Today we are going to speak with Thomas Fontain – a perfumer who has more than 30 fragrances in his personal portfolio. Five of them were created specifically for Faberlic.

So when Thomas came to Moscow to see his favorite country, get an award for Faberlic Cruiser at FiFi Russian Fragrance Awards International Contest and work on the new fragrances for Faberlic, we used the chance to interview him.

Faberlic Journal: Thomas, could you please tell us how you became a perfumer?

Thomas Fontain: I've always liked smelling. It was important for me how different things and the space between them smelled. I wasn’t fond of the smells themselves. Most people don’t pay so much attention to them. So when I grew up, I was set to become a perfumer. When my parents heard that from me, they said: “What a stupid occupation!”

Faberlic Journal: And what do your parents do?

Thomas Fontain: My mother is a lawyer, but she has retired already, and my father is an architect. They expected me to be engaged in some “serious business” like my brothers are. One of them is a doctor, the other one – businessman. But I took my own way. I guess they simply didn’t know at that time what the perfumer’s work was about.

Faberlic Journal: And what is it about?

Thomas Fontain: It's a serious profession, and it takes a long time to get the proper education. A perfumer must know chemistry, remember several thousands of different smells “by heart” and have good imagination to join different scents in harmonious compositions.

Faberlic Journal: Where can one learn the art of creating perfumery compositions?

Thomas Fontain: First I got a chemistry degree in the university in Paris, then entered the only Perfumery School in the world (ISIPCA). It is extremely difficult to get there. Each year the school enrolls 10 persons. The students spend two years there, studying the secrets of the profession, but they can’t be considered true perfumers upon the graduation. Perfumery is the way that takes much more time. It fact, it is a life-long business.

Faberlic Journal: Why?

Thomas Fontain: Because the perfumery is not just the knowledge of chemistry. It is also the experience, ability to hear your own and other people’s senses, see the beauty in the smallest things, such as fallen leaves, coffee beans, wet soil… And   

the talent to collect all the elements bit by bit into a common image and create a fragrance afterwards.

Faberlic Journal: How do you do that?

Thomas Fontain: I'll tell you a story. I use smells instead of words. From the technical point of view, it looks like this: every aromatic substance has its own “olfactory power”. Some of them emanate odor for 10 minutes, the others for two hours. A perfumer knows the abilities of each smell and combines them in a way so that they mix beautifully and enhance each other.

Faberlic Journal: How many smells do you need to know and remember to join them in fragrances?

Thomas Fontain: A perfumer knows at least 2,000 scents by heart. We listen to different scents every day. This is our job. An average person can distinguish between no more that 200 or 300 scents.

Faberlic Journal: And how many ingredients are needed for a fragrance?

Thomas Fontain: As a rule, about 200 or 300.

Faberlic Journal: Did the perfumers use more or less scents in the old times?

Thomas Fontain: I would say that 200-300 ingredients are more than enough for a fragrance. The old formulas are no longer than the modern ones. It’s another matter that different perfumers have different writing styles. For instance, Burberry formulas are short, with 16 components only. The famous Cool Water Davidoff comprises 26 notes, while the cheap Old Spice has 300! The number of notes is in no way connected with the quality of a fragrance. Moreover, the perfumers now can use a much wider range of scents and have more possibilities for creative work.

Faberlic Journal: You've mentioned the «quality of a fragrance”. What does it mean for you?

Thomas Fontain: Actually, it's the same as the ”quality of a dish”. Women know what it is. In order to cook a tasty dish, you need to start with a good idea, followed by fresh, high-quality ingredients and the proper recipe that specifies the exact weight of products and the order of adding them. That’s all! Perfumery 

has very much in common with cooking. The only difference is that we don’t put our “dishes” in the oven… (Laughing — FJ).

Faberlic Journal: How did you create Faberlic Cruiser Turbo?

Thomas Fontain: I knew that one of my previous fragrances — Faberlic Cruiser — was highly popular with your men, so Faberlic and I decided to continue the theme of fragrances for young men. We were thinking about some fascinating story that could captivate and inspire the young people. And we realized that youth was associated with speed, thirst for victory, readiness to take risk.

After that we had to find an image that would embody all these ideas. At some point we were experienced a light bulb moment — racing! Formula-1! Crazy speed, tension, big stakes, the roar of engines, hot air, elegant ladies in the stands, the rejoicing throng and heady victory feeling. This was exactly the story that I tried to tell with Faberlic Cruiser Turbo. The initial fresh citrus notes are similar to the wind. They create the illusion of motion. The heart of the fragrance is full of spices and herbs: caraway, nutmeg, wormwood – they are associated with passion, tension, overtaking. Colossal energy, in a word. The trail unveils styrax and leather notes – these are the spicy and hot victory accords…

Faberlic Journal: And how did you create Crystal?

Thomas Fontain: Well, that was a totally different story. I have always admired the women who are far more complicated than men. Only women can play several brilliant “roles” on a single day! So we decided to create the perfume that would be as complicated and multifaceted as the women are. We called it Crystal. When I was working on it, I thought of a woman as a precious object. And I realized that the new perfume should sparkle and play with fruity, floral, woody and citrus notes. The heart of the Crystal fragrance is made of the chypre accord that is considered to be the most complicated and the same time – the most elegant in the perfumery art.
Faberlic Journal: What is the chypre accord?

Thomas Fontain: It's a classic combination of oakmoss, patchouli and floral notes. Chypre always makes a fragrance both elegant and sensual.

Faberlic Journal: Is there any ”cultural code” recommending us how to use fragrances?

Thomas Fontain: A fragrance nowadays is the way to create our own space, express yourself, your individuality and mood. That’s why it is quite common to have several favorite fragrances now and change them as clothes. It is important to remember that your fragrance should not annoy the people around you, no matter how good it is.

Faberlic Journal: And the last question to you as the person who sees the world through the prism of scents: what fragrance reflects the Russian understanding of elegance?

Thomas Fontain: Russian elegance is a fresh floral, rich fragrance made of good and expensive components.

Text: Nina Popova. Faberlic Journal №36, March 2012.