Pierre Negrin
For Pierre, the definition of luxury is that which is rare and authentic- quality materials that are left to breathe free and unstifled. He endeavors to nurture these unique products, celebrating their rough and essential nature, using them wisely and deliberately. Pierre has a particular appreciation for notes that are "not too easy, such as animal, warm, bitter or spicy notes … "
Pierre Negrin was born in Grasse, in the south of France, where both his grandfathers were traders in fragrance products and plants. When he visited them as a child, he fondly remembers discovering "an Aladdin's cave of scents: baskets full of jasmine and sacks of roses".
Pierre originally aspired to be a photographer. He speaks passionately of the work of Robert Capa and Henri Cartier Bresson, of the Magnum Agency, and of the landscapes of Ansel Adams. One summer, as a physics and chemistry student looking for an internship, a perfumer friend offered him a job in his workshop. It was there that Pierre experienced a whole new universe that completely seduced him. "Suddenly I realised that, instead of expressing myself through light, I could express myself through fragrance".
Pierre Negrin did not learn perfumery in a specialised school, but in fragrance laboratories.
In the early Go's, he left France to work in Mexico and eventually moved to the United States. Later, in 2008, he joined the ranks of accomplished perfumers at Firmenich's New York Fine Fragrance Center.
For Pierre, the US represents a certain ease and relaxed atmosphere that he loves. The contrasts between the United States and France are the perfect balance in his life. He loves Corsica and the South of France, where he visits his family home in Callian several times a year, and speaks fondly of his olfactory memories, all born there: the scent of rockrose in the morning breeze, the smell of the sea, the freshness of eucalyptus mixed with the redolent perfume of his warm, coastal land. He is particularly attached to these earthy notes. "I firmly believe that the earth is the matter, the true origin of our industry. It's always on my mind. You can have your head in the clouds as long as you have your feet on the ground."
For his excellence in creative perfumery, Pierre received the International Fragrance Creation Award from the French Society of Perfumers in 1990.
Pierre likes to compare his work to writing, admits an undying admiration for Albert Camus and has a special affection for Marcel Proust, who "does me good". He is also fascinated by images and how their fragrances are perceived, how they sound. Pierre is convinced that, beyond the subject matter, a masterpiece is in the way its ingredients are composed: even the humblest ingredients can give rise to a work of art. Pierre is a demanding, refined and reserved man, but also an epicurean. He celebrates life's small pleasures and is attracted to a disciplined life, where he rides his bicycle every day and practices yoga regularly. He does not appreciate ostentation or excess, preferring the simple and minimalist. "I'm a natural, I have nothing to hide. Nobody is perfect. It's the hours of work that make the difference," he reflects philosophically. It is clear that this perfumer's talent is matched only by his wisdom.
