Fragrance masters, the perfumers who laid the foundations of modern perfumery

Becoming a "nose" requires years of study in chemistry and botany, for example, as well as olfactory training to identify and combine scents with pinpoint accuracy. And, although today there are training schools for perfumers, this profession is very much self-taught. Personal concern has given rise to great perfumery firms such as Penhaligon's, which was founded in 1870 thanks to the interest and innate talent for composing scents of William Henry Penhaligon, who was able to transfer his knowledge of shaving care and male grooming to the world of perfumery, creating fragrances so exclusive as to conquer the British Royal Court.

The work of a perfumer is complex and sacrificial and involves long hours of trial and error to achieve perfection. Today we remember five great master perfumers who have been milestones in the history of perfume.

A descendant of Isabelle Bonaparte, the emperor's aunt, François Coty (1874-1934) was also known as "the Bonaparte of perfume" and is considered a pioneer of modern perfumery. His talent and revolutionary vision transformed the perfume industry through his keen understanding of the business, making perfumes accessible to a wider audience beyond high society.

Coty understood that perfumery was not only about the scent itself, but also about design or labelling. This holistic perspective led him to create innovative bottles in collaboration with artists such as René Lalique. Other crucial aspects of his professional development were his training in Grasse, the birthplace of perfumery, and his relationship with the pharmacist Jacqueminot.

Among his most emblematic creations was his first perfume, La Rose Jacqueminot, inspired by the rose he fell in love with in Grasse, followed by L'Origan in 1905, which inaugurated the floriental subfamily of perfumes.
In 1917 he launched Chypre, a fragrance that popularised this family of perfumes and left a lasting mark on the industry. In addition, his industrial complex, Cité des Parfums, located on the outskirts of Paris, employed thousands of workers and offered social innovations such as day-care centres within the complex. Coty not only created fragrances, but also set standards that endure in perfumery today.

One of the third generation of the Guerlain family, Jacques Guerlain (1874-1963) is one of the most influential perfumers in history, known for his ability to conceive opulent and sophisticated fragrances. He introduced the use of vanilla and other ambery notes to Western perfumery, transforming the olfactory landscape of his time. Guerlain cemented the house's reputation as one of the most prestigious in the world, combining tradition and avant-garde in each of his works.
Among his most mythical creations are Shalimar, inspired by the love story between Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, L'Heure Bleue, which captures the melancholy of the sunset, Mitsouko, a composition that masterfully balances the peach note with oak moss.

Famous for his collaboration with Coco Chanel, Ernest Beaux (1881-1961) is the nose responsible for Chanel No. 5, the first perfume to use an overdose of aldehydes in its formulation, which gave it its characteristic clean-smelling profile.

Legend has it that when Chanel commissioned Beaux to create a creation with the finest qualities of rose, jasmine and ylang-ylang, the aldehydes were to be added in small doses to simulate the enfleurage character that was lost with modern extraction methods. However, during the preparation of the samples, the aldehydes were mistakenly incorporated in a dilution ten times higher than expected, enhancing their prominence in the perfume. This strong presence of aldehydes in the floral accord meant that, for the first time in history, one of the main notes of a perfume was not based on a natural scent, a fortuitous accident that made Chanel No. 5 a revolutionary fragrance.

Trained in Grasse, Roudnitska (1905-1996) was a pioneer in the creation of fresh and aquatic fragrances, such as Dior's iconic Eau Sauvage, now a classic in men's perfumery, or perhaps his masterpiece, Diorissimo, for its delicate and authentic representation of the lily of the valley, a flower extremely difficult to capture in a perfume. He took an innovative approach by combining natural and synthetic ingredients. His creation was an act of love and dedication to his wife, Thérèse, who loved lily of the valley.
Author of another legendary perfume, Femme de Rochas, he saw perfumery as an art form and his work has been a source of inspiration for generations of perfumers.

The arrival of Jacques Polge (1943) at Chanel in 1978, where he was chief perfumer until 2015, marked the beginning of a new era in the creation of iconic fragrances such as Coco in 1984, a spicy oriental composition celebrating opulence, or Coco Mademoiselle in 2001, offering a fresh and youthful reinterpretation of the classic. And he achieved success with others such as Égoïste, Bleu de Chanel, Chance and Allure.
Polge was educated in Grasse and combined his studies in literature and English language with his work in a company that produced perfumes for various couturiers. As chance would have it, the company needed a nose for its New York branch and Polge was the perfect candidate because of his command of the language.

The perfumer, now retired, gained experience working in Paris for Roure-Bertrand-Dupont, a company that merged with Givaudan, before joining Chanel, where he debuted with Antaeus and had the opportunity to version the classic of classics, Chanel Nº5, the Nº5 Eau Première, a more contemporary, fresh and easy-to-wear composition.
His vision of perfume: "Perfume is invisible. People don't see it, but they feel it. When someone wears a perfume and leaves, something of that person is left in the room.