Pierre Guillaume, founder & perfumer of Parfumerie Generale

07/31/09 20:12:16

By: Annelie Högild

First of all, I have to admit that I am a great admirer of Pierre Guillaume’s work; many of my absolutely favorite perfumes come from Parfumerie Generale. Monsieur Guillaume is the founder and perfumer at the renowned perfume house, Parfumerie Generale.

In my opinion Parfumerie Generale manages to create gorgeous perfumes with French sophistication, and also with a very modern, interesting, and emotional interpretation. You may not love everything from Parfumerie Generale, but its products are made to wake emotions and make impressions—impressions that last far beyond the smell of the actual perfume. Actually, some of Parfumerie Generale´s perfumes manage to sneak into my dreams and linger around even when I am asleep!

Of course it is with much gratitude I present Monsieur Pierre Guillaume to Fragrantica readers and members.

     
One thing I´ve noticed in your perfumes is their ability to create an emotional response in different kinds of people, and I also know that that is one of your most important missions, why is that so important to you?

Pierre Guillaume: Because I find the purely «functional» aspect of the fine fragrances industry extremely boring. In my view, the work of some of my colleagues, who cling stubbornly to the same hackneyed formulas - rose for women, lavender or mint for men - is devoid of interest.

I want my perfumes to tell a story, like a film or a picture, so that the person wearing it enters into this story and becomes part of the creative undertaking. A woman who smells of roses, a man who smells of mint, that's just so dreary…

 
Do you consider yourself to be a romantic, an adventurer, or an inventor (or maybe all of them, or something completely different) when creating your perfumes?

Pierre Guillaume: I don't believe we actually invent anything; it's more that we end up noticing something that's always been there.  

Do you have any specific sources of inspiration that help you in your work?

Pierre Guillaume: I often hear other perfumers claim to draw their inspiration from music, but I'm more visual, and I get inspiration from paintings, photography, cinema, places, at least in the choice of an initial theme.

 
When working on a new perfume, how close to your original idea is the final perfume? Do you ever switch tracks when working and decide to take on a different kind of perfume than what you thought it would be when you first started?

Pierre Guillaume: I'm the obsessive type, reworking my formula until I can make the exact scent and development that I had imagined come to life. But from time to time I have allowed measurement errors to stay, because I liked the unexpected result.

This was the case with Yuzu Ab Irato (Ab Irato means in the grip of anger), which started out as a sweet white flower accord, but I accidentally added too much Yuzu essence to the top note when I was disturbed by a phone call…

   
I´ve read that you are working with some exiting techniques, such as photo-affinage*. Would you say that this kind of technique gives your perfumes their personality? For instance, I can smell a kind of clear, light, and sort of weightless "scent" in even your darkest perfumes, is that a result of photo-affinage?

Pierre Guillaume: Photo Refining® is a demanding technique that can be totally counterproductive. Only two perfumes undergo this treatment: Cozé and L'Eau de Circé. In the first case, by creating links between spicy and "gourmandes" notes, the result is vibrant and suggests controlled strength. In the second, the modernity of the woody-osmanthus accord is tinged with melancholy and has a nostalgic and slightly retro aura, as if the perfume were a very beautiful woman who had aged perfectly, never overindulging in alcohol, smoking or sunbathing…

It's always important to retain a certain radiance, an inner light, to infuse the perfume with energy by the interplay of resonances and dissonances.    

If you would recommend 3 of Parfumerie Generale´s perfumes for a person unfamiliar with the brand, which three would you recommend? And why?

Pierre Guillaume: Cozé, which embodies the brand's DNA: unusual construction, original ingredient, photo-refining, quality of manufacturing, and I hope a little bit of humour.
Hyperessence Matale, for assessing our quality standards (30.3 % for a note considered fresh). Louanges Profanes, because it's our bestseller.    

I´ve noticed the gorgeous box with small bottles (15 ml) of Parfumerie Generale’s fragrances. Is there a chance you will start selling the small bottles one by one, or as a smaller set of 3 or maybe 5?

Pierre Guillaume: We are going to think about developing a new 30 ml format.

I´ve learned that some perfumers avoid wearing perfumes, since it could disturb them in their work. I understand avoiding perfume during work, but do you wear perfume out of work, and if so, do you have any personal favorite(s)?

Pierre Guillaume: I sometimes wear prototype scents that I'm working on, to get my family's reactions.  

Does Parfumerie Generale have one or more bestsellers in the line? Which ones? And why do you think that is the case?

Pierre Guillaume: This varies a lot depending on the country, but in the end, our top 5 is as follows: Louanges Profanes, Tubéreuse Couture, Jardins de Kérylos, Cozé & Felanilla. Perhaps because all these perfumes are strongly imbued with the house style and have themes that are quite familiar to the public.

 Do you feel that any of your fragrances stand in the shadow of the others, being a little misunderstood or not fully appreciated, which one(s) and why?

Pierre Guillaume: Cuir Venenum, which is often highly praised within the industry, but is not very accessible. Iris Taïzo, which I'm personally very proud of, but the name might not be quite right, in that it's more of an iris honey, fig and agarwood accord…  

 Do you see yourself still creating perfumes ten years from now? If you wouldn´t work with perfume, is there anything else you would consider working with?

Pierre Guillaume: We have just celebrated PG's 7th birthday, on 4 June last - I really didn't think that we would get this far, in the end our clients will decide, but in any case it's hard to imagine doing anything else.