-perfumer" (back then, leather was perfumed, hence the combination).

Back to today. This profession is still little known to the general public, because perfumers work behind the scenes: make way for the brand, the packaging, the face of the campaign… But without the juice, something would be missing, right?

We interviewed our four perfumers from the Flair studio, who create all Versatile perfumes, to explain this profession, its facets and its particularities.

What training do you need to become a perfumer?

There are many different paths: with or without a school, through a fragrance house's in-house school, self-taught… At Flair, two types of training come together. Amélie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel learned their craft at Cinquième Sens under a master perfumer: knowledge passed down is the key to their training. Camille Chemardin and Elia Chiche both studied at the École Supérieure du Parfum, a 5-year program combining chemistry, olfaction, creation and marketing, with a specialization in perfume creation.

Big fragrance house or independent lab: what's the difference?

In the big houses (Givaudan, Firmenich, Symrise…), many intermediaries are involved in creation: evaluators, salespeople, marketing… At independents, there may or may not be evaluators. At Flair, the four perfumers work without intermediaries and have a close relationship with clients. Creation is tailor-made, the process is responsive and fast, and production quantities are suited to smaller brands.

Perfumer or evaluator: what's the difference?

It's not the same job at all.

• The perfumer has the know-how of composition: they blend raw materials and bring them to life together. They are at the very origin of the creation.
• The evaluator is the link between the perfumer, the clients and the sales team. They translate the client's wishes and steer the creation. They know the market by heart and play a key role between coordination, strategy and olfactory expertise, bringing an outside eye to the trials.

How do you know whether two materials will work together?

It's a very long learning process, based on experiments and trials. You follow your olfactory intuition, imagining how an accord will turn out. You compose, weigh the formula in the lab, smell it, learn. And start again. Over the years, you get to know the materials and how they react with each other. But the combinations are endless: the inspiration and the urge to experiment never stop!

Is being a nose a man's job?

Like many others, the perfumer's profession long remained a male preserve. That's changing with each generation: there are more and more women in fragrance houses or heading up creation at major brands (Christine Nagel at Hermès, Mathilde Laurent at Cartier). In fact, most students at perfumery schools are women. While the media still struggle to put women perfumers in the spotlight, the trend is heading in the right direction.

Flair's concept

The studio creates new accords to offer original perfumes, and does everything it can to be as responsive as possible and bring a client's project to life.

Where do you find raw materials as an independent?

The big houses often create their own ingredients. Flair chooses the raw materials for its perfumer's organ with VO Aromatiques, its partner factory in Grasse. They come from different companies: Biolandes, Firmenich, Robertet, Behave…

Do perfumers know every raw material by heart?

No. In the lab, a selection has already been made from the many materials in the industry. We know the ones in our palette very well, but we keep discovering new facets. That's what's so exciting: you never stop learning. To find your way around, read our guides to olfactory families and notes.

How long does it take to create a perfume?

From a few months to a year, a year and a half. To learn more about every step, read How do you create a perfume?

What budget to compose a perfume?

The average budget given to perfumers is often around €150/kg for a skin fragrance, and €50 to €80/kg for a candle. It can be less, or much more, depending on the client's wishes. For comparison, Versatile formulas cost between €300 and €600/kg excl. VAT.

Where are the perfumes made?

VO Aromatiques also handles the production of the concentrate, in its factory in Grasse.

Do perfumers only create perfumes?

No: candles, scent signatures, soaps, shampoos, creams, laundry detergents…

What they love most about their job

It's above all a job driven by passion: every aspect, the exciting and the more tedious, is part of the adventure when you choose to be an independent perfumer. Still, each of them has her favorites:

• Camille: managing to convey an emotion through creation.
• Elia: working hands-on with raw materials and creating around them.
• Amélie: creating (imagining, interpreting, transcribing) and the exchanges with art directors.
• Anne-Sophie: the joy of creating a perfume that keeps you company, reassures you, lifts your spirits or moves you.

Want to smell their work? The Flair perfumers sign all our creations, like Croissant Café (Elia Chiche), Gueule de Bois (Amélie Bourgeois), Culot Thé (Anne-Sophie Behaghel) or Dimanche Flemme (Camille Chemardin). The easiest way to discover them all: our Discovery Boxes.