De multe ori s-a intamplat sa aud oameni spunand ca le plac cosmeticele organice deoarece acestea nu au parfum. Se pare ca oamenii s-au obisnuit atat de mult cu parfumul de sinteza al multor cosmetice de pe piata, incat, atunci cand adulmeca un produs natural spun ca acesta nu are miros. Intr-un fel sau altul ma intristez si ma intreb daca mirosul naturii a fost anulat din simturile lor sau daca nu mai stiu sa-l recunoasca. Cosmeticele organice au miros, unul fin, suav, specific extractelor vegetale din compozitie. Atunci cand incepem sa gandim o reteta de produs cosmetic ne imaginam intai mirosul acelei combinatii, acelui „elixir” menit sa aduca lumina pe chipul consumatorului. Pe langa efectele benefice pe care trebuie sa le ofere, un astfel de produs trebuie sa imprime natura in gandul si in simturile oamenilor. Astfel, ii determini sa creada din nou in ea. Astfel, ii reintorci la natura.
Acest lucru este o responsabilitate mare, dar in acelasi timp, o placere pentru cei pasionati. Mirosul unui produs cosmetic poate schimba perceptii si poate induce o stare. In randurile urmatoare vreau sa va impartasesc gandurile lui Jean-Claude Ellena, parfumier al casei Hermès (Fondator Thierry Hermès, 1837, Paris), ganduri din jurnalul personal tinut timp de 1 an (The Diary of A Nose – A year in the life of a parfumeur). A crea un produs cosmetic sau un parfum din pura pasiune este in fond, o arta. Pentru a capata „nuanta„ gandita, acesta are nevoie de ore, zile sau saptamani. Totusi, in final, consumatorul este cel care ii da viata.
Paris, Thursday 29 October 2009
„Pleasure
I don`t feel comfortable talking about pleasure; I find it easier to talk about desire. Since I started composing perfumes I`ve learned, I`ve invented „catchphrase-smells„, like the first sentence, the first notes of a piece of music, the initial images that are reworked at length to capture a reader`s, a listener`s, a spectator`s attention. So that he or she wants to carry on, in order to pursue the pleasure. In a society where speed is everything, perfumes are judged in a couple of seconds, as if at a glance. The hastiness of these assessments upsets me: a perfume can only truly tell its story when it is smelled and worn.
I like pleasures when they are shared, that is my definition of luxury. I transpose this ideal on to the perfumes I create, which are mostly meant to be shared by men and women. If a compose a `men`s` fragrance for a wide audience, I never fail to slip in some women`s ciphers, and vice versa for a so-called `women`s` perfume. Fashion`s code are invented to be transgressed, to be played on; so I don`t believe perfumes should be for women, for men, mixed or unisex. It is the people who wear them who give them their gender. In India, men have been wearing Yves Saint Laurent`s Opium, Guerlain`s Shalimar and Dior`s J`adore since they were launched. I avoid pigeon-holing, putting things in boxes, I would rather give people the freedom to choose, to appropriate each of my creations for themselves.
Pleasures, small pleasures: I like the pleasures we pilfer from everyday life, they brighten the day. They are mundane, they feel repetitive, they reassure. If we overlook them we deprive ourselves of the joys that make life bearable.
I take pleasure in composing, but some mornings the pleasure just isn`t there in that little bottle. Physically, chemically, the draft of the perfume is the same – same temperature, same combination of raw materials, of molecules – but smelling it affords me no pleasure at all. This fills me with feelings of despair and loneliness, and I have to suppress them. Sharing this misgivings with anyone else would mean condemning the work I`ve been doing for weeks, so when this happen, I put the bottle down and forget about it for a few days. I know that the initial pleasure, that idea that I was pursuing, will come back to me.„
Pentru o personalitate ca Jean Claude Ellena, despre care Lucia van der Post de la Financial Times spune `He is to perfume what Mozart is to music`, parfumul reprezinta o lume in continua transformare, in care nenumaratele surse de inspiratie devin personajele principale ce determina actiunea unui nou parfum. Pentru mine, parfumul reprezinta natura a carui miros atat de special, nu poate fi inlocuit sau uitat.