The Opposite Of Everyone Else – An Interview With Robert Gerstner Of Aedes De Venustas
Persolaise Maybe it’s the rosé, but when I meet Robert Gerstner at a noisy bar at London’s St Pancras Station, he starts chatting away as though we’ve known each other for…
interview
French Coca-Cola In New York – Cartier’s Mathilde Laurent On Working With Oud
In 2014, when Cartier launched their three oud scents – Oud & Rose, Oud & Musc and Oud & Oud (yes, really) – I confess I was rather disappointed. Yet…
Looking For Something Unique – Harrods’ Mia Collins On The Salon De Parfums
image: Harrods “We had a Portuguese craftsman come to hand paint all of the gold leaf detailing on the oak panels, in the Henry Jacques boutique; we had a team…
A New Type Of Femininity – Cartier’s Mathilde Laurent On Female Perfumers, Guerlain & L’Heure Perdue
“With La Panthère, I really wanted to renew the femininity you can find on the market. I wanted to offer something different. Because I thought at that moment that femininity…
‘Fake It Till You Make It’ – An Interview With Papillon’s Liz Moores
image: Liz Moores When Papillon‘s debut trio emerged last year, it immediately caused a stir amongst scentusiasts in the UK. Tobacco Rose was the crowd pleaser, but the deadly Anubis…
“Our Job Is To Listen” – Antoine Maisondieu At The Launch Of Bottega Veneta Pour Homme Extreme
It’s always dangerous to draw conclusions about an artist from their work. By most accounts, T S Eliot wasn’t a grey-faced depressive, Charlie Chaplin wasn’t exactly child-like and Toni Morrison…
“I Try To Take You By The Hand” – An Interview With Jean-Claude Ellena, Perfumer At Hermès
image: Hermès “My perfumes are sensual like the women of Hitchcock. I love Kim Novak. I can watch the same Kim Novak movie several times. And Grace Kelly too. There’s…
Persolaise On Men’s Scents In How To Spend It
A few months ago, I was interviewed by Lucia Van Der Post for an article she was writing about fragrances for men. Her piece was published in the FT’s How…
Never At Sephora – Bertrand Duchaufour At The Launch Of Penhaligon’s Ostara
Towards the end of 2014, Bertrand Duchaufour popped into London to launch Ostara, his latest creation for Penhaligon’s. Inspired by a perfume he encountered in Jodhpur – where he was…
“You Have To Be More Direct” – An Interview With Carlos Benaïm
“Frederic Malle is much more directive. But he doesn’t tell you what to do. I would sit with him and he would give ideas. Sometimes I agreed with his ideas,…
‘It’s Still A Challenge’ – Arquiste’s Carlos Huber At Bloom Perfumery
Carlos Huber at Bloom image: Bloom Although I remain a massive fan of the brand, I find myself unable to give an unqualified thumbs up to Arquiste‘s new The Architects…
‘Something Very New York’ – An Interview With Kelly Kovack Of Odin
I’m not sure how it’s perceived in the USA, but here in Britain, Odin seems to be one of those brands which are always slipping beyond the reach of most…
‘My Most Important Ally’ – Chandler Burr On Dior
As someone who owns very well-thumbed copies of The Perfect Scent and The Emperor Of Scent, I was excited to discover that Chandler Burr’s distinctive prose style has once again…
The Legendary Chantal Roos On The Launch Of Her New Brand, Dear Rose
From left to right: Alexandra and Chantal Roos, co-founders of Dear Rose “Oh, Bloody Rose! Bloody Rose has no rose in it. It’s a hypnotic white flower. It’s the naughty…
30th Anniversary Of London’s Les Senteurs – Interview with Betty Hawksley, Claire Hawksley & James Craven
It’s almost 100% safe to assume that if you’re the sort of person who has made the effort to come to this site and read these words, then you’ve heard…
A Very Full Day – Olivier Cresp on Angel, Penhaligon’s And The Manic Pace Of Perfumery
If Olivier Cresp is fed up with talking about Angel, he doesn’t show it. Since the fragrance was launched in 1992, he’s probably spent a frightening proportion of his life…
Everything Is Personal – An Interview With Antoine Maisondieu
Anyone who’s a fan of the output of Etat Libre D’Orange owes a debt of gratitude to Antoine Maisondieu: working either on his own or with Antoine Lie, he has…
“Suddenly It’s There” – An Interview With Andy Tauer (part 3)
image: Andy Tauer In the third and final instalment of this exclusive interview, Andy Tauer talks about innovation, the blogosphere and formal perfumery training. For part 1, please click here…
“We Get What We Ask For” – An Interview With Andy Tauer (part 2)
image: Andy Tauer In today’s instalment of this exclusive interview with Andy Tauer, the focus is firmly on the brand new fragrance, Sotto La Luna Gardenia. For part 1, please…
“Everything Is Fluid” – An Interview With Andy Tauer (part 1)
An odd little fact. Over the course of the last four years, I’ve been fortunate enough to publish interviews with several prominent industry figures here on Persolaise.com, but amongst their…