I\u2019ve always wanted to be a perfumer, but my whole family is in the medical field so I knew nothing about it. All I knew was that I was in love with scents. Since I was seven years old, I\u2019ve been mixing up different concoctions. Literally anything that had a scent: toothpaste, shaving cream, shower gel, whatever else I could scrounge up from the bathroom or kitchen. To me, if it had a scent, it was a potential ingredient. I would leave my little experiments everywhere, which would drive my mom crazy. Then, when I was fourteen I discovered that making scents was an actual job and I felt like I had won the lottery. As a prerequisite to going to perfumery school, I first completed college, earning my Bachelors in Chemistry. I then attended the extremely selective Givaudan perfumery school where there were only three people in my class.<\/p>\n
Anywhere! It could be something as concrete as a smell or taste, perhaps from a delicious new dish at a restaurant that I loved, or as fleeting as a feeling. Even a conversation about someone else\u2019s feelings or past recollection can be inspirational.<\/p>\n
We start with the inspiration and the general idea of what we want to try, we begin creating formulas. Then it\u2019s trial and error. Once I have an idea I go to my drawing board, write the formula, and then wait for it to come back from the lab. I\u2019ll then smell the fragrance and see how close it is to what I imagined. From there, I\u2019ll finesse the details until we get the perfect scent.<\/p>\n
We knew we wanted to create a scent that was clean and refreshing but that also had the emotional capacity to transport you somewhere else with just a whiff. Since this is a limited edition summer fragrance, we also thought about summer. The idea of summer makes me want to be outside, specifically in Marseille where I grew up, looking far out into the sea towards the island of Corsica. Its breeze, salt, aromatic warmth and watery freshness were all notes that we wanted to hit in order to truly capture the feeling behind the fragrance. That\u2019s why personally, the fragrance Corsica is very special to me as it\u2019s instantly able to bring me back to my childhood.<\/p>\n
It starts with top notes of andarain, anjou pear (which is a gritty, fresh, juicy pear), blackcurrant (adds sparkle) and pink pepper. For the pink pepper note, we used a proprietary extraction called \u201cjungle essence extraction\u201d to bring an effervescent freshness and to highlight sparkling notes and floralcy.<\/p>\n
Moving onto the mid notes, we have something that\u2019s altogether more floral and that are the heart of the fragrance. Sheer jasmin, cyclamen, neroli , and peony. These are watery notes that hint at floral but that aren\u2019t too overwhelming. I wanted all the notes to be very seamless. To me they mimic how a wave washes over you and then is gone.<\/p>\n
The dry down notes are amber, cedar wood, vetiver (it\u2019s actually the highest quality standard in vetier), bourbon oil, and blondewood to really round out the fragrance. These are almost like a second skin and work with the white musk to bring that beachy feel. They give a driftwood effect that captures the image of the bark that\u2019s often washed up on shore.<\/p>\n
This fragrance is meant for people who have a carefree and easygoing mindset, no matter their gender or hair type. It\u2019s fresh, easy, and freeing. Corsica is a scent that is alluring yet light.<\/p>\n