MEGA Beauty Director Agoo Azcuna-Bengzon sits down with Chanel’s in-house perfumer, Olivier Polge to discuss his process in creating some of the brand’s most iconic scents whilst preserving its illustrious heritage
Picture this: the setting for our interview with Chanel’s most esteemed perfumer for the last thirteen years, Olivier Polge: a heritage colonial bungalow in central Singapore. We found this historical home in a bustling city as the venue for the intimate event to be of special significance as Olivier, a perfumer who has made sure to uphold the traditions and nuances of nostalgia when creating fragrances for the house, has also made it a point throughout his career to recognize that there is also a need to evolve somehow, and take into consideration the signs of the times.
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Since its establishment, parfumerie Chanel has employed only four perfumers, with Olivier currently at the helm, and his father, Jacques Polge, the house’s perfumer for an astounding thirty-seven years before him. Olivier has created quite a number of scents for Chanel—twenty-two to be exact, and the list includes some of the greats we have come to love:
N° 5 L’Eau
N° 5 L’Eau, a modern version of Chanel N° 5 with refreshing citrusy notes. Olivier shares, “It was about finding a new way to reinterpret it by bringing a sense of lightness and fluidity that reflects how we dress today.
Bleu de Chanel
Bleu de Chanel, a woody aromatic created by Olivier in 2018 is a reimagined version of his father’s. His version is an expression of refinement and intensity but not in an over-the-top manner. This is why he chose to use sandalwood, and let it fuse with cedar and fresh top notes.”
Comète
Comète, a luminous scent with powdery notes, is part of Chanel’s Les Exclusifs collection, and is a fragrance which Olivier reveals, “was inspired by a Chanel starburst necklace, and Gabrielle Chanel’s belief in the magic of constellations.”
Fragrance Master
It’s important to note that the fragrances, before they become the final products we see in Chanel boutiques, go through a long and arduous process. Comète for instance, was a fragrance Olivier began conceptualizing way back in 2019. In reality, it can take anywhere between two to three years before a fragrance is completed. Another reason why it can take years to produce a particular scent is the limited accessibility to the ingredients needed. Iris, for instance, which also happens to be Olivier’s favorite flower, is a complicated raw material because it needs to stay in the ground for at least three years for the rhizomes to develop.
After which, they are pulled out and dried for another three years so that the olfactory principles can develop. All in all, it takes a good six years before any of the iris can be used. But this is something that Olivier understands and deems necessary in order to produce the best products—products that truly represent the House of Chanel and its dedication to utmost quality always.
During our sit-down interview with Olivier, we got a glimpse of where his job takes him, how taste comes into play when creating scents, and why he thinks there are certain fragrance trends that we can choose to forego.
Q: What’s a typical day like for you?
OP: A regular day would be that I come in the morning to my office, next to the laboratory, where I have all my ingredients. In the morning, it’s the best time to work because your nose and your mind are fresh. So I start to work on my formulas. Sometimes, you know, I smell the strips. I smell what I left from the previous day. It’s very important with the flowers to really follow the evolution of the scents. I make new experiments, write new formulas. In the afternoon, I might continue a little bit, but also I try to have more appointments in the morning. In the afternoon I might oversee certain production questions, follow the crops from our different partners around the world, do some phone calls. There are certain days I go to the South of France, where we have our fields.
Q: Have you ever created a fragrance that you didn’t like?
OP: I think it’s impossible. There are certain fragrances maybe that I wouldn’t wear, yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like them. I’m trying to speak a lot about the instinct, about the emotion. You have to be emotional about what you do. So somehow it goes with creating something of your taste.”
Q: What are your thoughts on fragrance layering?
OP: Coming from French culture, we at Chanel consciously create a formula with a certain complexity that’s somehow already layered. When I travel throughout the world, I see it being done, and why not? But that could not be a recommendation on my part. It would be a little bit as if you would ask a fashion designer you how to mix and match, and I think it’s important that you are the one who expresses yourself through the perfume you wear, somehow.”
Thirty conversation minutes in, and Olivier is a revelation in more ways than one. He is paving the way for a future where fragrance is no longer just an act of spritzing-and-smelling but an immersive and multi-sensorial experience that involves storytelling to enhance the overall impact of a fragrance, making it memorable and deeply personal.
At the same time, Olivier is what one may call, a “Guardian of the House,” one who knows that the traditions in place at Chanel will always be there to guide him in his creative process—they are to be embraced, and never ever be forgotten.
Photos courtesy of CHANEL
