MARTINE DENISOT

Martine Denisot burgeoned in a sleepy rural region, learning by heart the odors of loam, tree bark, hay and bluebells. Her olfactory vocabulary took root there, amid the fields and woods. Then her love of travel, irrepressible sense of fantasy and natural curiosity completed the mix…

It was thanks to Jacques Polge, the “house nose” at Chanel, that she gained her first hands-on experience with the raw materials of perfumery, the oils and absolutes. She worked for several months in the prestigious brand’s laboratory, following her instincts, and in the process discovering the finest ingredients, the abstract compounds (like methyl anthranilate, with its odor of marker ink), harmonious accords and dissonant notes.

Inspiration came from myriad sources: a lovely neroli, a delicate centifolia rose, the sweetness of ambrette, the flavor of a mouthwatering quince jelly…
Her very first composition was for the Lostmarc’h label, which asked her to create an all-purpose mist for the home and household linens. She based the composition on quince, inspired by the quince conservatory orchard at Château d’Argy, in central France, which she helped originate.

Paris. A panoramic view of the Luxembourg Gardens.
In front of her perfume organ, which folds up into
a pink-lined travel case, Martine Denisot selects the components of her formula. If anything is missing she can track it down — she knows all the specialists, the ingredients suppliers and hunters of exotic essences.

An olfactory alchemist, she measures, cuts and pastes, playing her ingredients the way a musician plays notes. The result is a precise, refined harmony, subtle and free of ostentation. Not unlike the famous “Slow” movement in food. Martine has a special fondness for “cocoon” fragrances: intimate, personal compositions that coddle and caress, that whisper a message of well-being.

When it comes time to codify the formula, she calls in Amélie Bourgeois, the perfumer with whom she founded her company, FLAIR Fragrance Creation Studio.