A Master Perfumer talks to Meera Murugesan about his work and inspiration.
FRAGRANCES and our connections to them are closely tied to our memories, especially childhood experiences.
Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, who joined Louis Vuitton in 2012, understands this well.
Born in Grasse in the south of France, a place also known as the “cradle of French perfumery”, he grew up as the son and grandson of perfumers and was introduced to natural raw materials by his father during his early childhood.
As a schoolboy in Grasse, Cavallier-Belletrud learnt perfume notes the way other children practised piano scales.
Every evening, his father would give him perfume blotters, dipped in essence and he would have to wait until daybreak to write a detailed description in the notebooks he kept with care.
Whenever he obtained good grades in school, his father would even allow him to help weigh out formulas.
The day after receiving his high school diploma, Cavallier-Belletrud began working at the perfume company Charabot, where he learned how to distill flowers and discovered the perfume business.
At 18, he created his first formula and over the years, has built up an olfactory vocabulary in which quality, generosity and sensuality are the keywords. Throughout his prestigious career, he has designed a number of radiant, modern compositions which have met with great and lasting success.
THE SCENT OF BEAUTY
Perfumery to Cavallier-Belletrud is a magnificent journey, starting with the quality of the raw materials.
This naturally leads him to draw inspiration from the authenticity and beauty of all the precious essential oils which make up his perfumes. Though his high standards take him all over the world in search of the finest substances, it is in his hometown of Grasse that he creates his compositions.
The creator of Jean Paul Gaultier Classique, L’Eau d’Issey and Opium pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurent, among others, he was named Maitre Parfumeur of Louis Vuitton in 2012.
“I have around 5,000 ingredients in my head. All my perfumes are made from experiences and memories,” says Cavallier-Belletrud, who was in Malaysia recently.
Inspiration, he adds, comes not just from one thing but a mix of different things or emotions.
“I am an artist. I see the world differently and anything or anyone can be a source of inspiration.”
He stresses that he particularly loves perfumes that are full of joy and create many emotions.
The relationship with the client is also key in perfumery, he says, adding that he wants to offer clients new experiences grounded in the Louis Vuitton DNA and vision.
“We want to offer clients different experiences during different times of the day — such as a morning perfume, an evening perfume and one for a special occasion, yet, always fitting the personality of the wearer.
“Your olfactory memory is built by childhood experiences. When you use a perfume, you are sending a message to people — a message about who you are and what you want to express.”
But finding a scent that appeals to us on a personal level should never be a rushed process, he explains.
One needs to take the time to smell, experiment and experience different scents.
Cavallier-Belletrud, who obtained the title of Master Perfumer in 2000, says a good fragrance starts with the quality of its raw ingredients.
It should be able to exude a mix of different feelings and emotions — such as elegance, sensuality and tenderness, he says.
And ultimately, it should always suit the personality of the wearer.
AN EXCITING ADVENTURE
SINCE 2016, travelling has set the tone for Louis Vuitton’s olfactive creations.
In this adventure, the rush of departure matters more than the destination. It is a journey towards the unknown, towards our most intimate emotions, culminating in the rediscovery of oneself.
Coeur Battant is a celebration of this vital energy, the spark that drives us and makes it possible to live each moment with intensity.
Launched in September, Coeur Battant is made with exceptional raw materials. It magnifies the grandiosity of nature and joins the first nine perfumes in the collection: Rose des Vents, Turbulences, Dans La Peau, Attrapes-Reves, Apogee, Contre Moi, Matiere Noire, Mille Feux and Le Jour Se Leve.
Conceived and composed in Cavallier-Belletrud’s creative atelier in Grasse, just a stone’s throw from fields of flowers, this majestic woody floral formula occupies its own place in the emotional cartography of the Maison’s creations.
Cavallier-Belletrud chose a note of cool, crisp pear as the perfume’s preface, which is elegantly prolonged by ambrette seed that leads it toward the horizon.
Coeur Battant also honours Egyptian jasmine, the living soul of perfume — a sensual, radiant flower.
Jasmine’s humid note becomes even richer with the appearance of narcissus, a wildflower with green and animalistic facets while a chypre base of pure patchouli and moss elegantly illuminate the perfume’s generous floral heart, revealing other animal facets that don’t necessarily offer themselves up freely at first encounter.
Coeur Battant is available in refillable bottles that may also be personalised in 100ml and 200ml sizes.