A first internship of one month at 17 at Firmenich, for Alienor Massenet, the idea to engage herself in perfumery born gradually. Trained in olfaction and raw materials by Monique Schlinger (5e Sens), she learns in parallel with a BA (in Paris), she ends by joining Florasynth team, and then in 1995 the IFF in New York. Now, and now she is working at IFF in Paris. Here’s a meeting with with an independent and ambitious creative...

What is your motto?

Aliénor Massenet : Independence and liberty! Joy of life!

What are your best scent souvenirs?

Aliénor Massenet : I was 5 years old when I smelled my skin under the sun. The skin bathed by sun beams produces a warm smell… I became addict! The sensual smell of the maternal milk reminds me this sensation of skin to skin which lets escape a warm and musky breath. The powerful smell of the Atlantic Ocean: Standing on a large and windy beach, when iodine and salty smells come to your nose. It is a cloud of freshness and nature. 

What are your favorite raw materials and why?

Aliénor Massenet : Open to any kind of materials, I like to work by theme: leathers, liqueurs, seeds, roses… to explore an olfactive territory. I also have a “lucky” ingredient: labdanum. This is maybe due to the fact that I’m very spiritual and that labdanum has a mystical dimension for me.

What is your perfume signature?

Aliénor Massenet : I sign each of my creations with labdanum or myrrh, always in different proportions.

In your opinion, what is so unique with Maison Martin Margiela (what differ from other brands)?

Aliénor Massenet : Create a perfume for Maison Margiela is a real pleasure because beautiful raw materials are at the forefront. There is no restriction, an extraordinary liberty to express my creativity!

What was your inspiration when you have created Jazz Club? Rhum?! Travels? Roomates in England? :)

Aliénor Massenet : This brief reminds me good moments of my life in New York at the beginning of my career like unforgettable jazzy evenings in the Village Vanguard and the Blue Note in Greenwich Village. Jazz Clubs in NY… what a smell!!! Fusion of so masculine scents: cigars, leather, whisky, rum… To illustrate this sexy and virile ambiance, I used a cocktail of rum, vetiver, tobacco leaf and vanilla bean. And the exclusive and private mood drove me to choose unique qualities of these ingredients: rum absolute, with so intense and intoxicating smells; vetiver oil from LMR to bring its racy woody character, tobacco leaves absolute for its seductive aura and sublime vanilla beans for their exacerbated sensuality. To balance my composition, I added an explosive and also precious combination of lemon primofiore, pink pepper and neroli, for their incomparable freshness. This fragrance is an elixir of unique and exclusive ingredients, embodying the legendary Jazz Clubs.

What is the DNA of Memo for you? So far, what are your 3 favorites and why

Aliénor Massenet : Memo, for memory, evokes a magical journey for each perfume. The fragrance is a souvenir, the souvenir of a departure, very exciting! The expression “The journey is the destination” captures the spirit of the brand very well. My 3 favorite fragrances… not easy! They all remind me of a special memory…

- Lalibela: I’m fascinated by this fabulous and mystic place in Ethiopia. This perfume sublimes my favorite smells: labdanum, vanilla, rose…

- Irish Leather: Working on leather is always interesting; meet a challenge is very exciting! Besides, the structure of this fragrance is really different and reveals a new way of expression.

- Kedu: It was a pleasure for me to work on seeds, symbol of life and movement. Besides sesame seed is a barely exploited ingredient.