His craft seems very romantic.
It is, from the beginning I saw something magical and exciting in this search for aromas.
explain me
Wherever I go I see the weight of history in ingredients like incense; the aromas I seek come from incredible, distant, difficult but wonderful countries, such as Somaliland, in former British Somalia.
what is there
The incense trees. And I also find it magical to meet the source of the perfumes, the collectors, the distillers…
What surprises him?
How is it possible for things to remain as they were so many centuries ago? My encounter with the gypsies in the steppe fields, in Huelva, burning the resin of lavender, which is what is obtained from the leaves of the steppe, perhaps the strongest smell in the plant world, is indelible.
Has it always been the same?
They used to do it with sheep. They grazed them over large expanses of steppe and at dusk they combed them to obtain the sticky resin that had remained in their wool.
And now how do they do it?
Gypsy men cut the plants and the women cook them. I’ve been talking to them for thirty years, and one of them asked me to bring her a bottle of Chanel No. 5.
Does it carry the aroma of the steppe?
Yes, he already sees the distance that exists between that family of gypsies who obtain the essence and the perfumers and the high-end laboratories that use it.
What is the most beautiful thing you have seen?
I have incredible memories, but if you let me choose just one, I’ll stick with my work with Bulgarian roses. I went to Bulgaria in 1994, the country was completely ruined by communism, but they had the memory of the glory years they had lived, partly thanks to their roses.
Were they famous?
Very famous, the rose essence was Bulgarian since the 19th century, and they had fantastic companies and products of a very high level; I set out to restore that luxury.
And has it succeeded?
I bought a still, rebuilt it and planted thousands of hectares of roses. Working with the people, picking the flowers in May with that amazing smell and then getting the golden oil – wonderful!
alchemy
exactly Much more than a business.
The most amazing thing you’ve ever smelled?
I bring to Paris and Switzerland 150 different natural ingredients from 40 different countries every year, but I have a weakness for incense: the true origin of perfume.
I d’on and?
From a small tree that only grows in Somaliland, Oman or Yemen, but its origins go back 5,000 years. The Egyptians were crazy about incense, and they explain that King Solomon (900 BC) invited the Queen of Sheba to visit him and she arrived with caravans of incense as a gift.
…
Solomon received her in his cedar palace. The meeting of the scent of cedar with that of incense is the starting point of perfumery.
What does your childhood smell like?
Of jasmine, a scent that immediately rises to the mind and has the virtue of putting you in a state of happiness.
What did his mother smell like?
In the month of May, under the large chestnut trees of the Rambouillet forest, the undergrowth was covered with lily of the valley and its perfume embalmed the air. I was confused by that smell that reminded me of my mother. She used Diorissimo, that sumptuous perfume that pays homage to the white bells.
Do perfumes carry a lot of chemistry today?
Synthetic aromas are essential, but a high-quality perfume has many natural products, which were the only raw material for three millennia.
Sustainable perfumes are now produced.
For 15 years, 70% of consumers want to know if a fair price has been paid to the grower, if it has been done in acceptable working conditions and if the environment has been protected.
Is the days of your profession numbered?
Three threats: climate change, drought and the evolution of the rural world. In El Salvador, they climb trees 20 meters high at the age of 50 and 60, but young people go to the capital. It is necessary to value those ingredients that do not have the price they should have.
They are luxury items.
A jasmine absolute is an amazing thing, but if the industry values ??marketing more, no one will be climbing trees for essences.
And how is this fixed?
The new brands of the market vein do not invest in marketing, but in natural aromas with clear explanations of where the essences come from, and they are succeeding. Many French women buy essential oils and make their own blends.
