NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°14 - Mars 2018 - 15

A perfume she's proud
of: the Shawn Mendes
perfume.

Among all the projects you have worked on
since 2001, which one gave you the most
satisfaction?
The Shawn Mendes signature fragrance (editor
note: Shawn Mendes is a Canadian singer and
songwriter). IFF was not the favorite fragrance
creation house in this project, but Shawn Mendes
fell in love with the perfume I made. We conducted
tests in various countries and it was so popular
among millennials that we won the deal. It is a very
sweet and addictive fragrance that breaks the
gender codes. Thus, against every odd, men
adopted it too.
What is your favorite perfume?
It is a hard question-as if you were asking a
woman: which one of your children do you prefer?
However, I would say the one I love the most is
L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain, a fragrance that was
created in 1912. It was the perfume of my grandmother. I remember one day, I was doing a blind
test and I smelled it. Tears fell from my eyes...
When I smell this scent, it talks to me-I see an
impressionist Monet painting, with purple and
blue; I also see an Art Déco Daum's vase.
Which perfume would you dream to make?
I would love to create a trendsetter. Something like
Angel by Mugler or L'Eau d'Issey. The first one
launched the Gourmand family. The latter paved
the way for super-watery products.
You grew up between south of France and
Morocco. Do you use some fragrances from
your childhood?
Indeed, my family had a secondary house in
Morocco. We spent our summer and Christmas
holidays there. I developed a very high resistance
to dirty, animalistic notes. These help to make an
oriental fragrance exceptional. Do you know that
at a certain level, cumin smells like sweat? The
general public always thinks that a fragrance is
only made of really nice materials. Actually we also
use molecules that have unpleasant smell by
themselves. They precisely make the perfume
technically or hedonically outstanding.
How do you capitalize on your NEOMA
background in your day-to-day work?
I did the Marketing and International Management at Reims Business School. That academic
background actually helps me a lot. As soon as I
joined IFF, I was comfortable talking to clients. I am
appreciated for the pertinence of the concepts I
propose. I am interested in the whole product-
not just the scent but also the name, the story of
the perfume and even the shape of the bottle.

You have been living in New York City for
almost ten years. How do you like it?
I love the blue sky and it is super fun. Each year is
like a dog year: as intense as 7 years in another
place. I feel over-stimulated all the time. There is
a lot of irreverence here and you meet some of the
most successful and inspiring people in the world.
The city forces me to improve all the time otherwise I will be rejected. It is like riding a tiger!
What is your favorite area of New York City?
Lower Manhattan. It can be very high end or a bit
trash. It is still under construction and in perpetual
evolution. And it's filled with awesome nightlife
spots!
What do you do beside work? Any hobbies?
As a perfumer, I need to be fed. So I take studio
painting lessons and classes of art history at
MoMA. My social life is very intense, too. I go from
art events to parties, where I meet all kind of artists.
I live close to Columbus Circle so I can run in
Central Park during the weekend. I love nature.
Whenever I can, I travel off-the-beaten tracks in
the most inspiring places in the world.
What makes you feel proud of your job?
First, we help people feel good, sexy and unforgettable. A perfume can be very powerful: just notice
how you remember the scent of your mother or
pre-school teacher.
Second, we sometimes have a positive impact on
some people. For instance, I changed the destiny
of a village in Haiti when I made Tacit by Aesop,
which uses a lot of vetiver essential oil. The money
we spent there helps building schools and libraries. It is an honor for me to do good when I create
a product. ❚
Interview by Thomas Lestavel

IFF: A GIANT PERFUME-MAKER
A S&P 500 firm with a 128-year history and a 3.1 billion-dollar
turnover, International Flavors and Fragrances is the number 3
global creation house for fragrances, flavors and olfactive
molecules. It has a 12.3% global market share behind Swiss
groups Givaudan (18.7%) and Firmenich (13.5%).
NEOMA ALUMNI mag MARS 2018

- 15 -


http://www.iff.com/

Table des matières de la publication NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°14 - Mars 2018

https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2403_38
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2312_37
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2310_36
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2306_35
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2304_34
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2211_33
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2209_32
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2206_31
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2203_30
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2112_29
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2109_28
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2106_27
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2103_26
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2012_25
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2009_24
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2006_23
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-2003_22
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1912_21
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1909_20
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1906_19
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1903_18
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1812_17
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1809_16
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1806_15
https://www.nxtbook.fr/newpress/Neoma_Business_School/Neoma_Alumni_Mag-1803_14
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com