Q. You have extensive experience working
in the industry, working with some of the best creators. What do you think is
the most important quality for a perfumer?
A. A good perfumer has to have two qualities: imagination and
technical skill. The first is the key to coming up with truly new fragrances. The
second allows him or her to finish them, or to make them smell good, if you
prefer.
Q. For you, what is the most fascinating aspect of working with the perfumers you
have selected for your projects?
A. First, they are all different, which I find fascinating. I am
amazed by the realm of their palette, and by the fact that even after 25 years
in the business, I am still learning from them. Each is amazing in his/her own
way, but what I find most incredible is perfumery when it is done at such a
high level!
Q. How did your collaboration with Bruno Jovanovic come about?
A. Dominique Ropion tipped me. He told me that I should have a close
look at Bruno, whom he sees as one of the rising stars. We met with Bruno a few
times, then we decided to start working on a limited perfume made to celebrate
the 25 Years of Elle Magazine in the US. This was a first step in developing a
common language. Then the candle project came up. I asked Bruno to develop
these very precise olfactory images that I had imagined. Most of them were
coming from memories, which I knew we had in common: a church in Paris, the
smell of pastis at a terrace, and the smell of a men's den. Bruno had his own images
and I had mine. All we did was to edit a dream version out of each of them.
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