A question for Clement
Recently, there was a very good question for Clement which made us think about the current trend in perfumery…
It’s not really relevant to the interview, but I’m curious what it is like to work with other perfumers on a particular fragrance. I’d imagine that there’s a lot of discussion and such, but was wondering if they run off and make mods and then meet up and decide what direction they like best, back and forth, until it’s finished? And who makes the decision to have multiple perfumers work on a fragrance? Is that more or less common than having a single perfumer?
Kuri
And, here is Clement’s answer to the question.
Hi Kuri,
Thanks for your question.
More and more fragrances on the market today are the result of teamwork.
So, why has it become like this over the last several years?
– Short deadlines: we often have to make new mods in one day.
– So many briefs to work on at the same time: each perfumer needs to prioritize his projects. Some projects will need other perfumer’s help to be finished in time.
– Sometimes we get stuck in a formula. The involvement of another perfumer could help take a fresh look at it.
– There are often requests from our clients or the management to have such and such perfumers work together.When we work together on one project there are a lot of discussions not just between us but also with the evaluator and the client. Many back-and-forths usually happen.
Clement
Good answers, no?
8 Comments
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sariah
Hello Nobi,
Regarding your comment about perfumers and the industry – that he who knows the most says the least.
Why do you think that is? There are lots of perfume blogs out there so obviously there are a lot of people interested in perfume, but no website or blog written by an actual perfumer that I know of except the things that Clement and Laurent have written here. The closest thing to an insider blog would have been Luca Turin’s I guess, which was really great while it lasted.
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christophe
salut Clément,
j’espère que tu vas bien
on cherche à réunir avec qqs anciens de Victor Hugo les personnes avec qui nous étions en classe, je ne sais pas si tu habites aux Etats Unis ou si tu es en France
bref, tiens moi au courant si tu reçois ce message
CordialementChristophe Aimo
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chaos
hi,
I just came a cross this bolg for the first time today, as I was surfing the net, and I’m seeking your advice, I was working in the fragrance industry 2 years back for 4 years, and had to leave it.
I had a totally different career ever since then, and been working for a global company where things are going smoothly.
Recently i’ve been offered a job with IFF and i’m very confused, from one side I have a very nice job with a big multinational company, but I hate the product that I sell; other than that every thing is great about my current job, on the other hand I have a great passion for the fragrance industry, but i’ve been out of the industry for a while and I would appreciate your advice on IFF as an employer and the future prospects of it, especially after Givaudan’s aquisition of Quest.
Regards,
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kuri
Thank you for the response! It sounds more and more like regular work (albeit creative). If there weren’t pictures, I might start picturing a Dilbert-like workplace. Clients must be pretty aware of the work of specific perfumers if they are inclined to request particular teams.