Who, like me, lives the perfume as the essence of memories and the soundtrack of his life, sets on top of the wish list  the meeting with the great masters of perfumery, i.e. the artists and architects of alchemical transmutation of the odorous raw materials into real dreams. This is the story of a day with Bertrand Duchaufour, the famous nose to whom we owe the creation of many masterpieces of perfumery at the turn of two centuries.

The sun rises over Paris and its beauty, crystallized in winter’s morning light, seems to herald a glorious day. I climb quickly on a taxy and, while I pronounce the name of my destination, Levallois, I pull out of my bag the perfume bottle that I carry with me as a talisman: it’s Rahele, the latest creation of Bertrand Duchaufour for Neela Vermeire Parfums. I haven’t got the courage to spray it, I know that Bertrand does not wear fragrances in his workplace, and that’s where I am going.

Bertrand is a sensitive and very kind man and, as a wonderful host, guides me on a short tour of the various rooms of the large apartment that houses the laboratory, the meeting room, his studio and the offices of his colleagues and collaborators. A delicate musky and floral scent floats in the air, thanks to the perfect ventilation system that holds back the many odors that unfold from thousands of flacons. On his desk, dozens of small vials are arranged in groups of four or five. These are just few of the many projects he’s working on.

To understand the artist and his professional career, I summarize the biographical notes I gathered from the web and some information that I picked during our meeting.

Bertrand Duchaufour was Born in Nancy and, at the age of sixteen, he moved to Paris. His studies follow in the footsteps of his father and brother, both geologists. His encounter with the world of fragrance comes almost by chance, takes shape by a youthful love for a schoolmate passionate of perfumes, by the memory of her, that wore Chanel No.19. After the diploma, Bertrand moves to Marseille and than in Lyon where he graduates in biochemistry and genetics. At the time, the passion for fragrance coexists with his love for travels, photography and, above all, painting. That life, that unfolds before his eyes, is like a blank canvas, and the parallel with painting leads him to mix and mentally assemble smells and colors of the landscapes that he portrays. The desire to devote himself to the art of perfume composition becomes awareness and, in 1982, he decides to attend ISIP (Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, today ISIPCA). A secretary of the Institute dissuades him, suggesting, rather, a practical approach to learning by one of the fragrance companies in the South of France. For some months the dream seems to shatter, Bertrand does not know anyone in that area and does not know how to join it. A friend and former university mate of Marseille comes to his rescue and suggests a six-month training at Lautier Florasynth Group, in Grasse. What was a dream becomes a reality and, surrounded by the chemistry of odors, Bertrand’s talent takes shape and grows in the midst of thousands of essences. He is 27 years old when he begins to compose his first fragrances and the dress of a Parfumeur fits like a second skin.

Result of an innate talent and a constant discipline, his long and brilliant career as a perfumer is still evolving. His compositional palette is constantly enriched with new raw materials that Bertrand personally selects all over the world. The passion for travels feeds his creativity, infused with the beauty of places and cultures that impress themselves through light, color, sounds, tastes and smells. Images that become sharper and assemble shades of emotions and memories that the perfumer often writes down in his notebook. A creative genius that I fully realize when Bertrand shows me the long formulas and explains that, from the beginning of the creative process, he is able to mentally determine the ingredients and proportions of a fragrance, drawing on the olfactory memory of each raw material, with total awareness of their interaction. The formula is entrusted to one of the assistants who weighs the ingredients and produces 20 to 30 grams of parfum. The composition is left to macerate for two or three weeks and then divided into 10 tests to which new ingredients are added or proportions are adjusted. The 10 tests are again left to mature for a few weeks so that the raw materials interact and blend into each other and the creative process continues in this manner until the final formula is achieved.

A career paved of great success and recognitions worldwide that, in 2017, sees the consolidation of collaborations with brands of excellence such as Grandiflora, from Sidney, for whom Bertrand has created the fragrance Queen of the Night, of 2016, and Phuong Dang, a perfume house based in New York that has entrusted the Perfumer for the development of an entire collection of fragrances, same goes for the fledgling brand Pont des Arts, of Paris, while, in parallel, he continues the collaboration with Enchanted Forest, Neela Vermeire and many others.

Charmed by dozens of vials, marked with alphanumeric codes, I have the privilege to lay nostrils on some new creations being finalized. I breathe ecstatically the most tender Iris, silky and romantic, the most sensual and refined oud-leather-incense accord and the captivating oriental harmony of a fragrance that combines cherry, almond, tobacco, amber, honey and leather. I know that one day, hopefully soon, I will walk into a perfume store and these brilliant olfactory gems will reveal their name.

From the studio we move to the laboratory where the most precious raw materials, such as roses, jasmine and tuberose, are kept in special refrigerators at a constant temperature, while on the shelves several natural and synthetic ingredients are lined. I get intoxicated by this magic and I would like to entangle the time amid shelves and ampoules, but the sun is already setting as I climb into a taxy that will bring me to my hotel. With my heart full of gratitude, my thoughts retrace the moments of an unforgettable day, while that Iris, that whispers soft from my wrist, has already become my obsession.