Some people say that they’ve made perfume their life, whereas for Olivier Cresp it has been the other way around. He grew up in perfumery. The vivid memories from his childhood have guided him towards a brilliant career as master perfumer for Firmenich. His perfumes reflect his personality - they are authentic and simple, and he skilfully converts his experience into memorable flashing moments of scent.

What is your motto?

Passion and patience. I think that within this profession it is essential to maintain that desire, to stay curious and to be extremely open-minded.

For you, perfume is a family history. Please tell us about the place perfumes had in your childhood.

I was born into a family from Grasse. My brothers, sisters and I were cradled in the culture of mythical ingredients. Our upbringing strongly contributed in passing on the passion of the craft and making us want to become perfumers. A similar transmission is happing today - my son is a young perfumer as well. My childhood olfactive memories are still intact. I have memories of family meals where we would only talk about perfumes. I remember the flower fields around Grasse, and the wonderful scents of lavender, mayrose, violet and mimosa. I used to watch the process of extracting raw materials - I remember the barrels of essences, the bags of flowers scattered around on the floor, the distiller. I also think of my parents’ garden and the impressive Jasmine grandiflorum that diffused such a captivating smell from July to December. That’s what’s made me love that flower so strongly. I grew up in that environment. If I had been born elsewhere I wouldn’t have become who I am today.

Who has been your model - your idol as a perfumer, and why?

My dad holds a very special place, especially because of his deep knowledge of raw materials that he has passed on to me. He was dealing in raw materials and he used to place samples on the sideboard in our house every night. I would enjoy smelling the blotters of violet, iris and carnation. I would try to guess each one and really indulge in the scents. They were like food for my soul! I’ve also met several incredible people throughout my career. I couldn’t name just one, because they have all been important.

What is the olfactive memory that has marked your life? And your career?

It has to be the smell of citruses. My father and grandfather worked in the production of raw materials, particularly citruses. My father travelled regularly to Calabria and Sicily to buy qualities of tangerines, oranges, lemons and bergamot. My grandfather had the habit of aerating his bergamot tanks in the basement, and you could smell the scent throughout the house. To me, these are pure and authentic ingredients, which are also an integral part of my childhood. 

You have created Juniper Sling for Penhaligon’s, as an homage to London Dry Gin. How did you come up with this reference?

For the creation of Juniper Sling I was wildly inspired by the idea of exploring the olfactive universe of cocktails. It was a dream occasion where I could express myself through exceptional natural raw materials, chosen without any inhibitions, and through adding a good dose of originality. The fragrance sounds like a call for frivolousness and intoxication! It is inspired by the famous English alcohol and pays a vibrating tribute to the Golden Twenties. At the time, gin was the new, white gold, and the king of all London cocktail parties. At the beginning of my project with Penhaligon’s, I smelled and tasted this gin [London Dry Gin] in particular, to be able to reconstruct its character as faithfully as possible. I used the natural essence of juniper as a starting point, which is sweet, bitter and resinous at the same time, to recreate the smell of gin and evoke an uncontrollable addiction. Then I played around with aromatic notes (angelic), spices (cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom), wooden notes (iris, leather, vetiver) and more gourmand flavours (brandy, brown sugar, black cherry) to create tones that are both hot and cold, composing a scent trail that is intense and memorable. I met with Thierry Hernandez, the renowned mixologist who creates bold cocktails as the head of the sumptuous bar at the Plaza Athénée in Paris. He created a unique cocktail for the launch of the fragrance, inspired by the perfume formula. Cheers!

What is your signature as a perfumer?

I don’t hesitate to qualify my perfumery as figurative. What’s most important to me is the original idea, and then the style follows. My style is quite simple, minimalist, and authentic. Subsequently comes the technique that advances the perfume, where you refine the scent trail and memorability.