When we dive into the life of a painter, we notice that it is often marked by different phases (blue and pink for Picasso, for example). What were your different stages of creation as a perfumer?

In my first phase of creation, luck played a major role: I worked on accords which are very visited in the old perfumery and I also had chance to work with large brands that were striving for innovation (for example, collaborating with the perfumer Jean-Louis Sieuzac, who worked for Maurice Roger). Then I started working for niche perfumery: I felt more free and collaborated with creators like Christian Astuguevieille and Pamela Roberts. I did not master my style yet, but it was the time of some beautiful creations (Avignon, Sequoia, Timbuktu, Méchant Loup ...). When I became independent, I went through an even more random phase, although more perilous, where I was as free as the air! Finally, the phase of fulfilment: I multiplied the number of the olfactory compositions and worked with olfactory structures that were very different from each other. I created very simple perfumes with a few raw materials, as well as fragrances with up to fifty ingredients. The fluidity in the creation process also increased over time.

What angles do you use today in olfactory creation?

Readability: I make sure that the perfume is understood at all levels by any type of customer, where it is a neophyte or a connoisseur. Also, I aim to create fragrances that are fit to be worn, and not just smells. Finally, I seek a balance between three golden rules: diffusivity, originality, persistence.

Do you believe in what is called an "olfactory accident"?

Yes. I believe that a perfumer must exploit the olfactory accidents in order to magnify or sublimate the previous discordances, which are sometimes the result of chance.

Your perfume Avignon by Comme des Garçons has marked the history of niche perfumery with its overdose of aldehydes. What was the reason for this success, in your opinion? 

This perfume contains several olfactory overdoses, but it is perhaps the one of aldehyde C12 MNA which has marked the audience. Indeed, this aldehyde is the perfect enhancer of the oliban incense note itself.

You have collaborated with several perfume houses, such as Penhaligon's, Comme des Garcons, Naomi Goodsir, The Different Company and Phuong Dang. How have these experiences been different or even unique?

For each of these experience, I had to adapt to the different personalities of the people representing the brands. For example, the collaborations with artists such as Phuong Dang (painter) or Christian Astuguevieille (visual artist) have been particularly successful: these artists are endowed with a very developed emotional sensitivity and a surprising artistic courage.

You say you love the intimacy and sharing that are done by smell. Could you tell us more?

I feel incredibly lucky about this: I work with Australian, Chinese, Vietnamese, English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, American, German, Russian and Polish creators, and it's just a pleasure to realize how perfumes are such a powerful universal language. Thanks to perfumes, I was able to dive into the rich universe of one of the most surprising florists in the world, Saskia Havekes (an Australian woman with Dutch origins), or into the contrasted imagination of the Swedish designer Jan Ahlgren, reminding of the Swedish wild flora.

How did you become a perfumer?

I first learned to speak the "language of perfumes". It is very important to both have a self-taught approach and to digest the know-how shared by the master perfumers that one has the chance to meet. This is how I develop my own style.

Who was your mentor? What are his or her most beautiful teachings?

My biggest mentors were Dominique Ropion, Jean-Louis Sieuzac and Michel Almairac. Each one of them has influenced my approach or my style in his own way. The major lesson conveyed by all three was the attention to the quality of the raw materials.