Alexandre Helwani is a Perfumer, Fragrance writer and Trainer. I first met Alexandre during the launch of a NEZ magazine issue and we later got to work together on workshops when I was still at Magique, the olfactory and sensory studio based in Paris. Since then, I can say we have become friends and I have continuous admiration for his incredible work, whether it be crafting an ancient perfume hidden in the Bible’s Song of Songs with Dominican monks, tapping a frankincense tree in a Unesco world heritage site in Oman, dealing incense to priests for churches in Paris, or sourcing rare raw materials to encapsulate the scent of the Odyssey in a bottle. You can say Alexandre is the real Perfume Jack of all trades !

In this episode, we talk about various topics including our mutual love for The lord of the rings and Gandalf, the reasons to wear perfume, how Alexandre discovered his passion for scents thanks to a mysterious old man in a narrow alleyway in the Souk of Dubai, how he started writing and created his blog The Perfume Chronicles, but also how he taught himself the art of perfume making and much more.

Follow Alexandre Helwani and his next adventures on his instagram account @theperfumechronicles or on his blog The Perfume Chronicles.

Eléonore de Staël, is an independent perfumer based in Paris who specializes in natural perfumes. Her creative choices are very often combined with a therapeutic dimension to reconnect with the origins of perfumery. I was inspired by Eléonore’s story as she didn’t take the traditional path but still found a way to follow her dream. I met Eléonore during a creative project for Magique, the olfactive and sensory studio where I work. The project was called Respire, and I love the scents she had created that evoked the memory of a cinema and a comedy club. You can discover this project on magique’s instagram : @magique.studio

In this episode we go through Eléonore’s journey, her passion and resilience to become a perfumer, her encounters, mentors and the creative drive she feeds into her projects. 

You can learn more about Eléonore on her website : eleonoredestael.fr

Roxanne Kirkpatrick, is an American perfumer working at Givaudan in Paris, one of the largest flavour and fragrance companies founded in 1895. I met Roxanne during an internship at Givaudan and her unique story was incredibly inspiring. Aside from being talented and hardworking, Roxanne also happens to be a mother of two. 

In this episode, we discover how she began her journey in perfumery, her mentors along the way, the challenge of being American in the heart of the French perfume industry and we go much deeper into the power of being a woman.

— Roxanne mentions this book : The Perfect Scent, A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York by Chandler Burr

Welcome to The Perfumer Podcast !