The
Perfumer is an expert on creating
perfumePerfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a "pleasant" smell.-History:...
compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as "the
Nose" (French:
le nez) due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist who is trained in depth on the concepts of fragrance aesthetics and who is capable of conveying abstract concepts and moods with their fragrance compositions.
The
Perfumer is an expert on creating
perfumePerfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a "pleasant" smell.-History:...
compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as "the
Nose" (French:
le nez) due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist who is trained in depth on the concepts of fragrance aesthetics and who is capable of conveying abstract concepts and moods with their fragrance 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 of the fragrance ingredients whether alone or in combination with other fragrances. As well, they must know how each ingredient reveals itself through time with other ingredients. The job of the perfumer is very similar to that of flavourists, who compose smells and flavourants for many commercial food products.
Training
Most past perfumers did not undergo profession training in the art and many learned their craft as apprentices under another perfumer in their employment as a perfume technician (in charge of blending formulas) or chemist. A direct entrance into the profession is rare and those who do typically enter it through family contacts. These apprenticeship last around 3 years.
Until recently, profession schools open to the public for training perfumers did not exist. In 1970
ISIPCAISIPCA is a school for post-graduate studies in perfume, cosmetics products and food flavor formulation, with an apprenticeship period in the industry. It was originally founded in 1970 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain as ISIP...
became the world's only school in perfumery. The candidates must endure a demanding entrance examination and must have taken university level courses in organic chemistry.
GivaudanGivaudan is the world's leading company in the flavor and fragrance industry, creating and manufacturing unique and innovative taste and smell solutions....
and
International Flavors and FragrancesInternational Flavors and Fragrances is a major producer of flavors and fragrances with sales of $2.277 billion in .Major competitors include Firmenich, Givaudan, and Symrise. IFF is a member of the S&P 500.-History:...
(IFF) have perfumery schools a part of their companies, but students must be employees of the company and must be recommended for acceptance into the school by their superiors.
Employment
Most perfumers are employed by several large fragrance corporations in the world including
FirmenichFirmenich SA is a private business specialising in flavors and fragrances and is a major worldwide chemical manufacturer. Their fragrances and flavors are generally used in perfumes, cosmetics, beverages, food, and other household products. Worldwide, Firmenich currently employs approximately...
,
IFFInternational Flavors and Fragrances is a major producer of flavors and fragrances with sales of $2.277 billion in .Major competitors include Firmenich, Givaudan, and Symrise. IFF is a member of the S&P 500.-History:...
,
GivaudanGivaudan is the world's leading company in the flavor and fragrance industry, creating and manufacturing unique and innovative taste and smell solutions....
,
Takasagois a major international producer of flavors and fragrances headquartered in Japan, with presence in 22 countries worldwide and net sales of $900 million in . Major competitors include Firmenich, International Flavors and Fragrances, Givaudan and Symrise....
, and
SymriseSymrise is a major producer of flavors and fragrances with sales of € 1,230 million in 2006 . Major competitors include Firmenich, Givaudan, International Flavors and Fragrances and Takasago International.-History:...
. Some perfumers work exclusively for a perfume house or in their own company, but these cases are not as common.
The perfumer typically begins a perfume project with a
brief by the perfumer's employer or an outside customer. The customers to the perfumer or their employers, are typically fashion houses or large
corporationA corporation is a legal entity separate from the shareholders and employees. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate...
s of various industries. Each brief will contain the specifications for the desired perfume, and will describe in often poetic or abstract terms what the perfume should smell like or what feelings it should evoke in those who smell it, along with a maximum per
litreThe litre or liter is a unit of volume. There are two official symbols: the Latin letter L in lower and upper case . The lower case L is also often written as a cursive ℓ, though this symbol has no official approval by any international bureau...
price of the perfume oil concentrate. This allowance, along with the intended application of the perfume will determine what aromatics and fragrance ingredients can/will be used in the perfume composition.
The perfumer will then go through the process of blending multiple perfume 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 over many iterations and may involve cultural and public surveys to tailor a perfume to a particular market. The perfume composition will then be either used to enhance another product as a
functional fragrance (
shampooShampoo is a hair care product used for the removal of oils, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants and other contaminant particles that gradually build up in hair...
s, make-up,
detergentA detergent is a material intended to assist cleaning. The term is sometimes used to differentiate between soap and other surfactants used for cleaning...
s, car interiors, etc.), or marketed and sold 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 successfully wins a brief. This usually happens in smaller or independent perfume houses.
List of perfumers
Some notable perfumers include:
- Henri Alméras
Henri Alméras 1892-1965 was a French perfumer. He was best known for creating many perfumes for Patou, including Amour Amour and Joy.-List of creations for Jean Patou:...
