My name is Celine Roche and I am an executive with 17 years of experience in the fragrance industry. I started my career in the south of France near Grasse, the birthplace of perfume. I came back from a year studying abroad at San Diego State University and was determined to enter the fragrance industry. Coming back all the way from California to a charming village called Seillans was not exactly what I had in mind, but to this day I am fascinated by how I got to connect with my roots, through my determination to be in fragrance.
The experience of my first job certainly made me contemplate the coincidences in life. The company that hired me, at the time called Pierre Chauvet (now Firmenich) was located very near to where my grandfather grew up. I learned that as a kid, to make some spending money, he would harvest plants that grew locally such as broom, thyme and others, which would then be collected by a Pierre Chauvet truck along the windy roads, to be extracted at the plant and sold to the most prestigious perfume houses, such as Guerlain. My grandfather had a very kind soul, for my birthday every June he would take a picture of me by the beautiful rosebushes outside his home. Their colors were magnificent and each year they would offer different nuances of pastel colors, from soft yellows to gentle pink. Their scents were so addicting I could not stop smelling them and I tried to make my own mixing, to the great despair of my mother. The result was not as successful as the wonderful creations I have the privilege to smell today! The scent of Rose has always inspired me from my grandfather’s backyard to my first encounter with Paris from YSL when I was 8. My aunt who was a fashion aficionado was addicted to this perfume. Every time I would go to her house I would spray the fragrance on my hands and then I would stare at the bottle, mesmerized, imagining what mysterious world produced such a beautiful experience. The bottle, the name, the scent, transported me to a magical place, one I am grateful to experience today, and that is the world of fragrances.
Working in France at the beginning of my career and later working at MANE, I have had a unique, in depth experience with natural ingredients. Seeing flowers, barks, resins, gums, spices coming from all over the world to be extracted to deliver their exquisite scents through artisanal and technological know-how fascinated me and continue to stimulate my curiosity. Over the years, I have acquired a wide range of skills that enable me to contribute to a variety of fields, including natural extracts, sustainable initiatives and fine fragrance sales and development. Working at MANE, one of the largest fragrance creation companies in the world with more than 140 years of experience, I have the opportunity to extend the reach and activity of the ingredients division, which means working closely with our sourcing, R&D and production teams. Working with natural extracts for many years has allowed me to gain an understanding of the entire supply chain, from farmers to finished products, in order to better market them. I have always been conscious of the diverse origins of the ingredients we use, and the impact and responsibility our industry has towards these communities around the world. At MANE I had the privilege to lead the first sustainability initiative, creating the Kustha Project, with the goal to operate in harmony with the United Nations Global Compact principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The Kustha Project focused on ingredients sourced sustainably with transparency and humanity.
Because of my ingredients background I was given the opportunity to manage a global fine fragrance client such as L’Oréal. They have a unique way of developing fragrances that is ingredient driven, allowing them to create strong, signature fragrances. It has been a wonderful experience to utilize my ingredients background to develop new scents and also to support L’Oréal’s commitment to sustainability. Our mission has been to provide them with strong creative ideas around unique ingredients, the building blocks that could become blockbuster hits.
My role is to interface with and orchestrate the different teams involved in the process, as it takes many people to succeed; perfumers, evaluators and sales work very closely in order to deliver what is requested by the client. We live and breathe the project throughout a long period of time, meeting several times a day to select the modifications created by the perfumers. We become much like a family with all the emotional aspects it implies. Because it is a creative process, the act of developing a fragrance creates a very strong bond with the people involved. Starting a project from an idea and to evolve it into a scent is captivating; it requires a lot of personal involvement, passion and commitment. The more I learn about fragrances the more I realize how difficult an exercise it is to develop a perfume. It is like learning a really difficult language; the more vocabulary you know, the better, the more harmonious and poetic the sentences become.
