Portraits of Perfumeurs

Dr Frida Michailidou is an award-winning scientist specialising in fragrances and a creative perfumer. Born and raised in Greece, she was fascinated from an early age by the scents of Greece's rich botanical heritage, which inspired her to embark on a career in sustainable chemistry and perfumery. She led a pioneering scientific expedition to Mount Olympus and was the first to decode the scents of its rare flora using advanced, non-destructive technology. Recognised as an ‘MIT Innovator Under...

Some destinies are not discovered, but revealed. Riccardo Halac-Ruggeroni belongs to this rare category. Founder of RHR Luxury, this self-taught perfumer has transformed a collection of olfactory souvenirs into a house of fragrances that defies the conventions of contemporary luxury.

Born between grandparents who were master coffee roasters and a father who was a distiller, Jean-Charles Sommerard grew up among flowers, alembics, essential oils and perfume. For this perfumer, bestselling author and teacher at the École Supérieure du Parfum, a fragrance is far more than a delicate olfactory caress. It is almost an act of sorcery—capable of lifting souls and transforming lives! And he delights in this magic every day. Today, drawing on his rich experience with companies and...

In this exclusive interview, Olivier Cresp, the master perfumer made famous for Angel, explores contemporary addictions-coffee, chocolate, nicotine-and transforms them into elegant, figurative niche fragrances. With his daughter Anaïs, he creates modern gourmet creations such as Crush and Bake. AKRO embodies an independent, audacious and sophisticated perfumery, where addiction becomes an olfactory experience.

Ayşe Sirkecioğlu is a perfumer at EPS Fragrances. Trained in cutting-edge technologies (Head Space analyzers, distillation), she captures the essence of living nature to create her compositions. Her signature style combines sophisticated oriental contrasts with gourmand touches, as in "Ruby" (2025), which blends cherries, creamy almond and amber vanilla. She masters the art of dosing spices without caricature, creating exceptionally long-lasting niche fragrances that tell a story and reveal a...

Senior Vice-President Perfumer at Symrise after thirty years at IFF, Aliénor Massenet has developed an olfactory style recognizable by its luminous contrasts and mystical signature of labdanum and myrrh. Trained at Cinquième Sens and Firmenich, she revolutionizes the leather accord with unexpected solar compositions in her emblematic creations for Memo (Lalibela, Irish Leather), Viktor & Rolf (Antidote) and Margiela (Jazz Club).  Her emotional approach transforms each fragrance into an...

Maurice Roucel, who began his career by joining Chanel in 1973 as a chromatography technician, has become one of the most influential perfumers of his time. Winner of the Prix François Coty in 2002, he has created fragrances for Hermès, Guerlain, Rochas, Serge Lutens and Frédéric Malle. His style combines carnal sensuality with structural clarity: creamy magnolia, enveloping musks, luminous florals or amber orientals. Between scientific rigor and sensual instinct, his compositions reveal...

Suzy Le Helley composes fragrances like a travel journal: a botanical note, an aldehydic glow, a woody warmth. Trained at Symrise, she blends natural and synthetic materials with economy and precision. Her collaborations (including a creation for Frédéric Malle/Acne Studios) illustrate her ability to serve a house's identity while maintaining a clear, sensitive style. Her fragrances open up a sensory exploration, guided by the material.

Emma Lehaut has always been fascinated by disruptive and unconventional fragrances. From an early age, she has been eager to discover, tame and shape fragrances into delightful experiences. She is fascinated by the way fragrances have the power to seduce, provoke, soothe or even threaten.

Barbara Zoebelein creates rich, harmonious fragrances, blending natural materials and synthetic ingredients with precision and sensitivity. Her bold, poetic style translates emotions through an olfactory narrative inspired by nature, travel and the cultures she has explored. She sees perfume as a sensory language, an art blending rigor and intuition, where each creation is an invitation to live a unique emotional experience.

Alexandra Monet, a perfumer trained at ISIPCA, composes as one tells an intimate story. Inspired as a teenager by Françoise Caron, she transforms emotions, memories and sensations into fragrances that blend gourmand notes, patchouli and sensual woody materials. Between spontaneity and precision, she conceives each fragrance as olfactory writing that comes to life on the skin.

Tristan Rostain, a perfumer trained at the Institut de Grasse, delicately composes nuanced fragrances, blending silky petals, sweet spices and velvety woods. With SFA Néroli since 2010, he collaborates with a number of fragrance houses, bringing discreet elegance and subtle harmony to their collections. His style, both narrative and precise, transforms each fragrance into an emotionally charged olfactory story.