- Ernest Beaux
Ernest Beaux was a perfumer best known for creating Chanel No. 5, perhaps the world's most famous perfume.-Early career:...
- Calice Becker
Calice Becker is a French master perfumer who works for Quest International in New York City.-List of creations:*Balmain Vent Vert - reformulation *Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl *Joop What About Adam *Avon Women of Earth...
- Pierre Bourdon
- Jean Carles
Jean Carles was a French perfumer who worked in Roure in the early 20th century. He was the founder of the Roure Perfumery School and served as its first director in 1946....
- Claude Caron
- Jacques Cavallier
- Germaine Cellier
Germaine Cellier was a French master perfumer. She was known for creating bold, pioneering fragrances such as Fracas and Bandit. Cellier was also one of the first prominent female perfumers, at a time when the industry was dominated by men....
- François Coty
François Coty was a French perfume manufacturer and the founder of the fascist league Solidarité Française, a paramilitary organization founded in 1933, during Edouard Daladier's government supported by the Cartel des gauches .- Life :He married...
- Olivier Cresp
- Ernest Daltroff
- Roja Dove
Roja Dove is a fragrance specialist regarded as the world's sole "Professeur de Parfums". He is widely regarded as the most quoted fragrance expert in the world. Dove was a medical research student at Cambridge. Whilst there Dove visited the Belle Époque Guerlain boutique on the Champs-Élysées, and...
- Jean-Michel Duriez
- Jean-Claude Ellena
Jean-Claude Ellena is a French perfumer. From 2004, he has been Hermès' exclusive in-house perfumer. He has created fragrances for several major perfume houses including The Different Company, which he founded before joining Hermès. His daughter Celine Ellena now creates for The Different...
- André Fraysse
André Fraysse was a French perfumer.He was noted for his work with Lanvin. His creations included:* Arpège with Paul Vacher* Eau de Lanvin* My Sin * Prétexte * Rumeur , relaunched in a new formulation 2006...
- Olivia Giacobetti
-For Diptyque:* Philosykos * Ofrésia * Essence of John Galliano -For L'Artisan Parfumeur:* L'Eau de L'Artisan * Premier Figuier * Drôle de Rose * Thé Pour Un Eté * L’Eau du Fleuriste...
- Sophia Grojsman
Sophia Grojsman is an American perfumer who has created some of the most well-known fragrances in the world for the past thirty years...
- Jacques Guerlain
Guerlain is among the oldest perfume houses in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry. Perfumes by Guerlain are often said to be inspired by the scent of confections, as a result of a common vanilla and amber accord in many of...
- Jean-Paul Guerlain
Guerlain is among the oldest perfume houses in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry. Perfumes by Guerlain are often said to be inspired by the scent of confections, as a result of a common vanilla and amber accord in many of...
- Jean Guichard
- Jean Kerléo
Jean Kerléo is a perfumer who worked in-house of Jean Patou and is the also the founder and director of the Osmothèque, a fragrance museum and conservatory in Versailles. Kerleo was born in February 24, 1932 in Brittany, France. At age 22, he began making perfumes for a New York company, Helena...
- Francis Kurkdjian
- Annick Ménardo
Annick Ménardo is a contemporary perfumer who worked under the fragrance firm Firmenich since joining in 1991. Although she has a background in a wide base of sciences such as biochemistry and medicine, Annick Ménardo pursued perfumery as her subject of study and is a graduate of the French perfume...
- Alberto Morillas
- Jacques Polge
- Guy Robert
- Henri Robert
Henri Robert is the second Chanel in-house perfumer after the departure of Ernest Beaux, famed creator of Chanel No. 5. Robert was born in 1899 in Grasse and began his career as a perfumer at with Chiris. Following that he joined Parfums d'Orsay and subsequently Coty...
- Maurice Roucel
Maurice Roucel is a contemporary perfumer who has worked at companies IFF, Quest, Dragoco and presently Symrise. Roucel began his career in perfumery on February 19th, 1973 while working as the head chromatography chemist at Chanel for 6 years. He commenced his apprenticeship under Henri Robert,...
- Edmond Roudnitska
-Creations for Christian Dior:*Diorama *Eau Fraîche *Diorissimo *Eau Sauvage *Diorella *Dior-Dior -Creations for Rochas:*Femme *Mousseline *Mouche *Moustache *La Rose...
- Christopher Sheldrake
Christopher Sheldrake is a perfumer.He has worked for Quest International, and has created perfumes for Shiseido, Serge Lutens, Rochas, Avon and SpaceNK. In 2005, he was made Director of Research & Development for fragrances at Chanel.-External links:...