When L’Oréal asked us to create a fragrance for one of their brands, Kiehl’s, their marketing team requested that we develop a scent that would target eco friendly natural ingredients. They also asked that one or two key ingredients represent a strong commitment to sustainability and green technology. They aspired to create a fragrance where artisanal know-how and modernity would meet, which is MANE’s signature. The first Kiehl’s Aromatic Blend fragrance we created was Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit, designated to target the Asian market. Here, we offered a Ginger Pure Jungle Essence™, a native and emblematic ingredient of western Asia. Our Pure Jungle Essence™ is an extract of exceptional quality and purity that complies with ECOCERT guidelines. The perfumer Vincent Kuczinski used this supreme ingredient to emphasize the Nashi Blossom accord.
Another Aromatic Blend fragrance we created is Patchouli & Fresh Rose. It is a fresh and woody tea rose fragrance created by Cecile Hua and Ralf Schwieger. Both ingredients were sourced sustainably; Brazilian Patchouli, an organic essential oil and Rose de Grasse also called Centifolia. The aim of this project is to preserve ancestral agricultural knowledge in Grasse where there is land development pressures. Preserving this ancestral expertise is one of the biggest challenges for us; this is why a strong and direct link between producer and manufacturer is necessary for sustainable sourcing. Hence, the proximity between our facilities and the family fields with whom we have created long-term partnerships is at the heart of this sustainable initiative. These partnerships allow a consistent quality, dedicated to the finest fragrances; the quality of the extract depends on farmer good practices and manufacturer skills. As I mentioned earlier, Grasse is the birth town of perfumery and around the XIX century the culture of perfumery flowers was at its height. The village was then surrounded with jasmine, rose and tuberose fields among many other precious naturals. Today, conserving this strong heritage is crucial to maintaining our know-how and expertise.
Our sustainable Rose de Mai has also been used in the Eau de Parfum Armani Sì to give a sophisticated feminine feel to a modern chypre. A unique blackcurrant nectar created thanks to our captive Cassis Neo Jungle Essence, brings a new natural juicy, fruity blackcurrant scent.
On June 17th, Armani Si won the 2015 US Fragrance Foundation Award, Women’s Prestige Fragrance of the Year.
This sustainable Rose Centifolia quality has become key in most of our prestigious developments. It is used in Armani Privé Pivoine Suzhou, designed by our perfumers Julie Masse and Cécile Matton, which won the 2015 Italian Fragrance Foundation Award, Best Niche Fragrance of the Year.
Another interesting way to develop fragrances is through the cooperation with other divisions (called cross functional categories); for example, the cooperation between perfumers and flavorists. There are many differences between flavors and fragrances, like the raw materials that can be used and the way they are formulated. Flavorists and perfumers partner to find the right accord and to translate it into fragrance formulation.
In the case of L’Oréal Viktor & Rolf Bonbon, the new women’s fragrance launched in the spring of 2014 exclusively at Saks, the intention was to create a creative gourmand note that translated pleasure, self-indulgence and enjoyment. To respond we offered as a building block an addictive French caramel candy, developed by Cecile Matton and Serge Majoullier in collaboration with a flavorist and a Chef. Viktor & Rolf Bonbon was nominated at the US 2015 Fragrance Foundation Award, Women’s Luxury Fragrance of the Year and at the French Fragrance Foundation Award for Best Perfume of the Year.
Other examples of such collaborations with our flavor divisions include Ralph Lauren Ralph Fresh with a fresh, juicy crispy green apple accord created by Cecile Hua and Irina Burlakova or Diesel Loverdose Red Kiss, a gourmand hazelnut spread, created by Mathilde Bijaoui and Violaine Collas.
Another way that I have expressed my passion for this industry is through my contribution to the WFFC (Women in Flavor & Fragrance Commerce). I have served on the board of directors for many years and I served as President from 2012-2015. Their mission to engage, empower and educate, led me to hold key leadership roles within the organization and help provide creative educational events and programs to support the women in the flavor and fragrance industry.
Reflecting on my career, I am grateful for the coincidences and experiences that shaped my passion for the luxurious world of fragrance. While my 8 year old self is still dazzled by the beauty and glamour, my practical knowledge connects me with the many people and natural resources that are also inspiring and essential to the creation of fragrances. In essence, my career has connected my grandfather’s rose bushes with my aunt’s bottle of YSL Paris!
